Anime Reviews (2010-2019): Gintama - Series 3, Part 2 (a Neo-Tokyo 2099 Anime on Blu-ray Disc Review)

If you love anime series with a lot of comedy, gags and action, definitely give “Gintama” a try! But if you are a long-time viewer/reader of the “Gintama” series, with two major arcs featured in this set, definitely check “Gintama – Series 3, Part 2” a try!

TITLE: Gintama – Series 3, Part 2

DURATION: Episodes 292-316 (625 Minutes)

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition 16×9 HD Native, Dolby TrueHD English and Japanese 2.0, Subtitles: English

RATED: TV 14

COMPANY: Funimation Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: September 25, 2018

Originally created by Hideaki Sorachi

Series Directed by Chizuru Miyawaki

Script by Deko Akao

Music by Audio Highs

Character Design by Shinji Takeuchi

Art Director: Nami Maniwa, Takayoshi Fukushima

Anime Production by Bandai Namco Pictures

Featuring the voices of:

Daisuke Sakaguchi/Cole Howard as Shinpachi Shimura

Rie Kugimiya/Jocelyne Loewen as Kagura

Tomokazu Sugita/Michael Daingerfield as Gintoki Sakata

Akira Ishida/Matt Ellis as Kotaro Katsura

Aya Hirano as Nobume Imai

Bin Shimada/Scott McNeil as Gengai Hiraga

Daisuke Namikawa/Giles Panton as Nobunobu Hitotsubashi

Fumihiko Tachiki/Ted Cole as Taizo Hasegawa

Fumiko Orikasa/Advah Soudak as Kyubei Yagyu

Haruka Tomatsu as Ginko Sakata

Kazuhiko Inoue as Oboro

Kazuya Nakai/Michael Adamthwaite as Toshiro Hijikata

Kenichi Suzumura as Okita Sougo

Kujira/Samantha Ferris as Otose

Mikako Takahashi as Sadaharu

Susumu Chiba/Jason Simpson as Kondou Isao

Aliens known as the Amanto have invaded Earth and taken over feudal Japan. The government has been overpowered and humans are no longer in charge. In this strange new era, a man named Gintoki Sakata with the heart of a samurai, and the odd but endearing company he keeps, have found a way to stay self-employed. They take on all sorts of odd jobs, everything from finding lost kittens to saving the world. But things get really serious when the shogun’s life is in peril, and Gintoki’s past comes back to haunt him. It’s the battle of a lifetime as everyone teams up for a task unlike any other!

Please note: The anime was reviewed with first name/last name at the time

Since 2003, “Gin Tama” (which means “Silver Soul” has been a manga series that has entertained many “Shonen Jump” fans. Written and illustrated by mangaka Hideaki Sorachi, the popular manga received an anime adaptation and has aired in Japan since 2006 on TV Tokyo and as of October 2018, a total of 367 episodes have aired.

And released in September 2018 from Funimation is “Gintama” Series 3, Part 2 (which features episodes 292-316). In Japan, this would be the “Gintama°” 2015-2016 episodes and would feature a new animation studio, instead of Sunrise, now it’s Bandai Namco Pictures who would take over anime production.

And instead of longtime director, Yoichi Fujita, the new series would feature Chizuru Miyawaki directoring, while Yoichi Fujita would become the supervisor of the series.

“Gin Tama” is a series that takes place during the Edo Period (Tokyo – 1860’s) but in this alternate reality of the Edo Period, aliens known as Amanto have conquered Japan and because of the war against the samurai’s, the Amanto have banned swords in public and are now co-existing with the humans (more like humans are forced to co-exist with the Amanto). Also, technology has been shared with the people of Japan allowing space travel, giving them access to cars, mopeds, television and more.

The series focuses on the silver haired Gintoki Sakata and his two freelancers who will perform odd jobs for a fee, but sometimes these odd jobs turn out to be more destructive than realized.

The main characters of “Gintama” are:

Gintoki Sakata – The owner of “Odd Jobs Gin”. Often lazy, likes reading manga, picking his nose and is late on his rent payments. Willing to take on odd jobs for a living but is also an excellent swordsman who despises the Amanto and those who co-exist with them. Despite the sword ban, Gintoki is defiant towards the Amanto and carries a sword.
Shinpachi Shimura – A teenager who wants to learn the ways of the samurai and thus becomes a freelancer at Odd Jobs Gin. Often the voice of reason but is hardly listened to and is often a person who receives some sort of punishment. Lives with his sister Tae.
Kagura – An alien girl of the Yato Clan who looks human but has tremendous strength. Kagura flee to Earth to earn money but also to get away from her violent Yato heritage. In Earth, she has to hold an umbrella to prevent sunlight from damaging her translucent skin. Loves pickled seaweed, eating, money and often has a temper. She also is blunt about things that women don’t say in public.
Sadaharu – Kagura’s pet, a large dog looking inugami. Loves to bite people and Kagura loves it because she takes his wanting to eat her as a form of playfulness. Often used as Kagura’s vehicle.
Otose – Owns Otose Snack House and the landlord for Gintoki. Loves smoking and doesn’t appear to be offended when Gintoki refers to her as an old hag.
Catherine – The feline female thief who works at Otose Snack House and at first, she seemed like a nice woman but in reality she’s a trash talking person who can easily get into trouble.
Ayame Sarutobi (Sachan) – An elite ninja who loves Gin. Only problem is that she’s nearly blind without her eyeglasses.
Isao Kondo – Commander of the Shinsengumi. A confident leader who has a low self-esteem when it comes to his rear end sprouting like an afro. Infatuated with Shinpachi’s sister Tae.
Toshiro Hijikata – The vice-commander of the Shinsengumi and loyal to Kondo. An excellent fighter.
Sogo Okita – The best swordsman of the Shinsengumi but prefers to carry a bazooka. He appears to not like his vice-commander.

VIDEO:

“Gintama” is presented in 1080p High Definition and there is no doubt that Shonen Jump series receive some solid attention when it comes to animation, with cool backgrounds, shaded characters and the anime series looks absolutely vibrant in HD. I didn’t notice any major banding issues or artifacts, the anime series looks great on Blu-ray!

AUDIO:

“Gintama” is presented in English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and in Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0. Overall, the 5.1 lossless soundtrack sounds very good and there is a good amount of surround usage and its much more immersive than its Japanese lossless counterpart.

Both soundtracks are well-acted and for the most part, fans should be pleased with the lossless audio.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Gintama” Series 3, Part 2 comes with no special features.

EXTRAS:

“Gintama” Series 3, Part 2 comes with a 12-page art book, the Blu-ray and DVD version of the series and a Funimation digital code.

With the release of “Gintama” Series 3, Part 2, the latest Blu-ray release features “Gintama°“, the 2015-2016 sequel based on the manga “Gin Tama” by Hideaki Sorachi.

The anime series marks the beginning of Bandai’s reshuffle and the series would be produced by Bandai Namco Entertainment.

The series continues the running gags featuring Gintoki Sakata, his apprentice Shinpachi Shimura and teenage alien girl, Kagura but also incorporates many other characters as well.

This latest Blu-ray series features episodes 292-316 which aired from October 2015-March 2016.

From crazy episodes such as Shinpachi going clothes shopping with Gintoki and Kagura, Katsura infiltrating the Shinsengumi with an afro, during a heatwave, Gin and Shinpachi kick Kagura out from under her umbrella but why is she not responsive?, a nurse discovers Shachi’s manga drawings and when he finds out she likes it, he starts developing ac rush on her. What happens when Tama becomes friends with an old cigarette vending machine?

But while the majority of episodes for “Gintama: are standalone episodes, beginning on episode 300 is the “Shogun Assassination Arc” which lasts through episode 307, and features a more serious storyline.

While episode 308 begins the “Farewell Shinsegumi Arc” which ends with the final episode (episode 316) of the season which takes place after a major death.

Nevertheless,most of these episodes are wacky and a lot of fun. It’s tough these days to have a long-running animated series that relies less on action-driven arcs and featuring independent episodes full of gags involving their characters but “Gintama”has made it happen.

Surprisingly, with most of the season featuring on stand-alone gag episodes, the last 16 episodes of the series does become more serious, which is a bit of a departure from the usual comedic style of the series, which is a positive thing in my opinion.

“Gintama” is currently one of Japan’s popular animated comedy series for those who want something a little grown up. The English adaptation makes things a bit more mature than its Japanese counterpart and there is profanity, so this is not exactly an anime series you want little children to watch.

But overall, “Gintama” is a series that is beloved in Japan. With the release of two live-action films, video games and long-running anime and manga series still ongoing in Japan, it will be interesting to where Sorachi Hideaki takes the series now that it will not be featured on “Weekly Jump” any longer (the series will be moving to “Jump Giga”).

Anime Reviews (2010-2019): Gintama – Series 3, Part 2 (a Neo-Tokyo 2099 Anime on Blu-ray Disc Review)

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