Gintama Movie 2: Kanketsu-hen - Yorozuya yo Eien Nare

The new Gintama movie is a side story that delivers some laughs and new character designs, but is totally convoluted. Asking Gintama to make sense is kind of a faux-pas. It's demented on purpose. But what starts off as an absurdist comedy quickly devolves into boring shounen fan pandering. The movie follows 265 episodes, a recap film, plus a series of practically unrelated OVAs. In conclusion it is a minor entry in the series overall, but is certainly not worth missing for any Gintama fan. The story opens up with the Yorozuya three and Sadaharu in a movie theatre working part-time to grab some cash. Througha series of surprisingly refreshing and funny fourth-wall jokes, Gin and a new and hilarious character, the Movie Thief, end up travelling forward in time by five years. Here Gin learns the true identity of the Movie Thief and discovers that the world has been drastically altered and many people on Earth have died. To make matters worse, Yorozuya has disbanded and in this world Gin is missing and the Gin from five years ago must try and restore the world. The story, which renews the most popular theme in contemporary anime, is about time traveling. If you've seen one anime about time traveling, whether it be Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya or Steins;Gate, you've seen them all. What these stories have in common is using time-travel as a plot-device to provoke a sense of regret and gratefulness out of our otherwise complacent main characters. This concept strings pretty far back in the medium and unless the story is presented in an innovative manner the plot device of time travel is incredibly predictable. Time travel can no longer exist as the sole concept in a work. In Steins;Gate it was a character study on the stress of an individual undergoing intense trauma, and in Disappearance it was the deliberation between being safe or being in love. In both stories the main characters support the work. Here time travel is sadly used as a way to advance a very generic story in a setting that was created to provide the Gintama fanbase with some fun character designs. While the story is predictable it still is entertaining to any shounen fan. All our favorite Gintama characters appear, and the jokes ultimately keep flowing. But we don't get to see the characters from the main series develop into their new character designs, we just see how they've changed in five years. It's a bit disappointing coming from a series that often pays meticulous care to even the most trivial character's background. For a movie marketed as game-changing for the franchise, I can't help but to feel a little swindled. It's mostly just the same Gintama jokes from the show with less attention to story. The ill-explained time travel really hurts the bombastic finale of the film and everything about the story felt simply too convenient. While the movie is presented as a mystery Gin does almost none of the footwork to figure out about the world around him or how to fix it. The events of the movie occur jarringly fast. Plot points simply keep forcing themselves into scenes until finally you arrive at the final battle. It's frustrating that the film is so linear and there is almost no despair to be felt in a world that was supposedly ravaged. Even as far as a Gintama arc would go, it is safe to say that this would be a very weak one. The story suffers from cliches, linearity, and unbelievable explanations to the point of boredom. The main Gintama series can do better than this story and it's upsetting to see such little thought put into it. The cast remains the same if not caricatured. Ultimately we learn nothing new about the cast of the entire series other than that Kagura five years in the future is stacked. There is no character development in this film, which you can expect from a side story, but there is also no new character relationships. The films characters are very static. The soundtrack lifts nearly all songs from the main anime series and is of course very fitting because of this. Despite the contempt for innovation here the score still feels right. The animation looks vastly improved from the main series, though! Simply put, it is more fluid and provides a greater range of facial expression. The fight scenes are also animated very well, and provide for some exciting hack-and-slash entertainment. The character designs are great and should be lauded as well. The movie does a great job poking fun at some characters with the astute redesigns and pays attention to detail here with wardrobe subtleties. A fun example is Shinpachi is wearing Gin's shirt and Kagura is wearing his robe as a skirt. If there's an reason to see this movie it's to see the older counterparts of each character. Gintama Yorozuya yo Eien Nare is typical Gintama. It's more Gintama. If you want more Gintama then watch this film. It's nothing innovative, and it's nothing you haven't seen before. Some of the jokes are really funny, but mostly the films struggles with a convincing plot and frequently devolves into artificial sentimentality. I liked the film but was disappointed in it's simplistic design, but I humbly hope Gintama returns to form with some more hotpot and Christmas episodes in April.

I laughed, I cried, I felt. I cursed myself for not viewing it sooner. Be Forever Yorozuya encapsulates everything that makes Gintama in a two hour, finely wrapped package. If the tv series weren’t returning as of next year, I could think of no better way to send off the series. 

 Perhaps it needs no explanation, but although Gintama is, at its heart, an episodic comedy series, this film is best watched after at least watching the first series. As it is an anime where characters are its strongest point, more than basic knowledge is required for full enjoyment of the movie. 

The story ofthe film, like some of the most memorable arcs in the series, starts out with a definite comedy vibe before vaulting into more serious territory. If you’re looking for a legitimate glimpse into the Joui war, then you won’t find it here. There are a few nods to the past here and there, but the main focus is more on Edo after five years without Gintoki. The most pleasantly surprising moment of the film is undoubtedly the seemingly plot-irrelevant, gag-ridden first twenty minutes that manages to tie into the main plot. The only real fault in the story is the antagonist, although in the context of the events (and the fact that it is basically equal parts comedy and action), the shortcomings in motive and backstory can be forgiven. Besides a final battle that can only be described as insanely epic fanservice, what really sold the film for me was the comedy. The humour is as basically everything you’d expect from Gintama: it ranges from toilet humour to parody (although here it generally falls somewhere in the middle of the range). The film manages to segue between comedy and seriousness effortlessly; at one point I was crying because of drama, and the next minute I was crying with laughter. Even if you don’t enjoy the serious arcs of Gintama, there’s plenty to enjoy from a comedy standpoint. A poignant ending, that can only be described as classic Gintama, features some great retconning of the past and caps off the film perfectly. 

The most important aspect of Gintama is, of course, the characters, and even with the five year timeskip they don’t disappoint. If you’ve ever wanted to see Hasegawa have an important role in Gintama, then this is the film for you. There’s no real need to go into detail about the characters. After all, if you’ve already committed to the series, you should know what to expect. The changes that the characters have undergone after five years are such that they maintain their most notable quirks while each bringing something new to the table. They’re still the same perverts, sadists and everything else that you've come to love (or maybe become annoyed at, I don’t know), but with a new coat of paint and a slight tune-up. 

I had no complaints with the art of animation. I’m not down with all the technical terms and aspects, but both the art and animation are noticeably stepped up from the tv series. The animation flows well and the fights (few that there are) look fantastic. The new character designs all look incredibly solid. The only noticeable flaw was some slightly off-looking facial expressions, though these were few and didn’t detract from the film as a whole. If you think that’s being too forgiving, I could do worse and say something like “Oh, but it’s all good because Gintama’s always had that low budget charm about it”, but… nah. Seriously, if you’ve never had a problem with Gintama’s art style and animation fluidity then there’s no reason to start hating it here. 

Not much to say from an audio standpoint. The music used in the film is essentially all from the series, meaning that it enhances the atmosphere, whether it be serious or comedic. It works just as well as it does in the series. The ending theme, Genjou Destruction by SPYAIR, is easily one of the better songs in the series.

 When it gets right down to it, if you love Gintama or even just think it’s average, you owe it to yourself to see Be Forever Yorozuya. It will either reaffirm why you gave it so much praise in the first place, or if you fall into the latter category, might just persuade you that it’s worth viewing with fresh eyes. It’s a film that seamlessly marries the best comedy and action that the series has to offer, and I really don’t think it could’ve been pulled off any better.

Easy to understand Gintama review: 1-) If you are reading this that means you are at least considering to watch this movie. 2-) If you are considering to watch this movie, that means you are familiarized with the Gintama series. 3-) If you are not familiarized with the Gintama series, well then shame on you...you poor ignorant being. 3.5-) If you are indeed familiarized with the Gintama series, that means you have good taste.4-) If you have good taste, you know you`re losing your precious time reading these useless reviews, so stop reading and go watch it.

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