#Sorachi

[mintbluex]

[theoptimisticfatalist]

writing in which Abuto lives in my mind rent-free:

Abuto lost his left arm in Yoshiwara, and he just don't like the feeling of cold metal on his skin at night. On your skin at night.

Every night, whether or not you hit the sack at the same time or not, he hugs you in your sleep the same way you used to hold your plushies: it’s like a chokehold, grasping whatever he can. Sometimes he holds your hand. Sometimes you move in your sheets, and you hug him. Suffocate yourself in the mane that is his hair on purpose sometimes even.

He sleeps on the right side of the bed, and you on the left. Needless to say, there's a running joke between you two, where the "wrong side of the bed" is not so much a physical place, but instead a perpetual state. But what can you say? The man's got some sort of superpower to rise with the sun and you seem to be most lively when night falls.

But what you both know is that he did it on purpose: the first night you slept together, he asked if you could sleep by the window and was holding his arm with his other arm. The fake one with his real one.  There's his utilitarian reasoning, which makes perfect sense: it is totally possible that he'll swing his arms off in his sleep and those mercenary paychecks have to spread themselves. But knowing him well enough, his arm (or lack thereof) wants to hold you. Weird as it may sound, he'd rather hold you with one arm rather than let you feel the cold of metal touch your skin.

[kistunejack]

Trackless Yard

公開日の奔別炭鉱跡は雨だった。ホッパー横のヤードでは濡れた草々と軌条跡がせめぎ合う。

耽美な遺構を前に足下の時間軸が揺らいでいく

Camera: PENTAX K-1 MarkII

Lens: SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG HSM Art

2023.08.06

[courtesanofdeath]

sorachi redraws (volume 1) gintoki 20 years later!

[manikas-whims]

Sakata Gintoki created Gojo Satoru before Gege Akutami

[demiesop]

family

[cyatzura]

obsessed with zurako official art

[strangemonochromes]

Gintama (銀魂) // Hideaki Sorachi

[ginrise]

The biggest curse when reading people's opinions about Gintama is that I very often encounter the phrase "the comedy has been done before" or "It's been overdone" etc etc.

I don't really know why it's so hard to understand that Gintama has been around since 2003. That's (in December) 21 years ago.

You, as a viewer watching, and especially earlier episodes, are watching the origin of numerous jokes in Japanese media. Sorachi did pave the way for many other manga/anime that you see now adays. So, to think that the humor in Gintama is overdone is simply because you're desensitized to what has now been repeated by other media.

Point is: Gintama is the foundation to many of your favorites. And that's me purely talking about humor, not even bringing up the crafting of serious arcs, etc.

[kitamars]

and love, you were the sun, you were the rain

[suchine-toki]

About Takasugi's abuse

The other day (totally not months ago) we were talking with @sakukaguxxi about how Takasugi’s relationship with his bio family is overlooked in character analyses. While Sorachi didn’t delve deeply into this aspect, which isn’t inherently bad, I think it’s important for understanding why he turned out the way he did.

We know two canon facts: (1) he comes from a low-class samurai family, and (2) he’s the firstborn. This suggests his family held noble status but struggled to maintain it. As a result, they relied on him to preserve their standing, enrolling him in a military academy and being strict about how he interacted with higher-status classmates.

To enforce this, they employed harsh punishments, such as starving him, tying him to a tree and leaving him in the cold for hours, or physically hitting him with enough force to draw blood when he was just a child (~10 yo?). On top of this, the threat of disownment loomed over him constantly.

These actions indicate they didn’t see him as a person or a child worth protecting but rather as a means to an end (maintaining their status). Consequently, he grew up devaluing himself and lacking the tools to express love in a healthy way. This likely explains why he became so attached to Shouyo and Gintoki.

For Shouyo, he was probably the first and only parental figure to treat Takasugi with genuine respect. While he disciplined him, it was always treated lightly and without causing him any real harm, unlike his bio father. Shouyo provided basic necessities like food, warmth, care, but also a sense of belonging.

Regarding Gintoki, a lot can and has been said. On this topic, he may’ve downplayed or misunderstood the extent of Takasugi’s abuse. This can be inferred from his comments before meeting Sakamoto, where he jokingly implies that Takasugi is still a “daddy’s kid,” even though he knows Takasugi was disowned.

This is interesting because Takasugi mentions being disowned long ago, yet for Gintoki, it doesn’t seem so distant. The timeline is unclear, perhaps Takasugi’s father disowned him during childhood, or maybe he tried to bring him back for years until eventually giving up when Takasugi was a teenager and considered irredeemable.

Moving into non-canon territory, if we consider Takasugi Shinsaku (the historical figure) for inspiration, some gaps can be filled. He was the firstborn, had three sisters, and bore the responsibilities of being the sole male heir. His father reportedly tried to steer him away from radicalism, even arranging a marriage for him to settle down.

This aligns with a seemingly banal joke, that Takasugi owned The Portopia Serial Murder Case and a console to play it (a Famicom?). At first glance, it’s odd that an abusive family would buy him such things. However, abusive individuals aren’t cruel all the time. They can oscillate between being harsh and showing kindness, creating a cycle of manipulation and gaslighting. This could explain why it took Takasugi some time to leave, perhaps he realized they needed him more than he needed them or that they would never truly love him.

The lasting effects on him are evident. Takasugi struggles to express himself in ways that don’t involve violence, and saw himself as disposable, with no strong sense of self. He fought for Shouyo’s freedom, for Gintoki’s tears, and later, for Gintoki’s happiness. While these were his choices, they were never about himself, they were for the people he held close to his heart.

[tallbisexualwantstobeloved]

Gintoki with guns

[ilyokkgsmiabf]

[courtesanofdeath]

[sebfreak]

This visual made by Gorilla-sensei <3 (Source)

[ddelline]

how dare gintama spend 250 eps lulling me into a false sense of security by mixing whacky 4th wall-breaking heartfelt comedy w/ the odd drama-tinged plot arc

and then drop courtesan of a nation

it’s 11am on a tuesday and I feel like someone just roundhouse kicked me in the face & dumped me in the trash, but emotionally