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Comments 15

raineyz February 11 2013, 11:15:51 UTC
Amazing breakdown of this arc! I love your commentary so much ;;

Because as fierce as the five rebels are, Gintama is never about the heroics of the few, but the ability of a community-however divided, however different-to rise to their best when called upon.

This is definitely a big reason why I love the Yoshiwara and Four Devas arcs so much. What sets Gintama apart from so many other shounens is how it takes ideals that would normally be cliched as hell and makes you want to believe in them, because these characters just feel so real, like people you've known all your life. And this is supposed to be a comedy series.

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juneaddams February 11 2013, 14:25:18 UTC
<333

What sets Gintama apart from so many other shounens is how it takes ideals that would normally be cliched as hell and makes you want to believe in them, because these characters just feel so real, like people you've known all your life. yes this puts it down so well. It's like the whole time we've been getting all the crazy adventures with nude Shogun & the Yorozuya, like the ski trip arc and the host club ep and all that, it's been slowly endearing us to the character and this arc just seems like a massive payoff to that. Because we've all shared all those crazy moments with the shogun, it makes his noble acts in Keisei really meaningful. It's like seeing your bumbling friend suddenly ace his drama audition, or something like that ( ... )

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spartydragon February 11 2013, 12:55:35 UTC
*peeks in from twitter* EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! :D

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juneaddams February 11 2013, 14:29:13 UTC
sparty <3<3<3 *clings on you like a wet starfish*

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spartydragon February 12 2013, 04:50:44 UTC
*clings back even though the starfish smells funny*

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rae00 February 11 2013, 18:23:44 UTC
You make everything better.

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juneaddams February 12 2013, 05:34:54 UTC

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ipsius February 11 2013, 19:21:16 UTC
Got here from Tumblr. I love all your meta posts, because you always do such an amazing job teasing out all these relevant details and connections. (Like in your Kagura post. That was my favorite. ♥) The thing about Gintama that makes it so endearing is that it is absolutely about community and camaraderie. Gintoki isn't a hero because he has the most power-ups and the flashiest energy blasts, but because he inspires people to stand up and change things.

The regular doses of humor and ridiculousness also make for a great contrast with the serious arcs. And this is sort of off on a tangent, but how in the world does Sorachi get the tone and tone switches so perfect? He's a wizard.

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juneaddams February 12 2013, 04:09:28 UTC
aw, thank you! I've always wanted to say I love your tumblog with all the Kagura love in it. bbgirl is a big damn hero / my ultimate bias.

The thing about Gintama that makes it so endearing is that it is absolutely about community and camaraderie. Gintoki isn't a hero because he has the most power-ups and the flashiest energy blasts, but because he inspires people to stand up and change things.

Yes, exactly! Whereas classic shonen sheries believe in the exceptional individuals among us, "the chosen one" so to speak, Gintama believes in the community and the idea that no matter who we are, we can contribute something to a cause we believe in. Even if we are a madao! And yet it manages to not be naive about things either, cause there's always going to be bad stuff with the good stuff, and sometimes the best endings we got is more bitter than sweet, but.../going off-tangent again.

And this is sort of off on a tangent, but how in the world does Sorachi get the tone and tone switches so perfect? He's a wizard.He and Sunrise are like a ( ... )

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ipsius February 12 2013, 04:45:02 UTC
*blushhhh* Haha, thanks! Kagura is my absolute favorite. I don't think there's any other character like her, not even talking about just animanga, but in general ( ... )

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juneaddams February 12 2013, 13:26:27 UTC
That chapter got me misty-eyed. I mean, I feel like it says something about Sorachi-sensei that his favorite character (according to Q & A) is Madao because in other series, a character like him would never be the story's hero.

The way I think about it is, if you were to anthropomorphize the various popular Shonen Jump series, a lot of them would be like teenage kids - lots of energy, really brash. But Gintama would be someone in their 20s, with a great sense of humor, but extremely principled and aware of exactly who they are. If that makes sense, haha.yes basically this, this made so much sense ( ... )

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dagronrat February 12 2013, 17:53:47 UTC
(And another dent in my "Why haven't I watched Gintama yet?" armor. xD)

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