#By the end of the series it seemed like only Gin and Shouyou existed to him

[suchine-toki]

Thoughts about Takasugi

Ok time to talk about this Takasugi bitch. I'm a tsundere when it comes to him lmao. At first, I thought he was going to be the Sasuke (from Naruto) in this series, a character I’ve a complicated relationship with, so I wasn't exactly excited about him. Also, he was a bit ugly in his first appearance, wasn't he? 😂

It was in Benizakura arc that Takasugi started to capture my interest in a more positive way, which progressively increased until he destroyed me in the SA arc. However, since he was more of a villain acting in the shadows, I didn't pay much attention to the bits of characterization he’d in the past, like when he told Itou how lonely it’s to be a genius.

In truth, he wasn't self-absorbed and wasn't lying either. He was one of the best, but he was accompanied by Gintoki, Zura and Tatsuma. Later he’d the Kiheitai at his side, but they were his subordinates, not his equals. So this is where we begin to see that there’s more to his anger and sadness over Shouyou's death, there’s a lot of loneliness too over the bonds he believes he lost.

It can also be seen how perceptive Takasugi is regarding other people's feelings, using this ability to manipulate Itou, Sasaki, and Nobu Nobu, as well as how smart he’s in choosing them to progress with his schemes. However, we must admit that his catchphrase about destroying the world did him no favors in this respect.

Takasugi wasn't some lunatic aimlessly wanting to annihilate everything. He wanted to bring down the corrupt government that destroyed his life and the lives of everyone he loved. For self-serving reasons, sure, but at the end of the day he was doing something good, the problem was his methods.

But to be honest, his actions never seemed terrible to me. The worst crime there’s is killing people, as many characters in this series have done, starting with Gintoki, so it wasn't particularly shocking every time Takasugi did it. That's a big part of why I disagree with the idea that his crimes were horrible and he couldn't be saved.

I've talked about his death before, so I'll just conclude by saying that I wish he’d more appearances throughout the series (not just at the end of the serious arcs), that he interacted with more characters, and of course, that he didn't die. I still think he’d a lot of potential regarding the serious aspect of Gintama, but also on the comedy side. The little bits we saw were hilarious.

[razberryyum]

Gintama manga chap 701

~

Dear Gintama gods and Sorachi-sama,

Thank you thank you and thank you again! I really cannot thank you enough! There not enough words in the dictionary to even express how thankful and grateful I am to you. Sorachi-sama, you are too, too generous and considerate! It would have been enough for me if you tried to continue Gintama in the next set of Jump Giga, but the fact that you are taking it one step further and essentially self-publishing in the free Gintama app so that you can continue our beloved series for as long as you deem proper is truly a magnanimous gesture of epic proportions. I hope this means that you can now take your time with the story and set your own deadlines so that you won’t have to work under any kind of pressure or experience that much stress. And naturally, in addition to being creatively rewarding, I hope your decision will also prove to be financially rewarding as well since I would hate to think you’d have to suffer any kind of monetary loss in order to be a responsible author who actually has your readers’ interests at heart.

If I’m to be honest, ever since the announcement that Gintama would be ending, it feels like I’ve been holding my breath in dread. Every time a new chapter would be released, even as I enjoyed it and fawned over it, I would also clench my teeth a little since it also meant that we were moving that much closer to the end. When it seemed like the end was finally coming in just three mere chapters within Jump Giga, the dread I felt was almost overwhelming. For at least the first two volumes of Jump Giga that Gintama was featured in, I wanted to cry every time we neared the release date of the new chapter since I would worry immensely about how much closer the content will bring us to the end. But then, by the second chapter (chapter 700), the heavy weight upon my heart eased a bit because it was then that I realized there was probably no logical way you could end Gintama in just one more chapter after that. In fact, as I listed out all the things you would have to cover in just 50 or so pages of this chapter, I started realizing further how near impossible a feat it would be for you to end Gintama in a satisfactory way. And I don’t mean satisfaction felt just for us as fans, but even for you as a creator I simply couldn’t imagine how you could be happy with rushing to the end in that manner. I should have known you wouldn’t be and hence that was probably never your intention anyway. Looking back at the last two chapters now and the almost leisurely progression of events, it feels rather obvious that you were indeed taking your time because you probably knew you had more time. The fact that we didn’t even get a Yorozuya reunion until this chapter should have been a big tell that you had alternative plans. Truly, thank the gods for that because I feel like I can finally relax a little...at least for the time being. I know the life of Gintama in the app might still be finite, but hopefully in such a venue, where the environment is less rigid, you can take your sweet time wrapping things up...even if that time lasts years.

I know, by now you’re probably screaming at me for being so damn greedy: as if it’s not already enough that Gintama isn’t ending with this chapter, how dare I even ask for many more years from you. Apologies for always being so hungry. I hope you understand my greediness will always be from a place of love even though if it feels like utter selfishness.

But speaking of love: our dear puppy is back and our Yorozuya have reunited and is whole again! I started crying at the words “He just wanted to come back to the Yorozuya”. To think, all this time, the key to Sadaharu’s revival was simply his family being back together again. I wish Kagura didn’t have to leave for two years just for that resolution, but I understand at the time, Sadaharu was probably still too weak to revive and then eventually he just didn’t want to revive until he was back in the warm embrace of his family. Well...at least figuratively speaking...while the hug between Kagura and Sadaharu was a heart-warming sight to behold, I did wish we could’ve still seen a good hearty embrace between our entire Yorozuya family as well. My eyes did get misty when Kagura and Shinpachi held Gin-chan's hand to help him get up, since that small gesture really symbolized their whole relationship with each other, but I was really looking forward to crying my eyes out at seeing them actually hugging, so I must admit I was just a tad bit disappointed that we weren't blessed with such a sight. I get it though: you’re probably holding off on that hug until later so that it’s ten thousand times more satisfying. I only hope that you won’t torture us for too much longer...I know I sound totally ungrateful for saying this, but honestly, I’m beginning to die a bit from deprivation. I really need to see a proper Yorozuya hug soon!

Although what I don’t really need to see ever again is Sadaharu crapping out more naked old men. When he pooped out Gintoki, I had feeling you were making yet another slight dig at yourself and your creation, but you don’t deserve that, Sorachi-sama. Gin-chan doesn’t deserve that, so please, don’t let us see him come out of anything’s orifice ever again—oral or anal—even if the orifice belonged to a creature as adorable as Sadaharu. With all due respect to Sadaharu, it was still very gross. 

But what wasn’t gross and was in fact thoroughly satisfying was watching Utsuro pop off the head of that Tendoshuu old fart like a kid would do to a Barbie doll. I actually guffawed at the sight. Serves him right! I wouldn’t feel bad at all if Utsuro just went around popping off the heads of any remaining Tendoshuu old farts and maybe some of the Naraku while he’s at it. I don’t even know if I want Hitsugi to be spared from that fate since, even though he seems to have had a change of heart, he was still the one who inflicted a lot of injuries on our Sadaharu so, really, off with his head too. 

The thing with Utsuro though...I wonder if your ultimate plan with him is to have him completely erased so that the being we are left with is purely Yoshida Shouyou only. I mean, it would be killing two birds with one stone: granting Utsuro’s wish to be obliterated from existence while also granting Takasugi’s wish to be reunited with his teacher once again. I think Shouyou really is the love of Takasugi’s life. I don’t even mean that in the romantic sense at all, but rather, just as children can be the love of their parents’ lives, parents can also occupy that special place in their childrens’ hearts as well. In thinking about the role and impact Shouyou has in Takasugi’s life, he more than deserves that important designation since the entirety of Takasugi’s existence has literally revolved around his sensei. If there was a way to just revive the Shouyou part of the Utsuro being and wipe away any remnants of the monstrous side of that creature, that really would be the perfect solution to this whole ordeal. Not to mention, I’m sure Takasugi would want nothing more than to retire with his teacher to some countryside and open a new version of Shouka Sonjuku where they could teach a new generation of children how to be honorable people. All this time I’ve been holding on to the idea that death and reuniting with Bansai in the afterlife would be the happy ending Takasugi would want, but I admit I was being rather tunnel-visioned. The truth is, for Takasugi, it probably will always start and end with Shouyou, therefore, his idea of a happy ending would most likely involve him and no one else.  As to how such a feat can be accomplished—keeping Shouyou while erasing Utsuro—of course I have no idea (Car crash? Time machine? Kintoki hypnosis?), but if that is the endgame you have intended for Takasugi and Utsuro/Shouyou, I'm sure you’ll come up with a brilliant plan as usual. Alternatively, I wouldn’t mind seeing Takasugi raise baby Utsu-Shou as a single dad. That would be almost as satisfying as seeing Gintoki raise the kid himself. Naturally I’d be concerned if Takasugi would be able to just nurture the Shouyou side of the kid instead of the Utsuro side as well, but in lieu of their world being destroyed immediately, I guess there’s not many options available.

I hope we will get plenty of notice before the next chapter comes out; that was one killer of a cliffhanger, I can’t wait to see what’s in store next. I will of course have to depend on the mercy of fellow Gintama fans who have access to the app since it doesn’t seem to be available globally yet. But even if I have to wait longer for the new chapter compared to Japanese fans, it’s definitely a small price to pay for new Gintama. Thank you again for continuing onward with Gintama, Sorachi-sama. Thank the Gintama gods for granting my fervent Gintama wishes and prayers. I feel truly, truly blessed as a Gintama devotee.

Yours truly, 

A silly fangirl with yaoi dreams

(^3^)