Review of Gintama

zura janai, katsura da STORY (8/10): uhh...there really isnt a SPECIFIC story line exactly. There kinda is an emerging story about life in Edo during the anti-foreigner war but they really dont go into it. Gintama is pretty episodic and has tons of mini arcs in the series to match the manga. The upside to that is that for the most part, its pretty entertaining but the downside is that some people might not like that, some arcs are very mellow dramatic, and some drag on more than they should. ART (8/10): animation wise, there was nothing fishy about it. the style does change do something that fitsthe context of the arc. the fight scenes are done pretty well in my opinion! the show is very versatile ("live action", "manga" looking red spider arc, CGI during the popularity arc, etc.)

SOUND (10/10):
this was my second favorite thing about Gintama and its probably the second strongest asset to the show. the soundtrack is awesome. one does not just simply skip the intro because the music showcased is kick ass. i also loved Otsu-chan!! it was so smart to have a popstar to add to the soundtrack. she even has her own album (and i highly recommend it!! just look her up on youtube!) the music was catchy and fitting and i thought it was kinda funny how they kept reusing the same music for the same scenes because of "budget" issues

CHARACTERS (10/10):
this was the strongest asset to the series in my opinion. there were a LOT of characters and i liked how each series got their own decent amount of screen time. i also liked the variety of personalities in Gintama (shinpachi is the responsible/smart one, kagura is the seemingly sweet but totally powerful female, Hijikatta is the tsundere, Sougo is the sadistic kid, elizabeth......what is that?). they added spice and flavor to the episodes and they made it enjoyable to watch.

ENJOYMENT AND OVERALL(9/10):
I had low expectations coming into this series and i was pleasantly surprised. the characters were great and at moments, relatable. The fight scenes were awesome. the music was fitting and catchy. the jokes were witty and i loved the constant jokes poking fun at other animes. the atmosphere around each arc was definitive. I really had fun watching it. there were moments though where i was kinda tempted to drop the series. It is a LOT of episodes and because it has to coincide with the manga the filler episodes start to get to you and some arcs are really that interesting. you will also see the same themes reused just with different characters and most of the sappy one shot filler episodes will all end the same way which isnt very fulfilling to watch. for those reasons listed i wouldnt re watch the series but i AM glad that i watched it. i would recommend this series to people who have dabbled in anime and have their preferences sorted out and also people with some extra time handy.