Gintama :: eXcetera Cafe

The story takes place in Edo (known today as Tokyo because of the name change in 1868), Japan, which has been taken over by aliens called Amanto since the late Edo period. The samurai of Japan have fallen, and the Amanto placed a ban on carrying swords in public. The story focuses on an eccentric samurai, Gintoki Sakata, his (partial) apprentice Shinpachi Shimura, and a teenage alien girl: Kagura. All three are “free-lancers” who search for work in order to pay the monthly rent, which usually goes unpaid anyway.
Gintama is all about that too. The world itself is quite interesting because it takes place in a post bakumatsu era with instead of the Americans coming to Japan on ships, we have aliens called Amanto coming to Japan in spaceships. It makes for a quite interesting dynamic as you have a clash of old world Japanese culture i.e. samurais with modern day life as well as sci-fi technology. The

Main characters in the story. There are plenty more reoccurring characters all throughout the series.
Sataka Gintoki – ( seiyu – Tomokazu Sugita)
The main character of the show, Gintoki and Sugita san that voices him is hilarious. The question that would always sits in the back of my mind was just how strong is Gin san? The show would always show flashbacks from when he had to fight in the war against the Amanto. He looked like a serious bad ass, and again reminds me alot of Kenshin when he was a hitokiri doing the same thing against the Tokugawa Bakufu.
Being the protagonist that he is, he would always appear to be weak or not care as comedic relief, but when he had to turn on that bad ass switch to save the day he would. This is prominent in my mind because of what happened in Ep 58.
Shimura Shinpachi (Seiyu – Daisuke Sakaguchi)
Gintoki’s sidekick I guess you could say. He’s very funny for his own reasons, but I would say he has a kind of generic feel to him. Even the mangaka said this when he designed the character Shinpachi.
He’s great though when he the topic is about his idol love Otsuu chan.
His sister is the best though, Otai voiced by the great Satsuki Yukino.
Kagura (Seiyu – Rie Kugimiya)
My favorite character hands down. Kagura voiced by Kugimiya Rie (Nagi from Hayate no Gotoku!) is so funny. The way she speaks with an accent that is suppose to sound Chinese is great.
She’s just a typical 14 year old girl, but with super human strength because she’s suppose to be an alien. That dynamic makes for some really hilarious moments in the show, and also shows up in her demeanour
Shinsengumi
The shinsengumi in this show are exactly like they are in other shows and in Japanese history. They have Kondo san , Hijikata san , and Okita san the three most famous Shinsengumi.
The difference is of course these guys live in a futuristic world, and thus have uniforms that look more western. They still carry swords, but Okita likes to use a bazooka instead and that pretty much sums up what Gintama is all about.

Gintoki Sakata
Nicknames Gin-san
Age 23
Gender Male
Species Human
Date of birth July 29
Occupation Samurai

Gintoki Sakata (name based on Kintarō) is a samurai living in an era when samurai are no longer needed. To add to his troubles, oppressive aliens have moved in to invade. Gintoki lives with Kagura and Shinpachi, taking on odd jobs to make the world a better place…and to pay their rent. In the Joi war, he was known as the “White Devil,” (Shiroyasha) due to his silver hair and white coat he wore in battle, which, combined with his impressive capabilities as a swordsman, made him famous among his comrades and struck fear into Amanto

Gin-San is a fictional character and main protagonist of the manga and anime series Gintama, created by Hideaki Sorachi. A former rebel samurai who lives in a fictionalized version of 1860s Japan after being invaded and transformed by aliens, he fought the invaders until he realized the lack of sense in doing so, leading to him choosing to instead make a living as a freelancer for hire in Edo.
Background
Gin-San Very little is known about Gintoki’s youth or childhood. He was still a boy when the Amanto arrived on Earth and began to take over the nation of Japan. However, he was classmates with three of his future “Joi” allies, Kotaro Katsura, Shinsuke Takasugi,and Sakamoto Tatsuma yet more known for his laid back attitude than for his studies. It was at this time that he learned of the code of the samurai, which he keeps to himself even to this day (albeit in a more twisted manner than others).
As Gin became older, he began to take note of the way that the country and the world he knew was falling apart due to the continued invasion and infiltration of the Amanto within the Japanese government and society, getting their way regardless of humanity’s concerns. As the samurai continued to fight against the Amanto to return their world to how it was, it was at this time that Gintoki joined the Joi faction, choosing to make a stand against the invaders in hope to free Japan from their grip. Fighting even in the face of death against the Amanto, bathing in their blood in the midst of battle, Gin continued to fight against them, taken in by the philosophies of the other samurai, being proclaimed a “God of War” feared both by his enemies and by his native people.
However, not too long after one of the bloodiest battles he fought in, Gintoki disappeared from the battlefield. His Joi allies, particularly Katsura, worried about what had happened to one of their greatest warriors. But Gin’s disappearance was due to two factors: both his tiredness of spilling blood in order to protect people and his realization that the Amanto were nothing but “gloomy foreigners”. It was not too long after that the “Sword Abolishment Act” was passed and the samurai were out of business, with some turning to other causes and others turning into terrorists continuing to fight the Amanto threat. But Gintoki didn’t really mind or care: he chose to open a freelance business where he could handle matters his own way yet continue to live by his own samurai code in this new world.