Have you ever wondered what it'd be like if Earth was invaded by aliens? Well, Gintama shows you what life is like for humans living with aliens known as Amanto. Gintama is based in Edo where the main characters live, and Earth has been taken over by these alien species. Because of their overwhelming power, the government had no qualms and easily surrendered their power to the Amanto.
Although Gintama doesn't have an obvious, single plot point like other series, it's an intriguing, incredibly humorous anime that will leave you in awe as well as tearing up from the enormous amount of laughter it causes. If you're interested in Gintama, learn more about the characters here and see if it's an anime you want to watch.
The Yorozuya Team
Yorozuya, or Odd Jobs, is Sakata Gintoki's business, and the Gintama anime is usually centered around the Yorozuya team. The team includes Sakata Gintoki, Shimura Shinpachi, Kagura, and Sadaharu, their super-sized pet dog. These four are the main characters of Gintama.
Sakata Gintoki
Gintoki appears to be a silly character with wavy white hair and dead-fish eyes. His style is something to note, too, since he only wears half of his white yukata and a simple, stylish black shirt-and-pants outfit underneath. Gintoki's sword is wooden, and that's another aspect that makes his character unique. As a samurai in the almost samurai-less world, Gintoki continues cherishing his samurai ways and wielding a sword even though there is a ban on swords.
Gintoki is a mysterious character at first, especially because we don't know much about his past until later in the anime (and in the manga). But there are moments in the anime that he reveals his true self and his true beliefs about life. This speech he gave is a good example of this: "What's the use of fighting a futile fight? Do you really intend to lose more of your friends for something like that? I'll pass on that. As long as I'm alive I'll live by my own rules. I'll live how I see beautiful and protect those I hold dear." In the more comedic stories in Gintama, Gintoki acts like a coward and makes up a lot of excuses to get out of troublesome situations. But, during serious arcs and episodes, such as the Yoshiwara Arc, Gintoki will risk his life and protect what he believes needs to be protected.
Gintoki's background is slowly revealed in the anime series. He was an orphan fighting for his survival until a samurai teaching the samurai way, Yoshida Shouyou, picked Gintoki up. After some time, Gintoki joined the Joui War to help fight the invasion of the Amanto on Earth alongside his comrades at the time. Due to his white hair and incomparable swordsmanship, Gintoki was known as the Shiroyasha or White Demon during the war. After the war and the Amanto's victory, Gintoki disappeared and later started Yorozuya.
As the owner of Yorozuya, Gintoki does odd jobs for people who request help for anything and completes tasks with his teammates. One of the many gags in Gintama is that the Yorozuya team is poor and money-hungry, always looking for jobs and money-making opportunities. Gintoki is usually in charge of finding jobs and completing jobs, so he does work when he needs to. He's not as lazy and irresponsible as he may look! But he does go to the Pachinko parlor a little too frequently...
Despite all his flaws shown in the anime, Gintoki has a certain mysterious charm that attracts people and makes them want to stay near him and support him. This is even noted by Shimura Tae, Shinpachi's sister, in the early episodes of the anime series. Gintoki is the main protagonist of this hilarious anime, so it's no wonder he's got that special something that makes people love and admire him no matter what.
Shimura Shinpachi
Commonly known as the "glasses wearing a human" in Gintama, Shinpachi is the typical stereotype of a nerdy, innocent 16-year-old boy. Although he's one of the main characters in Gintama, Shinpachi is sometimes jokingly called a background character and that his glasses make up most of his personality or character.
Shinpachi is the first person to join Yorozuya, and he meets Gintoki after a squabble in a restaurant that Shinpachi works at. Because Shinpachi only knows how to use a sword and doesn't know how to work in the new world that the Amanto created, he often got scolded and yelled at by his bosses. However, after meeting Gintoki, he decided to turn his life around and joined Yorozuya.
Shinpachi has an older sister who's a hostess, Shimura Tae, also known as Otae. One of the gags related to Shinpachi in Gintama is that Shinpachi has a sister complex and is abnormally attached to his sister.
Shinpachi is also a major fan of the singer Terakado Tsuu, and this aspect of Shinpachi plays on the stereotype of otaku. Gintama is well-known for its gags and jokes, and Shinpachi was chosen as the one to poke fun at otaku. He's also the president of Tsuu's fanclub and is a strict leader. He makes sure his members are completely devoted to Tsuu and even does exercises and routines with the members to support their otaku tendencies and support Tsuu's career as a popular singer.
However, during one episode of Gintama, Shinpachi discovers the charm and cuteness of kitty ears, thanks to a cutesy girl who has kitty ears. This leads him astray from his Tsuu obsession, but he ends up getting conned by the kitty-eared girl and goes back to Tsuu. This also plays on the gag that Shinpachi will never get a girlfriend despite being 16 years old.
Kagura
Kagura is an Amanto from the Yato Clan, which is known as the strongest warrior clan in the universe. Kagura is a young girl with monstrous strength, thanks to her Yato genes. When Kagura was a child, she was often left alone with her mother because her brother, Kamui, had left home and her father, Umibozou, was often away from home to complete his work as an alien fighter.
After Kagura's mother died, Kagura went to Earth and began working for a gang member in exchange for better meals than she was having at home. She was working for the gang in order to protect them from dangerous people. Although Kagura tries to act like an adult, her naive nature and innocence make her seem like more of a child. However, after living with Gintoki and learning a lot about life from him, Kagura starts to become more aware of the outside world. Although Gintoki's knowledge is questionable at best, Kagura trusts him completely.
Kagura is a kind girl and vows to fight her Yato blood. The Yato people are known to be destructive, powerful individuals who live to battle and kill. But Kagura chooses a different path and decides which battles she joins. She fights to protect instead of fighting just to fight. This is shown from the beginning of the series and throughout. Kagura joined the gang believing that she was fighting to protect them, but ends up finding out they were doing dirty deeds.
Another fun tidbit about Kagura: She a love for food which seems to run in her family because her older brother, Kamui, loves to eat, too. Kagura is often seen eating pickled seaweed since it's her favorite snack. Kagura often acts tomboyish, but she is also a typical girl who has her own insecurities and girly side. Her strength isn't just in her body, but it's also in her heart, as Kagura is never afraid nor does she back out when it comes to fighting.
Sadaharu
Kagura finds a large white dog outside of the Yorozuya office and it is love at first sight. She adopts him and names him Sadaharu. Sadaharu becomes Kagura's beloved pet. She's happy to find a pet that can withstand her strength. Kagura had pets before, but accidentally killed them because she couldn't control her strength.
Sadaharu is an Inugami, or a Dog God, and was once owned by two priestesses, Ane and Mone. Because of money constraints, the sisters left Sadaharu at Yorozuya. Sadaharu is seen as a cute, large white dog, but can turn into a demon-like creature and get even bigger than his current size.
An extremely violent creature, Sadaharu has a tendency to bite people, especially their heads. When Sadaharu first meets Gintoki and Shinpachi, he bites their heads and attacks them constantly, leaving them both injured and heavily bandaged. However, Kagura can handle Sadaharu's strength and doesn't get injured when playing with Sadaharu. Eventually, Sadaharu becomes less violent and joins the Yorozuya team.
The Shinsengumi
The Shinsengumi is another main organization in Gintama, even having their own special episode featuring the entire group and what they do during the day. The Shinsengumi is a special police force in Edo. Their job is to protect the citizens of Edo, protect the Shogunate, and prevent any terrorist and anti-government attempts. This organization is the only one allowed to wield swords, although they do use other weapons such as bazookas during their battles. The main guys in the Shinsengumi are sometimes seen with the Yorozuya group.
Matsudaira Katakuriko
Matsudaira is the top guy in the police department and Shinsengumi. He's portrayed as a smooth-talking, wise official who lives a grand life, such as partying and going to hostess clubs. But, deep down, he's just a simple old man who loves his wife and daughter very much.
Matsudaira is known as the God of Destruction because he resorts to blowing things up to solve his issues, like when he used a large weapon to deal with the alien infestation at an airport terminal. Gintama's mangaka, Sorachi Hideaki, based Matsudaira's character on Robert De Niro.
Kondou Isao
Kondou Isao is the commander of the Shinsengumi and is usually caught up in the comedy side of Gintama. He's been given the nickname Gorilla; funnily enough, he even nearly married a gorilla princess during the Yagyu Arc! Kondou is a kind-hearted individual, and his men say that Kondou can be too nice. However, Kondou's men respect him immensely.
One of Kondou's quirks is that he's a stalker and constantly shows up unexpectedly when Shimura Tae, Shinpachi's sister, is around. How did this stalking habit begin? One day, Kondou was talking to Otae at a hostess club she works at, and he asked her if she would love a man even if he had thick butt hair like him. Otae responded that she'd love him even with his hairy butt, and that's when Kondou thought she was a goddess and fell in love with her. His stalking habit began and has made Otae's life quite interesting, to say the least. His stalking is a running gag in Gintama; you'll find Kondou in various places, mostly under tables and near Otae.
Before becoming a police officer, Kondou was part of a dojo owned by a man named Kanchou, and that's where he met Hijikata and Okita, who are the other main members of the Shinsengumi.
Hijikata Toushirou
Hijikata is the vice commander of the Shinsengumi. He's also known as the "Demonic Vice Commander" because of his fearsome attacks and demeanor. Hijikata comes off as a serious person, but, like every other Gintama character, he has his quirks. As you can see from the start of the series, he's a chain smoker and suffers greatly when he can't smoke. During the episode where there's a smoking ban and limited smoking spaces in Edo, Hijikata goes to extremes to get his fix.
Another one of Hijikata's quirks is his love for mayonnaise. Perhaps it's better to say obsession because Hijikata adds at least one bottle of mayonnaise to every meal. For example, if you give him a bowl of delicious ramen, he'll top it off with a bottle of mayonnaise and eat it happily. In one episode of Gintama, Hijikata even forced the entire Shinsengumi to eat mayonnaise so he could find the ticket to the mayonnaise factory. A mayo-freak indeed!
Hijikata's background wasn't as sweet as his love for mayo. He was the son of a rich farmer and his mistress and was hated and isolated by the family. However, his brother, Hijikata Tamegoro, allowed him into the family and Hijikata admired him deeply. But Hijikata eventually left the family home after his brother was attacked by bandits and had his sight taken away. Hijikata attacked the bandits in a rage after they attacked his brother. He felt that his presence wasn't wanted in the Hijikata home anymore because of his anger and violent outbursts, so he left.
After wandering and fighting the leaders of dojo after dojo, Hijikata was taken in by Kondou while he was still staying and practicing at Konchou's dojo. Hijikata finally found a home, and he later joined the Shinsengumi because of Kondou.
Later in the series, it's revealed that Okita Sougo's sister and Hijikata were in love with each other. Okito's sister confessed her feelings, but Hijikata rejected her love and decided to stick with the Shinsengumi because he didn't believe he could bring her happiness due to his violent life.
Despite his demonic reputation, Hijikata's personality is similar to Gintoki's personality. They have a lot of the same traits and they think alike. I guess what they say about similar people colliding is true because Hijikata and Gintoki start battling whenever they get the chance.
Okita Sougo
Okita Sougo is another main member of the Shinsengumi. He's the First Division captain and is one of the strongest swordsmen in the group. He's well-known to be a super-sadist because of his ability to torture and manipulate people. However, his sadistic nature is more of a gag in the series, and he shows his sadistic side at every opportunity. It's revealed in the series that Sougo is a sadist because he's insecure, which was revealed in the episode where he displays his sadistic side when he's on a mission with Matsudaira, Kondou, and Hijikata to interfere with Matsudaira's daughter's date.
Sougo has always had ill feelings toward Hijikata and tries to take him out with every chance he gets. This grudge he has with Hijikata is because Sougo thinks that Hijikata gets more attention from his sister and Kondou than he does. He also wants to become vice commander and take Hijikata's position. Although the two don't ever seem to get along, they are able to work together, and they both hold the same level of admiration for their commander.
When Sougo is around his sister, Okita Mitsuba, he turns into a completely different person. He becomes a devoted, loving brother. His sadistic side practically disappears when his sister is around, although his sister has sadistic tendencies as well. Guess it runs in the family!
Sougo is also somewhat lazy and likes to skip work or take naps while on the job. In some cases, he'll appear in episodes with Kagura and they have competitions or little spats between them. Kagura also suspects that Sougo likes her.
Yamazaki Sagaru
Yamazaki Sagaru works as a spy in the Shinsengumi, and he's often shown as a plain, “background” character, similar to Shinpachi. Much of Yamazaki's appearances are based on gags and comedy skits in Gintama. Because of this, Yamazaki has many quirks that make him a hilarious “plain” character.
For some reason, even though Yamazaki dislikes anpan (bread with sweet red bean filling), he refuses to eat anything else when he's on spy missions. There's a funny scene where Hijikata visits him during a mission holding a bowl of ramen. Yamazaki thinks it's for him and seems pretty excited... then he finds out the ramen is Hijikata's meal instead. Typical Gintama move!
Another quirk Yamazaki has is that he loves badminton. He'll practice badminton alone or during morning workouts at the Shinsengumi base. There's also an episode featuring Yamazaki as a tennis player, which is a reference to the manga Prince of Tennis. When Hijikata sees that Yamazaki is playing badminton, he goes after him. Even with other mistakes that Yamazaki makes, such as eating takoyaki meant for Kondou, Hijikata is the one who chases Yamazaki and teaches him a lesson.
Yamazaki's other quirk is that he's a plain character, something he is not willing to admit. He even rebels against a Gintama popularity contest in an episode and forces all the top people to fight against each other so he can be number one, along with Shinpachi, the other "plain" character.
The Kiheitai
Kiheitai is a group that uses extreme and severe methods to destroy the world as well as the governments that rule it. They don't like what the world has become and have formed a group to fight it. The meaning of Kiheitai is “Army of Demon Soldiers.” They're also the main antagonists in Gintama.
Takasugi Shinsuke
Takasugi Shinsuke is the leader of the Kiheitai, and he's also one of the main antagonists in the series. He was once a comrade who fought alongside Gintoki and Katsura during the Joui War, and he was also a student of Yoshida Shouyou. Takasugi admired his teacher, but after a certain incident, he became a reckless and destructive individual. His goal, along with his Kiheitai group, is to destroy the world rather than save it, which is what Katsura Kotarou is doing. Gintoki and Takasugi sparred hundreds of times during their childhood and fought in the war together; however, after the war ended, they went in different directions in life. They're still rivals to this day.
Takasugi is a vengeful, angry person and a skilled swordsman. Due to the grudge and hate he has for the world, Takasugi admits that he's not a stable person and is like a beast, waiting to attack and destroy. His goal is to simply destroy the world that his teacher left, even though Takasugi still treasures the memories he had with his teacher; this is proven when Takasugi is shown to have the book his teacher gave him hidden in his clothes.
Although Takasugi is seen to be dangerous; he's a calculating, cautious individual. He doesn't seem to trust others, but he does use tricks and other means to get others to do his work for him. He prefers to sit back and observe while others do the work. He chooses his allies and strategies carefully to ensure he rises as the victor.
Kawakami Bansai
Kawakami Bansai is an assassin and acts as the second-in-command in the Kiheitai. He's also a successful music producer, and he actually produces music for Shinpachi's favorite singer, Terakado Tsuu. He uses the alias Tsunpo to conceal his identity and prevent officials from finding out who he really is and his connection with Takasugi, who's also a wanted criminal.
Since Bansai is always wearing headphones, he usually doesn't pay attention to the people talking to him. Because of this, he's inherited the nickname Deaf Man.
Kijima Matako
Kijima Matako is a member of the Kiheitai who's skilled with guns. She has a feisty, tomboyish personality like Kagura, and she's also the only girl on the team. Kijima has a big crush on Takasugi; she calls him Shinsuke-sama and risking her life to protect him.
Takechi Henpeita
Takechi is known as the strategist of the Kiheitai team, and he's also commonly referred to as a pervert or lolicon by others such as Kijima. He claims to be a feminist with a healthy fondness for children, especially when he admires Kagura's physical appearance. Takechi isn't known for any physical fighting abilities.
Okada Nizou
Also known as Nizou the Butcher, Okada Nizou is a blind swordsman and assassin. He's confident in his swordsman skills and has a goal of becoming a sword himself, which is one of the main plot points in the Benizakura Arc. Nizou ends up dying after being consumed by a demon sword.
Katsura Kotarou and Elizabeth
Katsura and Elizabeth are a master-and-pet duo. Katsura is Gintoki's acquaintance, and he used to be a classmate and battle comrade back in the Joui War. Katsura and Gintoki went their separate ways after the war. Katsura became the leader of an anti-government faction. He's a wanted man and the Shinsengumi chase him often, though Katsura is known as an escape artist.
Katsura's most used phrase is “Zura ja nai, Katsura da!” which translates to “It's not Zura, it's Katsura!” Gintoki calls him Zura, and that's Katsura's response to the nickname he's been given. Katsura comes off as an idiot because of his decisions and ignorance, especially when he couldn't tell when a fake Elizabeth took the place of the real Elizabeth. He's also doesn't joke around, so his idiocy is even more pronounced during these times.
Katsura has a creative and deep imagination and likes to make up stories on the spot, which moves him and even others to tears. Katsura is a natural leader and can motivate almost anyone to fight for what's right – at least what's right to him, such as freedom from the Amanto. Katsura treasures his samurai ways and lives in a simple manner, although his disciplined life is questionable since he also visits maid cafes and plays games with the maids.
Katsura has an Amanto pet that was given to him by Sakamoto Tatsuma, a former comrade during the Joui War. Elizabeth is the name that Katsura gave his pet, and she looks like a plain penguin with white-duck coloring. But, during a pet competition, the anime reveals that Elizabeth has hairy legs, which Katsura refuses to believe; there's a running gag that Elizabeth is really an old man playing dress up, and Katsura is just a simpleton who won't believe it. Elizabeth uses signs to communicate with others, but she also has the ability to speak; she usually doesn't speak around Katsura, but he knows Elizabeth speaks when he's not around. When she does speak, she sounds like an old man, which makes her character more questionable. Even an X-Ray showed that there was a man inside Elizabeth, though Katsura continues ignoring this obvious observation.
Hasegawa Taizou
Hasegawa is another gag character in Gintama, and Kagura as well as many others gave him the nickname MADAO. Hasegawa inherited this unfortunate nickname after being fired from his job as a government official. When he met Gintoki and his crew, Hasegawa saw a different way of life instead of doing dirty deeds for the government. He rebelled against a prince from another planet, but that landed him in unemployment. Now he's just a MADAO, which means "totally hopeless old guy" in the English translation of the acronym. The Japanese phrase for that creates the "MADAO" spelling and acronym.
After losing his government job, Hasegawa is also estranged from his wife and continues living day by day, searching for jobs, but only failing in the end. He can show a masochistic side, such as when he enjoys Otae punching him. He's a sensible, kind person, but he is always seen as a pitiful, miserable, and lonely man and gets into unfortunate situations. Hasegawa even blames Gintoki and the Yorozuya group for his current lifestyle.
Sakamoto Tatsuma
Sakamoto is portrayed as an idiotic, hopeless guy, but he's actually a wealthy merchant who sells foreign items to other beings and does business with them around the universe. He's always seen laughing and acting oblivious. Sakamoto was once a samurai who fought in the Joui War with Gintoki, Katsura, and Takasugi. After the war ended, he decided that he wanted to travel space and changed his life's direction. Sakamoto sometimes visits Gintoki (or "Kintoki" as Sakamoto likes to call him), and Sakamoto was even part of a major arc in the series that involved Elizabeth, Katsura, and the Yorozuya gang.
Otose
Otose is the owner of the snack shop below Yorozuya's office, and she's also Gintoki's landlord. She constantly nags Gintoki about the unpaid rent and threatens to throw him out, but Gintoki and Otose have a deeper bond that goes beyond paying rent.
Gintoki was sitting outside a cemetery, and Otose was visiting her husband's grave. She had manju (dumplings) as offerings for her husband's grave, and Gintoki asked if he could have them because he was starving. Gintoki ate the manju and said to Otose's husband's grave that he'd protect her for the rest of her life and never forget that she saved his life. Although Otose doesn't show it often, she does consider Gintoki part of her family along with the other Yorozuya members.
Otose is known to be one of the Four Devas of Edo, so she has great influence in the city. She helps her customers with their everyday life problems and talks to them. Otose a kindhearted old lady who has a tough side, too, which shows when she's protecting the ones she loves or during funny parts in the anime.
Otose's Workers: Catherine and Tama
Otose has two employees at the snack shop: Catherine and Tama. Catherine was a cat burglar who stole money and other valuables from various places in Edo. She faked her identity and worked for Otose for a bit before revealing her real identity. However, because Catherine was tired of living that way, she turned her life around after she was released from jail and became an official employee at Otose's shop.
Tama is a robot maid that Gintoki found in a trash bin, and she was once owned by a professor who created Tama to give his daughter a friend. However, due to a robot rebellion that happened, Tama ended up at Otose's shop and became an employee. Tama's name was given to her by Kagura.
Shimura Tae
Shimura Tae, also known as Otae, is Shinpachi's older sister. She works as a hostess at a club to help restore her father's dojo. When her father died, he left a lot of debt for his kids to take care of, and the loan shark came after Shinpachi and Otae for the money, even forcing Otae to join a shady club to earn the money back. But Gintoki saved the Shimura family and helped Otae out of that sticky situation.
Otae seems like a normal, kind girl, but she can be violent and fly into a rage easily. For example, when Kondou stalks her, she'll show her violent and angry side, even with a smile on her face. When she's working as a hostess, she acts more like a bouncer and gets violent with customers who get too touchy with her and other hostesses. She also speaks in a rough and vulgar manner.
Although Otae can throw a punch, she doesn't have any cooking skills. She always turns her meals into dark matter. She also has a thing for cooking eggs, though it always turns into crispy, flaky, and burnt matter.
Yagyuu Kyuubei
Kyuubei looks, acts, and dresses like a man, but it's revealed that she's actually a woman. Although she was born a female, her family forced her to think that she was a man so she could grow up strong and take over the Yagyuu clan, a prestigious group of swordsmen.
Kyuubei is Otae's childhood friend and Kyuubei is actually in love with Otae. Otae, however, doesn't see Kyuubei in that way. But she said that she had to become Kyuubei's bride during the Yagyuu Arc to make up for Kyuubei's lost eye, which Kyuubei lost when she tried to protect Otae from men attacking her. After the Yagyuu Arc, Kyuubei shows up from time to time in episodes and arcs and is still Otae's close friend.
The Yato Clan
The Yato Clan is a warrior clan. It's said that the Yato are born fighters and live for battles. They get their high from the kills and fights they engage in. However, because of their destructive nature, the Yato Clan is dying out. The Yato Tribe is also sensitive to the sunlight, so you'll see them with umbrellas in the series. Some of the Yato are featured in the anime series, and they're listed here:
Kamui
Kamui is a strong warrior from the Yato Clan, and he's Kagura's older brother. When Kamui was younger, he used to live with his parents and sister, and he was also the student of Housen, the leader of the Yato Clan. However, one day, Kamui decided to revive a Yato tradition where the son tries to kill the father. He attacked his dad, Umibouzu, and he tried to kill him. But only Umibouzu's arm was cut off. After that incident, Kamui left home to find other strong people to fight and become stronger.
Kamui is the opposite of Kagura; he lets his Yato blood control him and his battles while Kagura chooses her battles with her heart. Kagura calls him a stupid brother and vows to fight him and take him down. Kamui is considered a strong Yato, even going against Housen, his former master and the former King of the Yato.
Kamui is seen smiling a lot during his fights. This habit of his is explained as a way to send his opponents off to death with a smile. He believes this sends them off to the other world with peace. Housen commented that Kamui had the same eyes as Umibouzu when he was about to fight and get into a battle. Kamui is currently a captain in the Harusame Pirates, the largest crime group in the Gintama world.
Umibouzu
Umibouzu is Kamui and Kagura's father, and he's known around the universe as the best alien hunter. Umibouzu even fought with Housen, the King of the Yato, and fought him for three days straight. Since he always went to do work around the universe, Umibouzu left home often and left his kids and wife behind.
One day, his son challenged him with the aim to kill him. When Kamui cut off his arm, Umibouzu let his Yato blood take over and almost killed his own son. Kagura stopped him before he could. From that day forward, Umibouzu decided to distance himself and keep himself away from home in case he killed Kagura one day like he almost killed Kamui.
However, Kagura's lifestyle and beliefs changed Umibouzu a little when he decided to save people from a powerful attack. He admires and loves his daughter dearly, regretting that he ever left home and left her alone. But he allows Kagura to live her life the way she sees fit after seeing she can take care of herself and that she's strong enough to live however she wants.
Housen
Housen enters the Gintama series in the Yoshiwara in Flames Arc, and he's known as the King of Night during this arc. He was once known as the King of the Yato and was part of the Harusame Pirates. Housen controls Yoshiwara, an underground district that even the government officials have no control of. This district houses prostitutes.
Housen's behavior is that of a true Yato. He can manipulate and charm people into being loyal to him, but he also could never learn to love properly because of his deep, destructive Yato mindset. That's why he's seen as intimidating, controlling, and fearsome. But, as Hinowa said, all Housen wanted to do was become friends with the sun, which is his true enemy since Yatos are weak to sunlight. Since the Yatos are sensitive to sunlight, Housen always felt inferior to it when he just wanted to lie under it without worry.
Abuto
Abuto is one of Kamui's subordinates, and he's more calm and composed than his captain. Abuto is also hesitant about fighting other Yato because he doesn't like that the Yato Clan is dying out. He wants to preserve the Yato Clan rather than destroy it. He's also laid-back and treats life as a test. He believes that life is all about choices, and he even decides to save Shinpachi and Kagura during the Yoshiwara Arc to see if their “naive” idea about life would work out or not.
Yoshiwara Characters
The characters mentioned here are the main ones during the Yoshiwara Arc.
Hinowa
Hinowa is the number one prostitute and is the most beautiful woman in Yoshiwara. She's also referred to as the sun of Yoshiwara because she gives hope to the women who are trapped in Yoshiwara's darkness. No matter what obstacles Hinowa goes through, even having to give up her son, Seita, to protect him, she continues staying strong. This is main reason why Housen kept her in Yoshiwara: He admired her strength and brightness while the other prostitutes always looked empty and dull.
Seita
Seita is Hinowa's biological son. Hinowa left him with his grandfather, but Seita's grandfather died. Seita started pickpocketing to survive. He also had a hunch that Hinowa was his biological mother. He goes to Yoshiwara constantly and asks someone to save his money so he can have a meeting with Hinowa. Since it's difficult to meet with Hinowa, as she's the top prostitute in Yoshiwara, Seita pickpockets and saves money so he can see her.
Seita ends up pickpocketing Gintoki's wallet, and that's how the two met, which ironically leads Seita to a better and safer direction in life. Seita ends up working in Otose's snack shop and earning money through his hard work there rather than being a thief. Seita considers Gintoki, Otose, and the rest of the gang his family outside of Yoshiwara. He reunites with his mother during the Yoshiwara Arc.
Tsukuyo
Tsukuyo is the leader of Hyakka, the guardians of Yoshiwara, and she's a skilled ninja who trained under the former leader of Hyakka. As a young girl, Tsukuyo was punished often for having an arrogant attitude toward her superiors. The only person who was kind to Tsukuyo was Hinowa, and Tsukuyo saw that Hinowa was a strong, positive woman, even in the hell of Yoshiwara. She decided that Hinowa was the person she'd truly protect, not Yoshiwara.
Tsukuyo is known as the moon of Yoshiwara like Hinowa is the sun of Yoshiwara.
That wraps up the overview of the characters from Gintama! If you're interested in learning more about the series, I recommend that you make time to watch it and see this unique and amusing anime for yourself.
