Alright, so Gintama. All of us know what it is. Almost all of its seasons are rated extremely highly on both MAL and AniList, so does that mean Gintama is something worth checking out? Of course, it is. It is the literal example of what comedy and shonen anime should strive to be like. The comedy was very funny and clever and the serious arcs, along with the characters are just so well-written, so today, I'll be talking about why I think Gintama is fantastic.
Story and comedy
Let's start with what makes Gintama so good, shall we? The comedy in Gintama, like I said, was just so funny and clever, from funny references to tons of stuff (not just anime) to just simple stuff like the Odd Jobs just being involved in all kinds of situations. And as for the story, there kinda is a story in Gintama. I know that the story begins on the Shogun Assassination arc, which I haven't gotten to yet, but the serious arcs in the first season are just so incredible. The arcs aren't just mindless fighting, but instead are arcs where beautiful storytelling and characterization happen. We learn more about each of the characters in the serious arcs, fleshing them out more and the stories are just so unique and beautiful and once the serious arcs start, the comedy suddenly has a much deeper meaning behind it and they become battles to save the ones Gintoki loves. The serious arcs are what most battle shonen out there should be like, at least, in my opinion anyways.
Characters
Alright, so here's the next best thing about Gintama, the characters. They are all so unique, funny, and well-written, from Hijikata and his obsession with Mayo to Katsura and the way he always says "x Janai, Katsura da". The best character in Gintama has got to be Gintoki of course. His backstory was so sad and he's got to be one of the most relatable and funny characters ever, plus he's also an extremely well-written character as well, so there's that.
Audio
The music in Gintama is honestly just really good. Not only does it sound really good, but it also plays at the exact right moments in the anime, whether it be the comedy or the serious moments. My personal favorite op and ed in Gintama isn't from the first season but I still really liked them a lot. My favorite op is Sakuramitsutsuki and my favorite ed is Samurai Heart (Some like it hot). The voice acting in this is incredible as well. All of the seiyuus did a really good job with voice acting each of the character from this anime.
Animation and art
The animation was pretty decent. It isn't like Fate or Demon Slayer level of good, but I still liked it. The artstyle was also really good as well. The characters each just looked... natural in this artstyle and I think it'd be pretty weird if Gintama were in a different artstyle.
Enjoyment
I definitely enjoyed this anime a LOT. Like I said before, the comedy was extremely funny, the serious arcs were beautiful and well-written, and the characters are all of that as well. I laughed a ton at the comedy and I felt a variety of emotions from hype to sadness during the serious arcs.
Overall
So yeah, I can honestly say that this is how you should craft a shonen and comedy anime, besides Hunter X Hunter and Saiki K. It has funny comedy, it has amazing serious arcs, and everything else in between as well. I can definitely recommend this anime to anyone that's a big fan of comedy and action, especially if they like Battle shonen. Anyways, thank you for reading my review and have a great day.
