Episode 5 – GINTAMA – Mr. Ginpachi’s Zany Class

Given how uninteresting a lot of last week was, I’m worried the spinoff has run out of steam, but it looks like I may have spoken too soon. This episode improved in every way and somehow managed to address all of my complaints about the show so far. From its setup to the way it uses characters to deliver laughs, this episode is firing on all cylinders when it comes to comedic timing and makes this episode feel like a proper return to form that I’ve come to expect. Gintama.

Similar to last week’s episode, this one operates on an extremely simple premise. This time, three thieves sneaked into the school, and the teachers were ordered to hunt them down in exchange for a million-yen reward. For the most part, this setting reintroduces some of the characters in this new school environment. Unlike previous episodes, where most of the characters only had enough screen time to perform their core gags, this one gives “Teacher” more screen time, which, not surprisingly, makes the jokes funnier. Take the emergence of Zenzo as an example. Last week, he only appeared long enough to prove that he was one of the teachers and was suffering from hemorrhoids, but this time, we see him put his ninja skills to use while trying to catch a thief. Of course, since he’s been playing the role of a teacher, he can only throw chalk instead of knives, so seeing him try to show off only to accidentally trip over a suspiciously sharp object and stab him in the butt was a near-perfect gag that made me laugh the hardest I’ve laughed on this show since the premiere.

It’s nice to see Matsudaira on this show as one of the teachers, if only because it provides an excuse If this is a male To show off how cool his voice is. I realize this sounds a bit hypocritical, considering how much I complain about seeing characters limited to one gimmick, but in my defense, you can listen If this is a male Reading a dictionary would still be hilarious, so if the joke here focuses on his voice, it’s certainly not a bad joke. Plus, it’s hard not to laugh at Matsudaira for not even bothering to abide by the spinoff’s “canon” and whipping out a bazooka to shoot at thieves, so it feels like the show is making the most of his screen time. My favorite part was seeing Tsukiyo take on the role of a school nurse and try to distract the thief by doing a femme fatale routine, only to get flustered and start bashing Ginpachi in the head with a bazooka because Ginpachi accidentally tripped over her breasts, which tells you basically everything you need to know about her character in just a few minutes.

It was nice to see how well this episode utilized Ginpachi. Since Gintoki has the longest screen time, he doesn’t suffer as much indignity as the rest of the cast, but in previous episodes he hasn’t really embodied what makes Gintoki an interesting protagonist in general, aside from his general disregard for the fourth wall. In contrast, I think this one does a better job of showing off his full personality, and nowhere is that more evident than in seeing him end up being the teacher least motivated by greed, purely because trying to catch the thief was too taxing for him. Only when his job is threatened will Ginpachi be too lazy to do anything, and this lazy attitude also allows him to play the role of the straight man in this episode. While he’s not as good at playing the character as Shinpachi is, it’s still hilarious to watch him bounce off the antics of the other teachers, and his interactions with characters like Tsukiyo do a good job of quickly understanding his overall dynamic with them. With all of this in mind, it’s only fitting that Ginpachi ends up being the one to save the day when a thief tries to take the students hostage, but that just makes the final gag that much funnier, since he goes through all the unnecessary effort, only for the principal to spend the reward for catching the thief on decorating his office. This is the energy I usually expect GintamaThe crude humor, while I’m not sure that makes up for last week’s episode, does feel like a step in the right direction.

grade:

Gintama – Mr. Ginpachi’s funny classroom Currently live broadcast
crunchy.