Welcome to my first and probably last Review! Usually after finishing an Anime I only write a small "Review" in the comments of the Anime on my profile and... that's it, so should something seem weird or bad written... excuse me^^ Well then, let's begin!
What is Gintama? Those who never watched Gintama may only know it as "Parody Anime" since the Parodies are well-known, but it's more than that! Gintama is a suprise bag filled to the brim with a kind of comedy you wouldn't call ordinary, but hides in the deeper parts an even more overwhelming suprise which you will never forget about.
Some may think now "What the hell means the comedy isn't ordinary?" Well, while other comedy Anime fire with pistols, Gintama fires with a Neo Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong Cannon (Gintama Joke^^'). With each episode the comedy grows in ingenuity, it's full of innovation and suprises in ways you never could think of. (SLIGHT SPOILER!) Ranging from war on a toilet to snowboarding on the Shogun. While reaching further into the bag, you will realize that Gintama is filled with more than it's unique comedy, it's also filled with breathtaking fights, serious arcs and actual plot progression!
"What, serious arcs AND plot progression in Gintama?!" Yes! Most of the time we get to see the cast in their crazy daily life doing something stupid we usually would laugh about, we learned about these parts of their personalities. These parts are a great addition to the parts of their personalities being "serious": The moment you see one of the cast slaughtering a bunch of enemies and trying to achieve something in order to help someone else, you also have in mind that this very character is usually some kind of retard (not an insult) of which you wouldn't expect to be serious. The achievements of those add up to the progression of the plot which is remarkable the further you get. That being said, the serious parts of Gintama provide a fantastic drama and most of the times messages teaching us. Also the fights are fantastic, they perfectly resemble the fighting styles and personalities of each character. For example has Gintoki, the MC, a wilder style to fight fitting his personality. The comedy arcs and serious arcs complement each other the best way possible.
After telling you about the kind of comedy and how serious it can be... What is about the characters? Let's begin with the supporting characters. Over the 300+ episodes Gintama introduces many different characters, literally too many to count. At first most of the supporting characters seem completely irrelevant for the plot, but that's exactly where you are wrong. Each character shares a story with the main cast that helps them to develop their feelings and personalities, which is visible the further you progress in the Anime. The bondings forged between the support and main cast resemble the unshakable cohesion withstanding the greatest crises coming at them. Each main character has an unique personality and traits that makes them lovable on their own way, reaching from a Samurai with PTSD to a Madao, but on the countless adventures witnessed by them they developed shining silver souls making them even more unique and lovable than before. Sure there is one thing they all have in common: They fight to protect their friends and "family" of the Kabuki District.
Animations and music? The Animations are great and the music even better! They don't fail to hook and make watching even more exciting.
With Gintama we witnessed a long and wonderful journey we never will forget about. We laughed, got sentimental and were stunned by the happenings. After all, Gintama is a hilarious comedy Anime with some of the best fights I have ever seen. The Final successfully lead this adventure to it's end on a way only Gintama would have been capable of, but within our hearts the soul of the Yorozuya lives on. Yorozuya forever
Thoughts on the movie (Spoiler-free, sadly) Spoiler, click to viewDuring these two hours I smiled, laughed, was stunned and someone spilled a few times some water on my eyes. I love this movie, full of action with amazing inserts and comedy of another level wrapped up in the best last moments Gintama could have. There is so much to talk about in this movie, but this would just result in spoiling everything :/ but I have to mention the Ending of the movie which combines the OPs and EDs the Anime had, fantastic extra! I certainly can say... I am happy :')
I hope I was somehow able to tell you about my journey with Gintama. The first episodes may be rough, but I'm glad to have watched this Anime :)