The whole thing is a hit or miss. You're either gonna vibe with it or you're gonna completely hate it. And that's fine. I myself found myself grimacing at some individual episodes that I found extremely unfunny, repetitive and just downright boring. But looking at it as a whole, it's definitely a work of art.
I personally think one of the reasons it's either liked or lumped by anime fans is because of the nature of it's comedy. Yes, it's balls-up-the-walls crazy and weird as fuck--and I dig that--but the comedy in Gintama in essence is obviously very Japanese. And there are some people who, despite not being Japanese, have dabbled enough in the culture (albeit through distorted lens such as anime, manga, idols, etc.) to enjoy the comedy and find it amusing. And then there are others who simply don't get it and don't get the kick out of it others do. And once again, that's fine!
Cultural differences can definitely be a critical factor in defining whether or not the joke landed when it comes to Japanese media that is comedic in nature and is being consumed by a non-Japanese audience. Japanese comedy is very different from Western comedy (as well as middle eastern comedy--both of which I've simultaenously grown up with) and as a result it's a valid reason to not find the punchline the straight man yelled out or the seemingly nonsensical lyrics sung funny because again, you just didn't get it. This happens a lot throughout the series, and I'm sure it'll happen more in the seasons ahead I've yet to watch, but with the added visual gags and stellar voice acting performances from the entirety of it's ginormous cast, along with the tongue-in-cheek references and mockery you may or may not appreciate, Gintama still may manage to get a chuckle out of you at least once.
Which brings me to another reason it might not roll with viewers--the references and constant 4th-wall-breaking as the joke. In other words: meta comedy. This concept is something I've seen anime fans very sharply divided on as well; some people don't find it funny at all and instead a lazy way employed by anime and manga creators to go "Ha! We have accomplished comedy on a more intellectual level!" I can't lie and say it didn't irritate me either at times, especially when almost 40% of it was "Uh-oh! We say bad word and cold truth and now we in danger of getting cancelled! Tee-hee!"or "Ha-ha, we so broke we reuse same static scene and constantly emphasize it to show brokeness!" over and over again. It's clever at first, I admit, but for me it did get old after the first few bouts. And maybe that's the point and I'm just too much of a lowly being to understand the refined and deliberately repetitive humour of Gintama. Did that stop me from continuing to to rip at it like a lion does to a zebra in a time of desperate hunger? Evidently not.
I can kind of understand why some people refer to Gintama as a masterpiece, though. It is the entire cake and then some; it's got every single genre and trope and character archetype and even dirty fetish you can think of. There is something in it for every kind of anime viewer, period. It's simplistic yet expressive, the art style and animation are standard enough to not be considered "outdated," the gargantuan fruit basket of characters generously gives each one their own unique personality, no matter whether they're one-off mobs or part of the main gang, and all of this is elevated by the sound in terms of both soundtrack and voice acting, which is the cherry on top to end all cherries on top. Like, even though none of the main cast members are my favourite actors, I just loved them to bits in Gintama. They are the lifeblood of the whole damn thing.
Looking at it in hindsight, Gintama is impressive. It's bold. When I think about how Japan was and still is such a conserved and straight-laced society, especially when it comes to speaking candidly, it makes sense Gintama is so hyped up there and elsewhere. It's a breath of fresh air and probably even moreso in the time period it aired because no one else was really doing that onscreen then. They literally took the piss out of everything: goverments, celebrities, foreigners, other anime, even their own production company. They said "we're going to shit on all the things you like and/or respect and no one can do anything about it (except kick us off our primetime timeslot--which they already did, so fuck you!)" and went for it, zero regrets. It's a bit clumsy about it at times, but nonetheless charming and also makes you wanna pray for the wellbeings of the folks behind it. Seriously, if this whole thing is one giant vent, I hope they're doing better now.
And overall, I love the message that Gintama pushes: you can do anything if you believe in it hard enough; you just need guts and balls. Big balls of silver.
I look forward to watching more of this delightful sci-fi history coleslaw, and I'll probably have some more to say when I'm finished with the entirety of the series. As for this first part, I adored it and implore anyone who hasn't gotten a spoon of it yet to do so as soon as they can. (And if you don't want to, go stand out in the hall!)
