Review of Gintama

My review for Gintama contains an explanation of what you can expect for the story as a whole, the characters, entertainment value, and briefly touches on the art. Story Gintama is a parody anime where the episodes do not fully fit together into a continuous story; mostly due to the many different arcs that occur. Let me elaborate a bit further when I say that the episodes “do not fully fit together”. In Gintama the arcs that take place are so completely different from one another that it would be almost impossible for it to be continuous story from episode to episode. That being said, thetimeline of when events happen and the referring back to the past events from other episodes; is consistent. It’s just the episodes content themselves that cannot flow together.
The way that each new character (and there is a lot) is introduced into the story flows so that it is not overwhelming. So many characters will come into the anime, so having the appropriate timing to introduce so many at a time ease the transition. There are times when episodes are based around or being told by certain characters; sometimes things on their back story, past, recollection of an event.

Gintama can be confusing anime to watch if you’re not investing the time to watch the whole thing. There are bits and pieces of information about the characters, past events ect that are very spread out through the episodes. I can say for certain that you will never get the whole picture until you watch every episode. It is not a predictable story by any means; everything and anything goes. Only by watching Gintama you will be able to see fully understand by what “everything and anything goes” truly means. Admittedly there are some episodes that seem to drag on and contain fillers that are sometimes uninteresting and irreverent.

At the beginning I mentioned Gintama is a parody anime; which it is and it certainly lives up to that reputation for the numerous imitations of other animes, historical figures, TV ect. However, what I found most unexpected about Gintama is for a parody anime the amount of depth behind some of the stories and characters. Certainly there is a tone of humor in Gintama but there is a fair amount of action, love, suspense, relatable moments, and what the heck moments; really is way more than just a parody anime. Specifically when I say action I’m referring to fighting and all the crazy situations and adventures the Yorozuya get themselves into. Love, I do not necessarily mean just romantic; siblings, family, friendship.

I will reframe from talking about “the ending” of the anime because there are additional episodes to the ones here, and the ending is basically wrapped up in the Gintama: The Movie: The Final Chapter: Be Forever Yorozuya.

Characters

I previously mentioned that there are many characters in Gintama, and the thing that is so interesting it just how well rounded and dynamic all the characters are. And I’m not just talking about the main characters; there is a huge amount of the supporting characters that you get to know a great deal about. There is a lot of time dedicated to getting to really know the characters; their past, reasons for their behavior, their hardships, and their development throughout it all. The characters are well rounded and have some aspect that makes them relatable. None of them are the “perfect” character who always saves the day; they all have different flaws and strengths. Truly all individuals in their own respects that it would be hard to say person A is just like person B.

Art

The art in Gintama is interesting because of time period it is set in. There is the modern/future coexisting with traditional, so the designs for the scenery and clothing are unique. The uniqueness of the characters designs I find especially memorable and good representations of each of their individual personalities. The quality of the animation did improve later in the series which is expected since it first aired back in 2006. Overall, the art is standard quality with unique art.

Enjoyment

The whole reason I felt compelled to write a review for Gintama is because I’ve truly never enjoyed an anime so much. I re-watch my favorite arcs and episodes so frequently and find myself only enjoying it more. There are always little details you can miss watching something the first time around, and the more I re-watch the more new things I notice. Has made me laugh until I cry, cry from touching moments, fill will adrenaline, and sometimes has me asking what the heck just happened. Some of the things that take place you will never forget even if you want to. Mainly if you’re looking to be entertained, enjoy well developed characters and have sense of humor this is the anime for you.