Ranked #1

Gintama'

When you REALLY love a certain anime and hear it's going to end, you weep a little inside. So is Gintama, and the news of the new season were salvation to many sad Gintabros all over the globe.
That's right. The #1 show is back - and I am damn excite, son.

To any of you who haven't watched the first season, please do. but if you wouldn't want to commit yourself to a 201 episode show, feel free to just skip ahead to season two and try an episode or two. The storyline's arranged in inconsistent arcs, meaning you can pick it up from any arc - as long as you get an explanation on the origins of the different characters.

I assume all of you know the general setting - a Samurai who lives in a modern era in which aliens are a part of our (humans) daily lives. There's an ongoing ban on swords, so being a Samurai is obviously forbidden by law.
Though there's no rule against a wooden sword, is there?

In the last year, our friendly studio Sunrise had enough time to stack up material for a long-lasting second season, while our beloved mangaka had time to improve and write arcs which without a doubt - have the Gintama effect. Holding tears in your throat, and two minutes later laughing like a maniac - only to be in tears again a few minutes later. The long touchy speeches are back, the unexpected plot turns are back, everything we longed for in this Gintama-less year, is back.

It might be important to specify the fact that Gintama is now well funded, and is in HD. Can you imagine seeing Gintoki pick his nose in 720p?! Insane!!!
The first arc is the comeback we all wished for, every character you knew is making an appearance, though you should ready yourself for a surprise - they've all changed.

I promise this - starting at the first 15 seconds up to the end of the 24 minutes of awesome, you'll be smiling, laughing, perhaps even crying if you're touchy. Enjoy. read more

Edit after episode 13: I cried big wet tears at the excellent storytelling and well placed character development. SUCH. BIG. TEARS.

I was skeptical as hell for the return of the Gintama anime. To be honest, I went into this anime wanting to slam it as hard as possible, especially upon seeing it's overbearingly high-score. But I won't, because to be frank, I can't.

I don't really think a lot of reviews, complex and heavily-illustrated need to be written about this anime to get a feel for what it's about so let me get straight to the point: It's ridiculous over-the-top comedy, plain and simple. Of course you can't forget the awesome stories built from these insane gags, too.

The scripting, the scenario, specifically the way that the anime envelops you inside - making you a returning character as well, are all ingeniously meshed together.

And of course, after five years... brought to you in 16:9 format.

...With even better songs than ever (hard to believe, I know).

If you haven't seen Gintama before, I recommend checking it out, and I know 201 episodes sounds like a grueling task, but after seeing the pilot episode for the second series, I was left more than satisfied. This episode is reason alone to watch the over two-hundred preceding it.

Even if you're familiar with Gintama and think you're ready for Gintama', let me be the first to tell you; you aren't.

Note: I don't believe this review needs to be edited every week, as most episodes are either episodic or self-contained within an arc. If you've braved the first 201 episodes, don't miss season two. read more