Gintama': Futon ni Haitte kara Buki Nokoshi ni Kizuite Neru ni Nerenai Toki mo Aru

Mod Note: This review was written for Gintama OVA, the entry page of Gintama OVA has been merged with Gintama: Jump Festa 2014 Special.

Well then~ This was a slightly confounding OVA - appearing almost around the exact same time as the first episode for Gintama 2015 (Gintama°), so initially I thought it WAS the first episode! And really, this OVA feels very much like a first episode for a new season of Gintama, so it was understandable if people were confused! So, for such a nice little surprise; here is a nice little review: Let me break it down~

~STORY~
Gintama's episodic storytelling at its finest. Starting ... out with a small 'skit' about how its been a year, scared that the voice actors have forgotten how to do the character's voices, worrying that they're ripping off other shows with their opening. You know, all the good 4th wall breaking stuff that Gintama is great at~
After this brief intro, it cuts to the main story, a return of a character that only appeared in episode 89 of the original series. And, same as last time, he is determined to teach them an ULTIMATE MOVE! But not to become stronger. No! The ULTIMATE MOVE is to get SPONSORS, the true power for any anime! Cue cameos of some of the other side characters, references, and a couple of jokes that run throughout the episode~
It's certainly the Gintama I know and love!

~ART~
Gintama's new look (this OVA looking very similar to the new season) is just a slightly cleaner and shinier version of the previous season a couple of years ago~
No major changes - though I thought Shinpachi and Kagura's eyes look just a tiny bit larger and shinier.

~SOUND~
Pretty much all the same sort of music from previous seasons, which (I do have to say) is becoming increasingly noticeable after over 265 episodes.

~CHARACTERS~
I don't know why I possibly had reason to worry~ All the characters are still the same lovable bunch from before~ Never change~

~ENJOYMENT~
It's Gintama. It's funny. I laughed many times. Of course I enjoyed it!

~OVERALL~
Gintama is back! This OVA is a nice little taster of the season that is to come! It's like an alternative episode 1 for the new season, with different episode 1 style jokes! Watch it, though if you're reading this, you probably have already~

Toodles~

Basically, this is a one-shot episode where the characters get together one last time (obviously, the anime got renewed, though) to say goodbye.

The beginning of this episode wasn't the best thing in the world. It didn't really bring the brand of Gintama comedy that makes this anime so brilliant. It features a running joke that comes from the first 201 episodes of the anime, but it isn't the best thing they could have pulled for this. It is funny in the sense that it breaks the fourth wall, and that's very Gintama, but other than that it just overdid a joke that was funny ... but not Gintama funny.

The ending was a nice showing of almost all the characters that Gintama has created and shown on a consistent basis. This part was Gintama funny, and it even had a little bit of Gintama emotion. The ending did a good job of presenting the characters' relationships, so this episode was worth watching just for that. The ending song is atrocious, but Gintama is nothing if not an anime that takes jokes too far and makes them funny and atrocious at the same time. Well, I'm off to the next stage.

This is typical Gintama... and like always, it is hilarious. This episode captures everything from Gintama I could want; fourth wall breaks, all of the characters together, the building up of jokes, and plenty of laughter. The ring-a-ding-dong joke had me laughing every single time they added to it. It was probably one of the best jokes of the whole show. I wish more people knew about this episode because it is an undiscovered gold mine. This episdoe is as good as any other comedy episode from season 4. I recommend this to any fan of Gintama! Please pass thing along to other people who ... have seen the show, because this episode is an episode that should be watched and enjoyed by everyone, just like I did,