Gintama
a review by ghostlyjamin
a review by ghostlyjamin
If I were to ask you, the reader: “What in your opinion is the best plot to an Anime?” What would you respond with? Maybe the complex and mind-fucking plot of The Monogatari Series or maybe even the thirrling and perfectly put together plot of Steins;Gate. Well Gintama doesn’t really have any of that, but that’s where Gintama shines, it shines in its simplicity and episodic nature.
Gintama usually follows the daily life of the trio Gintoki, Kagura, and Shinpachi and the hardships of working at Gintoki’s Business Odd Jobs, but will sometimes diverge into sub-plots with side characters and their mishaps. In these more episodic stories you will find some of the most intriguing, ridiculous, and humor filled scenarios that push the boundaries of the norm in most episodic comedies having themes ranging all the way from romance to mystery. And woven into these little adventures you will find genius (and stupid) comedy with witty dialogue and plenty of references, but also hidden deep within these episodes are the rambles of Gintoki that are thought provoking and that many can connect with and learn from, adding that much more depth to these exciting little adventures.
But Gintama isn’t always fun n’ games. Once in a great while you will come across what fans call “Serious Arcs”. And since they are not a common occurrence they usually hit like a truck and tug at the heartstrings. What do these “Serious Arcs” entail? Well these stories usually show the more action packed “battle shonen” side of Gintama and these arcs are usually rooted in deep character drama that by the conclusion of the arc leaves me with tears trickling down my face. This drama is usually very important to the overarching loose plot of Gintama as it develops and deepens the relationships and personalities the arc is centered around. These arcs stick out from the rest of Gintama mostly because of the very well written storylines and the impact they can leave on the viewer, but they aren’t the selling point of the show and a lot of the more comedic episodes/arcs are just as good or even better in some cases when compared to the serious arcs.
The plot of Gintama may not be as deep as some other titles, but that truly isn’t the point of Gintama. Gintama's plot isn’t supposed to be some super deep storyline, it’s just supposed to bring smiles to the viewers, teach them a few life lessons, and maybe even leave them in tears.
The cast of Gintama is the driving force of the show and truly makes the show so damn amazing and hilarious. The situations I commented on earlier about how they were genius, well they wouldn’t be anything without the cast of characters there to support and lift up those incredible storylines. It feels as if in Gintama the phrase “filler characters” does not exist, since all the characters have a role to play and play it perfectly to elevate the quality of the show. Whether it be one of the characters from the main trio or a side-side-character each one brings something to the table and doesn’t hold the show down. The dynamics presented in the show between the characters is also very well done and thought out, bringing entertaining conversations and moments between many different characters and groups.
The cast isn’t all just entertainment value though, a great deal of the cast get episodes dedicated to them dealing with their personal problems and maybe even have backstory stories exposed. Within these episodes you get to connect deeper with these characters and see many dimensions to them that you usually wouldn’t be able to see when they are doing their normal silly antics.
The characters really are amazing and my favorite part about the series as a whole, each one is very enjoyable and is the reason why Gintama is one of the best comedies in Anime.
The enjoyment I felt when experiencing Gintama is immeasurable. Each episode delivers past my expectations almost every single time, whether this be a slew of different hilarious jokes or touching moments between characters it never falls flat when trying to entertain the viewer. The main reason for this is the multitude of different themes Gintama will explore, because it’s not afraid of trying new things. Gintama really is a Jack-of-all-traits type Anime and because of this never burns out of scenarios to throw at the viewer and surprise them with yet another amazing story.
The art in Gintama, despite it’s age, is actually very good and isn’t as choppy as a lot of early 2000’s shows were. The fight scenes are always clean and very engaging, showing many different angles and always have a level of intensity to them because of the directing. This especially applies to the serious arcs of Gintama as they usually have better animation than the one off episodes. Also the art style of Gintama is also decently unique having great designs that fit the overall feel of the show very well.
The music, just like the art, fits the overall vibe of the show very well. Each track has very good production and always adds to scenes rather than takes. Here are a couple of my favorites:
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