What makes Gintama so amazing? | Anime Review

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Gintama is probably the highest rated comedy anime ever.
When I went to My anime list to check the top rated anime, almost all the seasons of Gintama were in the top 30 list.
So, what’s so good about Gintama?
What makes Gintama great is that it is not conventional. It breaks all the rules that have been followed in the anime industry.
It is refreshing to see an anime break the fourth wall and talk from the perspective of the watchers.

What makes Gintama so amazing? | Anime Review — Image Source – Google Images | Flickr.com

The other lovable part of Gintama is that there are no secrets. There’s this transparency that lets us see what’s going on in the anime production and what the author is going through.
Also, it is really funny and all the references made in the anime only made it better. Although most of these references are old and are difficult to understand unless you are a native Japanese.

The Plot…

…is to not have one. Even the characters of Gintama talk about how they don’t have a plot and how they’ve been getting with that.

Normally, each episode will have a different story, a different gag. But every now and then they have a mini-arc which spans for about 4-6 episodes.
Although Gintama is a comedy anime for the most part, the fight scenes are amazing and they sure know how to make the watchers emotional when it counts.
Regardless, they do have a general setting which is the closest thing to the plot of this anime.
It is that the aliens called Amanto have invaded Earth during the Edo period and the samurai have been defeated by them.
Now, both humans and amanto live together (although the Amanto has more political power than humans.)
Swords have been abolished and the spirit of the Samurai has been buried in the past.
However there are still a few who oppose the Amanto and want to grab their freedom. But most of the humans have gotten used to living among aliens.

The Creativity

Ironically, Gintama, the show which is infamous for copying other anime actually has a lot of creativity.
This was shown apparent in their filler episodes. Gintama is the only anime where I didn’t bother skipping filler episodes (well, a part of the reason is because the entire anime is kinda like a filler, so it didn’t really matter.)
One of the examples of such unique filler episodes is where they typically showed intro and outro music for the entire screening time.
There were also episodes where they used only voices with static background (and naturally they made fun of how their animation budget was tight and they had to do stuff like that.)
Other than these there are a lot of crazy, creative things that amaze the watchers everytime.

The Characters

Image source – Google Images | Imgur.com

There are two main groups in this anime. One is the Yorozuya – the odd job store managed by Gintoki, Kagura and Shinpachi – the main characters of Gintama.
And the other group is the Shinsengumi who are basically the cops of the Edo era. (I personally loved the gag centered around the Shinsengumi more than the other ones.)
Of course, there are a dozen other side characters with unique characteristics and backstories.
All of these characters are weird for sure, but are lovable nonetheless.
The Yorozuya Trio.

Gintoki Sakata

Gintoki was a samurai who fought against Amanto when they initially invaded.
After suffering a crushing defeat and losing a lot of his comrades, Gintoki now lives doing odd jobs.
That is he doesn’t want a fixed job (as he is so lazy) and is often low on money.
He lives on the top floor of a snacks bar (and he never pays the rent) where he has set up his office for the Yorozuya.
As far as his personality goes, he has a devil may care attitude, but he doesn’t hesitate to lay his life on the line for his friends.

Kagura

Kagura is a young girl from the Yato clan – a species of amanto that looks very similar to humans, but has ruthless physical strength.
The Yato clansmen are known for fighting. Their life’s purpose is to live and die on the battlefield.
However, Kagura wanted to change that mindset. So she decided to stay with Gintoki and the others, living a peaceful life.

Shinpachi Shimura

Shinpachi is the only normal person in the trio. He is the son of a late Samurai who taught him the importance of the sword.
When he met Gintoki for the first time, he was captivated by Gintoki’s bushido (way of the samurai) and decided to tag along with him.
He is also a big idol otaku. He is the number 1 fan of the young idol named Terakado Tsuu.
Shinpachi is the leader of Otsuu chan club — a hardcore idol club that worships Terakado Tsuu and no one else.
Music
It is common for comedy anime to not have some amazing intro and outro music.
I wasn’t expecting much out of Gintama because of that, but boy was I surprised.
The intro was too serious for a comedy anime, but almost all of the music in Gintama was so amazing.

Animation

The only part of Gintama that I felt was lacking is the animation. Given that this show started airing over a decade ago, the animation might not be on par with the ones we are getting now. However even back then there were high budget anime that had top of the class animation. On the other hand Gintama just looks plain and simple.

But, I suppose it is alright as this gives Gintama the vintage look. Not to mention, after a few episodes it is easy to get used to.

Conclusion

Overall Gintama is one of a kind anime that is so weird that is good. This show is definitely not something for new anime fans as it has a lot of stuff that you can understand only if you’ve been into anime for a while.
And naturally, 353 episodes of this kind of comedy can be a bit too much for some people. However, it is still an anime that is worth your time.

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