NOTE: Due to the nature of this sequel it is inevitable that there will be spoilers for those who haven't seen it though i have tried my level best to keep them to a minimum. I urge you to watch all the prequels before beginning Gintama (2015).
I began Gintama about 3 months back, wondering what it was that captured the hearts of so many people, after all its sequels dominated MAL's top 10 and it had spawned countless memes on the internet. It didn't really pique my interest in terms of its storyline or animation at the beginning but i decided to keep watching because
...
of its absolutely gold comedy. By the first serious arc in gintama (Benizakura hen) i was absolutely hooked. Slowly but surely i began to realize the gem that was gintama.
Now with Gintama (2015) gintama has reached heights that i couldn't even imagine and has broken FMA Brotherhood's monopoly at the top of MAL's rankings and has rightfully taken its position as the best anime of the modern era, perhaps even of all time.
Story: Gintama is a very episodic anime generally and has no coherent plotline, at least that is how it seems initially, but over the course of the 300 episodes that gintama has lasted we have seen that there is indeed a very deep backstory to Gintoki and many of the other characters. These backstories intertwine with the serious arcs of the anime and present a brilliant combination. The arcs are not very long (the longest arc is 9 episodes that is the Farewell Shinsengumi arc) and this means that there is alot of action and drama packed into these episodes. The arcs aren't many but when the do arrive in the series you know you are in for a treat.
This brings me to the star attraction of Gintama (2015) the Shogun assassination arc and the Farewell Shinsengumi arc. To say they are some of the best arcs anime has ever seen would probably be an understatement. The drama and action packed into these 17 episodes is unrivalled. What really makes the storyline of this anime amazing is that despite the fact that it parodies many famous anime for eg Naruto, Bleach etc it never falls to their low level and in fact manages to avoid all their pitfalls.
This anime will make you laugh until your sides hurt and at points make you cry a river. This contrast is indeed what makes this such an exemplary anime.
Art: I will not mince words here and come right out and say that the art is fucking awesome. The fights are so well animated you wouldn't believe that they belong to an anime that about 6 years ago was struggling with budget issues and was forced to air in a 4:3 aspect ratio. The art looks like something out of a movie and helps set up the atmosphere wonderfully well. The movements are very fluid and the BGs are very well drawn. Later when the anime takes a dark turn the change in the atmosphere is well conveyed through the darker tone of animation.
Sound: Sound has always been a strong suit of Gintama and has one of the best ensemble of VAs today. perhaps the biggest difference between it and other anime is that in gintama the seiyuus enjoy their job and portray their characters from their heart. The OSTs are still quite good despite some being reused for a long time.
As far as the OPs and EDs are concerned, absolute eargasms. Two of my all time personal favorite OPs belong to Gintama (2015). Every band involved has done a phenomenal job especially 'Blue Encount' and 'Chico with honeyworks' for their 'DAYXDAY' and 'Pride Kakumei' respectively. It would have been awesome to see 'Spyair" return for another song but oh well.
Character: Even though Gintama has a very large number of characters it never makes the viewer feel as any of them is being ignored. All our favorite characters return this season as well and are better than ever. Gintoki is particular receives phenomenal amount of character development this season and becomes as even more endearing character than before (crazy right?). Charcaters like Sacchan and Zenzo play more pivotal roles along with the Shinsengumi's characters like Hijikata, Sougo and Kondo. Many of the characters with which gintoki interacted appear and a special mention must be made of Takasugi in this regard as even he receives a lot of development over the course of Gintama (2015)
Enjoyment: I don't think this part needs any lengthy explananations as you may very well have judged that i consider gintama to very well be the holy grail of anime.
In the end i would like to say that 'Gintama' is an experience every anime fan must have regardless of preferences. If it was not evident by its rankings this anime is an absolute masterpiece n every sense of the word. This season is particular is a new high for the anime. In the end i would like to say that i am glad that i found this anime and gave it a chance for i am unlikely to encounter an amazing anime like this again.
Here is to another 100 episodes of Gintama!
(Thank you for reading this long review and any feedback is greatly appreciated)
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Mar 30, 2016
NOTE: Due to the nature of this sequel it is inevitable that there will be spoilers for those who haven't seen it though i have tried my level best to keep them to a minimum. I urge you to watch all the prequels before beginning Gintama (2015).
I began Gintama about 3 months back, wondering what it was that captured the hearts of so many people, after all its sequels dominated MAL's top 10 and it had spawned countless memes on the internet. It didn't really pique my interest in terms of its storyline or animation at the beginning but i decided to keep watching because ... 
Sep 8, 2014
Fairy Tail (2014)
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EDITED: THIS REVIEW ENCOMPASSES THE WHOLE 102 EPISODES OF FAIRY TAIL (2014)
*NOTE: Due to the nature of this series some comparisons between the new series and the original run will arise but generally this review is spoiler free. Fairy Tail (2014) was a highly anticipated sequel to the original run of Fairy Tail which lasted from 2009 to 2013. Now the original anime wasn't anything special or groundbreaking by any means however it was an anime that managed to avoid the majority of the pitfalls associated with long running anime like Naruto, Bleach etc. Sure it had the 'plot convenient' power ups and ... |
