Gintama

Edo is a city that was home to the vigor and ambition of samurai across the country. However, following feudal Japan's surrender to powerful aliens known as the "Amanto," those aspirations now seem unachievable. With the once-influential shogunate rebuilt as a puppet government, a new law is passed that promptly prohibits all swords in public.

Enter Gintoki Sakata, an eccentric silver-haired man who always carries around a wooden sword and maintains his stature as a samurai despite the ban. As the founder of Yorozuya, a small business for odd jobs, Gintoki often embarks on endeavors to help other people—though usually in rather strange and unforeseen ways.

Assisted by Shinpachi Shimura, a boy with glasses supposedly learning the way of the samurai; Kagura, a tomboyish girl with superhuman strength and an endless appetite; and Sadaharu, their giant pet dog who loves biting on people's heads, the Yorozuya encounter anything from alien royalty to scuffles with local gangs in the ever-changing world of Edo.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Sakata, Gintoki Main

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Kagura Main

Kugimiya, Rie Japanese

Shimura, Shinpachi Main

Sakaguchi, Daisuke Japanese

Katsura, Kotarou Supporting

Ishida, Akira Japanese

Hijikata, Toushirou Supporting

Nakai, Kazuya Japanese

Okita, Sougo Supporting

Suzumura, Kenichi Japanese

Takasugi, Shinsuke Supporting

Koyasu, Takehito Japanese

Hasegawa, Taizou Supporting

Tachiki, Fumihiko Japanese

Tsukuyo Supporting

Kaida, Yuuko Japanese

Kamui Supporting

Hino, Satoshi Japanese

Takamatsu, Shinji Co-Director, Director, Storyboard, Animation Director

Kobayashi, Noriko Producer

Mutou, Hiroshi Producer

Fujita, Youichi Director, Episode Director, Storyboard, Assistant Director

Reviews

Oct 18, 2009

Archaeon

Recommended

Over the years there have been a multitude of comedy shows that have graced our TV screens, from the surreal stylings of Monty Python and sarcastic wit of Blackadder, to the sci-fi tomfoolery of Red Dwarf and the strange antics of The Fast Show. There are numerous notable series that have taken their rightful places in our DVD collections, and in an age where comedians are treated like rock stars, maybe it's fate that comedy anime would also come of age.

It's strange to say this, but humour has never been a strong department for the medium, partly because of the cultural differences between East and ... West, but mainly because the majority of anime comedies rely more on parody than anything else. The problem with this is that quite often the viewer is left without a frame of reference, so the humour simply goes over their heads. Some shows manage to get away with it purely by throwing out an almost constant stream of gags in the hope that people will understand enough of them to be entertained, while others like Seto no Hanayome and Jungle wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu have a slightly more careful approach.

The area where anime is weakest is where situational comedy is concerned. There are plenty of shows around that could invariably class themselves as sit-coms, but the penchant for studios to base their stories in some sort of school setting severely limits the quality of the humour. In essence, the industry's blind adherence to what they think is a winning formula has resulted in the dilution of just about every single joke that could be told in a school setting, so much so in fact that these days studios have fallen to relying on fanservice based comedies in order to make ends meet (pardon the pun).

Comedy anime isn't dead though, as there are some rays of light shining down on the wreckage of red noses, bladders on sticks and giant shoes. Nodame Cantabile insane otaku heroine and her long suffering boyfriend introduced many people to the world of classical music and the usage of otaku power when learning French. Genshiken took a slightly rose tinted look at the multi-layered world of the Japanese otaku, while Moyashimon payed homage to the classic American frat comedy National Lampoon's Animal House.

One series has, however, defied all the conventions, and has become one of the greatest comedy anime of all time. Incorporating elements from some of the best comedy of both East and West, the series has an anarchic streak that, at times, is more reminiscent of Monty Python, The Simpsons and Family Guy.

I am, of course, talking about Gintama.

The concept of a samurai sit-com isn't new to anime and manga, however it wasn't until the serialisation of Sorachi Hideaki's manga in 2003 that anyone actually realised the potential in this type of story. Set in a quasi-historical Edo, Japan (and possibly the rest of the world), has been conquered by an alien race known as the Amanto. The nation's strongest warriors were no match for the alien technology, and in an effort to prevent another samurai uprising, the powers that be have banned humans from carrying swords in public.

In this world there lives a former samurai with silver hair who runs the firm known as Yorozuya from his rented second floor apartment. From time to time he takes on odd jobs (yorozuya), for people in order to pay his rent and buy milkshakes and his beloved Weekly Shounen Jump.

He is Sakata Gintoki, and his destiny is to make you cry with laughter.

To say that the story is a bit on the haphazard side is probably a gross understatement, however Gintama is nothing if not consistent in its approach. The underlying story is of Gintoki and his "friends", Shimura Shinpachi (an average human teenager with no real special qualities), and Kagura (an alien who looks human and possesses monstrous strength), as they go through their days doing odd jobs for people, getting into arguments/figths with the Shinsengumi (police, kind of), drinking strawberry milkshakes (or some other flavour depending on Gintoki's mood), and trying in some small way to make the world a better place.

And that's really about as serious as many of the episodes get. The haphazard approach to the story is a purposeful measure that, strangely enough, works very well, mainly because Gintama is a comedy series. There are story arcs that occur over the course of the show, and even though they may include some serious or dramatic content, Gintama never once loses its sense of fun. Indeed, the comedy is the true strength of this series, not simply in its style and delivery, but also in its content. Many of the visual gags have to be seen to be believed (seriously, how the hell did they get away with the Neo Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong Cannon), and whilst the series is top-filled with parodies, the humour is always involving so the viewer rarely feels like a joke has gone over their head.

That said, Ginatama has one aspect that is greater than all others in terms of its plot and comedy content, and that is its ability to turn the seemingly ordinary into something completely different. This is the main reason why Gintama can be considered a sit-com rather than a parody, as this aspect has more in common with shows like Blackadder and Monty Python than anything else. There are numerous occasions where the series will catch the viewer off guard with its sly, anarchic take on seemingly normal events (like being in a public toilet and running out of paper).

Of course, there are downsides too. Although the series is extremely strong in terms of comedy, it sometimes lacks when events take a serious turn. This may be due to the audience's reactions, as viewers may automatically think that something funny is going to happen next, however a part of it also stems from the fact that the comedy is sometimes too "strong". It's ironic to say this, but Gintama's greatest strength may also be its biggest weakness.

As with any long running shounen series animation and design are pretty good on the whole. The characters convey a sense of visual individuality that at times goes beyond that of other shounen anime, although this is tempered with a small degree of genericism that allows the humour to flourish . The colours are extremely bold and solid, while the backgrounds and set designs highlight the synergy between alien technology and Edo. The animation itself is of an extremely high standard, so much so in fact that some of the visual gags only really work because of it.

The high points of the visuals are the show's numerous and well crafted parodies. There are many occasions where the style, animation, end even the character design, changes to make the humour more immediate, sometimes occuring in the blink of an eye, and sometimes lasting for a good portion of a given episode. The series also plays around with a variety of concepts that most people only really read about, one example being an occasion where Gintoki and the gang are rendered invisible because the episode is incomplete. It's nigh on impossible to find another anime that not only mentions something like this, but also shows the viewer what it would look like.

Much of the humour comes from the characters themselves, but no matter how good the scripting is, delivery is everything when it comes to comedy, and in this respect Gintama is extremely well served by its seiyuu. The cast are able to perform with a panache that is sometimes astonishing, and their portrayals of their respective characters are so good that one would be forgiven for believing they were full time comedians. Possibly the best example of this is Kugimiya Rie (Kagura), who for many years has been typecast into various tsundere roles. Her portrayal of Kagura is truly excellent, especially in terms of comedy, and much like the rest of the cast she manages to not only maintain a consistent character for a an extended period of time, but has actually become more adept with her timing and delivery.

Gintama is generally consistent with its choice of music, and certain tracks are repeated throughout the series usually to add to the comic atmosphere of a given scene. That said, some of the more serious moments can feel a little off-kilter as the score changes can sometimes be a little sudden. As with any long running series the OP and ED have changed since the show began airing in 2006. These tracks are usually pretty good at capturing the essence of Gintama (which just sounds wrong), as a whole, and the opening sequences are designed and choregraphed to highlight the important aspects of the anime - humour, fun, some seriousness, and a large slice of anarchy.

In all honesty, there is no real reason to find the characters outstanding, and the fact that they are iconic, original and memorable is possibly Gintama's greatest triumph. Gintoki, Shinpachi, Kagura, the members of the Shinsengumi, and all the sundry characters, alien and otherwise, who appear in the show will find some funny bone to tickle. When taken as individuals each is a flawed creation that really wouldn't work were this any other anime, but the plot and scripting for the series, together with the talent of the seiyuu and the design of each character, turns this idea completely on its head. Much of the comedy is dependent on the characters, and it's because the series is so good at entertaining the audience that any noticeable flaws are generally forgiven or ignored.

Gintama is not simply a funny anime though. Over the seasons the show has gradually become a phenomenon in the medium, mainly because of its ability to maintain consistent humour for over most of its 201 episodes. The irreverent and oh-so anarchic humour can, at times, come off as weird, but this has only served to endear the series to more viewers.

Numerous fans refer to Gintama as their "anime crack", a sentiment which is understandable in a sense as it has the ability to lift one's mood in a way that few other anime can manage. That doesn't mean that everyone will be entertained though, but if the viewer approaches the show with the right sort of mindset (e.g. open), then the series has a lot to offer.

That said, shounen fans will definitely find Gintama appealing, not simply because it bears all the stereotypical hallmarks of that genre of anime, but also for its ability to creatively parody other shounen tales (like Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, etc - who can forget the infamous DragonBleaPiece movie trailer). Fans of comedy anime like Seto no Hanayome, Jungle wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu and others of that ilk, will also find Gintama's ability to mess with everyday concepts worthwhile.

There are plenty of aspects to the series that possess a broad appeal in terms of humour, and it's to the credit of everyone involved with the production (from mangaka Sorachi Hideaki on down to the guy/girl who makes the tea), that the show never gets old, stale, or too bogged down in how good it actually is.

There's a new king of comedy in town. Make way for Gintama.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Sep 22, 2019

Optigisa

Mixed Feelings

Gintama is a very inconsistent and overrated series.

Many Anime fans tend to praise Gintama as the best battle shonen Anime of all time, and they inflate it’s status even further by giving it perfect ratings, and while Gintama is a show that does good in some aspects or during some arcs, it fails at being a consistent show throughout it’s long two hundred and two episode run, which hinders it from becoming good or even great by extension. Gintama is definitely not a bad show, far from it actually. It is just that Gintama suffers from problems that cannot be overlooked, and today we ... are here to see why this Anime is fine as it is, though not good and certainly not the greatest.

The first problem or issue that Gintama suffers from are the filler episodes that almost every battle shonen suffers from. While there aren’t many filler episodes in this series, there are still some filler episodes that cannot be overlooked, and they hinder from the overall show. Fillers hinder a show due to them not being necessary to the overall plot, and while the filler episodes here are considerably less than those of other famous battle shonen series, they still exist and cannot be overlooked.

A second issue that this series suffers from is the lack of any imagination or thought when it comes to the comedy in it. The comedy throughout the whole series boils down to:

- Poop jokes
- Toilet paper humor
- Someone calling Kagura his boss
- Someone saying “Zura Ja Nai, Katsura Da”
- References to other Anime such as Dragon Ball, Nausicaa of the Valley of the wind, and such
- Funny faces
- Jabs at otakus
- A homeless man
- An angry brother and an angry sister beating people up because they are angry

Due to this, the characters become plot devices to convey one or two jokes every episode rather than develop and move on from them. Heaven forbid a character evolves from the same joke he was given since the first few episodes, into a character who actually becomes developed and well written. Heaven also forbid this series learns how to create most of it’s jokes without the need to rely on references from other Anime, take a jab at some, or just use the same joke over and over again until it becomes stale. Toilet humor is hysterical the first time it is used, and the second time is not a big deal, but when it exceeds that line, that is when we have a problem. Besides that, the humor in Gintama is not so bad, the references could work at times and when they do, they turn hilarious and are genuinely some of the funniest episodes an Anime fan could see. Take a look at episode 119, which is probably the best Dragon Ball Z parody an Anime or anything for that matter ever pulled off. The same goes for episode 110, which is easily the funniest episode in the whole series, if not the entirety of Anime as a whole. Gintama has genuinely funny humor when it works, but alas, these episodes are a rare gem to find in a series that uses and repeats the same gags over and over again until they turn trite.

The third and most important issue that Gintama suffers from is the lack of a plot or a narrative that connects all the episodes together one by one. It feels meandering, as the viewer wonders why they are watching this series in the first place. Due to there not being a plot, it becomes predictable as to what it’s formulaic episodic structure will be: Either an episode about something absurd that comes out of nowhere due to this world being inhabited by all kinds of zany creatures, some unfunny jokes which are repeated over and over again, or some random enemy coming from afar to wreak havoc on the city. Rinse, and then repeat. It all feels pointless, because why watch Gintama when there isn’t even a plot or end goal in sight? This is my biggest problem with the series. After indulging myself in the long and predictable episodes, I felt dissatisfied with an ending that did not give me a solid conclusion to the series. Now granted, this is a series that is ongoing and there are different seasons, but that is not a valid excuse to end it on a lackluster finale. Take a look at Hunter x Hunter, which is the greatest battle shonen ever created, while the manga was ongoing, the Madhouse staff ended that Anime on a very good note, to the point where it could be considered the actual ending to the series without hurting it’s narrative.

Other issues that this series suffers from are the other issues that other battle shonen suffer from: The hero is too strong for his own good, and while he does struggle to get a win, it is still out of the realm of logic how he wins his battles. The fillers which I have mentioned above. The same predictable battle shonen formula that other series suffer from, where a villain shows up and then gets defeated, and the same juvenile jokes repeated over and over again. Gintama only has one thing going for it, and that is the fact that there is no power escalation in the series.

Now that we are done with all the narrative elements of Gintama, let us take a look at it’s characters.

The characters in Gintama are divisive. Some of them are rather well written and well developed, others are not so much. The characters that are one dimensional in Gintama are:

1. Katsura and Elizabeth, who are only in the series for the simple gist of making referential humor and acting silly to amass some laughs. There is nothing more to Katsura other than calling Kagura boss and saying “Zura ja nai, Katsura da.” He does not develop throughout the whole run of this Anime.

2. Shinpachi, as his whole character arc revolves around bullying his otaku friends and being an obsessed idol fan and having an annoying voice. Granted, he does get some episodes where he falls in love with some girl, but that episode is unnecessary since the Anime glosses over said girl, and is never used to develop his character further.


3. Most of the female cast, with the exception of Kagura. The women in the series either amount to fanservice or to annoy the males, that is it. Kagura is amazing though, as the series centers some or many of it’s episodes on her.

The characters who are well developed are Tomoya, Sugo, Gorilla, Kagura and some others from the Shinsengumi, as well as some villains like Itou and lord Housen.

Speaking of Housen and Itou, their arcs are the best in the whole series, followed closely by the Benizikura arc. As for the rest of the arcs, they aren’t nearly as emotional nor do they contain the same level of character depth.

Overall, Gintama is far from being the best battle shonen out there, as it suffers from many issues to even be called a good series. When an Anime makes you question the first fifty episodes of it’s run and think “When does this get better?” you know that Anime won’t turn out to be a good product. Though Gintama is not a good Anime, it is not a bad one either, as it has some very strong episodes going for it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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May 20, 2015

ktulu007

Not Recommended

Gintama is an ongoing manga by Sorachi Hideaki. From 2006 to 2010, Sunrise, the same studio behind the Gundam franchise, did an anime adaptation which lasted for just over 200 episodes. So, does the anime manage to stay entertaining for that long, or even be entertaining at all? Let’s take a peek and find out.

Story:

There isn’t a single cohesive narrative to Gintama. There are some loosely connected arcs, and a whole lot of episodes that have nothing to do with those arcs, but there is no single narrative. The basic setup is that the world has been conquered by aliens, referred to in Gintama as ... “Amanto” and the government is still subservient to them. Samurai are no longer allowed to carry swords except for a few who work for the government or who have wealth and connections. In this world a samurai named Gintoki works by, in theory, doing odd jobs. Although that largely consists of him doing nothing. His crew consists of a youngster named Shinpachi, an Amanto girl named Kagura who possesses super strength and is highly vulnerable to sunlight, and a giant dog named Sadaharu, our cute character who requires ear scritches and belly rubs. Hijinks ensue as this group and the people around them get into shenanigans.

Let’s begin by looking at the problems with the series, shall we? By far the biggest issue is that the writing aesthetic is horribly inconsistent. Most of the episodes are highly random and intended for humour but when they get to the more story heavy arcs things take a huge shift into serious territory, sometimes including really heavy topics like sex trafficking, and it creates a huge tonal clash between episodes. You can’t segue from jokes about testicles and bloody rectums into a story about an underground city where children are sold to be raised as sex slaves. There is quite literally no way to make that transition so that it isn’t painfully awkward and completely disrespectful to the serious issue. It’s worse than that Captain Planet episode that dealt with AIDS. Sure, that was way over the series’ head too, but there wasn’t such a radical tonal problem. The tone isn’t the only thing that has problems with consistency, there’s also the continuity. There are three basic ways to do continuity. The first is having a strict, coherent continuity where everything matters. The second is to have a basic progression from one episode to the next but the details aren’t that important. The third is to toss continuity out the window completely, like Galaxy Angel. The problem with Gintama is that it does all three. Some episodes deal very much with continuity as being super important, others follow the more fast and loose route where there’s a progression but the details aren’t important and there are other episodes that don’t fit into any kind of continuity and will never be mentioned again after they’re over.

Now that we’ve been over that, let’s talk a bit about the comedy in this series that is, mostly, comedic. A lot of it is pretty puerile humour where someone defecates in their pants, or someone’s anus bleeds or where the punchline is something involving testicles. There are also a lot of bits where the characters will make loud references to some other piece of media and there are some other random bits of humour. The trouble is, a lot of it really isn’t funny. For example, there’s a running gag about one of the characters eating too much mayonnaise which is funny because… if he ate that much mayo in reality he’d weigh two hundred kilos and have to get around with a motorised scooter? There are two characters who pretty much exist for stalker jokes and there’s another running joke about Katsura getting annoyed by people calling him the wrong thing. There are times when the randomness can work and there are some points where they parody something competently instead of just making reference to it but they’re few and far between. I will give the series full credit for having some surprisingly clever deconstructions here and there, particularly when it comes to its treatment of trans-gendered characters.

Characters:

Gintama has a large cast of reoccurring characters, but very little in terms of complex ones. Most of them are used for one or two jokes and that’s pretty much it. I will say that there’s nothing wrong with that for a comedic work. You can have a bunch of fairly one-note characters as long as they have dynamics that provide good comedic possibilities and you can take advantage of that. The problem is the more serious episodes. This cast would be perfectly passable if the series didn’t have those largely serious story arcs but when you take a bunch of relatively shallow comedic characters and try to do something fairly serious with them it just quickly loses any sense of tension and the characters come across as heavily under-developed, if not as completely out of place.

Art:

The artwork and animation are pretty decent. There are some cases where they recycle footage or show a background with nothing happening, which they will almost always lampshade, but it’s competently done. The action sequences can be pretty strong, both when they’re doing something largely serious and when they’re doing a jokey action scene.

Sound:

The actors are pretty capable and no one does badly. However, the level of over-exaggeration in the series is really high and you might very well find yourself growing weary of listening to people shouting. The music varies. Sometimes it’s pretty good, sometimes it’s kind of annoying. Mostly, it’s just kind of bland.

Ho-yay:

There’s some in the series. There’s an openly lesbian character who shows up on a semi-regular basis and there’s a guy who is heavily implied to have romantic feelings for Sougo who shows up for a couple of episodes late in the series. There’s no reciprocation for their feelings, but they also aren’t used for jokes based on their sexuality. Some of the other characters act like asses about it at points, but the series itself doesn’t treat it as an issue. So, I’ll give Gintama some credit for treating its gay characters no differently than it does its straight characters. It is pretty refreshing, especially when you have “comedies” like Baka to Test that have to be as mean-spirited as possible about things like that.

Final Thoughts:

Gintama has a real problem with consistency. Its tone is wildly inconsistent which can lead to some really awkward and stilted moments. It’s inconsistent with what it wants to do with its continuity. If you like humour that’s more than a little puerile and pretty random then you might still enjoy the series in spite of that and there are some things it does pretty decently but it’s honestly not my cup of tea in that regard. I just don’t find ninety percent of the attempts at humour to be amusing. As such, I have to give the series a 4/10. Next week we’ll have this year’s film festival. Starting with Kara no Kyoukai 6 on Sunday. Because I’ve looked at that franchise first during the last two years and I might as well do it this time as well.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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