Gintama 24
A classic Katsura episode, a must-watch-until-know-it-by-heart for every Katsura fan :D
Episode title: A Cute Face Definitely Hides Something
Source of subs: Shinsen-Subs
Episode summary:
Gin-san says something unnecessary and gets dragged away for punishment by one of Four Heavenly Lords who watch over Kabuki District - transvestite Mademoiselle Saigou, the Demon Lord. The punishment is cruel and unusual - Gintoki gets dressed in a pink kimono and is forced to work at Saigou’s transvestite bar under the name of Paako.
Paako unexpectedly encounters a familiar face in the disreputable establishment.
Paako: ‘What exactly are you doing, Zura?’
There is a flashback that explains how Katsura got there. He was in a ramen restaurant, and it took a long time to prepare his meal.
Katsura: ‘A moment, you say? How many cup ramen do you think I could have made in the time I’ve spent waiting?’
Saigou is also in that restaurant and got food before Katsura.
Saigou wanted to give his food to Katsura, and then Katsura also said something unnecessary.
He got punched and kidnapped to join the merry transvestite club.
Paako and Zurako have a conversation while dancing on the stage.
Zurako: ‘Hey, move your hips a bit more there!’
Paako: ‘Zura, I think you’ve been here too long. It’ll be almost impossible for you to rejoin the normal outside world.’
Zurako: ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
Zurako: ‘I don’t have time to waste doing stupid things somewhere like this.’
Paako: ‘I don’t think our country would appreciate being saved by someone who’s leisurely dancing at a place like this.’
Their dancing leaves much to be desired, according to their colleague.
A drunk customer insults them, and Paako almost gives the guy a short sharp shock, but Zurako intervenes.
And then Saigou beats the customer up, while Paako and Zurako look upon the scene of carnage, shocked at Saigou’s strength.
Later, Paako, Zurako, and their colleague Azumi walk back from shopping and discuss Saigou. Zurako is surprised at his strength.
Azumi explains that Saigou was known as ‘Saigou in the White Loincloth’.
The three transvestites notice two boys bullying a smaller kid. Paako and Zurako spit at them and chase them away.
Turns out the kid was Saigou’s son Teruhiko, and Saigou is shocked to see the boy injured when the three transvestites bring him to Saigou’s bar. Teruhiko refuses to tell that he was bullied, even though Saigou suspects it. Teruhiko runs away, dropping a piece of paper.
Zurako finds Teruhiko on the roof and gives him the paper back.
Zurako: ‘Don’t worry, I didn’t show it to your father. Perhaps it would have been better if I had?’
Teruhiko: ‘No, that’s all right. Thanks, Sis.’
Turns out it is a note about parent day at school, or something to the effect.
Teruhiko does not want Saigou to go there because other people will laugh at Saigou. Meanwhile Saigou gets drunk and tells Gin-san a touching story about his and Teruhiko’s relationship.
Paako decides to use the opportunity while Saigou is drunk and escape. Zurako is still hesitating and tries to hold Paako back.
Paako: ‘What the hell gave you that idea?’
Paako: ‘Good luck, Zurako! I’ll pray that you won’t spend the next half of your life here because of this!’
Paako: ‘You can do whatever the hell you want. Just leave me out of it!’
They see the bully boys run away scared and understand that something happened to Teruhiko. Paako and Zurako coerce the bullies to tell what happened.
Bully #1: ‘ You’re both disgusting!’
Paako: ‘Zurako, he says you’re disgusting.’
Zurako: ‘What are you talking about? He was referring to you, Paako.’
Zurako: ‘You’re the one with an obviously destitute look. Hand over the money you stole to get food.’
Apparently Teruhiko has gone to a haunted house where a monster lives.
Paako and Zurako try to infiltrate the haunted mansion. Zurako manages it easily.
But Paako gets stuck in the wall.
And then they hear a suspicious noise, which might just be the monster!
Zurako is a little distressed.
Paako: ‘Zurako! Haven’t we been in the same boat up to now?! All right, how about this, I’ll give you that jacket you wanted so much, the one with “samurai” on the back!’
Turns out it was just Prince Hata. Zurako questions him about the monster. But apparently the monster is just a cute pet.
Zurako likes the pet...
But the pet turns out to be not that cute, and attacks everyone.
When Paako and Zurako come to, they are in such a situation:
Teruhiko, who has been hiding in a tree this whole time, tries to dig them out and starts crying because he feels frustrated at having caused so many problems and at the fact that nobody can see that his father’s pure heart behind the dress and the make-up.
Then the monster appears.
Zurako and Paako manage to free one hand each to grab the monster and find time to say inspiring words for Teruhiko.
But that probably would not be enough to stop the creature, if Saigou had not arrived, dressed in loincloth only, and had not defeated the monster.
Zurako finally remembered where he had heard Saigou’s name before.
Zurako: ‘When the Amanto attacked Earth, the legendary white loincloth hero charged through their stronghold. He fought until that while loincloth was dyed red by the blood of his enemies. Saigou Tokumori, the Demon Lord! He was one of the first to take up our cause.’
Saigou announces that Zurako and Paako are fired and walks away with Teruhiko.
Zurako: ‘They’re no different from samurai - they’re wonderfully upright people, too.’
The episode ends with a touching scene of Teruhiko reading his essay about his father at school and Saigou happily attending parent’s day.
And a last bonus - Katsura and Gintoki wearing leather jackets with ‘samurai’ on the back!
Commentary:
Oh, where do I start XD A scene-by-scene comment would be the best in the situation, I suppose.
When we first see Zurako, I think it is immediately obvious what an elegant and graceful figure Katsura makes even in female clothing. I am not aware of any colour symbolism regarding his choice of kimono (besides, it could have been the other transvestites who chose it for him), but it undeniably suits him well. And the make-up is perfect, too!
The flashback, I think, can be interpreted on two different levels. The first is, of course, Katsura’s devotion to his cause and his intent to revolutionise even something as petty as a soba shop that does not treat the customers equally.
On the other level, his reaction really shows that for all his virtues and noble objectives, we must not forget that he is still a human being. And humans get easily irritated when hungry and when they don’t get proper service by catering industry. And he is not entirely free of prejudice, as he calls Saigou a monster.
Also, it shows that sometimes Katsura is concerned about getting caught by the officials and he understands it would not do to draw too much attention to himself. Of course, he does not always follow that rule, but at least sometimes he does, so I’m glad to hear he won’t be caught by the Shinsengumi over something as trivial as a bowl of soba.
The dancing scene is not there just for the laughs, it emphasises Katsura’s serious nature - for one thing, he is unable to forget the fact that his duty is to save the country, even when he is in such a dangerous peril. And secondly, even though he was dragged there unwillingly and pretty much forced to participate, he still tries to do his best (as in, move his hips, lol). So basically, he feels that he has to do his best, whatever he does. An admirable attitude indeed!
The bit about the drunk customer shows that Katsura can be the voice of reason for a change, usually he is the one with the craziest plans and ideas. This might be another indication of what kind of person he used to be during the Joi war - apparently he can perfectly recognise when it is worth to have a fight, and when it’s time to give it up.
I find it significant that after seeing Saigou's display of strength, Katsura tries to understand it and find out about Saigou's past. That shows that he can be very much aware of his surroundings, if need be. Gintoki just dismissed Saigou's strength as a part of Saigou being a 'monster', but Katsura caught on to the fact that Saigou is not a regular human being.
It is interesting how Katsura is the only one who has a paper bag instead of plastic bag when they walk back from grocery shopping. Could it be a sign that he cares about the environment? It's also interesting that Gintoki is eating ice cream, but Katsura drinks something out of a brown can. The colour of the can suggests that it would not be a sweet drink, might be black coffee or something. So Katsura stays true to his habits of not eating or drinking anything excessively sweet. Although he ordered sweet soba in the ramen shop XD Well, maybe sweet soba is not as sweet as an ice cream.
I actually found it to be a little out of character for Gin-san and Katsura to rush to the defence of the bullied kid - since when do they care about what kids do? But then again, maybe getting dressed in flowery kimonos opened their hearts and made them get in touch with their feminine side, so that's why they suddenly got so compassionate. Anyhow, the manner in which they chased away the bully boys was rather amusing and definitely shows that Gin-san and Katsura both think alike.
This is probably a good moment to mention that this episode is full of GinZura (romance or bromance or friendship, think of it whatever you wish). From the start when they were dancing and bickering on stage, to how they dealt with the bullies, to Gintoki's attempted escape (Katsura was just trying to prevent Gin-san from escaping, but it sure looked like a hug to me), and both of them constantly mentioning how they have been in the same boat until now, which might refer to their plight as Saigou's transvestite hostages, but also might mean all their previous life experiences.
And then there was that moment when Gintoki was sitting on the fence and Katsura was trying to drag him back, and then the bully kids ran past talking about something dangerous - did you notice the look that Katsura and Gin-san exchanged? It really seemed they understood each other's thoughts without saying a word, that is really what being a former war comrade is about - you can't really be a former comrade.
Of course, Gintama would not be Gintama if all their conversations and actions were happening in such a sappy mood, so it's not a great surprise that when they try to get into the haunted house, Katsura tries to escape, leaving Gintoki stuck in the wall. Of course, he would not really run away if things got dangerous, but in a situation like that it was really more fitting for him to try and make a joke of the situation, and Gintoki joining in and mentioning that 'samurai' jacket.
And I was somehow happy to see Katsura wearing that jacket at the end - leather jacket suits him. Well, everything suits him XD Oh, and did you notice his arms when he was crawling through the hole in the wall? I was somehow surprised how muscled they are, usually one thinks of Katsura as elegant and somehow dainty XDD Of course it could be just the animators making Katsura more buff than he was in the manga, but I would not count on it.
Oh and I completely missed the right moment to mention Katsura's conversation with Teruhiko on the roof, so I might as well mention it now. I liked the moment when Katsura pulled that parent day note out of his sleeve. Magic trick, or what XD But I suppose it's a traditional Japanese thing to keep stuff in their sleeves, there are probably secret pockets for that purpose in there... So for Katsura traditional Japanese clothes are the thing he is really used to, regardless of whether it's male or female clothing.
Also, it was rather touching how Katsura tried to help the kid and hear him out, despite Katsura being air-headed at times, he is still all about helping people and is not above helping a kid. Katsura probably would be very good with children - he did not behave in a condescending manner, kids hate that, and talked to Teruhiko like his equal.
And it was probably this conversation that made Katsura want to stay and help Saigou and Teruhiko sort their relationship out. Logically, that would have been the perfect moment to run away, as Gintoki pointed out. But Katsura apparently is just not the kind of person to leave people alone like that (or maybe he just really liked working as a transvestite dancer, and wanted to stay? XD), so he tried to convince Gintoki to stay and help them out.
And he really did help - did you see how synchronised their movements were when they stopped that monster? They even finished each other's phrases and talked simultaneously. And of course there was the usual touching Gintama speech, only this time it was not delivered by Gin-san alone, but by him and Katsura together, which added more impact to the scene. It was definitely a moment that just reiterated to what an extent the two of them think alike.
I think Katsura was pretty happy to remember that Saigou used to fight aliens and was one of the first people to do so - it means that even for the Joi patriots there is a chance to grow old and maybe get a family. Of course, I doubt Katsura was thinking along those lines right then, but maybe somehow subconsciously he was happy to see a comrade that used to share his goals and to some extent shares them now - Saigou was fighting an alien monster, after all XD That's why Katsura noted that Saigou, despite his current way of life, is still like a samurai.
So, all in all, this episode gave us plenty of insight into Katsura's personality, some food for thought regarding his past in the Joi, and clearly showed that whatever happens, Katsura ang Gin-san will always be friends, even though they might deny it.
Any thoughts or comments? Some important aspect of the episode that I might have missed?
Episode title: A Cute Face Definitely Hides Something
Source of subs: Shinsen-Subs
Episode summary:
Gin-san says something unnecessary and gets dragged away for punishment by one of Four Heavenly Lords who watch over Kabuki District - transvestite Mademoiselle Saigou, the Demon Lord. The punishment is cruel and unusual - Gintoki gets dressed in a pink kimono and is forced to work at Saigou’s transvestite bar under the name of Paako.
Paako unexpectedly encounters a familiar face in the disreputable establishment.
Paako: ‘What exactly are you doing, Zura?’
There is a flashback that explains how Katsura got there. He was in a ramen restaurant, and it took a long time to prepare his meal.
Katsura: ‘A moment, you say? How many cup ramen do you think I could have made in the time I’ve spent waiting?’
Saigou is also in that restaurant and got food before Katsura.
Saigou wanted to give his food to Katsura, and then Katsura also said something unnecessary.
He got punched and kidnapped to join the merry transvestite club.
Paako and Zurako have a conversation while dancing on the stage.
Zurako: ‘Hey, move your hips a bit more there!’
Paako: ‘Zura, I think you’ve been here too long. It’ll be almost impossible for you to rejoin the normal outside world.’
Zurako: ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’
Zurako: ‘I don’t have time to waste doing stupid things somewhere like this.’
Paako: ‘I don’t think our country would appreciate being saved by someone who’s leisurely dancing at a place like this.’
Their dancing leaves much to be desired, according to their colleague.
A drunk customer insults them, and Paako almost gives the guy a short sharp shock, but Zurako intervenes.
And then Saigou beats the customer up, while Paako and Zurako look upon the scene of carnage, shocked at Saigou’s strength.
Later, Paako, Zurako, and their colleague Azumi walk back from shopping and discuss Saigou. Zurako is surprised at his strength.
Azumi explains that Saigou was known as ‘Saigou in the White Loincloth’.
The three transvestites notice two boys bullying a smaller kid. Paako and Zurako spit at them and chase them away.
Turns out the kid was Saigou’s son Teruhiko, and Saigou is shocked to see the boy injured when the three transvestites bring him to Saigou’s bar. Teruhiko refuses to tell that he was bullied, even though Saigou suspects it. Teruhiko runs away, dropping a piece of paper.
Zurako finds Teruhiko on the roof and gives him the paper back.
Zurako: ‘Don’t worry, I didn’t show it to your father. Perhaps it would have been better if I had?’
Teruhiko: ‘No, that’s all right. Thanks, Sis.’
Turns out it is a note about parent day at school, or something to the effect.
Teruhiko does not want Saigou to go there because other people will laugh at Saigou. Meanwhile Saigou gets drunk and tells Gin-san a touching story about his and Teruhiko’s relationship.
Paako decides to use the opportunity while Saigou is drunk and escape. Zurako is still hesitating and tries to hold Paako back.
Paako: ‘What the hell gave you that idea?’
Paako: ‘Good luck, Zurako! I’ll pray that you won’t spend the next half of your life here because of this!’
Paako: ‘You can do whatever the hell you want. Just leave me out of it!’
They see the bully boys run away scared and understand that something happened to Teruhiko. Paako and Zurako coerce the bullies to tell what happened.
Bully #1: ‘ You’re both disgusting!’
Paako: ‘Zurako, he says you’re disgusting.’
Zurako: ‘What are you talking about? He was referring to you, Paako.’
Zurako: ‘You’re the one with an obviously destitute look. Hand over the money you stole to get food.’
Apparently Teruhiko has gone to a haunted house where a monster lives.
Paako and Zurako try to infiltrate the haunted mansion. Zurako manages it easily.
But Paako gets stuck in the wall.
And then they hear a suspicious noise, which might just be the monster!
Zurako is a little distressed.
Paako: ‘Zurako! Haven’t we been in the same boat up to now?! All right, how about this, I’ll give you that jacket you wanted so much, the one with “samurai” on the back!’
Turns out it was just Prince Hata. Zurako questions him about the monster. But apparently the monster is just a cute pet.
Zurako likes the pet...
But the pet turns out to be not that cute, and attacks everyone.
When Paako and Zurako come to, they are in such a situation:
Teruhiko, who has been hiding in a tree this whole time, tries to dig them out and starts crying because he feels frustrated at having caused so many problems and at the fact that nobody can see that his father’s pure heart behind the dress and the make-up.
Then the monster appears.
Zurako and Paako manage to free one hand each to grab the monster and find time to say inspiring words for Teruhiko.
But that probably would not be enough to stop the creature, if Saigou had not arrived, dressed in loincloth only, and had not defeated the monster.
Zurako finally remembered where he had heard Saigou’s name before.
Zurako: ‘When the Amanto attacked Earth, the legendary white loincloth hero charged through their stronghold. He fought until that while loincloth was dyed red by the blood of his enemies. Saigou Tokumori, the Demon Lord! He was one of the first to take up our cause.’
Saigou announces that Zurako and Paako are fired and walks away with Teruhiko.
Zurako: ‘They’re no different from samurai - they’re wonderfully upright people, too.’
The episode ends with a touching scene of Teruhiko reading his essay about his father at school and Saigou happily attending parent’s day.
And a last bonus - Katsura and Gintoki wearing leather jackets with ‘samurai’ on the back!
Commentary:
Oh, where do I start XD A scene-by-scene comment would be the best in the situation, I suppose.
When we first see Zurako, I think it is immediately obvious what an elegant and graceful figure Katsura makes even in female clothing. I am not aware of any colour symbolism regarding his choice of kimono (besides, it could have been the other transvestites who chose it for him), but it undeniably suits him well. And the make-up is perfect, too!
The flashback, I think, can be interpreted on two different levels. The first is, of course, Katsura’s devotion to his cause and his intent to revolutionise even something as petty as a soba shop that does not treat the customers equally.
On the other level, his reaction really shows that for all his virtues and noble objectives, we must not forget that he is still a human being. And humans get easily irritated when hungry and when they don’t get proper service by catering industry. And he is not entirely free of prejudice, as he calls Saigou a monster.
Also, it shows that sometimes Katsura is concerned about getting caught by the officials and he understands it would not do to draw too much attention to himself. Of course, he does not always follow that rule, but at least sometimes he does, so I’m glad to hear he won’t be caught by the Shinsengumi over something as trivial as a bowl of soba.
The dancing scene is not there just for the laughs, it emphasises Katsura’s serious nature - for one thing, he is unable to forget the fact that his duty is to save the country, even when he is in such a dangerous peril. And secondly, even though he was dragged there unwillingly and pretty much forced to participate, he still tries to do his best (as in, move his hips, lol). So basically, he feels that he has to do his best, whatever he does. An admirable attitude indeed!
The bit about the drunk customer shows that Katsura can be the voice of reason for a change, usually he is the one with the craziest plans and ideas. This might be another indication of what kind of person he used to be during the Joi war - apparently he can perfectly recognise when it is worth to have a fight, and when it’s time to give it up.
I find it significant that after seeing Saigou's display of strength, Katsura tries to understand it and find out about Saigou's past. That shows that he can be very much aware of his surroundings, if need be. Gintoki just dismissed Saigou's strength as a part of Saigou being a 'monster', but Katsura caught on to the fact that Saigou is not a regular human being.
It is interesting how Katsura is the only one who has a paper bag instead of plastic bag when they walk back from grocery shopping. Could it be a sign that he cares about the environment? It's also interesting that Gintoki is eating ice cream, but Katsura drinks something out of a brown can. The colour of the can suggests that it would not be a sweet drink, might be black coffee or something. So Katsura stays true to his habits of not eating or drinking anything excessively sweet. Although he ordered sweet soba in the ramen shop XD Well, maybe sweet soba is not as sweet as an ice cream.
I actually found it to be a little out of character for Gin-san and Katsura to rush to the defence of the bullied kid - since when do they care about what kids do? But then again, maybe getting dressed in flowery kimonos opened their hearts and made them get in touch with their feminine side, so that's why they suddenly got so compassionate. Anyhow, the manner in which they chased away the bully boys was rather amusing and definitely shows that Gin-san and Katsura both think alike.
This is probably a good moment to mention that this episode is full of GinZura (romance or bromance or friendship, think of it whatever you wish). From the start when they were dancing and bickering on stage, to how they dealt with the bullies, to Gintoki's attempted escape (Katsura was just trying to prevent Gin-san from escaping, but it sure looked like a hug to me), and both of them constantly mentioning how they have been in the same boat until now, which might refer to their plight as Saigou's transvestite hostages, but also might mean all their previous life experiences.
And then there was that moment when Gintoki was sitting on the fence and Katsura was trying to drag him back, and then the bully kids ran past talking about something dangerous - did you notice the look that Katsura and Gin-san exchanged? It really seemed they understood each other's thoughts without saying a word, that is really what being a former war comrade is about - you can't really be a former comrade.
Of course, Gintama would not be Gintama if all their conversations and actions were happening in such a sappy mood, so it's not a great surprise that when they try to get into the haunted house, Katsura tries to escape, leaving Gintoki stuck in the wall. Of course, he would not really run away if things got dangerous, but in a situation like that it was really more fitting for him to try and make a joke of the situation, and Gintoki joining in and mentioning that 'samurai' jacket.
And I was somehow happy to see Katsura wearing that jacket at the end - leather jacket suits him. Well, everything suits him XD Oh, and did you notice his arms when he was crawling through the hole in the wall? I was somehow surprised how muscled they are, usually one thinks of Katsura as elegant and somehow dainty XDD Of course it could be just the animators making Katsura more buff than he was in the manga, but I would not count on it.
Oh and I completely missed the right moment to mention Katsura's conversation with Teruhiko on the roof, so I might as well mention it now. I liked the moment when Katsura pulled that parent day note out of his sleeve. Magic trick, or what XD But I suppose it's a traditional Japanese thing to keep stuff in their sleeves, there are probably secret pockets for that purpose in there... So for Katsura traditional Japanese clothes are the thing he is really used to, regardless of whether it's male or female clothing.
Also, it was rather touching how Katsura tried to help the kid and hear him out, despite Katsura being air-headed at times, he is still all about helping people and is not above helping a kid. Katsura probably would be very good with children - he did not behave in a condescending manner, kids hate that, and talked to Teruhiko like his equal.
And it was probably this conversation that made Katsura want to stay and help Saigou and Teruhiko sort their relationship out. Logically, that would have been the perfect moment to run away, as Gintoki pointed out. But Katsura apparently is just not the kind of person to leave people alone like that (or maybe he just really liked working as a transvestite dancer, and wanted to stay? XD), so he tried to convince Gintoki to stay and help them out.
And he really did help - did you see how synchronised their movements were when they stopped that monster? They even finished each other's phrases and talked simultaneously. And of course there was the usual touching Gintama speech, only this time it was not delivered by Gin-san alone, but by him and Katsura together, which added more impact to the scene. It was definitely a moment that just reiterated to what an extent the two of them think alike.
I think Katsura was pretty happy to remember that Saigou used to fight aliens and was one of the first people to do so - it means that even for the Joi patriots there is a chance to grow old and maybe get a family. Of course, I doubt Katsura was thinking along those lines right then, but maybe somehow subconsciously he was happy to see a comrade that used to share his goals and to some extent shares them now - Saigou was fighting an alien monster, after all XD That's why Katsura noted that Saigou, despite his current way of life, is still like a samurai.
So, all in all, this episode gave us plenty of insight into Katsura's personality, some food for thought regarding his past in the Joi, and clearly showed that whatever happens, Katsura ang Gin-san will always be friends, even though they might deny it.
Any thoughts or comments? Some important aspect of the episode that I might have missed?