Gintama

Edo is a city that was home to the vigor and ambition of samurai across the country. However, following feudal Japan's surrender to powerful aliens known as the "Amanto," those aspirations now seem unachievable. With the once-influential shogunate rebuilt as a puppet government, a new law is passed that promptly prohibits all swords in public.

Enter Gintoki Sakata, an eccentric silver-haired man who always carries around a wooden sword and maintains his stature as a samurai despite the ban. As the founder of Yorozuya, a small business for odd jobs, Gintoki often embarks on endeavors to help other people—though usually in rather strange and unforeseen ways.

Assisted by Shinpachi Shimura, a boy with glasses supposedly learning the way of the samurai; Kagura, a tomboyish girl with superhuman strength and an endless appetite; and Sadaharu, their giant pet dog who loves biting on people's heads, the Yorozuya encounter anything from alien royalty to scuffles with local gangs in the ever-changing world of Edo.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Sakata, Gintoki Main

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Kagura Main

Kugimiya, Rie Japanese

Shimura, Shinpachi Main

Sakaguchi, Daisuke Japanese

Katsura, Kotarou Supporting

Ishida, Akira Japanese

Hijikata, Toushirou Supporting

Nakai, Kazuya Japanese

Okita, Sougo Supporting

Suzumura, Kenichi Japanese

Takasugi, Shinsuke Supporting

Koyasu, Takehito Japanese

Hasegawa, Taizou Supporting

Tachiki, Fumihiko Japanese

Tsukuyo Supporting

Kaida, Yuuko Japanese

Kamui Supporting

Hino, Satoshi Japanese

Takamatsu, Shinji Co-Director, Director, Storyboard, Animation Director

Kobayashi, Noriko Producer

Mutou, Hiroshi Producer

Azuma, Fukashi Producer

Reviews

Mar 4, 2025

isthisonCD

Recommended

Gintama is the anime that every person should at least commit a couple of episodes to. It's a blend of many genres, including comedy, action, and satire. If you like Gintama, it will be in your top 5 anime of all time, however, it is not for everybody. It's the kind of show that rewards you the longer you watch, and it can be difficult to get into it until you watch around 20 episodes.

Gintama has one of the most vibrant character rosters of all time, in my opinion. Every character is well written and intricately created. The jokes are legitimately funny, which is ... important for the main appeal of the show. This also emphasizes the serious beats of the occasional story-driven arcs, which are well told and perfectly fit in amongst the beautiful chaos of this show.

Overall, Gintama is at least worth a watch, as it could be one of the best anime you will ever see. The ending is extremely well done, and this show made me laugh as often as it made me cry. Give it a go, and try and stick with it for as long as possible!

Good luck!

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Oct 28, 2024

raviwe

Mixed Feelings

Gintama is the capstone of a generation of manga. The requirements to enjoy it are simple: Do you like gag and toilet humor? Are you familiar with the more popular manga and anime from the golden era up until the mid-2010s? If so, you'll most likely love this perfect blend of action, humor, and drama.

With that said, let’s dive into Gintama—its themes, structure, and how it compares to other works. We’ll also look at whether its beginning is misleading and how leverages the medium to deliver its themes.

So, what is this show about?

This show is set in Edo, the land of the samurai—a clear metaphor ... for Japan. The central thesis is that while the Amanto (foreigners, aliens) arrive and transform it into something entirely new, the core of what it means to be a samurai endures.

Gintama reimagines Bushido in a simpler, modern way that applies universally, regardless of one’s background. Giving an extensive focus on having something to protect and the strength in staying true to your values.

First things later, let’s talk art direction.

The character designs are remarkably recognizable, even the intentionally bland ones. The openings and soundtrack are memorable, too. Sure, there are moments when the lack of budget shows, but the series uses that to its advantage, turning it into a running joke that also pokes fun at the industry itself.

One thing worth mentioning is the voice acting. Some characters are brought to life with so much personality through the performances. Combined with Gintama's amazing filler content, it makes the show something truly special.

So, how does it start?

I quit Gintama after the first episode. Two years later, I dropped it again after the second episode. Finally, five years later, I tried the third episode—and now I’m hooked. I actually recommend skipping the first two episodes. They don’t add much and are so confusing and nonsensical that they become an unnecessary barrier to entry, where there’s already a lot to take in.

Beyond that, if you’ve seen any gag shows or sitcoms, you’ll find the beginning familiar. The early gags may only be mildly amusing at first, or even fly under the radar. After episode 3, it’s important not to skip any episodes, as the humor starts building momentum.

Comedy-centric shows often need to lean on other aspects as they go on. While the easy route would be romance, Gintama takes the battle shōnen approach. You can get a taste of this mix early on, though the execution improves by a lot over time.

What about the characters?

The characters don’t age and are tied to specific gags. Their introductions are usually semi-comedic, and they continue to reappear in gags that make you attached to their comedic side. But somewhere down the line, you start getting deeper, more meaningful explorations of their character. In other words, they’re gag characters with layers.

What about the story itself?

Imagine watching The Simpsons, and suddenly Lisa is fighting to the death with Bart in a three-episode arc that dives into a traumatic event from their childhood. That’s the kind of unpredictability Gintama offers. You never know whether the next scene will be comedic, gut-wrenching, or packed with action.

Every episode is a wild card. The characters might mess with the opening, the show might have a different title, and the tone can swing from somber to hilarious in seconds. Sometimes you’ll need to watch multiple episodes in one sitting, and other times just one will do. It’s worth looking up a list of arcs to get a feel for the flow.

It is also worth saying that there will be so many unexpected tie-ins. Characters and events that almost left your mind get brought back. Gintama fully utilizes its length to deliver both character arcs and interactions that cannot be as impactful were it streamlined of a lot shorter.

Then, what did I think of it as a whole?

Gintama is a beautifully crafted piece. Sure, there are episodes that fall flat, jokes that don’t land, or obscure parodies that miss the mark. The quality isn’t always consistent—sometimes the fillers are even better than the main episodes.

I can’t recommend it to everyone, though. As much as I love it and wish it were more popular, that would be misleading. There are a lot of crude jokes, mood swings, and references that make it hard to call Gintama a universally enjoyable experience. For its target audience, this is close to a masterpiece; for anyone else, it might just feel like a crude mess.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Oct 8, 2018

Joe_Striker

Not Recommended

Funny

Gintama is overrated trash. It has a slow start, corny parodies, lame repetitive gags, no concise plot and has "serious arcs" when it's supposed to be a comedy first and foremost. What a complete mess of a series.

Plot: (1/10)
The comedic episodes that take up 80% of the series is just there to flesh out the characters, the world and repeat the same jokes over again. It’s unnecessary padding that has no affect on the actual plot, hence why it’s filler. You can skip them, look up the serious arc episodes and watch those and you’d still be caught up with the story.

The serious arcs ... are short, overdramatic, have fake deaths, bland sword fights and are filled with the same overused shounen troupes like: nakama power bullshit or villains giving long cliche monologues. None of the arcs are even better than your average shounen arc, especially the overrated Shogun Assassination arc.

The whole structure is a mess. Some episodes are dedicated to the odd jobs, then the shinsengumi, one moment is serious then half way through it’s comedy. 3 episodes would be comedy, then the next 4 would be “mini serious arcs”, the plot’s all over the place!

Characters: (1/10)
The characters are over the top, unrealistic and have barely any development. Seriously, if you compare the Odd Jobs Trio from the first episodes to the latest episodes in the final season, you’ll see that they’re pretty much exactly the same characters.

The worst part is the comedy is terrible. It’s as if it was written for 12 yr old weebs. The constant abusive punches/kicks, repetitive gags, overused references to other shows, cheesy dialogue, childish parodies and poop jokes are shit. Also, there’s so many references to Japanese culture that even the average viewer wouldn’t get the humour.

Overall (1/10):
Seriously, if you want to watch a episodic comedy series then you might as well watch Spongebob instead because it at least doesn’t take 60+ episodes to “get good” like Gintama.

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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