Gintama (2006– )

In the early 17th century, Japan adopted strict isolation policies and severed almost all ties with foreign countries. In 1853, the US fleet commanded by Admiral Perry forced the doors open... See full summary »

Stars:

Rie Kugimiya, Daisuke Sakaguchi, Tomokazu Sugita

Cast

Series cast summary:
Rie Kugimiya	...	Kagura (9 episodes, 2006-2011)
Daisuke Sakaguchi	...	Shimura Shinpachi (8 episodes, 2006-2011)
Tomokazu Sugita	...	Sakata Gintoki (8 episodes, 2006-2011)
Susumu Chiba	...	Kondo Isao (6 episodes, 2006-2011)
Satsuki Yukino	...	Shimura Tae (6 episodes, 2006-2011)
Akira Ishida	...	Katsura Kotaro (5 episodes, 2006-2011)
Yu Kobayashi	...	Sarutobi Ayame (5 episodes, 2006-2011)
Kazuya Nakai	...	Hijikata Toshiro (5 episodes, 2006-2011)
Kenichi Suzumura	...	Okita Sougo (5 episodes, 2006-2011)
Tetsuharu Ohta	...	Yamazaki Sagaru (4 episodes, 2006-2011)
Fumiko Orikasa	...	Yagyu Kyubei (4 episodes, 2011)

Storyline

In the early 17th century, Japan adopted strict isolation policies and severed almost all ties with foreign countries. In 1853, the US fleet commanded by Admiral Perry forced the doors open, leading to a modernization of the nation's sociopolitical systems and the eventual fall of the Shogunate. The samurai regime ended its life with the imperial restoration in 1868. That's what history tells, but in Gintama, that's not what happens. Instead of the US fleet, the country is stormed by spaceships coming from four corners of the universe and soon we see it occupied by extraterrestrials. The Shogunate has become a puppet of alien occupation armies. All samurais have been disarmed and reduced to temp workers with no skills who just try to make ends meet. Gintama is a story of a handyman named Gintoki, a samurai with no respect for rules set by the invaders, who's ready to take any job to survive. He and his gang, however, are also among the very few who have not forgotten the morale of a ...

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Plot Keywords:

samurai | japan | parody | anachronism | one word title | 

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

4 April 2006 (Japan)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dentsu, Sunrise, TV Tokyo

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Charming and Highly Entertaining

Gintama is my favorite episodic (well, mostly episodic) anime.

It's amazing that a show with such random and purposely tactless moments can be so charming.

Gintama combines history, parody, nostalgia, immaturity, responsibility, thoughtlessness, and thoughtfulness into one hilarious show. There are a few times where the show gets a menacing/serious streak but usually there are humorous moments even at those times.

Instead of a steam-punk world we have samurai-punk where aliens are all around and advanced technology exists in a traditional Japan-looking world.

I originally called Gintoki a 'sort of has-been samurai'. But he's not a has-been samurai. Gintoki is still a samurai at heart. In fixing this, I almost wanted to say he's a samurai in a world that doesn't need samurai, but that's not true either.

To say it correctly: The story follows a samurai named Gintoki's day-to-day struggle to pay the rent. Gintoki is a samurai in a world that has no place for samurai anymore. He seems like a fairly laid-back fellow but he somehow he manages to help out the many troubled people who cross his path or seek him out. Along the way he takes on young protégés (cheap employees) who are like (dysfunctional) family to him.

Gintoki and his fellow Yorozuya (translated to English as Odd Jobs) usually not only have to conquer whatever the problem-du-jour is, but also deal with the Shinsengumi (police) and other various (and usually crazy) friends and rivals that pop up from time to time.

Despite being an episodic series, for me Gintama does a great job of imparting a day-in-the-life vibe that gives the series a sense of overall cohesiveness even when it isn't really moving in any specific direction. Watching the series more lately, I think it's just being true to life. Through various experiences, we get to find out more about the characters along the way.

The Crunchyroll subbed version generally does a good job of explaining any cultural references that might otherwise sail over our heads.