The new short anime by none other than Sorachi himself introduces us to a new world where angels seek out souls that haven't passed on to the afterlife for one reason or another and decides to explore the complications/reasons that they decide to hold on before the inevitable. In this world angels chase down those souls and without any remorse send them to the afterlife except our 2 main leads that investigate, understand and eventually help those poor souls with their regrets or final requests. Once again Sorachi is at his favorite playing field he once again throws a genre cocktail at us, one that encompasses his many styles of comedy from meta/wall breaking, slapstick, absurdist satire or his well known parody skits with a mix of drama and emotional character arcs that will once again break you completely just like gintama managed to do every other arc when it got "serious". Coming of from Ginpachi-sensei i was waiting for a pure comedy fest but ended up getting invested in characters i sometimes met in that same episode or with minimal build up considering this short series is just 7 episodes long. In the first episode it covers the one shot manga that sorachi wrote and after that i believe its his own stories/world building he created solely for this anime that help build upon the first introduction to this new world. Before getting into spoilers i will give props to the comedy timing as well as the compelling characters that make this stand out from other comedy anime, once again sorachi seamlessly weaves in emotional backstories and relationships of characters with minimal screen time, making you not only care and empathize with them but even passing on messages about regret, time or righteousness in a world where human lives are treated like nothing but numbers by the exterminating angels trying to climb up the hierarchy ranks.

Starting off with the opening of the show i can't help but instantly vibe from the very first few seconds and even more so with the follow up of the wonderful dance moves from our main characters. Beautiful, upbeat and funny with each tiny movement and "camera" angle it serves as a great introduction to our anime as well as what is about to come in the upcoming episodes. Almost every episode follows an episodic adventure with a spirit that hasn't passed onto the afterlife and here come our main characters that not only decide to listen to those people's feelings but even help every spirit with a regret or request they might still have from their life fulfilling it and making them pass on peacefully. This brings a lot of emotional and hilarious moments where we get to discover a lot of different perspectives in life from characters of different age or status that never fails to disappoint or bore you in any way.

We also get to meet our 3 main characters acting as the blueprint of the relationship of Gintoki, Shinpachi and Kagura with mostly the same traits and comic skits as Sorachi's later work. In my opinion this doesn't make this show any less appealing cause you have already experienced it but its fascinating seeing an artist's work before its really finalized in their own head. So many scrambling ideas and little moments alongside easter eggs for Gintama and of course other shows with the parody skits we know and love is always a delight. The story itself when it tries to conclude isn't anything to write home about, its your typical cliche villain fight off where they want to destroy the world for one way or another and get redeemed as a good misunderstood person when the world is saved. If you are looking for an overarching plot with great twists or an amazing new world with its own rules and complexity then you will be disappointed because it never was the intention of a show like this. If you enjoy the comedy aspects that Gintama has or the interweaving of emotional dramatic backstories with action and comedy skits to bring back the laughs after said backstories are revealed then look no further. I will try and talk about the strongest suit of the anime which are the characters and justify it alongside the plot and writing decisions below.

Characters and plot

Misaki in the beginning seems to be more of a comic relief character being the prototype of what kagura would become as a chibi destruction machine that moves at lighting fast speeds and obliterates everything when someone is in danger. I loved how much of a slacker she is alongside Tatsuo teasing him as the captain by name only as she doesn't want to deal with duties most of the time and would rather play her video games. I love episode 4 where we get to see her backstory and understand the character a little more with how she came to be the captain of dandelion squad as well as a glimpse into Tetsuo's decision making that make him a compelling character as well. The moment where she reunites with her mom trying to play it off without showing who she is brings a moment of tension and with just hearing Misaki's name the mother immediately remembers her daughter and everything that they had been through only to have her memories erased after the heartfelt confrontation and apology to her daughter.

Masaki is another interesting character with a memorable introduction that serves as the "bad" guy watching over our protagonists to make ends meet with their work only to get completely mesmerized by how they accomplish their work instead. He gets pressured by his father to meet quotas and improve efficiency, to throw his emotions away if they don't align with work completely disregarding his own beliefs and feelings in the process. From episode 5 were we meet with the evil scientist its the only time he ever takes matters into his own hands eventually trusting a criminal thinking he is doing the right thing and never learning the truth. This innocent lie from Tetsuo is what finally pushes Masaki forward to follow his own path just like his mother taught him and live his short life the way he always wanted. The robots that his father despised turn out to be one of the most efficient ways of getting people to move on with a heartfelt memory shown to them right before that. He changed from an emotionless robot because of the inspiration our 2 main heroes bring him in this dull unforgiving world where they were the only angels to get to know the wandering spirits and help them without questions just because its the right thing to do. Souls aren't objects they are the people's hearts and when their final moments are in fear of a robot apocalypse it turns out they cant just be reborn again. Masaki finally discards his manipulative father joining Tetsuo to defeat the evil spirits and bring order back into the human world teaming up with everyone they can find. I have to say i am not a huge fan of the ending villain being spirits that took over the father cause its the same cliche we have seen countless times but i digress since its overall a conclusion you have to give in a short series without too much explanation.

Tetsuo is by far my favorite character, the blueprint of what gintoki would become with all his goofy moments alongside the seriousness when the situation demands it. If there is anyone you can rely on to do the correct thing and always act unclouded with personal feelings its always this guy. He instantly makes the decision of leaving his status behind to help innocent Misaki, downgrading himself completely as a laughing stock cause its the right thing to do. No hesitation, no questions but always following his heart in anything he does you cant help but cheer for him not because he is the main character and the "good guy" but because his charm as well as how relatable he can sometimes be is enough to convince you to like him. Even when Masaki makes the mistake with the crazy scientist he lets the situation unfold ready to clean up someone else's mess cause its the only time Masaki trusts someone and believes in someone since his youth. In that moment Tetsuo decides to make him grow out and be more sympathetic for once even when he is gonna hit his head in the wall with that decision, he wants to help and understands that he can make the bad outcome disappear anyways. Tetsuo is the guy you can always rely on, a great friend and a role model not only for his world but ours, it is exactly why i love Gintoki so much as well, he teaches you life lessons, acts goofy when he wants to and always makes sure to do the right thing for the right people in his life without any hesitation whatsoever.

TLDR

Overall the characters are interesting enough with their own little stories, from Masaki with his story of constantly trying to meet expectations of others and finally learning to chase his own path, Misaki's story with her mother and the redemption of learning to let go of your loved ones even if that deeply hurts as well as Tetsuo learning to live a life without regrets embracing the right in a world where most of it might be evil but you can always try to fit in with people that have a shining light of righteousness inside of them. If you are looking for a deep philosophical understanding of life and death or an expanding world building in the realms between life and death then this wont be for you. On the other hand if you are looking for surface level emotional stories and comedy throughout the show there is no way you are not gonna be left with a smile on your face or at least with the feeling that you didn't have a fun time. It might be experimental and the first ever one-shot manga Sorachi wrote testing the waters till he improved enough to make something like Gintama but its still fulfilling enough to deserve a watch in this jam-packed season of great new anime in Spring 2026. If you enjoyed this anime and its structure be sure to check out Hanada Shounen-shi which has a similar premise mixing comedy and emotional send offs.

Whatever you do don't end up in a place like this, trapped inside a world of what ifs but instead live a life of no regrets.

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