#Joui3

[bossladytae]

The pupils of the Shouka Sonjuku school once again come together. Will Gintoki and the others be able to save their master? Will the Z Fighters be able to grasp their future?

Find out next time on...

[piduai]

gintama is really mid when it comes to serious writing/plot because it's allergic to foreshadowing and character building and relies on suspense of disbelief & just trust me bro-ism for most of its dramatic moments and tearjerkers. like sacchan & zenzo have been around since FOREVER and were never shown being particularly cordial or having a history together prior to shogun assassination, even though they did interact before. but come this arc and they're childhood best friends with the shogun as a third, sacchan recognizes zenzo as a leader much stronger and more skilled than her that she respects and cherishes, and zenzo has a soft, almost romantic affection for her. all so it will feel sadder when he dies. but it doesn't feel sad, it feels annoying and forced and undeserved. and it's like that with most if not all of its serious parts, very out of left field & with no foundation despite wanting for a pay off

[thef1rstmaster]

Tsukuyo and Shoyo, it's just fair right? RIGHT?

I'll never get over the fact that they never met.

I wish Sorachi had a sheet to see which characters have never met or haven't interacted in a while and decided to make a chapter with them from time to time

[ellcrys]

one. i need to finish 'kemono no souja erin' bc the first 8 or so episodes i watched in like 2014 were fucking banger.

two. this show's op 1 song is so shouyou-sensei/joui3 coded i've had this amv in mind for YEARS. one day perhaps...

[incorrect-gintama-quotes]

Katsura: I don't think Takasugi is very happy with you

Gintoki: why do you say this?

Katsura, reading the message: "Dear Gintoki, I hope this message finds you before i do."

[idontmindbeingonlyyours]

Re-reading 699... look at them </3

[hebigrin]

Kyou mo Sakura Mau Akatsuki ni

[captain-booty-bae]

Spoiler Alert!!!!!

So this is what I've been waiting for....like for months? OKAY. I HATE THIS! (I STILL LOVE YOU SORACHI) BUT SERIOUSLY?! I was actually hoping for a Gintoki/Shoyou moment!!! and yeah we got a Takasugi/Shoyou interaction but it was not satisfying at all! (Knowing that Takasugi will die!!!)

I still cant get over the fact that its gonna be takasugi/gintoki fight endgame even though its utsuro but in Takasugi's body. Its like Gintoki is destined to kill his master and save his counterpart childhood friend BY KILLING HIM!!! I REALLY HATE SORACHI FOR PUTTING THIS ON GINTOKI'S SHOULDER RIGHT NOW. I JUST WANT A LOVING MOMENT BETWEEN THE JOUI3 AND THEIR BELOVED SENSEI.

Why sorachi sensei! Why!!! (You know I still love you and worship you for creating Gintama but WHATEVER!!)

[lunar-tear]

Revisiting older Gintama arcs

I started rereading Gintama around the time chapter 698 came out (announcing the shift in platforms for the continuation of it.)

The other day I was reading the Courtesan of a Nation arc, and some parts of it were too good for me to not make a post.

Particularly the fact that this is the first time we were intimated of the details of what happened to Shouyou, the involvement of the Naraku and of course, more about Gintoki's past.

Basically, what we had until now was this much--

-Shouyou taught Gintoki, Katsura and Takasugi

-The three of them fought in the Joui War (but we didn't know that there was actually a specific reason.)

-Shouyou died when they were still young (but again, we didn't exactly know in what way)

This arc hit us with a wave of information. Sure, the Tendoshuu were mentioned a couple of times in earlier chapters, but we had no clue they had anything to do with this.

Remember when Oboro immobilised Gintoki with his poisoned needles? And then we had this:

Gintoki, watching the carnage around him, as his friends, his comrades, his children, fight and protect each other, including him.

And he remembers feeling this helpless. He remembers not being able to do a single thing to protect what mattered to him the most.

Shouyou sensei.

You can literally see the desperation on his face. In his eyes. His will just forcing his body to go, do something, help them, don't let this be like a repetition of what happened so many years ago. Move, Gintoki.

And later on:

The very first time we see Shouyou's entire face. And god, how gorgeous it is indeed. No wonder Sorachi kept us waiting for this long.

More importantly, look at what he's saying. Entrusting Gintoki to protect what is dear to the both of them. And how is it any different from what's happening in real time? By fighting for him, with him, aren't the people he's with in the Castle also like this? These are people who would trust Gintoki with their lives, and Gin has the same trust in them as well.

"I'll be back with you all very soon."

But Gin already knows. He knows Shouyou won't be back that easily. That's precisely why he can't- wont watch as his comrades throw themselves into battle with him not being able to do anything. He can't lose those bonds. Not again.

A promise.

The very last panel is what really broke me. Past Gintoki and present Gintoki- both tied back by this promise- this failure to keep a promise.

At this point we don't actually know how Shouyou died, like I said before. We don't know that Gintoki was the one who beheaded him. We weren't fully able to comprehend the amount of pain he must've been going through, watching the people he loved hurt themselves for him. It was physically and mentally too much for him to have to go through that again. You can see the sheer pain on his face.

He had been forced kill his teacher, his mentor, his father figure-- and he's burdened by it, he always has been. Gintoki tries so hard to move on from the past, but he just cannot. There's too much pain to not acknowledge. There's too much suffering behind his cool façade. There's too much.

Because while he managed to stay afloat beside his brothers in arms, Takasugi and Katsura, he couldn't save the one person who mattered to them the most. Nay, he blames himself for sensei dying. He blames himself for being a helpless child who couldn't move to action when he should've. And that's heartbreaking.

At this point we don't even know the full story of what this man has been through. Sure, we love our protagonist. But we don't know.

It really just made me think a lot about what Gintoki carries on his shoulders-- the loss, the sadness, the fright. The absolute fright of losing his family again. Of making the same mistakes again. How much more of this pain is even humanly possible to endure?

This arc was the turning point for Gintama in my opinion-- it established a clear plot and had plenty of character development for our beloved MC. I can't really call it foreshadowing at this point, since it throws the facts right at us. But I can say that it is quite easily one of the best (and personally, one of my favourite) arcs that Sorachi gave us.

[alroma1]

Gintama 699 Review

“There’s no time for worrying, ’Cause there’s a suprise hidden somewhere, and I wanna find it!”

I literally could not believe it was real when I first saw it...

As if cover wasnt enough...

 But... gintama ending... only three chapters left... have to use pages smartly... why this...

Lol I was going to joke about Zura being Yamcha but Sorachi did it himself. Second time Zura being associated with wolves by the way. 

Oh kohais and senpai. Its kind of cute. And also shameless. And your sellings is not that great either.

This “one way or another everything worked out” is taken stright up from 150 episode where they did premature Gintama ending

Honestly I hate smug Takasugi - usually it ends up in disaster

Gintoki actually uses not sensei but shishou term here. I think Sorachi really hints something with this. Also I doubt Gintoki is going to have this chance. This is 20 page by the way and nothing happened except them running and chating

Naw this page just can not really be in my gintama. 

So just when we got about thing that sensei really wished for Zura got hurt. Quite a clear hint about what this thing really was.

I have bad feeling about this...

This twist is kind of cool but deep down we all know this is too much for being real.

I just love how Kyuubei asked them to take care of Otae but they just lost her somewhere along the way

Whoa that was like really dirty. Scandal arc level dirty. But zensaaaachi

Make a note - Zura fell together with the heart. If this is not a metaphor for him being Yoshida heart than I dont even know. 

Ta-dah!!!  One more hole in Takasugi. I just hope that people have realised that making DB parody is not the only way to waste pages. Because this is what we have here with thi chapter. Oh gorilla. Happy new year and see you next month.

[charmingstrangenessedits]

new season countdown — gintama porori arc

3 days remaining ⇒ 3 friendships

[nullians]

Happy birthday, Shouyou!!🎉🎉🎉

[piduai]

but you know joui3 + sensei drama could have been good, the premise is lovely and the development halfway through wasn't bad either... he took in 3 children nobody else wanted and gave them a home, was both parent and mentor to them, he loved them, and they loved him back. that's the kind of devotion forged out of gratitude. the children grew together as brothers, with the highs and the lows that come with that, but obviously caring for each other deeply. and then one of them is forced to kill either his surrogate parent, or his brothers.

and he chose sensei, he chose to sacrifice his life for the lives of the other two. trolley dilemma much? anyway the three left behind had to learn how to live after that, with themselves and with the other two. learn how to stifle the guilt and the rage and the grief. live knowing that the cost of them being alive was sensei's head, or live with the consequences of their choice of killing the person who gave them a home, knowing that that's what he would have wanted. was the sacrifice worth it, is my life so precious that it had to be bought for his? and all of that. obviously the relationship between the three would have unrecognizably changed, they still have lingering love for each other but they also hate each other for what the other has done - or drove the other to do - but they also have these memories together, but at the bottom of their hearts they can't blame the others, and the self-hatred and guilt and grief are unbearable, and so on and so forth. and THEN it turns out that sensei is not even dead, not really, and he's always been on the enemy's side, so what was the point of all those years of bitterness?

like i think think that this particular plot line was good and had a lot of potential, it's just very emotionally complex... the execution though. lmfao. first off zura is so obscenely sidelined in all of this, it's like he always acted as a cheerleader/buffer for the takasugi vs mc rivalry and is given 0 depth or personal insight into this whole thing, no personal rapport to sensei even besides the faint freedom to assume that he's been keeping his hair long as a way to honor him. so the complexity automatically downgrades from 3 hurt grown children trying to deal with their pain to 2 butthurt guys and an afterthought. he's literally not even around when the flashbacks are revealed LMFAO it's so weird.

takasugi vs mc wasn't bad actually it was ok. takasugi delivered well, he had the grace to hallucinate sensei in his fight with the worstie that saved his life. i love takasugi. he was done dirty. his fixation on sensei and his anger at the world that took him away has gradually morphed into a fixation on mc and his sadness for some nebulous reason. if the rest of this thang was done in a convincing way i could have swallowed it, but seeing that it was fumbled, i can't, not really. yet another gruesome downgrade.

then there's the appearance of amnesiac sensei after squeezing all he could out of a gym membership and it's crickets. you spent years grieving him. you spent years resenting each other because you loved him and had to see him die. but upon meeting evil sensei they're like ummm well i see that he's an alien so it's not the same guy technically so why should i give a single fuck... well because it would have been entertaining if you did! it would have been good! it would have been compelling! but it fucking wasn't!!!!

[malomis]

When ur dead inside but ur best friend is an optimistic cinnamon roll

[firequeensrules]

Sorachi’s writing / Katsura

 They are many complains in the Gintama Fandom about how Sorachi treats Katsura when it comes to writing .. One of the most common complains is that he didn’t include him in during the Courtesan of a Nation and the Shogun’s Assassination Arc , despite being on of the most mayor characters in the manga and anime . And even though I was angry too in the beginning , now after thinking the subject better - I can understand and respect Sorachi’s choice : Listen , Katsura before the Farawell Shinsengumi Arc , was a major enemy to Kondo and rest of them ...If his was there during the Countresan of the Nation , an arc were the police was a big part of , where new elements where explored , where Oboro made his first appearance and part of Shouyou’s fate was explored .., Katsura would have not had a real part in all this - and if he had , it would had only fade out in comparison ... After all , he met the Shogun in different circumstances later on in the story and their meeting was more meaningful like this...Even Takasugi made only an appearance near the end and he didn’t really play a big part in the whole  story arc..He was only there to foreshadow the next arc and slay down the previous shogun ..Something that it’s not in Katsura’s character...!

In the Assasination arc , the Shinsengumi were also again a big part of the story...Takasugi was the main enemy and his fight with Gintoki was something really special and personal ... At least Sorachi this time , made Zura a big part of the flashback , which is important to note from Takasugi’s part : We learn how important friend was to Takasugi and how he met Gintoki and how brave he was even as a kid ...After the end of the arc , Zura made his big return as a major character , ready to to fulfill his promise to Shogun , who met and befriend under his own circumstances , his own way ...And this is a big part of Zura’s character--- He appears to lack common sense most of the time , only to turn out to be the final boss/puppet master of the situation ( something in other animes and series is usually appears to be part of the main’s villian personality...--- Seriously , we truly lucky that Zura is with the good guys ) .

The second major complain in the Gintama fandom is that : We don’t know much about Zura’s relationship with Shouyou ...! Well Sorachi has already gave us a taste about this from the person himself :

After he learned the truth about Utsuro , he tells Gintoki that he is not really suprised ..Even though his beloved sensei was a great influence in his live ( we can easily understand this , only from how he looks , from his everyday appearance and mannerisms..) - a light as he describes him to be , but it is clear that he also never trully trust him to be that good to begin with.. And this is not something strange : Katsura was not always an orphan like Gintoki  - His parents , before they died used to cherish him and his grandma was a very acrive person in his young life , who I’m sure she was the one she teached him how to judge right from wrong - not Shoyou unlike Gintoki , who was an outcast from the very beginning and for him he was a father figure first or better someone to look up to and who teached him humanity ( how ironic )  and unlike Takasugi  , with an abusive father and unprotest mother , where Shouyou was final someone who was able to understand him better than anyone , the god who freed him from the strungles of a proper samurai .... For Zura,  he was an escape route and an important distraction from his lonely everyday live --- a way to survive.. !

Despite all that , he is the first one from all his disciples that he chosed to keep Shoyo’s memory alive as a teacher and not as a killing machine or monster ... He clarifies to Gintoki , that he is gonna to take full responsibillity and give an end to this man , who is never gonna accept as his master and teacher. ---- And this is enough proof for me ! I will also love if Sorachi in the end , decide to gives us a more inside perspective , but in my opinion he has already gave his answear ..! **** peace out <3

[pearthery]

some gintama fic recs:

some gintama fics from my ao3 bookmarks that i would like to yell about. a fair amount of these are oneshots that i'm very fond of, but every now and then a multi-chapter might pop up. one or two are hosted on ffnet! mostly gen, with some character pairings! they vary ahaha

i confess that my deepest affections lie often with yorozuya and shoka sonjuku/joui4 fics, with ventures into otose and her extended family, and that i may love gintoki too much, so my fic recs lean in that direction!

Needs More Bombs by Sinnatious — [gen] this one is a 259 word oneshot about zura (and bombs) and that's really all it is, ahaha

Thieves, Like Books, Should Not Be Judged By Their Covers by katjedi — [gintsu] a gintsu genderbend in a fantasy world!!!! to quote the tags, "Friendship! Effort! Victory!" ginko is very cute <3

Report on Incident No. 235908 Involving Vessel NKMA-01 by Yamazaki Sagaru (Age 32) by Apathy, saltedpin — [gen, a little bit of yamazaki > tama, but tama's emotions are rather ambiguous yknow] oh darn i dont quite know how else to describe this except that it feels Just like an episode, JUST like an early?middle? gintama kind of episode with silly shenanigans and the characters all being superbly dumb and aagh i laughed so much!!!!

the familiar and the great unknown by guycecil — [takagin, zuragin, sakagin, sakataka] wkkwidioqodjkajda i was delivered many heartbroken emotions by this joui4 era fic. the entire series aches, i love this author so much, but this particular gin-centric installation gives me especially melancholic emotions.

Afterlife is a country you don't need a visa for by MilwaukeeMeg — [gen] an alternate universe where shinpachi and kagura die before they ever meet gintoki (once again gintoki gets to see ghosts,,) BUT that certainly won't stop them from becoming beloved yorozuya fam <3

The 'Bottle' in 'Spin the Bottle' Is Surely A Euphemism For Alcohol by StarryDustandFluffyStuff — [zurataka, zuragin, sakagin, sakataka, sakazura] the plot is "sakamoto kisses anyone he wants" and it's an absolutely excellent plot, very very good, i support sakamoto's endeavours wholeheartedly. to quote the tags, silly and fun, with a dash of angst!! i very much like the sakamoto voice too!

you/him by ijustwanttodestroy — [takagin] as the tags say, there is Angst, there is Romance, there is Character Study (my goodness there is character study) the way the words flow in this makes me press my hands to my face and gasp. second person pov that makes me cry,,,

the lonely thief by Official_Biscuit_Moron — [gen] okay okay okay this is wonderful and wonderful and introspective and catherine-centric (stinky cat woman <3) biscuit's writing is soft and subtle and evocative, i never felt quite so deeply for catherine until This, there is so much love in the writing!!! aaaaghg gh

It's a Hard Knock Life by Linderosse — [gen] joui3,,, babies,,, modern au,,, some fluff some angst some emotional hurt and comfort, i really really like the characterisation of their childhood selves (like? a very strong sense of voice?) and the prose! the prose is so gentle, the atmosphere like? a sweet vague wash of emotion? (hm i'm sorry for being so inconcise with my descriptions and also my recommendations in general ahaha) this is part of a series, and the next part of the series is equally wonderful and perhaps delivers even more heartache (tempered with fluff,,)

they say the devil you know is better than the one you don't, but sometimes both devils are you and what are you supposed to do then, huh? by parangari — [gen] this one is kagura-centric oh Frick i don't know what else to say about this but? kagura stream of consciousness?? second person pov??? every word exudes emotion and the kagura voice rattles in my bones and the gintoki and the shinpachi you glimpse through kagura's voice are so very very Them i guess what i mean is aah i think it's superbly in-character!!!

When in Doubt, Shout by InfiniteInMystery — [sakagin, hijigin, hm, but mostly, Adventure, i think] in-progress multi-chapter gintama skyrim au!! there was a dragon at the start and it was cool, and i just think it is very neat! also the relationship between otose and gintoki in this is very sweet,,

ghost— by kapteeni — [gen] a series technically not a fic but series most certainly count too and this one made me cry and left an ache in my chest (an important criteria) worldbuilding is amazing and so is characterisation and relationships and everything, i remember reading this all in one go and afterwards i had lost my sense of self and was floating in a void of strange awe and euphoria and wistful wistful emotions <3 <3 <3 kapteeni wrenched my soul out of my body and i was grateful beyond words

The Most Important Things are Sometimes the Stupidest by dearfriendicanfly — [konhiji] kqoaifikqkakdjkakdjjajs i like it very much Nice Pacing Nice Characterisation Nice Yeah

funeral casket for my childhood by perennials — [kagunobu] i know perennials' gintama works as Tried and True Breakers of My Heart , this one was especially devastating to me, the title has haunted me for years, i feel so much melancholy at the ending

Tiger Mom by gettinyinggywithit — [gen] a little hint of gintsu, but mostly, it is about tsukuyo learning to be gentle when it was not what she was taught, and the prose is? smooth?? silk smooth? smooth like still water???

You and me and the Devil makes three by saveusmilkboy — [gen] this joui war fic buried itself into my soul it has nine chapters on ao3 and for the first few chapters the formatting has the paragraphs squashed together, i read it first on fanfiction.net and it is perhaps the single one first person pov oc fic that i have adored, i love mikkun, and more than that, i think how the author delves into the feeling of a war? it feels so grounded,, and outsider pov on the joui!! so much character building going on!! gintoki says cool speeches! zura sings "ma'am i'd like to fuck"!

Cradle Song by iphido — [ayano/tatsugoro, gen] cw: miscarriage. gorgeously written thoughtful piece about otose and motherhood. there is so much care in the writing, and iphido writes relationships that exude so much love, my goodness

If Love is in the Air, it's Time You Started Thinking About Getting an Air Conditioner — by Official_Biscuit_Moron — [kintoki/gintoki] ahahahaha biscuit is immensely talented at writing things that exude the ridiculous shenanigans of gintama daily life and this is Just One Of Them i will not say anything else except please read this kintoki goes through many ordeals and the dialogue is impeccably funny and sacchan is there!!!!!

What to Do About Tomorrow by Shirokokuro — [gen] shirokokuro's shoyo&gintoki centric content reaches right into my ribcage and wraps tenderly around my heart, it brings me SO much delight, so much affection, i love shiro's writing so much, vivid wonderful prose, settings and descriptions that make me feel like i am under sunlight and photosynthesising, dialogue and scenes that flow so smoothly and organically, i have So many words. now i will write words about the fic itself: wtdat is the multi-chapter shoyo-gin timeloop fic that my heart has always yearned for, aghgggh. the epitome of found family content, and you know what while i am at it, i would like to usher to the front the rest of shiro's gintama works, Alpenglow and An Armful of Azaleas because they are sweet and lovely and i love them