Good God, this arc is just driving me crazy. It's more than a battle of good and evil; it's the battle of hope and despair. This chapter is outstanding from top to bottom with its top notch choreograph, deep challenging thoughts of life and death, and twists and turns that is preparing to end one part of the arc on a high note.
This is a bit challenging to review, since it sort of changes my format. I decided to break into two parts: action and dialogues. The latter is crucial to the former because without it, it wouldn't be as awesome as it is. It's one of those gems that Gintama is well known for.
The action is awesome, but without words, it kicks ass. Choreograph is so well done, that if Sorachi works on a new series after this, he should try a full-fledged battle manga. The vengeful stares from Katsura and Sakamoto are profound; they want to kill Enshou so bad. Speaking of him, he continues to be highly impressive, but thankfully, he was outsmarted by trickery.
The whole sequence is pretty engaging. All of which is easy to follow and you can feel the rising tension from each passing panel. One after another, they get closer to hit Enshou, but he is too skillful with his two sabers. I also like how they can do more than just a beam saber, so it asks for more variety. It's intense as hell.
The action isn't awesome without strong dialogues. This is what makes it engaging and tensed. Enshou, despite how much of an asshole and stubborn he is, has some deep words to exchange with everyone. I love how he manages to keep his status like a sorrowful warrior when he sees himself as a man who fights for dead until they are cleansed, while Katsura, Sakamoto, and others fight for the living until their lives are burned out. It really separates the thought of good and evil from this final stand. Plus, he ends on a badass note by telling them that they can go home along with the fallen ship. Savage little bastard.
During the action phase, while he was overpowering them, you can grasp his despair and practically became a shell of his former self. The only thing that keeps him going is fighting until he is burnt out. It's kind of sad but no doubt, he needs to die now.
There are a lot of great quotes in this chapter and they don't come off like inserts. All of which have deep meaning for not only the battle but the entire war. The reason that I have to break up the review format like this is because of how Matako was incorporated with the dialogues exchange.
Watching her hanging alone and thinking that everyone she cared has died is rather dark and depressing. The sight of her practically giving up on fighting is saddening and that moment has Enshou talking about despair. In short, it translates her character and what she is going through, without any dialogues or even monologues (outside the very beginning). You bought in that she gave up on everything and when the hanger breaks, she doesn't react; she accepts her fate.
The rebound scene with Katsura stabbing back at Enshou doesn't contain cheap dialogues of never giving up or friendship. In fact, this part is awe inspiring. "Loving people and hating people, we'll repeat it as many times as it takes." That quote is so good. To my surprise, Takechi saves Matako; no, he's not a ghost nor is Matako on her death bed. Shoukaku is also alive.
You’re probably be wondering if I should be upset about it. To be honest, I'm not and it's not because I wanted him to live. In fact, if he keeps it this way, I would highly praise Sorachi for this great move. Allow me to explain.
You have heard me pretty convinced that Bansai and Takechi are dead. I bought in 1000%. The same can be said for Shoukaku and Batou. What Sorachi did is devilishly genius. He has two moments that are side-by-side with their death sequence. Batou lost his limbs and can't see any more, which led him to death, while Shoukaku was only implied but never shown at all. Bansai was a standing corpse with one final action as well as many signs of his death door waiting for him to enter, while Takechi's death was only implied by crashing.
The explanation is believable and it makes sense on how it was all timed up. Shoukaku and his men took care of Takechi's job and during that time, Takechi couldn't reach him at all. The only way is to regroup in person. Takechi's time isn't up but Bansai's time was. That said it is genius of Sorachi because of the side-by-side tactic. Yes, it makes me angry at him but for all the right reasons. He really got me.
This way, he should keep it as it is because it will continue to put us pressure on who will die or not for the rest of the series. Otherwise, that could actually backfire if he pulls same stunts with others later on. It also makes sense for Takasugi to have reinforcements for possibly one final battle at space and I can't wait already. The escape pods area is definitely the final stage of the battle.
The art work is clean and great all around. The action set pieces are great to feel the impact. It's well designed to follow and never felt lost with its moment. The dialogues are nicely written, including Takechi's catchphrase. Never would I think it can be said so grand, but Sorachi did it. It feels so good when Katsura lands a hit on Enshou and it's not over yet. Now with Takasugi and the last remaining reinforcements, it's going to be the final stand before we can say bye-bye to space.
The one part of the arc is coming close to the conclusion. No doubt it's going to end with a bang (no pun intended). The action is intense, great lines from characters, and twists and turns that really got me and hopefully it doesn't go overbearing. If it keeps this way, we are in for an explosive end.
