Gintama 230 (Gintama' 29)

[denshi_no_ultra]

Episode title: It Would Take Too Much Effort to Make This Title Sound Like a Text Message Subject
Source of subs: HorribleSubs

What happened in this episode:

Comments

[gruskek]

First of all thanks for making this happen. I never would have thought about such a comm, much as I love Zura, but it makes perfect sense. He's one of the most complex and mysterious characters in Gintama and discussing him should be fruitful

[denshi_no_ultra]

Haha, well, I sure hope we will be able to get a fruitful discussion going, otherwise it will be just me fangirling over Katsura-san all the time XD But you’re right, this comm was definitely necessary and I’m glad I made it. And thank you for joining and commenting

[gruskek]

You're welcome :) It's a joy to be here xD

[denshi_no_ultra]

Haha, nice pun XD

Good point! Katsura-san really did order them to retreat only when Harusame arrived, so maybe they could have taken on Takasugi's men.

I haven't given it much thought while watching, but now that you've said it, it's really obvious - it really added realism to the events and showed how serious the situation was, it's not like some other shounens where good guys miraculously overpower the bad guys.

You know, I feel kind of sorry about that - I mean, he was a leader of his own Joi faction even before he got Elizabeth, did he really not have anyone he could trust completely? That's kind of a lonely life...

Well, he is still a terrorist, in a way XD But I understand what you mean - at least he is not a villain.

Oh wow, Katsura-san in hipster glasses, that would be like insanely hot! Why hasn't the anime shown Katsura in glasses yet? XD

[sennetari]

I also believe that there are no women in Joi. Not because Katsura-san uses Elizabeth as the poster girl (which, of course, for the reason you state--that he likes her), but probably because he is a samurai, and, for him, there is no such thing as a female samurai. Also, having women living with men are unheard of during that time, I think

[denshi_no_ultra]

That makes Katsura sound like such a misogynist XDD But I suppose you're right, even though Edo in Gintama is a rather modern place when it comes to careers for women, Katsura is a traditional and old-fashioned person at heart, so for him a female samurai would probably be impossible

[sennetari]

I believe he is simply a product of his time. Gintama's Edo may get technologically upgraded in such a short time, but its people's thoughts and believes could not possibly be upgraded at that fast rate

[denshi_no_ultra]

Good point, it's easy to forget that there was a life and a culture there before the Amanto came... Although it's been at least 20 years since they arrived, it's quite a lot of time for attitudes to change.

Haha, well, I don't think they really live together in Yoshiwara either, more like just sleep together XD But the topic is definitely interesting, there are no women at Shinsengumi, either, so women not living with men must be a pretty certain fact.

Katsura-san would definitely save them, there is no doubt about it whatsoever! But even a short stay in prison might influence those people whose beliefs were not strong and they would want to leave Katsura-san's faction simply because they would not want to end up in prison again.

You're right, the Shinsengumi usually target the leaders, but they do make some arrests (for instance, sometimes terrorists demand to free their captured allies), so it is not unlikely that somebody from Katsura's group has also been in prison.

That's our Katsura, the Shinsengumi will never catch him! :D

[novelvision]

First up, I am stoked to see such a comm online! It's not something I would have thought of either and certainly, I like talking about Katsura a little too much to keep spamming other places- which is ironically appropriate given that we're talking about spam. My thoughts

[denshi_no_ultra]

Wow, I'm glad to see so many people actually interested in the comm, I was kind of afraid that I would be talking to myself about Katsura-san here XD And I definitely didn't expect somebody who is not on my flist to join here, it's not like I even advertised this comm yet

[novelvision]

Ha ha, I actually found this from my regular Gintama search! I just type 'Gintama' into the search engine and see the results

[denshi_no_ultra]

I do that all the time XD I search Gintama pretty much every week to see what people say about the new episode XDD

[juneaddams]

In my headcanon, Zura knows that his people are mostly useless ronins who lack the skills to survive the present Edo, and that if he were to disband the movement or leave them on their own, these people will end up living aimless lives or used as pawns by groups like Kihetai. That's why he continues leading the group even though he's moved on from his hardline tactics. It is so that these people have a way to vent their anger at the government and live with a sense of purpose without really harming themselves. Zura at heart is an okaasan, and I mean it in the best of ways

[denshi_no_ultra]

That's a very interesting view on the reasons behind his actions! So basically, they need him to give them a sense of purpose, but it is the same for Katsura - if it was not for those useless people, he would not have anyone left to care for or to protect... Wow, that's a really deep thought! Katsura-san cares for people so much <333

[gruskek]

Late comment here, but I really like your headcanon. Katsura really does care about people a lot.

And your icon is lovely - truly shows what this comm is all about xD