One of the greatest anime I’ve ever watched, marred by a mangaka’s myriad mistakes and a movie that made me mimic the mannerisms of the very gorilla the show kept making a mockery of due to the sheer amount of dangling plot threads it left hanging. Be that as it may, any show that can make me laugh, tear up, and pontificate within the span of five episodes back-to-back is not only a rarity, it is an outright anomaly. I deeply and sincerely wish this anime had stuck the landing (at least on all facets), but Gintama is still an anime I do not regret getting into, and that’s more than I can say for 90% of the trash I end up watching. I doubt I shall convince anyone of my misgivings I have for the last 1% of this show and The Very Final™, but I am going to give my best regardless.

>Why did they cocktease me with those awesome timeskip designs of Shinpachi and Kagura for two episodes and then do away with them in the film? What in the everloving fuck?
>They really insisted on never letting Shinpachi grow as an individual did they? He started out as a joke and ended up as a joke. No character progression whatsoever. I get that he’s supposed to be the “straight man,” but holy fucking shit, I found myself getting angry during the last season at just how much of a joke he still was compared to the other characters. Still being treated like the whipping boy, still barely getting any screen time, etc. And yeah, brace yourself, because this criticism over lack of character progression is going to be a running theme for this thread
(1/3)

>>280138847 (OP)
>Hazekawa. This guy got done so fucking dirty. If the mangaka wanted everyone else to remain in static limbo, so be it. But for the love of Sarutobi’s purple hair, why couldn’t they let this guy get a nice conclusion to his arc? I thought for sure, that after more than THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY EPISODES, THIS DUDE WOULD FINALLY GET A REDEMPTION EPISODE AND GET BACK TOGETHER WITH HIS WIFE. AND THE FILM JUST ENDS WITH HIM BEING ANOTHER BUTT OF A JOKE, I’m sorry, but you cannot produce an anime for this long, feature a character with this sort of backstory for so long, make him the object of everyone’s ire and jokes for so long, tease the audience with some sort of development or chance at reconciliation with his former lover, and then just blueball everyone like that. Out of all the dangling plot threads that never got resolved, this one pisses me off the most.
>Anime doesn’t really explain the immortals all that well. How EXACTLY were they formed out of Altana? How EXACTLY does one materialize into life as an immortal via this green energy? There was Kagura’s mother and then Utsuro. They’re two very rare specimens. I get that. Pulling magical green jizz out of nowhere at the last possible juncture in a show or manga is one thing. But bringing immortality into it is entirely another. HOW does this sort of thing happen? It doesn’t necessarily need to be “believable” or “realistic.” That’s not what I’m asking here. I just want some explanation. Anything would be better than, “Oh, btw, there’s this immortal who was born out of the Lifestream that exists on every planet in the universe. Enjoy your final villain!”
(2/3)

>>280138868
Staticism. This shit sucks. Why is modern anime so fixated on it? Who fucking knows. Because for all of this talk about “blue skies” and “hope,” I can’t help but feel that the mangaka has utterly missed the point of running forward to the future (either figuratively or literally) with a smile on one’s face when every single person around you (including yourself) remains the same, unchangeable jackass who can’t develop at all. Doin the whole “Final Fantasy syndrome” shtick for real would have done this show a favor. Instead, everyone reverts back to their usual selves time and time again.

If Gintama wasn’t a show that was deceptively deep with the topics that it covers such as existentialism, pragmatism, the difficulties of everyday modern life, technology and its impact on the human psyche, substance abuse, domestic violence, rape, depression, isolation, this lack of progression amongst its cast would be excusable. But as I binge-watched every single season, my standards grew and grew. My expectations became locked in as I knew what kind of show I was watching. I knew I was watching greatness. These episodes were an escape, they kept me sane in the year of our Lord 2025. But like an Olympic gymnast, or perhaps a running gag that went on way too long, the finale was a disaster. No one was smiling as that last aerial resulted in a tumble and a few broken bones. Major points were docked. This gymnast didn’t go home with the gold or even the silver. Just a bronze.
(3/3)

>words words words
Didn't read

>>280138911
Too hooked on that TikTok, zoomer. It fries your attention span. Go back to watching ReZero you NTR-addled cuck.

>>280138847 (OP)
I agree with your first sentence but man did you really feel the need to blogspost like that?

>>280138945
Sorry man, guess in this new age of videos and YouTube, I'm still just an old fashioned writer.

>>280138955
I've read the whole thing but blogposting is not appreciated here, don't expect the thread to survive for a long which is a shame since we don't have many Gintama threads

>>280138847 (OP)
It filtered me. The first 5 episodes were boring and unfunny

>>280139049
This is /a/, one of the most cancerous boards on 4chan. A ton of shit isn't appreciated on here. Most of that is just /a/ being filled with turbo autists who definitely put the "mori" in "Hikikomori." I could make the most on-topic, innocuous thread about a show that is generally regarded as good or great by most auteurs of all things anime, and you screeching thunder cunts would still screech to the high heavens about "lurking moar."

Test

>>280139072
For me it's the opposite. First introduction of characters were fun, but when it become a serious arc shit it went to downhill.

>>280138847 (OP)
>>280138868
>>280138889
How could you watch all of Gintama and not get it? Like that show wasn't about 'growth' and even so, it managed to have some of it in the end, in that just being your casual self is just fine for living.
Gintama is easily one of the best shows made and I agree the last 60 episodes were a bit tiring since it was all serious arcs back to back but whatever, first 250 episodes are absolute gold. Fuck you.

>>280139950
It wanted to have its cake and it too. I'm sorry, but don't tease me with a two-year time skip and then renege on it. Don't give me these heartfelt moments with "Madao," making me think there's going to be a redemption in the end, but then renege on that too. It creates a false expectation and disappoints the audience when that expectation isn't met. If you mix in the seriousness with the comedy, you need to follow through on it. They only followed through on the comedy half.