A Gintama episode a day keeps the ending away…Episode 143
Episode Title: Those Who Stand On Four Legs Are Beasts. Those Who Stand On Two Legs, Guts, And Glory Are Men
MY 14 FAVORITE MOMENTS IN EPISODE 143 (manga chaps 220, 221 and 222):
I get weepy every time I watch this episode. Even though I already know everything that’s going to happen and even try to prepare myself from getting emotional, it doesn’t matter, I still cry at least three times.
1) First cry. I’d have to be a soulless monster not to feel anything from seeing Kagura in such a vulnerable state.
2) This poor Hyakka member...she was so terrified of Kamui. I really felt for her. Obviously, he didn’t since he killed her anyway. As much as I love him, I still have to admit Kamui’s pretty shitty most of the time.
3) I know he means well in his own twisted way, but I’m sure his victims just feel more horrified upon seeing him smiling at them right before their death.
4) Tears starting up again here but I’m able to hold it together though barely...
5)...things get really shaky here for me cuz seeing Hinowa trembling with emotion trying to hold back HER tears is enough to make me want to cry, but I’m able to hold it together yet again...
6) ...and here’s where I lose it for the second time, especially seeing the way Hinowa’s shoulder is trembling. Hurts my heart so much.
7) Gin-chan making a pretty awesome show of power; that door was not exactly made of cardboard.
8) If only Sacchan was around, she’d probably pass out from happiness from hearing that. She’d no doubt assume he was thinking about her.
9) Third cry.
10) This is absolutely not my favorite moment cuz I really do not like Housen, but I just wanted to point out how ridiculous his gigantic umbrella is, obviously he’s trying to compensate for something with that thing, and also his tendency to strip his shirt so that he can show off his stupid muscular upper body is also kinda pathetic as well. You don’t see Kamui needing to do exhibitionist shit like that.
11) I just love how effective this scene was in showing how Gintoki was just a breath away from buckling under Housen’s power and being crushed like a bug by him.
12) Again, as I’ve said many times before, there really is no way Gintoki is just a mere human being because he should have been so dead from just that one attack alone. He’s gotta have some Utsuro blood in him and it’s driving me crazy that that hasn’t been a reveal yet.
13) I cheered, and then wished Gin-chan had shoved Tsukky’s pipe in just a little more so this old pervert could have been lobotomized. I wanted him so dead for the damage he had inflicted on Gintoki.
14) Not that I ever thought Gintoki could be dead (even though I did still scream first time I watched Housen kick him through that wall), but Seita’s reaction never fails to make my tense up in anxiety for at least a second or two.
SHIPS TALLY:
Shinpachi x Kagura: I can never really get on this ship since I don’t see them that way (not to mention, it’d probably be a very imbalanced relationship since Kagura would totally dominate Pachi-kun and step all over him), but I did love how he really was Kagura’s anchor and support throughout her whole fight with Abuto, not to mention also the catalyst for her losing herself to her Yato senses since her chain snapped when he was in danger. Really felt the love between them.
Kondou x Otae & Gintoki x Hasegawa: kinda self-explanatory...both couples are doing what they normally do as couples.
Gintoki x Kamui: here’s where the spark happened.
Gintoki x Tsukuyo: honorable mention since she saved Gin-chan’s life by giving him her kiseru.
A Gintama episode a day keeps the ending away...Episode 174
Episode Titles: Are There Still People Who Go To The Ocean And Yell Out 'Bakayaro'? and When A Person Is Trapped, Their Inner Door Opens
MY 14 FAVORITE MOMENTS IN EPISODE 174 (first part has no manga equivalent, second part is from lesson 253):
Alright, so Tumblr hates my Gintama posts: it’s been terminating my blog every single time I make a Gintama-related post for the past 5 days. It would magically reactivate it again, but it’s still distressing. Since I worry one day it will get sick of reactivating my blog, I’m just going to start making my Gintama posts here. It’s like starting all over again but better than losing my old blog forever. (T_T) Tumblr, why are you trying to stop my Gintama prayers??? You don’t want it to come back or something??? WHY ARE YOU SO CRUEL?????
1) First part was a weird fishing adventure which actually started out kinda dark with Madao being all beaten up by some yakuza types and then forced into fishing slavery. The Yorozuya were kinda forced to do the same, but most importantly, how freaking cute is Kagura-chan?? She’s so proud of her catch! I’m happy when she’s happy.
2) NOT a favorite moment because seriously wtf was up with hairy turtle dude? Poor Madao.
2) The Yorozuya giving Hasegawa all their support was so sweet.
3) F that hairy turtle dude for forgetting about one very important true WOMAN of the sea.
4) On to part two, the elevator lesson and how freaking adorable is Kagura drooling and dreaming of food???
5) I completely understand and sympathize with her stress. She is absolutely not overreacting AT ALL.
6) A girl is hungry. I totally understood.
7) A man is hungry. I totally understood.
8) Their identical FML postures.
9) Dear Pachi-kun trying to boost everyone’s spirits.
10) I don’t know if it would be worse stuck in an elevator with pessimists like Gintoki, Kagura and that security guard...
11) ,,,or borderline maniacs like Shinpachi. Lol.
12) Emo Kagura is still adorable.
13) I didn’t really like that security guard anyway so I was glad Shinpachi did that, even if it bordered on elderly abuse.
14) This brought tears to my eyes tonight. I love these three goofballs so damn much.
SHIPS TALLY:
Gintoki x Hasegawa: I wish they would get a room already. No I’m serious, I want them to get a room so I won’t have to see them being all cute together (cuz I’m just jealous on behalf of my ship...I am extremely petty).
A Gintama episode a day keeps the ending away…Episode 155
Episode Title: The Other Side Of The Other Side Of The Other Side Would Be The Other Side
MY 5 FAVORITE MOMENTS IN EPISODE 155 (no manga equivalent):
I never finished this episode until now, and less than midway in, I realized why: it’s really not that good. On top of having nothing for me--I’m not into GinHase, I hate gambling, especially when it involves animal racing--it’s also honestly just not that funny or interesting. It’s almost mostly a recap episode for Hasegawa, which was pretty pointless cuz it’s not like he gets written out of the show after this so I’m not sure what the point was. Imho, it’s the first big miss for the Sunrise anime team going rogue.
1) I just like Gintoki’s shorts and abs. I can live with the nippleless chest.
2) Since this is the first time I got this far in the ep, I was actually shocked at the dark turn it took with Hasegawa supposedly committing suicide cuz he lost at horse racing. I didn’t think he was actually dead, dead cuz we know for a fact he’s still alive, but it was still disturbing that the anime team went there as a joke.
3) And because for this rewatch I normally stick around all the way to the end to even the previews, I was pleasantly surprised when this happened: Hasegawa climbing up from the racetrack floors to step on his suicide note.
4) I would say Gintama is more than a gag anime, but I appreciated this fourth wall breakage.
5) I finally laughed at something in this ep.
SHIPS TALLY:
Gintoki x Hasegawa: as usual, Gin-chan was being super supportive of Madao for the most part.
Hasegawa x Hatsu: they are canon after all. And I’m glad Hatsu recovered from whatever happened to her in the haunted murder apartment.
A Gintama episode a day keeps the ending away…Episode 136
Episode Title: It's Your House, You Build It
MY 12 FAVORITE MOMENTS IN EPISODE 136 (manga chap 230):
1) The anime team trying to kill a few minutes again.
2) I loved Hasegawa’s puppy. His dirty state made me so sad.
3) The puppy was so well behaved too, knew how to follow everything his master did. I appreciated the Death Note mention too.
4) This was not in the manga: loved the little can badges on this dog house!
5) Not in the manga either and omg.
6) That room had to have stunk from all that blood and I reallyyyy wish Gintoki didn’t sit on the stains. Dried up or not, it’s still disgusting.
7) Ok, Gin-chan’s analogy was quite different in the manga, much nicer. In here, it became the similarity between a room that has been “done” and a good girl who’s been “done” (I think the word the translators probably should have used was “soiled” because that is actually what he meant). So messed up. I really only liked this because he was in a uniform. In his analogy, in addition to the dyed hair and ear piercing, that chick also looked like she aged 10 years...but I guess that was the point since she was “done” by a bad boy during summer vacation.
8) Poor poochie. I hope he was able to escape the room.
9) Well, technically none of them escaped, but not like realism ever mattered in the Ginta-verse. It was funny how they were trying to hand off the keys though.
10) I actually got creeped out cuz the anime made things scarier by having the static effect like the one used in The Ring. And of course hearing the voice from the radio is so much worse than just reading the words. I really don’t like this moment at all but it did leave an impression.
11) We will never know what actually happened to Gintoki, Madao and the old realtor in that room.
12) Poor Hatsu. Although since there was no one around, I guess the room might’ve only just made her homicidal? Anyway, again, we’ll never know. Glad she survived whatever it did to her though.
SHIPS TALLY:
Hasegawa x Hatsu: still not sure how she found his new place without an address, but in the manga, it seemed like Madao was the one who sent her the postcard, which would’ve been a bit of a dick move, so I’m glad the anime made it more clear that “Noboru”, the demon or spirit in the room, actually did it. Honestly, she’s better off just not associating with him overall. Even if she hadn’t been possessed or whatever, she would’ve had to clean that blood soaked apartment for him. Who needs that headache?
Gintoki x Hasegawa: Gin-chan is always so supportive and encouraging to Hasegawa, it’s really touching. Damn it.
Hasegawa x Slave: that guy looked like he was more than willing to play fetch for Madao.
A Gintama episode a day keeps the ending away...Episode 94
Episode Title: When Riding A Train, Make Sure You Grab The Straps With Both Hands
MY 10 FAVORITE MOMENTS IN EPISODE 94 (manga chaps 153 and 154):
1) The anime team coming up with yet another creative way to fill out the episode’s running time.
2) I actually appreciated the educational lesson in tv animation production.
3) Gin-chan being a totally sweet and supportive bro.
4) Oh Madao.
5) Gintoki getting all violent because Madao dare to question his loyalty.
6) How freaking sweet was that?? As a GinHiji-shipper, I was getting really jealous.
7) The Queen totally judging Madao.
8) The whole Heidi thing was weird and kinda creepy cuz Heidi was freaking creepy looking, but Hasegawa in an animal costume always amuses me.
9) First time I watched the ep I was trying to determine if I liked the color scheme of his suit since, in the manga, it was just black...
10) ...and then this happened and I immediately decided, yes, I liked it. I liked everything about it.
SHIPS TALLY:
Gintoki x Hasegawa: I mean, a strong case can be made that they’re already canon just based on this arc.The harem thing just made it legally binding?
Hasegawa x Hatsu: they’re technically still married (not getting why Hatsu looks like Sadako’s older sister here).
Haga x Hatsu: he probably doesn’t deserve to be counted with her, but at this point of the story, they were technically dating so it’s only right to include them.
Disclaimer: Gintama is not only about shipping. Gintama is hilarious, clever, exciting, poignant, heart-breaking, loving, brilliant, and just completely unbelievably amazing. It is only due to Sorachi-sama’s immense generosity that I am able enjoy Gintama on an extra another level, the shippy level, and I am forever grateful for that. GINTAMA IS LIFE AND LOVE.
A Gintama episode a day keeps the ending away...Episode 95
Episode Title: Men, Be A Madao
MY 10 FAVORITE MOMENTS IN EPISODE 95 (manga chaps 154 and 155):
1) Gin-chan was actually doing a pretty good job defending Madao in the beginning. Of course I knew his effectiveness couldn’t last, but I was still impressed.
2) I love that stupid grin!
3) When the trial became a porno viewing party. Look at these pervs.
4) The aftereffects of the “evidence” review.
5) Different medium, same clever metaness.
6) Heidi in the anime was like 10X freakier than her counterpart in the manga, so I hated every moment with her and that hellish trench she was trying to crawl up from, but I did love the furry-fying of Madao and Gin-chan.
7) Gintoki still looked more like Sacchan than any version of Clara I’ve ever seen.
8) Love it when Kagura’s channeling Gintoki, even when she’s mimicking his gross habits.
9) I really must be getting more sentimental over the years...first few times I got to this scene in the manga, I thought it was sweet but I didn’t get emotional or anything, but when I revisited it like the year before, I started crying. And wouldn’t you know it, I started freaking crying tonight while watching this scene as well! Maybe it’s also because my affection for Hasegawa has definitely increased a lot more over the years, so I’m more moved by his whole relationship with his ex-wife.
10) I cried throughout the stupid suit reveal and this! Ack, I’ve gotten so WEAK!!!
SHIPS TALLY:
Hasegawa x Hatsu: every time I’m reminded of how amazingly sweet she was as his wife, I get more annoyed at Madao for dropping her during the timeskip. He totally doesn’t deserve her, in the past or now, but she obviously still loves him.
Gintoki x Hasegawa: they’ve been in the same category since they met.
Haga x Hatsu: I actually forgot the part where he actually did love her. My memory is selectively bad like that. He’s still a womanizing dog but at least he did the honorable thing at the end by letting Madao win his case.
Disclaimer: Gintama is not only about shipping. Gintama is hilarious, clever, exciting, poignant, heart-breaking, loving, brilliant, and just completely unbelievably amazing. It is only due to Sorachi-sama’s immense generosity that I am able enjoy Gintama on an extra another level, the shippy level, and I am forever grateful for that. GINTAMA IS LIFE AND LOVE.
A Gintama episode a day keeps the ending away...Episode 90
Episode Titles: The More Delicious The Food, The Nastier It Is When It Goes Bad and Gin-san has turned into an Invisible Man
MY 8 FAVORITE MOMENTS IN EPISODE 90 (part one from manga chap 46, second part from nothing):
1) I appreciated the fact that since the anime staff made the episodes out of order from the manga, they had to come up with an excuse to put Hasegawa and Elizabeth in the hospital, so they did a parody of Sin City which ended with Matsudaira’s car running over them as he rode away with the stripper stand-in for Jessica Alba.
2) Spoiled crab could NOT have tasted good, probably stank like shit too, so it kinda made me sad that our Yorozuya are so poor and hungry that they still went ahead with eating it.
3) Yorozuya on Yorozuya violence will always be endearingly amusing to me.
4) 1,000,000,000!!!!!
5) Zura’s duty over death look of determination.
6) I guess the anime staff had time to kill since the episode was on the short side, so they came up with this weirdness. When I first saw it I thought it was going to lead in to a promo for a new Gintama video game, but no, they were just killing time.
7) I probably could have used this for the ships tally cuz Gintoki was almost obsessed with Kagura being naked (his voice actually got kinda pervy, which was kinda ew) but I thought the other scenario was funnier. I did laugh a little though when Shinpachi was also like, “wait, Kagura you’re naked” too? I mean, he is a hormonally-charged teenager after all.
8) Yeah, there really was no point other than to kill time.
SHIPS TALLY:
Elizabeth x Uchino: thank goodness Elizabeth got run over on a Monday and therefore it was Eren under there and not Dragonia, since my ZuraEli ship is all about ZuraDragonia.
Zura x Elizabeth: Zura really loves Eli so much...he stayed with her the entire time she was in the hospital. (don’t know why Zura looks like Jackie Chan there though)
Gintoki x Kagura: I think Kagura likes shipping herself with Gintoki.
Gintoki x Hasegawa: Gin-chan was being so soft and encouraging towards Hasegawa in that moment. Ugh, the canonness probably started way before the harem arc.
Disclaimer: Gintama is not only about shipping. Gintama is hilarious, clever, exciting, poignant, heart-breaking, loving, brilliant, and just completely unbelievably amazing. It is only due to Sorachi-sama’s immense generosity that I am able enjoy Gintama on an extra another level, the shippy level, and I am forever grateful for that. GINTAMA IS LIFE AND LOVE.
A Gintama episode a day keeps the ending away...Episode 19
MY 5 FAVORITE MOMENTS IN EPISODE 19 (manga chap 32):
1) I’m glad he has 4 changes of kimono, but I think the more important question should have been, how many sets of that black inner wear does he have since that’s what’s actually touching his skin, soaking his sweat.
2) The little kid falling off his bike as he was riding behind his mom was an addition of the anime team and it was totally just random but so funny and also such a teachable moment at the same time. I appreciated how that mom was bringing up her son, not coddling him, basically telling him to suck it up and move on. That kid is going to grow up to be good people.
3) The way they both got stiff at the word “bounty”.
4) Their whole journey to the beach was also unique to the anime. I loved that the first person Tae-chan sacrificed to the car was her own beloved brother.
5) I love happy endings, especially when the alien whale gets to live and make new friends.
SHIPS TALLY:
Gintoki x Hasegawa: birds of a feather and all that...if only Gin-chan’s virtue would rub off on Madao more, I might be more into this super shippy ship.
Hasegawa x Otae: he was willing to risk his life and eat her food instead of offending her by rejecting it. Kinda sweet I guess?
Disclaimer: Gintama is not only about shipping. Gintama is hilarious, clever, exciting, poignant, heart-breaking, loving, brilliant, and just completely unbelievably amazing. It is only due to Sorachi-sama’s immense generosity that I am able enjoy Gintama on an extra another level, the shippy level, and I am forever grateful for that. GINTAMA IS LIFE AND LOVE.