Editor’s Note: Yes, this is late by a week or two… But just be glad it’s here!! 🙂

What has made Gintama great so far is that it maintains a consistent essence of varied humor and heart-string-pulling without ever becoming stale.

That Gintama’s humor is effective speaks to how well it is written, because at times it can be hard to understand. As I talked about in my post “Why Gintama’s Weird Jokes are so Effective”, they incorporate much of Japanese history and folklore that is unknown to western viewers such as myself. Thankfully, there is near constant informational text that not only makes these jokes work, but teaches the viewer about Japanese culture. Although, what takes the humor to the next level is that it often explores jokes and calls back to them multiple times within the episode they are introduced. In the aforementioned post, I explain how this is done in the episode, “If You’re A Man, try the Swordfish” through the representation of Japanese Kappa lore.

However, it would be inaccurate to present all of the show’s humor as a cultural education, because it has plenty of absurd and irreverent humor sprinkled in. The level to which Gintama takes many of its jokes is almost another joke in itself. For example, in “Only kids will rollick around in the snow”, Gintoki and Kagura are clearly constructing what appears to be a male phallus out of snow, yet they both insist to Shinpachi that it’s meant to be a model of a famous historical weapon. Multiple times throughout the episode, different characters show up to the scene and immediately recognize it as the said weapon, but much to Shinpachi’s chagrin, they all recognize it as from a different battle or context. Later, we find out that Kagura and Gintoki entirely made the weapon up. While this joke does have repetition, it’s more notable for how absurd it is on more than one level. Why would there be a weapon shaped so uncannily like a penis? How is it that everyone recognized the obscure weapon but each from different contexts, especially if it was made up? The world may never know, but it’s still funny.

This concept of breaking logic in the name of humor doesn’t stop there. Although even just 40 episodes in the Yorozuya have collected a number of noble deeds under their belt, and many of the characters possess noble character traits (such as Gintoki’s principles and Shinpachi’s respect for his sister), there are many instances of the characters doing entirely unethical things and attempting to justify it, while in the end doing something good. Not just a running gag, this is the paradoxical essence of the Yorozuya that allows the show to function. Perhaps the most memorable moment of this is when the Yorozuya take advantage of carpenters’ whose duty it is to fix their home by telling them that the house was much nicer than it actually was, with Kagura going as far as to ask for her room to be expanded greatly. Gintoki fools them into fulfilling this extravagant ask by telling them about an imaginary carpenter who worked for the joy itself and painted him as someone they should aspire to be. At first, when they find out it is made up, they are extremely frustrated, but then, Gintoki, in his steadfast, confident manner, assures them that it doesn’t matter that he doesn’t exist, because he lives on in their hearts. In true Yorozuya fashion, he simultaneously teaches them a valuable lesson and manipulates them all at once.

Smaller, more extreme examples of this are sprinkled in and are just as funny, such as the many times when the Yorozuya try to chicken out of their responsibilities or find a quick, unethical way to deal with a situation. There is a point early in the show (probably pre-episode 20), in which someone is begging Gintoki to help with a particularly sticky situation. Knowing his character, we expect him to help out of his sense of duty, but it’s hilarious when we see him attempting to desperately hide in a trash can to escape the frightening reality of his situation. This is also seen in Episode 40 when Kagura receives a call from “Gintoki” telling her that he just hit a pregnant woman with his car and he doesn’t know what to do, in which Kagura’s immediate response is something like “finish her off and get back here quick”. I don’t feel the need to explain why this made me spit out my drink.

As I said in my first Gintama Thoughts, it’s the show’s ability to make me laugh and cry that sets it apart, and it still holds that ability. Some of the most heartfelt episodes are also the funniest, such as the father that dresses as a woman because he wants his son to have a mom. Just today, the show surprised me with Episode 40. Kagura meets her father and has an epic fight with him while they argue about family matters. A particularly funny moment is when her father says about Kagura’s mother, “That bitch, what has she been telling the kids!” as he proceeds to attack Kagura. However, later in the same episode, she and her father have a serious argument that earth is not the place for her, and Gintoki surprisingly sides with her dad, leaving her sitting in a pile asking the world “why?”. And the episode just ends right there. Damn, I’m still feeling the feels and I didn’t expect the show to go that far. Although it has many times in the past, it just gives off the feeling that everything is going to be ok, and the always hits me in the gut with a sucker punch that sometimes brings tears to my eyes. There truly must be something special about Gintama that I’m getting closer and closer to understanding, in which it can shift its tone so consistently on a dime without it feeling forced.

In my first Gintama thoughts, I couldn’t do much but give my general impressions and list what I thought was good, bad, and meh about the show, but now I’ve been able to give a much more cohesive review of the past 20 episodes. This isn’t only because I’ve seen more, but as I suspected, everything is becoming more comfortable and it seems like characters are really settling into their roles and constantly exploring new ways to express themselves and function with each other. It’s now no doubt to me that Gintama is something special and I look forward to watching double-time this month to catch up and release the next Gintama thoughts in a couple of weeks rather than in another month. See you next time!

Overall Rating So Far: 8/10