So glad I came back to this show. Had a little break from watching/logging stuff for awhile apart from a couple rewatches and coming back to this show after a month long break was great and those last two episodes were extremely underrated and some of my favs of the show thus far. It goes without saying that this season isn’t perfect and the show is only in its second year at this point but this was still a huge step up from the first ‘season’ and absolutely everything about the show felt bigger and better. Damn near every single episode was of a higher quality to that of the first year, the comedy hit harder and there was some arcs this season that really blew me away. Obviously German suplex and the benizakura arc are the standouts of the season, but even the smallest arcs this season were still really well done and 100 episodes in, the show has really come into its own and found its style. The show feels a lot cleaner and more concise than the first year and since then has done a great job fleshing out the world and characters, and even though it’s early into the show it’s not ridiculous to say that this is one of the best casts in tv. I love absolutely everything about this show and can’t express just how excited I am for the next few seasons. Ranks: Characters - 1. Gintoki 2. Kagura 3. Toshi 4. Zura 5. Sadaharu (biased) Episodes - 1. German Suplex (2x38) 2. On a moonless night (2x12) 3. 4 heads are better than 1 (2x30) 🤠🤠🤠🤠/10

Nice and enjoyable first season

“𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝓀𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝐻𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒞𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝒰𝓅” The best way I could describe Gintama is if you were to take the first 8 seasons of The Simpsons for its comedy blended with heartfelt moments, and combine it with Game of Thrones for its world and spectacle with sharp dialogue, The Wire for its political aspects and themes it portrays for its side cast, and give both those shows a character as deep as Tony Soprano, with antagonists as evil as Joffrey Baratheon, as tragic as Jesse Pinkman, with a cast that share depth equivalent to that of how standout main characters would have in a prestige television show, and slap it all into the Star Wars universe… you have Gintama. It’s the amalgamation of every single fictional story I’ve ever seen. It has EVERYTHING in it. It stands as a metaphor for what goes on in the show. It’s the jack of all trades that does just about anything, which is exactly what our main group of characters does in this show. There are so many phenomenal themes that Gintama tackles in its plot and characters like Freedom VS Oppression, Loyalty and Friendship, Redemption and Regret, The Importance of Laughter in Hard Times, Family and Bonds Beyond Blood, The Honor of Being A Samurai, The Cost of War, Discovering Your True Self, Nihilism, Political Corruption, Existentialism, Absurdism, and The Duality of Humanity… all the while giving you some of the best satire and social commentary you’ve ever seen. It really is a tragedy that people drop this show before it’s able to truly shine. Though I completely understand why people do but it’s the only show I’ll ever tell someone to really just push through, even when you aren’t enjoying it, because it has THE BEST story peaks you’ll ever witness in fiction. If you ever think you are wasting your time with those dumb comedy episodes which take up the majority of the show.. you are not. Everything matters. It’s like how people say when a TV show has a plot twist that “changes everything” where every scene before it has a much deeper meaning to it. That is Gintama… times one thousand. I’m not saying you should enjoy every single comedy episode in the show, because the comedy is hit or miss, and the way the show is structured provides the least inviting story I’ve ever seen.. where there isn’t really anything serious going on until you are 50 episodes deep. But everything has far grander meanings that get emphasized so hard in the ladder half of the show. So many moments where you cant help but appreciate what you are watching. Episodes I can think of off the the top of my head that are love letters to the comedy episodes that make all those episodes go from a 7/10 to an 8/10 would be all 16 episodes within the Episode 300-316 stretch, particularly 305, and 316, that siamotainously drive the plot forward and give some of the greatest moments ever. The ending, if you have not read my review for it, was the most impactful ending I’ve ever seen to anything. It’s my favourite sequence of events ever in the current media I’ve consumed. I never got emotional over Gintama but I think all those emotions were bottled up and burst out when I realized that the show was ending. One thing that has to be made clear if it wasn’t already is that the serious arcs.. serve as an homage to the comedy arcs. Yes. The comedy is what Gintama is. It’s a comedy show. You are watching it for the comedy. If you go into the show waiting for the serious arcs, your heart is in the wrong place. I’m not saying you aren’t allowed to go into the show waiting for those big dramatic moments, because that’s exactly what I did. But you are not supposed to. The comedy is what Gintama is.. the serious arcs are ONLY there to serve the comedy episodes. And once you are able to understand that, you will fall in love. It does take time though, it took me nearly 100 episodes to really get into it, where I continued for the comedy, and not to reach those “peak fiction serious arcs!” I’m not usually one who cares for the protagonist of the show, as it’s hard for me to truly get around to caring for them as they are the driving force of the show’s plot and story. But Gintama was different with Gintoki. Like I said before, the comedy is what the show is… so there is no driving plot. A lot of the time this show is just fucking around, so during those comedy episodes, Gintoki is able to shine his brightest because there is no plot required to push forward with him. It’s just him being himself, and that’s his character at his best. His backstory, when revealed, explains everything there is about how his character acts in every single episode. The cast, easily the most fleshed out cast ever. With 367 episodes, the author is able to explore every single quirk each cast member has. They are the most human characters you’ll ever see in both animation and live action. You get to know everything about them as a person even down to their fetishes. It’s insane. I do have some problems with it, like how the show is easily the least inviting show ever. The first season is weak in terms of getting you hooked on the premise. Nothing will keep you watching unless you genuinely enjoy the comedy… or people have told you to keep watching. Another issue I have is the handling of certain antagonists. Without going into spoilers, I will just say that there’s a writing technique the author likes to use where he likes to dump an entire backstory into a villain right before their death, or dramatic development. Luckily not every villain has this, and I won’t say which to keep you guessing. But it becomes very overdone and often feels like a sloppy way to execute a story. You could argue there are some parts in the early show that feel melodramatic in a bad way, but that’s subjective. I found it to be a bit emotionally manipulative, but it’s excusable. That’s it. Other than that the show is a near perfect masterwork of fiction that will probably never be topped for me and will never get old too. That’s the beauty of having a show with 367 episodes, is that I can never get tired of it. Top 20 Characters 1. Gintoki Sakata - My All Time Favourite Character Ever in Fiction. 2. Takasugi Shinsuke 3. Oboro 4. Shogun Shigeshige 5. Kagura 6. Utsuro 7. Hasegawa 8. Kondo 9. Katsura 10. Hedero 11. Elizabeth 12. Shinpachi 13. Otose 14. Sogo 15. Sadaharu 16. Hijikata 17. Otae 18. Bansai 19. Sakamoto 20. Kamui This show has the best cast ever. So I had a hard time making up my mind on who would be in my top 20 characters… I love them all… and this list is not based off writing but based off how much I enjoyed their character on screen. Seasons Ranked 1. Gintama° (Top 3-4 OAT) 2. Gintama. (Top 12 OAT) 3. Silver Soul Part 2 4. Gintama': Echousen 5. Gintama' 6. Season 3 7. Silver Soul Part 1 8. Season 4 9. Season 2 10. Season 1 (haven’t watched Slip Arc) Top 20 Story Arcs 1. Shogun Assassination (7x35-7x42) 9.9/10 - Top 2 Arc OAT 2. Silver Soul Aftermath (Semi Finales + Movie) 9.9/10 - Top 3 Arc OAT 3. Farewell Shinsengumi (7x43-7x51) 9.8/10 - Top 15 Arc OAT 4. Courtesan of a Nation (6x5-6x9) 9.8/10 5. Rakuyou Decisive Battle (8x1-8x12) 9.7/10 6. Silver Soul (10x1-11x14) 9.4/10 7. Shinsengumi Crisis (3x1-3x6) 9.3/10 8. Yoshiwara in Flames (3x40-3x47) 9/10 9. Benizakura (2x9-2x12) 8.9/10 10. Frozen Time (7x1-7x2) 8.8/10 11. Barber (4x1-4x2) 8.8/10 12. Confessional (7x18-7x19) 8.8/10 13. Monkey Hunter (3x22-3x24) 8.7/10 14. Four Devas (5x9-5x13) 8.7/10 15. Okita Matsuba (2x37-2x38) 8.5/10 16. Vacation (5x36-5x37) 8.5/10 17. Timeskip (5x1-5x2) 8.5/10 18. Yagyu (2x27-2x31) 8.4/10 19. Correspondence (3x27-3x29) 8.5/10 20. Hasegawa Prosecution (2x45-2x46) 8.4/10 Top 20 Episodes 0. The Very Finale 1. Sworn Enemy - 7x40 (Top 1 OAT) 2. Karma - 7x49 (Top 11 OAT) 3. Those Who Protect Against All Odds - 7x39 (Top 18 OAT) 4. Farewell Buddy - 7x42 (Top 18 OAT) 5. First Student - 8x11 (Top 35 OAT) 6. Farewell Shinsengumi - 7x51 (Top 41 OAT) 7. Always Hold Onto Your Trump Cards - 11x07 (Top 60 OAT) 8. Hope - 8x12 (Top 69 OAT) 9. Ghosts Aren’t The Only Ones Who Run Wild In Graveyards - 5x10 (Top 72 OAT) 10. Master Of Kouan - 8x8 (Top 81 OAT) 11. Ninja Soul - 7x37 (Top 83 OAT) 12. The Bathouse, Where You’re Naked In Body and Soul - 5x19 (Top 1 Comedy Episode) 13. Nobume - 7x50 (Top 85 OAT) 14. Unsettling Moon - 6x9 15. The Creatures Known As Humanity - 11x08 16. What Happen Twice Happens Thrice - 5x16 17. Life is About Making Consecutive Decisions - 3x43 18. Pinky Swear - 6x7 19. And Then There Were Five - 7x38 20. An Observation Journal Should Be Seen Through to The Very End - 4x38 Top 20 Moments 1. Takasugi Conclusion 2. Gintoki VS Takasugi 3. The Reunion 4. Utsuro Introduction 5. Gintoki Conclusion 6. Shogun Conclusion 7. “Disciple of Shoyo Yoshida” 8. Oboro Backstory + Conclusion 9. Gintoki VS Utsuro 10. Yato Family Backstory 11. Utsuro VS Humanity 12. “TATAKE SHINSENGUMI” 13. Kagura VS Abuto 14. Gintoki VS Jirocho 15. Farewell Shinsengumi Conclusion 16. Utsuro Backstory 17. Courtesan of a Nation Conclusion 18. “SHOGUN KYOOOO!!!” 19. Kagura’s Radio Calisthenics 20. Fulfilling Yorozuya’s Request Both Takasugi’s conclusion and Gintoki VS Takasugi are easily two of my favourite moments in media and I genuinely cannot decide which one I like more. But they are the best of the best. Top 5 Dynamics 1. Yorozuya 2. The Four Heavenly Kings 3. Gintoki X Utsuro 4. Shinsengumi 5. Oboro X Utsuro #3 Fiction #2 TV Show #1 Dialogue #1 Quotes #3 Story Arc #4 Season #1-2 Episode #1 Protagonist #1 Opening and Endings #1 Cast #1 Best Fillers #1 Episode Titles #1 Funniest Show #1 Payoffs #1 Ending One of my new favourite pieces of fiction ever.. ..and probably the only one of two shows I will ever rate five stars.