Gintama: Difference between revisions

{{quote| ''"Why is the sea salty? [[Toilet Humor|Probably because you city folks use it as a toilet!]]"''}}

In an [[Alternate Universe]] version of the Edo period, Japan was occupied not by the usual Western fleets like you'd expect from normal history --— but by a race of ''space aliens'' known as the Amanto, who brought with them super-futuristic technology, a ban on swords and the fall of the [[Samurai]] class as we know it. A [[La Résistance|resistance group]] set out and declared war on the Amanto to no avail, and the samurai were all but wiped from the map. Enter Gintoki Sakata, a former member of said resistance group; once an impressive swordsman, he dropped out because in the end, it really wasn't worth it to be fighting against a bunch of stupid foreigners in the first place.

'''''Gintama''''' is the sometimes-anachronistic brainchild of Hideaki Sorachi, who had originally intended to create a manga inspired by an NHK drama about the [[Shinsengumi]]. However, despite the historical connotations that the Edo period brings, it's a [[Gag Series]] in one of its [[Refuge in Audacity|most warped states]], filled with [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] to everything under the sun (even fellow [[Shonen Jump]] series such as ''[[Bleach]]'' and ''[[Naruto]]'' are not immune to lampooning), over-the-top humour, ridiculous puns, sight gags and a liberal dash of action to top it all off. Stories tend to emphasize no such thing as black and white and how that plays into the Japanese concept of honor.

After the manga premiered in 2004, a one-episode [[OVA]] for JUMP Festa was produced; a [[Sunrise (company)|Sunrise]]-produced TV series made its debut in April of 2006 and finished its run in March of 2010, after which ''Yorinuki Gintama-san'' (literally "The Very Best of Gintama") followed, which was essentially just reruns of old Gintama episodes remastered in HD with new opening and ending themes, eventually the reruns came to an end and [[And the Fandom Rejoiced|in April 2011 Gintama was finally continued as]] ''[[New Season, New Name|Gintama']]'' (Note the dash)...until ''that'' [[Cut Short|ended in March 2012]]. An English translation of the manga was published by Viz but was cancelled after Volume 23 due to low sales and the anime has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks for a North American release, the first volume of which was released in April of 2010.

** Also Katsura and his man-disguised-as-duck, Elizabeth.

** Episode 150 includes a frame-by-frame parody of a scene in ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion (Anime)|Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. Hasegawa takes the place of Gendou Ikari, both of whom are voiced by [[Fumihiko Tachiki]]. (Noted below, but worth the nod, here.)

*** In episode 122, before he was revealed, the [[Eyecatch]] has his silhouette shaped like [[Bleach (Manga)|Kenpachi]]

** In the anime Sorachi himself is portrayed as a gorilla in a t-shirt, whose only true dream is to become "a stack of waffles".

*** Or it could have referenced ''[[Dragon Ball (Manga)|Dragon Ball]]'', and then everything would have been [[Over Nine Thousand|Over Nine--oh wait, they already did that.]]

*** Although there are a few people who thought that the fight itself would have been a [[Shout-Out]] to ''[[Double Arts (Manga)|Double Arts]]'' if it continued.

* [[Beautiful All Along]]: Played with. In the [[Love Plus (Video Game)|Love Choris]] arc, {{spoiler|Gintama uses all-out willpower to make Pinko look this way. Of course, the justification is that adults ''have'' to use their imagination to make their now-old-and-ugly partners look more attractive...}}

* [[Bedmate Reveal]]: Gintoki [[What Did I Do Last Night?|waking up with Sacchan sleeping on top of him]] shortly after Shinpachi and Kagura walk in on them.

* [[Belly Mouth]]: One member of Shinpachi's fan club is an Amanto that forms a mouth on its stomach and devours things when it gets excited.

* [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]]: Sougo and Kagura mostly. Both instantly tease and provoke each other whenever they meet. Lately he's been getting some with Nobume too.

* [[Bland-Name Product]]: [[Nintendo (Creator)|Bentendo]] (with the [[Wii|Owee]]), [[Sony|Zony]], Bargain Dash...

** Kondo, the butt ''gorilla'', keeps getting beating after beating from Otae, in addition to whatever Matsudaira or karma has in store for him.

** Shinpachi is the butt monkey for the Yorozuya trio, often having to put up with his companions' insults and laziness/retard-ness/plain old idiocy. The crossover episode in ''[[Sket Dance (Manga)|SKET Dance]]'' also had him being rejected by Himeko. However, he's also the stand up man (Tsukkomi) or the mother of the crew, so he seems to be able to hold his own by yelling at Gintoki and Kagura whenever they do or say something inappropriate. Which is often.

* [[Catgirl]]: Numerous ones of both genders, [[Parody|none of which are attractive]].

** {{spoiler|It seems like Sorachi Hideaki wants to compete against [[Eiichiro Oda|Eiichiro]] [[One Piece (Manga)|Oda]] for having the LONGEST Chekov's Gunman ever. Remember Ketsuno Ana being married (who would) WAAAAAAAY back then? 150+ chapters later, it becomes the major plot point in one of the arcs.}}

** Made even more funny when they later used the fake trailer as the real one.

* [[Comic Trio]]: Yorozuya are the primary one, but at times Kondo, Okita and Hijikata count too.

* [[Conspicuous CG]]: The [[It Makes Sense in Context|Kondo-shaped snot]] in episode 194.

* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]] / [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: Gintoki comes across as aloof and lazy in the beginning, but try to tell that to the resistance group that saw him ruthlessly take down a pile of Amanto without so much as blinking. Also Katsura, {{spoiler|who used to fight alongside Gintoki}}.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Shinpachi most prominently but Gintoki and Kagura do so from time to time as well.

* [[Digging Yourself Deeper]]: Gintoki manages to score 6 times with 6 different people {{spoiler|though one was an old hag and another was a MADAO}} when drunk in episode 239, to predictably hilarious results.

* [[Door Step Baby]]: "Appo"

* [[Epic Fail]]: Oh man, there's a lot in this series whenever the main characters try to avoid making problems in situations only to make it ''a lot worse''. The prominent examples are the Yorozuya giving the Shogun a haircut, only for Kagura to accidentally vomit on him which he didn't notice, Gintoki wiping all of it off except for the naruto (sliced fish cake) which for some reason ''split into two'' and it only got worse from there.

* [[Evil Counterpart]]: Takasugi gives a fairly good idea of what Gintoki and Katsura could become if they ever decide to go on the [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]].

* [[The Faceless]]: Hatsu, Hasegawa Taizou's wife. Strange in that she isn't an important character at all.

** Finally averted in [https://web.archive.org/web/20120621110501/http://www.mangahere.com/manga/gintama/c396/17.html Chapter 396 "Vow"] with Gintoki, Katsura, and Takasugi's sensei, Shouyou.

* [[Fixing the Game]]: ''Gintama'' played with this trope by having a man gifted with the ability to see the flow of luck. {{spoiler|Which turned out that he lost that ability a few years back and has been cheating at games since then.}}

* [[The Four Gods]] / [[Four Is Death]]: The Four Devas of the Yagyu tribe. They'd probably be even more fearsome if they weren't named after the main four romantic interests of ''[[StrawberryIchigo One Hundred Percent100%|Strawberry 100%]]''.

* [[Gambit Roulette]]: All for a chance to become [[Serious Business|Nabe-Shogun]]. [[Death Note (Manga)|Ryuk]] even makes an appearance.

** In one ending, {{spoiler|Gintoki pitches a baseball at Fenway Park, Elizabeth becomes a robot and Shinpachi dies.}}

* [[Genre Roulette]]: See above.

** [[Wrong Genre Savvy]] comes up fairly often as well.

* [[Gosh Hornet]]: Subverted in chapter 269 (ep 185 anime), when Gin is hired to exterminate a beehive... filled with alien half-man half-bee gangsters. He and Kagura accidentally destroy three hives within the chapter.

** Also often evaporated or transformed into some random tool. Lampshaded in the ''[[Sket Dance (Manga)|SKET Dance]]'' Crossover Special. Since his tama were named after Bossun/Yusuke and his Rival {{spoiler|and twin brother}} Sasuke.

** She was meant to be a parody of [[The Ring]]... at first.

* [[Healing Factor]]: Anyone from the Yato clan has this. To illustrate, Kagura is able to recover from gunshot wounds over ''one night''.

* [[Heir to Thethe Dojo]]: Subverted, in that while Shinpachi and Otae both inherited their dojo after their father's death, they're the farthest thing from rich you can think of (the dojo nearly becomes repossessed in one episode.) And nobody really studies there, either.

{{quote| Gin (grabbing his bokuto): I'll keep him busy. You guys run in the meantime. [...] (lunging at Hedoro) Hedorooo! I'll never hand the Earth to you!!<br />

Shinpachi (running with Kagura): Gin-san, I'm so sorry! I'm just a wuss! All I think about is saving my ass by sacrificing yours-<br />

(later) Gin (running behind) : NOOOOOOOO!! (slaps Shinpachi and Kagura out of the way)<br />

Shinpachi: Gin-san? Weren't... Weren't you sacrificing your life to save the Earth?!<br />

** The trope is parodied in one chapter when Katsura enlists the Yorozuya (plus Sacchan) to save Elizabeth, and they have to become ninja to do so. Sacchan demands that everyone wear different, highly visible costumes because she can't tell them apart otherwise. Gin ends up in a white ninja outfit, Kagura in red, Katsura in yellow, and Shinpachi in a ''cow print''. Their attempts to use ninja camouflage fail about as miserably as one would expect.

* [[Hooker Withwith a Heart of Gold]]: Hinowa and Tsukuyo.

** The first part of Episode 189. It's also a [[Shout-Out]] for the ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam (Anime)|Mobile Suit Gundam]]'' series celebrating its 30th anniversary.

** Episodes 233 and 234 feature the {{spoiler|Renho (Elizabeth's race)'s trump card for invading Earth}} -- the [[Gundam (Anime)|Gunsam]]. One of them even gets [[Gundamjack|Gundamjacked]]ed in classic ''Gundam'' fashion. [[Lampshaded]] by the characters, who note that they would have been sued if the show hadn't been animated by [[Sunrise (company)|Sunrise]].

* [[Improvised Weapon]] / [[Grievous Harm Withwith a Body]]: In episode 99, Gintoki and co. play a video game contest to win a parody of the Nintendo Wii. The final round is a Dragon Quest MMO parody in which Gintoki ends up using the village Elder (and later the Elder's corpse) as a weapon. [[Rule of Funny|Things get crazier when Okita and Kagura show up respectively wielding the King and the Demon King as weapons.]]

* [[Is That Cute Kid Yours?]]: Appo again.

* [[Knight of Cerebus]]: Whenever Takasugi or the space pirate group Harusame shows up, things start getting serious.

{{quote| Elizabeth: [[Lampshade Hanging|''Such a violent development! Did this turn into a different anime?!'']]}}

* [[Late to Thethe Party]]: Gintoki, Katsura, Takasugi, and Sakamoto--while famous veterans of the Joi War, they only participated in its final years.

* [[Late to Thethe Punchline]]: '''Inverted''', as Katsura ''delivers'' the punchline an entire episode late!

{{quote| "So, in the end, you played with the Mega Drive, too?"}}

* [[Limited Wardrobe]]: Occasionally subverted, and [[Lampshade Hanging|hung a lampshade on it]] at least once.

** In one episode, Shinpachi is seen drying several different sets of Gin's outfit on a clothesline.

* [[Man Behind the Man]]: In episode 27, {{spoiler|It's revealed that the Tendo are the ones who rules the Bakufu.}} Also in Episode 215, {{spoiler|they are also the ones who have connections with the Harusame Pirates.}}

{{quote| ''Gintoki'': "I may not be popular in 2D but in 3D, [[Memetic Sex God|Everybody WANTS ME!!!]]}}

** This is followed by a montage(with a nice melody) of Kagura strolling around the streets happily, the montage is repeated with slightly heavy rain with more rock added into the music. She still went out with the umbrella even when there's a typhoon rampaging outside.

* [[Nerf Arm]]: Gin's wooden sword.

* [[New Powers Asas the Plot Demands]]: Parodied. The main trio is suddenly brought into another dimension by a sage to learn new, secret techniques, but all of them believe that they're strong enough already and actively avoid learning anything.

*** Made more funny during one segment where Shinpachi notes that the only new footage in the scene was a new version of the suggestive DVD cover.

** In one bit of filler during the Yoshiwarya Arc, Kagura notes that the animators are tired because there have been too many fight scenes.

** And the characters regularly reference the fact that they are running on a shoestring budget and once referenced the 2008 financial crisis.

* [[No Hugging, No Kissing]]: Sexual jokes are common, but all characters remotely interested in romance are strictly [[Played for Laughs]] and exaggerated to [[Stalker Withwith a Crush]] levels. There aren't any married couples because one or both partners ''always'' ends up dead. The characters live in a district infamous for prostitution and some of them work in clubs or bars, but we never see anything more than conversation over drinks going on. Without exception, dates end unimaginably horribly for ''all'' parties involved. Hijikata and Katsura soundly reject their respective love interests [[It's Not You, It's My Enemies|to keep them safe]].

* [[No Smoking]]: Averted (Hijikata and Hasegawa are seen smoking regularly) and spoofed ( [[Shout-Out|"This isn't a]] [[Macekre|cigarette,]] [[One Piece (Manga)|it's a]] [[4Kids! Entertainment|lollipop!"]] ).

** Hijikata lampshades during the [[No Smoking]] episode.

* [[Not Using the Z Word]]: Hotspring Arc. Don't say "spirits"! Those are [[Jo JoJoJo's Bizarre Adventure (Manga)|Stands]]!

* [[Our Angels Are Different]]: The cursed Blu-Ray player, who is complete with a CD halo and one wing.

* [[Overly Long Gag]]: Katsura's tales that have nothing to do with the plot of the chapter taking place.

** Chapter 314, Kyuubei gives a long name to the monkey she was taking care of. Its name is {{spoiler|Jugem-Jugem Poop-Throwing Machine Shin-chan's Day Before Yesterday Underwear Shinpachi's Life Balmunk Fezarion Isaac Schneider One Thirds Pure Feeling Two Thirds Worried-Over-a-Hangnail Feeling Though Betrayal Knows My Name I Know The Unknown, The Cuttlefish Tastes Kind Of Different Than It Did Last Time Because It Was Caught Near The Pond And Served With Oil From A Hoofed Mammal, pepepepepepepepepepepep Bichiguso-maru.}}

* [[Overly Long Name]]: See above.

* [[Refuge in Vulgarity]]: Just name it, and, chances are, someone in Gintama's either done it or alluded to it. {{spoiler|From Gintoki and Umibouzu peeing on a dead wormlike alien (You Know What Happens if You Pee on a Worm) to Hasegawa wetting his pants and wearing a diaper to Hijikata zipping his pants and snagging the zipper on his private parts, a surprising amount of vulgar stuff happens. And of course, one has to mention Yoshiwara, the courtesan safe haven that even lets a kid run a ''toy store''. In a recent chapter, a battle was literally fought with Gin's...tama (balls). The two fighters even gave them individual names.}}

** The last one was more of a [[Shout-Out]] to ''[[Sket Dance (Manga)|SKET Dance]]''.

* [[Sauna of Death]]: One of the most fangirl-approved moments in Gintoki and Hijikata's rivalry.

* [[Serial Escalation]]: This series attempts to find out just '''HOW FAR''' they can make parodies out of any series. Episode 150 takes this to the extremes though with the infamous ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion (Anime)|Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' episode 26 where they ''literally'' copied almost frame to frame with Shinji and Shinpachi. To drive the point home, Hasegawa is in the same position as where Gendo was and both have the [[Fumihiko Tachiki|same seiyuu]]. Here's the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxE2zS5U_NM video itself with Gintama at the left and Evangelion at the right.]

{{quote| '''Shinpachi''': No, it's too soon for the cool, heartwarming speech! We're only two pages in!}}

* [[The Shinsengumi]]: With bazookas. Chances are your impressions of the Shinsengumi will never be the same again.

* [[Shoo Out the Clowns]]: Throughout the gag episodes, <s>even</s> especially the main characters seem to have the default reaction to flee before danger, leaving their comrades behind (often followed by a [[Taking You Withwith Me]] moment). However, when there's a serious arc going on, that behaviour is forgotten and they strive to protect one another in battle.

* [[Shout-Out]]: ...listing all of them would take up nearly half the article. [[Gintama (Manga)/Shout Out|So we have another page!]]

* [[Shut UP, Hannibal]]: Gintoki does this in ch. 167 after Bansai tries to justify his attempt to destroy Japan by stating how Japan under the Amanto's dominion is doomed to rot away and taunts Gintoki about how Gintoki has nothing left to fight for.

{{quote| '''Gintoki''': Clean the snot from ears and listen well. For that kind of worthless nationalistic ideal I have never fought a single battle. All that bull about the collapse of the country or the extinction of the samurai I don't care for a long time. Whether now or in the past, there has been [[True Companions|only one thing]] I want to protect. [[ThisPunctuated! IsFor! SpartaEmphasis!|AND IT HAS NEVER CHANGED]]!!!}}

* [[Sliding Scale of Silliness Versus Seriousness]]: The series ping-pongs back and forth to both ends of the scale, often at the same time.

* [[The Smurfette Principle]]: Averted. While the Yoroyuza Gin is a classic [[Two Guys and Aa Girl]] dynamic, there are plenty of supporting female characters who actively participate in the different story arcs of the series.

* [[Stalker Withwith a Crush]]: Kondou for Otae and Ayame for Gintoki.

* [[Sunglasses Atat Night]]: Bansai and Madao

* [[Take That]]: The characters REALLY hate [[DragonballDragon Ball|Yamcha]]. For example in Episode 100 when Gintoki explains the [[Defeat Means Friendship|JUMP system]] using [[Lawyer-Friendly Cameo|Dragon Bozu]] characters:

{{quote| '''Gintoki''': Well, it's something like this: He fights with his rival and wins. (writes one arrow from Yamcha to Tien) Then become friends without knowing it. (writes another arrow from Tien to Piccolo) And a new rival appears, and he fights and wins again. (writes another arrow from Piccolo to Vegeta) And made a new friend... Repeating this and dragging it on is the standard JUMP formula. (Circles all the characters except Yamcha)<br />

'''Konoshi''': Oi! One persion is missing! Namcha?! Is that Namcha?!<br />

'''Gintoki''': Well, that's what the rival part is all about. (crosses Yamcha out)<br />

'''Konoshi''': Oi! Let him in! Let Namcha join in the JUMP system!<br />

'''Gintoki''': The next thing is... Let's talk about the comedy part. (kicks the board down, directly where Yamcha was)<br />

** Episode 26 (or 227, depending on your point of view) has it when characters from ''[[Sket Dance (Manga)|SKET Dance]]'' meet the Yorozuya gang:[[Tomokazu Sugita]] as both Sakata Gintoki and Switch.

* [[Time Skip]]: Chapter 324 to 326 (episodes 1-2 of the 2nd anime series, or episodes 202-203 if you're counting it as a continuation of the original anime series), parody this, as Shinpachi is sent two years into the future, where [[DragonballDragon Ball|Gintoki looks like Nam-Cha]], [[She's All Grown Up|Kagura has developed breasts]], [[Fate Worse Than Death|and Tae and Kondo somehow manage to get married and are expecting kids]].

** The kicker is that they made a promise to meet up in [[One Piece (Manga)|Sabaody Archipelago.]]

{{quote| '''Shinpachi:''' Where the hell is that place? It's not even in Japan!<br />

'''Gintoki:''' [[Rule of Cool|Who cares?]] We still have to get stronger!<br />

{{quote| '''Shinpachi:''' [[Lampshade Hanging|But you guys are the police!]]}}

* [[Tokyo Is the Center of Thethe Universe|Edo Is The Center Of The Universe]]: Seriously, in a Japanese setting where the only foreigners are ''aliens'', this is pretty inevitably invoked.

* [[Toplessness From the Back]]: Done a few times by Gintoki of all people.

* [[Training Fromfrom Hell]]: Parodied to hell and back in chapter 229 (or episode 147, if you're watching the anime) through total destruction of the fourth wall. "''Go train in another manga, I've heard of some good ones.''"

* [[Traumatic Haircut]]: Katsura got his hair cut short after being supposedly killed in the Benizakura arc.

* [[True Companions]]: The Shinsengumi. Also, hurting Gintoki's friends can trigger Gintoki's change from a seemingly useless bum to ''the white demon''.

** [http://chzgifs.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/funny-gifs-recover-naturally.gif Gintoki once pisses into a river while a man (who is a little bit downstream) is trying to drink from it.]{{Dead link}}

** Which despite being mere wood managed to cut through a spaceship's humongous cannon. {{spoiler|It turns out that this is because it's some special super-hard alien wood.}}

* [[Zettai Ryouiki]]: Tsu Terakado. Seems to be the standard fashion for teenage girls in Edo.

** The members of the Hyakka also wear these, usually fishnets.

[[Category:TurnAnime of the Millennium/Anime And Manga2000s]]

[[Category:GintamaShonen Jump]]