Kintoki and Gintoki, Kin-san’s Kintama, The Meaning of a Main Character
Okay, first off, scratch talkin’ about reruns, cause long run wise that’s just gonna be a hassle for me. But let’s get ourselves an effortless retrospective (I except very little retrospecting to occur) going on with the torrid of Gintama that I haven’t gone over yet; the rest of the Kintama arc which happens to be so VERY Gintama.
I’ve seen main character jokes here and there in gag series, even in Gintama’s little brother show Sket Dance, but the extent which it takes the joke is almost a marvel. I have sort of an odd flashback to the Popularity Poll arc (episodes 182-184). Based on the common held practice within the industry to have readers vote in their favorite characters. The anime studio took a few liberties upon reaching the material due to its medium specific nature and truly made the arc it’s own, which is the vibe I’m getting here with Kintama. It’s unique even in the comedy genre, and they totally run with it. They take the joke and run the ENTIRE marathon, and it is a buttload of fun.
Coincidentally both arcs feature the very best in anime intro use no lie.
And in near surprise, unlike Gintama’s previous return to the airwaves, they play it mostly straight. Kintoki, the machine built to to takes the position of leader in the Yoruzuya, presents himself as a legitimate threat, playing the all knowing villain and playing it well. It’s practically a parody of other stuff like Bleach actually, although with a little more emotion involved. And when it comes down to any even remotely serious story, Gintama finds its strengths in executing the conventional through the charm and history of it’s characters.
In fact, this is why’d I argue Kintama is the perfect way to illustrate Gintama, and why it fits as a return to the show for the longtime viewers. It takes back to the argument you hear occasionally when Gintama pops up, how some wish that the show actually focused on its intermittent “serious” stints, where the skew between the shows comedy and drama/action is sent topsy-turvy and all “whooooooooa” like. Yet the uncommon nature of these arcs is a lot of why Gintama’s charm work. Here are a bunch of characters who you’ve had the chance to experience in their natural everyday situations, which may just happen to get kinda ridiculous! They become people you know and love in a whole variety of ways and through their many facets. So when the stakes DO finally reach for the ‘oh geez this is kinda SUPER SERIOUS now’, the impact of their actions is multiplied tenfold.
Kintama is perhaps the epitome of this. It gives us a bunch of the main cast in their natural everyday, and reminds us why we enjoy them on a regular basis. Gintoki really steals the show with most of his scenes, but even moments such as the conversations between Otae and Kyubei, Sa-chan and Tsukuyo, Hasegawa and Katsura, these people are the reason why Gintama is so enjoyable. So as the situation does grow more SERIOUS in nature, the viewers who have grown with the characters do feel that important connection through the shared history with them. All 60 DVD volumes worth of it. You could get into a discussion of the nature of long-running shows here, which is kinda interesting in and of itself, but I ain’t articulate enough for somethin’ like that right now.
Plus it’s all done pretty hilariously. (the BEST intros, why does nobody else do this, do other studios do this?)
As far as side notes go, it’s cool to have a demonstration of how strong the female cast is, and not just in the character sense. Which. Which is kinda… tragically overshadowed sometimes thanks to Gintama’s huge yaoi-schmuck fanbase? It’s almost like when I see a single gif of Tsukuyo or Kyubei, I’m reminded tumblr isn’t actually a website for smut only? Cultural barriers also in full force with ULTRA SOUL, but on the whole scale of scabbards and swords, losing that one joke is negligible. It makes Episode 2/254 perhaps the weakest of the bunch, but that’s overall not too weak at all. Since after all, this arc is an example of what makes Gintama tick and tock!
I’ll be back with Gintama again when a new episode airs, hopefully with less muddled thoughts.
Thus. Another shoddy promise that may or may not be kept.
A Man’s Sword
Nailed it.