This side of the forums is a ghost town...
*shudders* So quiet.
I cannot accept that! Let's show Sorachi and his masterpiece some love, shall we? What do you love about Gintama? Here's my top 3 reasons:
1) Though it tends to parody shounen, it really is truly shounen at heart.
There are plenty of instances wherein Sorachi makes fun of the Shonen formula (most striking of which is the Timeskip arc). Even Gintoki, our "hero" is a parody unto the formulaic shounen heroes. Many times, he is shown to be at the butt of jokes, and in many instances there are gag-scenes of him running away instead of fighting. He spouts these incredibly stupid and silly lines about strawberry milk and other shit. He has sidekicks which are actually shounen-y by themselves, one of which is a glasses-wearing "straight" character (Shinpachi) and a super strong alien-girl (Kagura), which provide not only balance but comic relief to the endless comic relief (whaaat?). The situations they are frequently and "coincidentally" in both mocks and glorifies the genre. There are more but it would be a pain to mention them all. In spite of these, it is superbly shounen at heart; the sweet camaraderie, the showdowns and incredible fight scenes, and even those cheesy one-liners during serious and not-so serious moments are testament to this. Gintoki may run away a lot, but that's only because he is wise enough to choose his battles. Perhaps to say that this is shounen at heart is a wrong statement. Perhaps it is more apt to say that this is shounen with so much heart. It can best be demonstrated in one of Gintoki's famous quotes:
''Inside me, there is an organ more important than my heart. Although you can´t see it, I feel it going right through my head and down to my legs, and I know that it exists inside me. It´s the one that lets me stand up and walk forward. So that I can walk forward, without ever trembling. If I stopped here I feel like it would break...My soul would break. Even more than if my heart stops beating, to me that is the most important. Even if I become senile and my back gets bent, I still have to walk foward.''
(Yes, this is actually my signature, coz I love it so much)
2) It is unique.
The Gintama world is an alternate universe wherein aliens invade the world during Japan's Edo period. Is there any anime/manga with the same premise? It's bizarre, it's different. Naturally, this type of setting is fertile grounds...anything can happen. And of course, in Sorachi's own fashion, everything does happen and can happen. From being pixelized game characters to living/walking "polls" to abductions and weird interspecies [failed] marriages. The stories in each arc themselves are not only unique but incredibly hilarious as well. There are parodies not only on Japanese culture but also on foreign ones, and the comedies can range from excessively smart to excessively crude. There's something almost Kafka-esque about it. The series is both light-hearted and dramatic. Sci-fi and samurai. Laughter and tears. Surreal and grounded. Gintama exists in all those, and that is part of its charm.
3) The characters.
Are interesting and incredibly complex. As their characters develop, you fall in love with them more and more. Even the side-characters which you think aren't important or are unlikeable become important, and as they are fleshed out, you learn to love them as well, sometimes willingly, sometimes grudgingly. For this reason, though I love the comedy aspect of Gintama, the serious arcs are closest to my heart (I think one of my faves is the Kabukichou Four Devas Arc and the Okita Mitsuba Arc).
So who's my favorite character? Gintoki, of course! Duh.
*Sigh* There. I actually have more, but these are my top 3. How about you, guys?
Share your thoughts or forever remain silent.
Edited by Anak, 24 September 2014 - 09:26 AM.