By Robert Ramos

Going into this new season* of Gintama, I never had any intention of writing reviews for it. As it is, I’m sure you guys are sick and tired of me mentioning it all the time, too. Well, after watching the recent two episodes, I felt inspired and just had to share with you guys, once more, the joy that is Gintama.

For starters, this season starts with a gag about moving to the nighttime slot and it was hilarious. You would think that from there it would go on to being typical Gintama and all about jokes. WRONG. The series picks up right where the last season left off, which is not usual at all. The last arc from the previous season was so crucial to the actual story and we were actually left with a cliffhanger. Again, not at all typical of Gintama. I mean, a past season ended with a fucking depressing episode about a dying dog.

Due to his actions at the end of the prior season, Gintoki is now a highly wanted criminal and also in hiding. We also learn the true identity of who he thought was his mentor. Let’s just say that I did not expect that at all. Long story short, it turns out that the mentor is actually, from the looks of it, going to be the main antagonist. Because of that, enemies are now turning into allies all to fight the greater good. Ugh. This season is going to be amazing!

What I loved most about the start of this season was how it did not start in its typical fashion. For the most part, this series is episodic, but to start off with story and context from the get-go really drew me in and left me craving more. While these two episodes were very story driven and very serious in tone, they were never afraid to shy away for a good 30 seconds and makes jokes, all to lighten up the mood.

I can’t really speak for the animation department. It’s typical from previous runs and is nothing out of the ordinary. It’s not bad, but it’s not knock your socks off either. What do you expect, though. We’re two episodes in and just getting the ball rolling. I expect there to be some beautifully animated action sequences coming up. I guarantee it.

One thing I will comment on that is never really brought up on my reviews is the ending/opening. I usually give zero fucks about them, but I gave these a chance and I was not disappointed by either of them. They are, by far, my favorite for the series. Let’s just hope they don’t change them in a few episodes.

Ok, I’m done gushing about this series (for now). It looks like Gintama is going to remain my favorite anime of all time. The fact that it veered and started off in a new direction is what really made me appreciate this anime even more. It’s going to take a lot of bad to shit take this off my top spot anytime soon.  Just like every time I talk about this series, I implore you to check it out. Even if 300+ episodes is too much to swallow, at least attempt to watch the last arc from the previous season.

*For all intents and purposes, I am referring to this new series as a season. It’s the same goddamn series just with a different name. No need to make it confusing.

Score: 5/5

Gintama. E.01 & 02