A Gintama episode a day keeps the ending away…Episode 142
Episode Title: Life Is A Series Of Choices
MY 23 FAVORITE MOMENTS IN EPISODE 142 (manga chaps 217, 218 and 219):
Love this episode so much! My favorite ep of the arc and the best one, imo. While Gintoki’s fight with Housen later is quite awesome and brutal, in terms of emotional resonance, I have to give the win to Kagura and Shinpachi’s two-on-one face-off against Abuto. The brutality of their fight never fails to make me clench my teeth so hard that my jaw is usually achy by the end of it. I love every second of it and I wish it lasted longer.
1) Bless this very human boy for trying to protect a powerful Yato girl from powerful Yato man.
2) This moment of Yorozuya-on-Yorozuya violence was especially sweet since they were fighting over their protection of each other.
3) I love this family.
4) Tsukky being awesome and looking beautiful while doing it.
5) Such a heart-wrenching yet amazing image, and so meaningful too since Tsukky got the strength to stand up because she remembered Gintoki’s words of encouragement.
6) I always get teary-eyed even though I technically disagree with the whole throwing away their womanhood thing. I think they’re still complete women through and through even with their scares and their past and their duty.
7) This fucking psycho rabbit. After watching V/H/S 2 and seeing that image of the bloody cult dude, I can never not think of that guy when I see this scene of Kamui now. Makes it that much more disturbing.
8) Those poor women. I appreciate the muting of the colors in that moment but it really doesn’t lessen the brutality of Kamui’s actions.
9) Abuto trying to bond with Kagura over her crazy brother’s abusive tendencies.
10) You know it’s going to be an awesome fight when they go wide-screen at the start.
11) I think this is where my teeth clenching starts: you can totally tell that even though Kagura was putting all her strength into her swings and kicks, they were still barely doing anything to Abuto.
12) I love Kagura. I want to grow up to be like her.
13) I worship our Queen so much.
14) This and the noise and Kagura’s scream that resulted from it always makes me wince so hard that I actually get tears in my eyes. I could almost feel her pain from having her arm broken by Abuto.
15) Again, bless this very human boy for even attempting something like that Would’ve been more effective if he aimed for Abuto’s head, but then that wouldn’t have been in character for him and that’s why Shinpachi is so lovable.
16) In retrospect, considering the damage Abuto was inflicting on these two people that I love, it’s really amazing that he actually managed to redeem himself completely by the end of the fight.
17) I feel a sympathy pain in my gut every time I see this scene. It’s nothing short of a miracle that Shinpachi’s internal organs were permanently damaged by what Abuto did to him.
18) The moment when Kagura’s chains start coming undone.
19) I clench down here too even though Abuto took the pulverization pretty well. Seriously how did he develop such a resilience to pain? I have to wonder just how abusive Kamui has been to him over the years.
20) Holy fuck. I mean, what else can I say?
21) And yet, I still hope we get to see this side of Kagura before it’s all over because she’s just so horrifyingly amazing in that condition. I mean, I hope she learns to control the bloodlust so she doesn’t lose herself completely, but I really want to see her going berserk again. Her and Kamui, going full berserker mode on Utsuro maybe. Omg that will be so freaking awesome!!!
22) Dear sweet Abuto. He’s so helpless to this nutty Yato fam.
23) Last time someone tried to interfere with two Yatos fighting, one person got a hand through his chest and the other got his arm ripped clear off. Shinpachi is a truly brave soul.
24) Yeah, I probably was destined to love Abuto right from the start. He basically forfeited his own safety in order to save Kagura and Shinpachi: he kicked pushed them onto a roof and made no attempt whatsoever to save himself. I love that even though he was set up as a villain, he still had this compassionate side to him. Reminded me of Bansai...which I guess was the point since both of them similarly and hopelessly devoted to two misguided yet endearing psychopaths.
SHIPS TALLY:
Gintoki x Tsukuyo: lotsa mutual feelings going on between them in this arc. I would have to be blind not to see the signs. They definitely made me fear for my OTP.
Abuto x Kamui: I think it’s pretty fair to say they were pretty much canon from the get-go. It’s my fault for getting distracted with other ships for Kamui.
Tsukuyo x Hinowa: the mutual feelings were strong for them too. I mean, heck, if Sorachi-sama were to refer to Gintoki and Hijikata as the sun and moon of Edo, I would freak the F out (even though, technically that would also mean they are destined to never be together other than during an eclipse like Isabeau and Navarre in Ladyhawke, but I’m just going to ignore that part).
A Gintama chapter a day keeps the ending away...Lesson 580
MY 18 FAVORITE MOMENTS IN LESSON 580:
Where the Yato family was finally completed. I love this chapter too, even though I was sad through most of it.
1) Awwwww!
2) I really felt so bad for the Orochis for not only losing their friend but also for their inevitable deaths as well.
3) I’m so glad Kouka got to enjoy domestic life with Umibouzu for at least a couple of years.
4) Baby Kagura KILLED me. I am still dead from seeing her cute little sleeping baby face!
5) This beautiful family portrait.
6) This was not my favorite moment. In fact I was stressed the fuck out seeing Kouka cough up blood like that. That was horrifying.
7) LITTLE KAMUI CARRYING BABY KAGURA IN A SLING ON HIS BACK AS SHE SUCKS ON HER PACIFIER IS EVERYTHING THAT IS GOOD IN THIS UNIVERSE!!!
8) Ok, so Umibouzu was not only an absentee dad most of the time but he was also borderline abusive. No wonder Kamui has hard feelings against him.
9) Good for Kagura-chan! Her daddy deserved that.
10) My heart ached a little seeing Kamui when he still loved and respected his dad.
11) TEARS.
12) MORE TEARS. I miss Kouka.
13) THIS LITTLE PRECIOUS BRAVE AMAZING ANGEL!
14) I wanted to reach into the page and rip that shithead apart with my own bare hands for kicking Kagura. What kind of fuckhead even kicks a little kid??? Omg, I was so seriously angry when I first saw this.
15) The black knight arrives in time to rescue our little bunnies.
16) If I didn’t love him before, which I did, I sure as hell loved him after this. Not to mention, young Abuto was gorgeous. So dashing and debonair. Man, Kamui really wore him down over the years. Lol.
17) I kinda wish he didn’t leave their side. I still think Umibouzu should have just stayed with Kouka and his family for as long as she could live. So much time wasted with him being away. I know it was for a good purpose, but it breaks my heart thinking about how his choice robbed him of precious time with the women he loves and affected his relationship with his children.
18) Ugh, my heart. It really all goes back to how much Kamui loved his mom and how much he still misses her.
SHIPS TALLY:
Umibouzu x Kouka: I don’t think I need to explain.
Abuto x Kamui: not counting them as they were in this chapter of course, but for the potential future ship that they would become.
Disclaimer: Gintama is not only about shipping. Gintama is hilarious, clever, exciting, poignant, heart-breaking, loving, brilliant, and just so freaking amazing. It is only due to Sorachi-sama’s generosity that I can enjoy Gintama on yet another level, the shippy level, and I am forever grateful for that. GINTAMA IS LIFE AND LOVE.
A Gintama chapter a day keeps the ending away...Lesson 553
MY 7 FAVORITE MOMENTS IN LESSON 553:
1) Matako suddenly channeling Excel of Excel Saga.
2) Nobume straight up calling Matako a dick.
3) And suddenly, I was glad Kamui had Abuto around him all the time, and Kagura had the Yorozuya. But then I felt bad for Umibouzu...so imagine my surprise when he turned up.
4) Holy crap moment. Look at the carnage!
5) Perfect timing. I guess this rabbit got lonely and decided to come looking for his kin.
6) I honestly don’t remember if I felt anything when I saw this moment the first time I read this chapter, but I definitely felt something this time so I couldn’t resist including it. Sadness.
7) Awwwww. I love this portrait of them!
SHIPS TALLY:
Abuto x Kamui: I mean, can we just count them as a old married couple by now?
Takasugi x Bansai: I believed Bansai would rescue Takasugi or die trying.
Bansai x Matako: personally I think they’re like siblings, and I like to think they’re both in love with Takasugi, but this was a very sweet moment. Not that Matako needed rescuing, but I appreciate the fact that Bansai protected her anyway because he cared about her and he’s a gentleman...even if he used to be a villain.
Nobume x Matako: I can totally ship this.
Disclaimer: Gintama is not only about shipping. Gintama is hilarious, clever, exciting, poignant, heart-breaking, loving, brilliant, and just so freaking amazing. It is only due to Sorachi-sama’s generosity that I can enjoy Gintama on yet another level, the shippy level, and I am forever grateful for that. GINTAMA IS LIFE AND LOVE.
4) Not favorite moment but an emotional one: the fact that we went from seeing “ShigeShige” like this...
5)...to this. First time I saw this, it really didn’t cross my mind that he could be a fake...I was completely shocked that Zenzou actually assassinated the shogun.
6) Again, not a favorite moment but one that shook me.
7) This serious side of Zenzou was something I was not used to seeing; that dead look in his eyes a horrible sight to behold (on top of the decapitated head of Shi-chan he was holding).
8) He has never looked cooler; I just wished it wasn’t in such distressing circumstances.
9) I cheered at the sight of Abuto by Kamui’s side. I was so glad he wasn’t going to sit this one out.
10) Takasugi looking good in ninja gear. By this point I was pretty much freaking out at the number of major players already involved in this arc. While I was starting to get some idea of the serious shit that was going down, I still could not have guessed just HOW serious.
11) Sacchan being cool AF.
12) My Shinsengumi boys being cool AF.
13) GIN-CHAN being cool AF! I just love the one-two-three punches of them easily taking out the assassins.
14) I didn’t think anything would really happen to Soyo, she’s too pure to be killed, but that horrified expression on her face made me want to protect her myself. Still, I honestly never guessed who her savior would be until he actually appeared.
15) And then I felt stupid for not guessing. Yamazaki did mention his absence last chapter, I should have known. LOVED this scene...and especially loved what it was leading to: the long-awaited (by me) meeting between this adorable human sadist and the adorable Yato sadist. To say I was excited would be an understatement.
SHIPS TALLY:
Gintoki x Hijikata: they are just so cute together; I love how much Gintoki likes to tease Toshi.
Abuto x Kamui: they’re like an old married couple...or a May/December romance since Abuto sometimes has to act like the older, wiser half to the big kid that is Kamui.
Takasugi x Kamui: I am ultimately more of a AbuKamui-shipper, but I still can’t resist the siren call of this possibility. I really like that Kamui calls Takasugi by his first name like they’re very close.
Zenzou x Sacchan: they grew up together for crying out loud and she obviously knows him more than anyone else. I know she is obsessed with Gintoki, but I still think she and Zenzou were meant to be together because they make a more perfect pair...she just hasn’t realized that yet.
Sacchan x Wakikaoru: honestly, I ship them for totally superficial reasons: they’re both in the same profession and they’re both pretty. I wish we got to see more of Wakikaoru to give more fire to this ember.
Disclaimer: Gintama is not only about shipping. Gintama is hilarious, clever, exciting, poignant, heart-breaking, loving, brilliant, and just so freaking amazing. It is only due to Sorachi-sama’s generosity that I can enjoy Gintama on yet another level, the shippy level, and I am forever grateful for that. GINTAMA IS LIFE AND LOVE.
A Gintama chapter a day keeps the ending away...Lesson 508
MY 10 FAVORITE MOMENTS IN LESSON 508:
Ugh, so many awesome moments in this chapter! I was so proud of our shinobis and shogun, I totally teared up more than once in pride.
1) I loved how they were juxtaposed next to each other: even though they were on opposing sides, they were still on the same wavelength and shared similar thought processes, albeit for entirely different purposes.
2) Look at that adorable psychopath! I can’t even deal with his cuteness! Abuto’s reaction to him is especially precious!
3) Such a goofball.
4) I wasn’t completely worried for Zenzou because I just didn’t believe Bansai and Matako would actually kill him, but seeing them point their weapons at him still gave me the chills.
5) That look in Zenzou’s eyes...CHILLS AGAIN.
6) Started getting emotional here...I love that they had our beloved ninja youngster’s back.
7) Gin-chan’s speech...again, chills and watery eyes!
8) Shi-chan being a total badass kunai wielding shogun. (and I call him “Shi-chan” cuz that’s what I’ve always thought of him as based on his name, even though everyone else refers to him as “Shou-chan”)
9) He’s such a wonderful, noble man. Dammit, I’m getting teary-eyed now just seeing him in action again.
10) Abuto channeling Kamui’s crazy eyes is never a good thing.
SHIPS TALLY:
Abuto x Kamui: honestly they are just so cute together, whenever I see them interact I always wonder why I even ship them with anyone else...
Okita x Kamui: ...but then Kamui goes and says stuff like this and then I’m back to being unfaithful again.
Disclaimer: Gintama is not only about shipping. Gintama is hilarious, clever, exciting, poignant, heart-breaking, loving, brilliant, and just so freaking amazing. It is only due to Sorachi-sama’s generosity that I can enjoy Gintama on yet another level, the shippy level, and I am forever grateful for that. GINTAMA IS LIFE AND LOVE.
I think from now until I am certain that Sadaharu is safely out of the danger zone, I will start each letter by asking you to please spare the big puppy’s life. Seeing Utsuro appear behind Ane, Mone, Komako, and Sadaharu made my teeth clench so hard I was giving myself lockjaw. I hope Kagura and the others make it in time to save them; I can only imagine how horrible Kagura would feel if anything were to happen to Sadaharu since it’s obvious she already feels guilty for motivating him to spring into action. That intensely worried expression on her face as she was trying to race to his side really hurt my heart. For her sake, I sincerely don’t even want one single strand of fur to be harmed on his fluffy body, but if you are feeling a bit brutal, then all I ask is that you only inflict a non-life threatening eye injury on him—that Utsuro would only be able to cause such a minor degree of damage. Not that I wouldn’t be distressed from seeing him hurt, but at least Sadaharu could survive an eye injury and plus, he’ll look pretty cool with an eyepatch so it wouldn’t be a completely bad thing.
The second person I want to ask you to spare is Abuto. That moment when he departed from Kamui filled me with a sudden sense of foreboding because his words were almost too meaningful. They felt like final parting words, and Kamui’s response of immediately taking them to heart and acting upon them to protect his family only reinforced my misgivings. Even seeing Kamui get injured didn’t waver my concern for Abuto; Kamui has sustained even worse injuries than that from his own little sister so I have no doubt that the stab wound is little more than a pinprick for him. I sincerely hope I’m just being overly paranoid about Abuto because if we have to see another precious partner/right-hand man die, I would just be completely crushed.
But putting all my anxieties aside for now, let me thank you for letting our beloved Yato clan come together! When Papi appeared at the end there, I jumped up and cheered. I cannot wait to see this family fight together as one united front. I almost wish there wasn’t such a rush to action in order to rescue Sadaharu and the others so that the Yato clan can have a proper reunion with prolonged conversations. What further excites me is the potential meet up between Sougo and Kagura’s family; it’d be the equivalent of the future son-in-law meeting his future in-laws for me. Better yet, I hope he fights alongside them or at least gets to see up close their combined combat powers and be completely impressed. Again, I cannot tell where he is geographically speaking, but I hope it’s close enough to the Yato family’s location that they will cross paths. Even if we get only a brief scene between them like last time, I would be more than gratified because I know you will make it super sweet and awesome.
With Umibouzu’s reappearance, does that also mean that he’s found a way to defeat Utsuro? I’m sure Gintoki can use all the helpful information he could provide since physically, he’s in no state to even fight his old teacher at full strength. All the Joui boys look in dire need of some down time and I hope that you can somehow provide them with a short reprieve from the fighting so that they could recover from their many injuries. I sense that everyone will eventually meet at the terminal, and I completely look forward to the mult-group reunion, but I hope that once they are able to stop the Altana from flowing out of control, perhaps Utsuro will back off for a period of time just so we could all catch our collective breaths. A break from being constantly worried for everyone’s well-being would be most appreciated so I hope you will have mercy on us and consider my humble request.
Yours truly,
A silly fangirl with yaoi dreams
(^3^)
PS: my beloved Gintoki and Hijikata were once again separated but I am still thankful for this very sweet moment between Kamui and Abuto. I especially love how endearing Abuto looks as he advises his bratty little rabbit leader.
Gintama anime ep 325/manga chaps 580, 581, 582, 583, and 584
Dear Gintama gods and Sorachi-sama,
Having seen the return of our Shinsengumi boys for the Battle of Earth, I cannot thank you enough for answering my prayers and giving us at least one more season of the anime. You are, as usual, too too generous. Words cannot even fully express how truly grateful I am. So that I do not take up any more of your precious time, I will cut right to the chase this week. Please allow me to share with you what I most appreciate about this episode.
I am very thankful for…
- little big brothers who carry tiny little baby sisters on their backs like a treasure,
- little boys who have not yet lost their wide and genuinely happy smile at the sight of their no-good Papi,
- tiny little baby Yato girls who are still fierce as F with great kicking power and perfect aim,
- self-sacrificing, loving mothers who deserve to live forever dammit,
- young, handsome Yato pirates who rescue little rabbits from bullies,
- simple page to screen changes that makes a difference and causes my heart to overflow with emotion,
- young, handsome Yato pirates who has a penchant for rescuing one particular bratty, little rabbit even when it means taking a brutal gut punch to himself,
- no-so-young-anymore-but-still-handsome Yato pirates who still continue to rescue the same bratty-but-not-so-little-anymore rabbit by trying to save what is precious to him (even if the brat still won’t admit it),
- Papis who really tried their best but lost their one remaining good arm for their efforts,
- families bound by love even if not by blood,
- lovable idiots who use their heads even though there was no real reason for it (and it didn’t even work),
- the poor straight man who realizes (though not for the first time) the leader he has been loyally following is a lovable total idiot,
- dialogue chock full of sexual innuendo when taken out of context,
Since I’ve written to you at length already regarding all of the chapters that will be brought to life by the anime, I will spare you the trouble of having to put up with me rehashing the same material (even if said material will ALWAYS be worthy of rehashing). I know I bother you enough already with my boring missives every time a new chapter is released, so instead, for this new season of the anime, I will just show you what I am grateful for as I enjoy each new episode. Thank you so much for making all this possible, and please don’t let this be the last season of the show.
I am thankful for the following:
- Just, the return of the anime. I’m so happy the Yorozuya and the rest of the gang are once again gracing our television screens!
- The monster’s very human and very loveable child. We see Gintoki every week in the manga, but somehow, seeing him in action and hearing his voice again made me feel as if we haven’t seen him for ages (even though it’s only been like 9 months?). Loved the artistry in these two scenes below too.
- the new opening sequence and theme. So PERFECT! I can imagine Kagura singing that song. I am not ashamed to admit I got a bit teary-eyed as I was reminded of all the drama that lies ahead.
- Elizabeth’s testicles. Gin-chan should be happy that monstrosity didn’t permanently maim him.
- the inclusion of the Shinsengumi in the OP credits and as a flashback. I know that is probably all we’ll get of them for quite some time, but I’m still glad they’re a part of the OP.
- Zura. I will always be grateful for Zura. His increased presence in this arc does somewhat lessen the sting of the boys in black’s absence.
- Nobume, who is still so pretty and whose mention of Isaburo still makes me weepy.
- Matako. It must have been so hard for her to heed Banzai’s words and leave Takasugi behind, so for that, I do appreciate her.
- my favorite pirate power couple.
- Sleeping beauty. Just because I was wondering when the hell he would wake up for so long that it became a running joke in my mind.
- Impending Yato family drama. CAN’T WAIT! Though I wish they kept Rouka in shadows in the OP and ED until she actually showed up in the anime.
- the STUNNING ED sequence!! OMFG. I almost screencapped every image! I hope ALL of them are released as POSTERS and I cannot WAIT to see people cosplay those outfits! I also love that it is in honor of our baby China girl and her family.
