#gintama: the final spoilers

[asheoninactive]

Do u ever think about how Sakamoto has canonically invested in crypto

[soft-straydog]

Shortfic for angsty Gintama lovers...

[sebfreak]

Okay, yesterday I was reading some panels in gintamas manga (because of my story) and somehow i got a little depressed because I had to think about the last movie or the last chapters and how Zura was treated. 

To explain it very simple: I don´t like how he was treated. I wished for something else and not an cosplaying-elizabeth- zura. 

I wished for an ending in which he could end his terrorist life and start again with something normal. (yeah I´m more like for the romance type ending XD)   

[rosencrantzsguildenstern]

more kidsugi babysitting bc i like kamui

[mistofcrows]

well, i finally sat down to watch gintama: the final and i… wasn’t surprised, was mildly pleased, but still felt a bit disappointed. let me explain: i had absolutely loved every gintama arc and almost every antagonist up until utsuro’s reveal in farewell shinsengumi (although i still love the arc overall); i just wasn’t convinced and didn’t like where the story was going.

i had high hopes for rakuyou arc, and i ended up liking on first watch only the second half of the story, since i didn’t really care for the antagonists the joui 4 faced. i mean, the fights were still good, and we got a lot of nice moments from sakamoto and katsura, who had sadly never gotten quite as many moments to shine as other characters; it’s just that those villains were so forgettable, were never heard of before or after the fights, that i felt no real fear or suspense, you know?

after the yato family’s conflict reached its resolution (which was nice to see), there was oboro’s backstory and it… didn’t click for me? and then the silver soul arc happens and i was 🫠🫠🫠 but oh well. i did like the comedy bits, of course, but it didn’t really feel like gintama to me, so once the season ended and i found out i had to read the manga or wait for the movie to get to the true final, i kinda stopped caring.

then, a month or so ago, i rewatched some gintama clips, saw more fanart and read some fanfiction, and i got The Gintama Feelings again (yay!). i had a looot of free time, so i watched a couple of reviews of these arcs i didn’t like, and i started to understand them (? i guess. it’s just that, looking back at all the hints that had appeared, all the parallels, and hearing other perspectives, my mind changed a bit. or, to put it better, i understand why other fans like it.

so, in the mindset of wanting to give this ending another chance, i did watch the movie, and i can finally say that, having in mind what happened in those last episodes, i kind of expected the way it would end, since i didn’t really have high hopes for any good character moments that weren’t shoka sonjuku-related, laughed at the jokes (especially the first one), and was a bit shocked that takasugi would be killed off, and then resurrected (or rebirthed?).

at the end of the day, i’m glad it ended with the yorozuya staying as yorozuya and nothing radically changing (i love when found families stay together), so i can only complain about pretty much everything else that happens, but i don’t really feel like doing it now. i’ve started a rewatch of the series so i may, finally, perhaps, enjoy those last arcs while as an audience member.

that was a long rant. i needed to get it off my chest

[lacerta123]

I’m not sure why 5 is winning. There’s an entire episode about why that’s a bad idea. You’re gonna be canon fodder for some stupid dick measuring contest. It’s an 8 hour flight, Hijikata’s gonna go into nicotine withdrawal. You’re gonna have to watch him eat Mayo straight because he successfully argued it was an emulsion and not a liquid to the TSA. Gintoki’s gonna pretend to go into sugar withdrawal just to mess with him.

Also I feel like someone’s gonna get thrown across the entire plane, and I think it’s gonna be Sougo. He’s going to land on Hijikata, and probably on you too. Don’t choose seat 5.

Seat 8 ends with Sougo poking the bear, because he can’t help himself, and Kamui fighting him. There’s a good chance Kamui will crash the plane, but I can see it surviving if Mutsu pulls a double shift and starts keeping both Sakamoto and Kamui under control. Like she sees Sougo get hucked across the plane and turns around in her seat and starts chewing Kamui out. Her buzzkill energy will save us all. Or Sougo’s self preservation will kick in and he’ll just get grilled about his relationship with Kagura the whole time while he desperately tries not to talk to him. But they already have an established history of crashing airships while fighting eachother, I’m just saying.

Seat 7 would probably be fine, but not pleasant. God knows Sakamoto cannot shut up but at least Mutsu is there to keep him in check. Sakamoto is going to throw up every five seconds though, and you are in Kamui/Sougo fight blast radius.

Seat 6 is going to be ungodly levels of awkward. I can imagine Katsura trying to make small talk and getting barely a response every time. But he just keeps trying. Takasugi might say something weird and extreme and Katsura will chew him out like a disappointed mother. Takasugi’s gonna disassociate from being in close proximity to Gintoki and Katsura’s gonna go to sleep with his eyes open, and snore.

Seat 1 is my choice, and not just because Nobume is beautiful and breathtaking. I can imagine her being pretty chill on the flight. She’s a sadist, but only when provoked. The worst thing that could happen is she’ll get crumbs on you from snacking on donuts. The only downside is Kagura and Soyo are behind you, and they’ll be chatting the whole time. And they won’t want to leave Nobume out of the fun so they might start poking her through the seat. And Kagura might kick the back of your seat a little.

Seat 2 seems like a good idea, because Shinpachi’s a polite guy who’s not gonna cause trouble on an 8 hour flight. But you’re sandwiched between Kagura and Soyo’s chattiness and Sa-Chan and Otae’s cattiness. There’s gonna be a lot of noise, and Shinpachi’s gonna have to stand up and yell at Kagura to stop kicking the seat in front of her.

Seat 3 is also pretty chill, because Tsukki probably will be polite. But you’re stuck listening to Sa-Chan getting worked up in her delusion that Otae’s her love rival, and the two of them being passive aggressive to each other the entire plane ride. Also you’re getting off the plane last if you sit here, and getting off the plane first if you sit next to Nobume,

Just my two cents.

[suchine-toki]

Thoughts about gintsu in the Silver Soul arc

The other day I saw someone talk about how Sorachi neglected gintsu after the Love Potion arc so here's my two cents (spoilers ahead):

Short answer: Yesn't

Long answer:

The argument was that Sorachi just dropped the ball on Gintoki and Tsukuyo's relationship that he started writing since… her introduction. And I'm not gonna pretend that LP wasn't the last arc that gave them a ton of development. But I think we've to look at it within the series' context.

Love Potion was the 62th arc of Gintama, spanning chapters 492-496. It was the second to last arc before Shogun Assassination, that began in lesson 502. This meant that it was something Sorachi felt he'd to do before he reached the point of no return. In other words, before the end, he'd to develop the relationship between Gintoki and Tsukuyo and give them some sort of resolution.

Said resolution can be interpreted in two ways. Essentially, something could happen in the future, or nothing would ever happen between them. Nada. But that's not the point of this. OR IS IT??

After that, Sorachi had to address major plot points throughout the next three arcs. Gintoki and Takasugi's fight, the Shogun's death, the Shinsengumi disbanding, Utsuro's rise as the final villain, Kagura and Kamui's showdown, the reunion of the Joui 4...

All of these things were crucial to the plot, but took a long time to unfold. Finally, when Tsukuyo reappeared in Silver Soul arc, a lot of time had passed (lesson 620, over a hundred chapters later). And the first thing Sorachi chooses to do is to have her help Gintoki and make a sex joke. Ok, nothing new in this manga, I guess.

But what was surprising was this one heavy panel that people wouldn't stop talking about at the time, because it really left no room for interpretation. Yes, it was Hinowa who said it, but, again, this was written by someone, and that someone didn't intend this to be a light tease.

Sorachi had no need to do so if he'd already closed the door on future possibilities between them and we already knew she'd feelings for him. And yet, he dedicated several pages to showing the struggle she'd with leaving Yoshiwara to go help Gintoki and the rest of her friends in Kabukicho.

In LP she realized she was in love, but she still felt embarrassed and stupid because of it, and Kyuubei had to tell her hey, it's ok. Throughout the series, although Tsukuyo loves Gintoki, she often needed reasons to be with him. Sometimes it was because of her duty as Yoshiwara's guardian, sometimes because she's with her girl friends, sometimes even Hinowa created these reasons. But this chapter addresses how dumb it is. In LP arc, Gintoki was around just because.

In other words, at this point, Sorachi continued to develop their relationship, even after that arc. But did something else happen?

Well, after a while, when Gintoki was resting peacefully on his futon, Sorachi has Tsukuyo conveniently trip over a damn bottle containing alcohol right next to the guy, all during a dialogue explaining how in times of power outages and such, the population increases. So the joke here was that they would fuck and Gintoki would get her pregnant like heyooo? (ch. 628).

But that would be it? Their last moment being a high-caliber sex joke before the end of the manga?

The thing is... the manga didn't end there lol it lasted about 70 more chapters. Here Sorachi once again needed to address some loose plot ends before finishing the series that took priority, like Gintoki and Takasugi's bond and what would happen with Shouyo/Utsuro.

We might think that there're no loose ends between Gintoki and Tsukuyo anymore. We already know she's in love with him, so why bother?

HOWEVER Sorachi once again decided to hit us with something (and quite sappy this time, in a good way)...

When they meet again, there's a flashback in which Gintoki leaves and Hinowa asks Tsukuyo why she didn't follow him (ch. 686). She replies that she decided to stay because yes, she has a duty, but the main reason was to tell him what had happened in his absence... LITERALLY THERE WAS NO NEED FOR IT TO BE SO CHEESY, but then again Sorachi wanted us to know what Tsukuyo had gone through and he wanted Gintoki to hear it too.

This is another way to show how real and deep her love is and how she understands what Gintoki is going through on a fundamental level. Sorachi wanted to show how Tsukuyo knows that Gintoki needed to embark on his journey alone, otherwise he wouldn't have disbanded the Yorozuya. She knows that it's important to him that someone be there and update him on what has happened, so that he feels connected to everyone again. And Sorachi chose that someone to be Tsukuyo, making explicit how she's an anchor for Gintoki here.

This time it wasn't because she needed a big reason or because she felt stupid, it was her own decision, which is huuuge for her and what could happen.

So now that she knows for sure he's in Edo, she's going to help him with everyone else. There's also the idea of endings and new beginnings that Tsukuyo talks about, which could also apply to her dynamic with Gintoki, but that's a talk for another day.

The last thing to mention is when they're at the terminal and Sacchan teases Tsukuyo about the man she loves... You know, the woman who's been stalking Gintoki since the beginning... And it's really dumb, because everyone is saying these heartfelt lines, talking about how they want to reach him, how they want to help him... and Sorachi, instead of having Sacchan tell a dirty joke about herself, like she always does, has her say something about how Tsukuyo should fuck Gintoki, or vice versa, does it matter at this point? (ch. 699).

And it's not just a sex joke as before. Contrary to the sentiment expressed in lesson 620, here Tsukuyo intends to go on living and see Gintoki again, which is something said by herself.

From what I can tell, Sorachi wanted to keep giving their relationship some form of development right up until the end. Even after committing to an open ending, the fact that he kept their dynamic in mind, even with limited interactions, just to push it forward in some way is honestly kinda sweet, ngl.

Tsukuyo isn't a character Sorachi uses a lot, probably because she's not as available as the rest of the cast living in or near Kabukicho. And yet, almost every time she appears, he develops the bond that Gintoki has with her. You can tell that some scenes, heck, even some lines, are quite deliberate to be read romantically.

If anything, we could say that the real problem was that we didn't get much from Gintoki in the last stretch, which I think could be attributed to both the in-universe context of the series and the time constraints and difficulties Sorachi faced in finishing Gintama.

(Sorry this ended up being so much longer that I intended lol.)

TL;DR: It's not that he forgot, Sorachi just had bigger priorities. In any case, he still threw in scenes JUST to show how he didn't forget and develop their relationship a little more.

[otori0]

Second chances: A Kijima Matako + Kiheitai Analysis

This will be messy and include spoilers.

Kijima Matako, just like all Gintama characters, isn’t reduced to a single aspect to her character. What makes Gintama women special to me is that they aren’t just shonen women that are used when convenient or left to the side: they all break some kind of stereotype and have life of their own. They all have a soul. (If interested in this topic, there’s this analysis on Gintama women that really stood out to me)

When it comes to Matako, I don’t think this is different, even though her screen time is limited as she’s a side character. Despite her being introduced as a girl who loves Takasugi and shows extreme loyalty to her, this isn’t all there is to her. Not only is she a great fighter and indispensable to the Kiheitai, but her backstory in Silver Soul also shows us more sides of her. In particular, I’ll be discussing episodes 354 and Matako’s last scene in Gintama The Final, as they are the scenes that made me want to write this. Please don’t proceed if you haven’t finished the series. You’ve been warned!

We learn in episode 354 that Matako’s parents both died because of war, trying to protect the country. Because of this, she seeks revenge and asks Takasugi to join him in his goal of destroying the country.

At this moment, Matako is using her parents’ deaths to give herself a purpose. It seems like she’s lost, even though there is certainly disdain and hate for the country inside her, it’s definitely not a decision a person her age would be making in normal circumstances. In the words of Francis Bacon, “A man that studieth revenge, keeps his own wounds green, which otherwise would heal, and do well.” (This also equates to Takasugi saying that the hardest part comes after war, when you’re reduced to just a man and forced to live that way, and Takasugi knows this better than anyone. Seeking revenge and keeping the wounds fresh is a way to run away from this. It also gives a mindless purpose so they don’t have to actually think about what comes after)

Just like Takasugi, losing something gave her a meaning and a goal. This should make them similar, but Takasugi knows it’s not the case, because his revenge isn’t simple revenge— it’s revenge against himself. Matako might not find what she's seeking if she goes with him, and she might just be throwing her life away. Going with Takasugi is the same thing as killing herself, her soul and her goals.

There’s a poetic sadness in the fact that Takasugi eventually died not in the way he’d thought he’d go. He was unable to kill Gintoki, which was the ultimate form of self-harm for him, and he lived an immortal but weakened life for a moment before he died against Gintoki himself. One could say that Takasugi did kill himself as well since he assisted Gintoki in killing Utsuro, but it’s still a death that’s very different from what one would imagine, especially in relation to this scene and Takasugi’s goals.

In the end, however, Gintoki fulfilled his promise and protected Takasugi's soul this way. This is the antagonic nature of Gintoki and Takasugi's characters and how Takasugi's goal was always doomed to fail.

Going back to Matako, because Takasugi gave Matako a second chance, this actually gives her even more motivation to follow his steps. He provided her a motivation aside from revenge.

A lot of Matako's loyalty to the Kiheitai comes from her devotion to Takasugi, but there's also the knowledge she has that the Kiheitai is more noble than it might seem. It saves nobodies, it has the power to protect— she has known Takasugi's kindness from the moment she met him, because he saved her even though they were nearly strangers.

However, ultimately Matako loses Takasugi as well. I've seen some people feel sympathy for her as she has 'lost everything' (at first her parents, then bansai & takasugi), but is this truly the case? I believe The Final proves otherwise.

The end of the movie, through Takasugi, makes the Kiheitai appear more human and follows the parent-child pattern that Gintama has used again and again to show vulnerability and human soul.

There's a lot of debate on what the baby Takasugi actually is, but from my point of view, if it's purposefully left ambiguous it should be ambiguous. That's part of the point of it. It could be reincarnation, it could be a different person, it could be Takasugi's second chance— we will never know, and that's okay.

Still, the topic of second chances is presented thorough the series and this movie is no exception. It's not a coincidence that Matako is the one to do this for Takasugi, to find him.

In this scene, there's a Sakamoto monologue in which he says that ''it's not a miracle for a teacher to save his students, it's just what they do''. I'm not confident in comparing what Takasugi did for Matako to what Shoyo did for his students because obviously it's not the same, but there is a meaning in this shot being shown during this monologue, because the cicle of second chances Matako and Takasugi (especially in regards of baby!Takasugi, since it's the most fantasy-esque aspect of this) is not 'a miracle', but something that had to happen.

Going back to the topic of revenge, Francis Bacon, who has already been mentioned here, made an experiment that actually proved that the people who had the chance of acting on their revenge had a harder time moving on from things and suffered more, because it prolongs that experience (more on this here). In this way, Gintoki who moved on the best he could from the past is a happier person than Takasugi. In the same way, I believe that Takasugi giving the Kiheitai a new goal to fight for in Soul Silver arc did this for Matako (although she wasn’t as deep into revenge as other characters, and it had already become something secondary for her). Especially when taking into consideration that Takasugi knew he’d die, or at the very least that his goals weren't leading him to anywhere good, it’s not unthinkable to believe that he was trying to give the Kiheitai something else for when he was gone. In a sense, Takasugi gave them what he learned from Gintoki but was too far gone to apply to himself. (Just like he gave the Kiheitai a place to belong) It's very much like Takasugi to take in all the pain to himself but never impose his own mentality into others.

After Takasugi died, it wouldn't be strange for the rest of the Kiheitai to grow apart from each other, to abandon that role and go on living normal lives, pursuing new goals. However, because of this new goal Takasugi has given them through the act of dying, Henpeita and Matako can redeem themselves, 'atone for their sins' as Henpeita words it. In a sense, had Takasugi survived, this might have been impossible.

Because Takasugi gave Matako a second chance and new reasons to fight, Matako could develop and grow into a person who in return gave Takasugi a second chance, enveloping him (physically) and I assume taking care of that baby in the future. Matako’s kindness is reflective of Takasugi’s own. In this way, although she believes herself to have been unable to save Takasugi during his life and bring back his smile, Matako also took an important part in preserving his soul.

At the end of Takasugi's road he found Gintoki, who had given him a part of his soul, and at the end of Matako's road she found Takasugi, who had given her a part of his (shown in their last scenes respectively). This becomes Matako's soul, turning her into a compassionate person who cares about Takasugi from the bottom of her heart, which gives her a chance to take action and abandon the revenge she initially sought.

Feel free to add anything to this, I have finished Gintama pretty recently so I'm sure there's people who have a better grasp and wording than myself. I might also edit this someday.

I hope this was an interesting read!

EDIT: In a sense, Bansai being the one to die first (not counting Nizou since he didn't have the same attachment to Takasugi and the others as the rest of the Kiheitai), in a sense, is a way to show that he has already found a purpose back then, while the other two still need a new purpose, which Takasugi gives them in SS. Bansai already knew Takasugi's soul and decided to die for him. The rest, however, had to live on to atone and carry that soul.

[lacerta123]

This was a post I made on Reddit in response to someone saying Gintama was sexist because the women need rescuing every other arc. Which is nuts to me because it’s not even true.

Gintama has its issues, but it also has some pretty explicitly feminist themes in its writing. I love the fact that the male and female cast get equal attention during the serious arcs. It means the female cast is extremely well developed. Both Gintoki and Kagura got their own final arcs which is so cool (Shogun Assassination and Rakuyou respectively). Gintama regularly portrays its female cast as equal to its male cast in terms of dignity, importance, and often strength.

Also the character designs in Gintama are not overly sexualized, and the camera never leers at their bodies in uncomfortable ways. And Kagura, who is 14 years old, is never sexualized. She is always portrayed as a child, and even when she tries to look sexy, it’s always portrayed as humorous, like a kid playing with makeup.

The female cast of Gintama never gets underused. Even in arcs that arnt explicitly about the female cast like Yoshiwara in Flames and Courtesans of the Nation, they still play important roles and get considerable screentime (Sa-Chan in shogun assassination arc, Nobume in Farewell Shinsengumi arc (tho that’s 1/2 her arc)) And don’t forget Otose! She’s the beating heart and soul of Gintama and I will die on that hill.

Here’s a spoiler-y breakdown of the arcs, with a good deal of focus on refuting the idea that the Gintama girls are “damsels in distress”.

Harusame Arc - Kagura refuses to be a used as a hostage and kicks off the side of the ship, which feels like a refutal to the women as weak hostages that need protecting trope. Both her and Shinpachi were kidnapped, and in no way was she portrayed as a damsel in distress

Benizakura Arc - Matako is portrayed as a threat, and a capable member of the Kiheitai. Kagura goes off on her own and drives the plot forward by herself. She does get captured, but is portrayed as difficult to contain because of her strength, and her vulnerability isn’t exploited against the rest of the cast. She’s hardly a prop getting tossed around by the plot because of her femininity, like how Nami was in One Piece’s thriller bark. Tetsuko goes to the Yorozuya to ask for help, but it’s because she’s a non combatant and it makes sense to hire someone who knows how to fight. She meaningfully contributes by crafting Gintoki’s sword for that fight. She’s portrayed as the more skilled sibling in a traditionally male dominated craft. And the arc is an ideological battle between her and her brother which she wins.

Fuyo Arc - Fuyo could be considered a damsel in distress, because she’s in trouble and needs help. But I don’t think a female character needing help automatically turns them into a damsel in distress. She ends that arc with her own two hands. I’m a big fan of giving female characters the agency to finish their own stories. Her being in danger was not used to aggrandize the male cast, if Gintoki had finished the fight for her while she cried in the distance (arlong park) then I’d have a problem.

Yagyu Arc - Otae is a damsel in distress in this one, because the whole point is to rescue her from a bad situation. But a lot of respect is given to Otae’s agency. Gintoki says he’d respect her decision to marry whomever she wants, but seeing her cry makes him think it wasn’t really a decision made with her happiness in mind. Basically the arc is about convincing Otae to choose her own happiness over her sense of duty. We get full insight into Otae’s thought process and the arc only ends when she changes her mind. Kyubei says she loves Otae because of the fact that she has strength as a woman, something appealing to Kyubei who was raised to believe you can only have strength as a man. While fighting Kyubei, Gintoki and Shinpachi don’t hold back on account of her sex, and remark that whether you’re a man or a woman, you can still be an asshole. Kyubei remarked that Hijikata holding back was disrespectful to her efforts as a martial artist.

Mitsuba Arc - This arc actually is sexist though, but I read somewhere that Sorachi expressed some regret over not making Mitsuba more of a character.

Hasegawa Prosecution arc - This one was also bad, not because of how women are portrayed, but because of how sexual crimes are portrayed, which is a problem I have on a whole with Gintama. Sorachi writes his women strongly, but doesn’t give things like stalking, voyeurism, ect. a lot of narrative weight. They’re hardly endorsed, but they also arnt taken seriously.

Yoshiwara in Flames - Explicitly feminist. The story of a bunch of female sex workers rising up to violently overthrow their male oppressor, and reclaim their own identity as women. This is made very clear when Tsukuyo joins the fight vs Hosen and asks Gintoki where that Fire he was boasting about is and he says it just got here [referring to her and the Hyakka]. This line decentralizes Gintoki’s importance and makes the arc explicitly about the women of Yoshiwara overthrowing their oppressor rather than a story of Gintoki overthrowing Yoshiwara’s oppressor for them. Hosen and Kamui both express dehumanizing views of women that are opposed by the narrative. You might see Hinowa as a damsel in distress, but like Otae she has agency within her imprisonment (that’s kinda the point of her character) and she ends her own battles, narratively speaking. The violence against her (the reveal that she was hobbled) furthers her story rather than just existing so a male character can look good by getting outraged about it. You might find her comforting Hosen at the end to be a “forgive your abusers” type deal, but I didn’t. Since her narrative was the sun shines on everyone, and Hosen was trying to crush that sun and destroy her spirit, her shining for him at the end was her ultimate triumph over him. That he never broke her. She never forgave him though. The story is about women who’ve had womanhood defined for them through their usefulness for men standing up and redefining it on their terms. They define that through something they take pride in, motherhood. They declare every last woman in Yoshiwara to be Seita’s mother, and they are proud of that. Also in the ending, most of the women of Yoshiwara are still sex workers, just self employed and with the freedom to leave. That’s an explicitly pro-sex worker sentiment. Also Kagura, when Shinpachi says he’ll protect her, he ends up snapping her out of her rage, protecting her personhood rather than her physical body. That’s a subversion of a sexist trope.

This is as far as I’ve gotten in my rewatch, so I’ll give it a rest. But Courtesans of a Nation arc is also explicitly feminist in its messaging.

Actually I’m not done yet, I changed my mind. Even though Hinowa is almost certainly getting raped by Hosen, the anime doesn’t show any of that. Sexual violence against women isn’t sexualized or romanticized unlike in other shows (One Piece panning over Nami’s body as she’s being assaulted). Also, when Hinowa asks Seita to let her down and for him to go with Kagura and Shinpachi to open the sky hatch, she says they both have their own battles to fight. That Hinowa needs to fight. Hinowa is not powerless and weak just because she is a victim.

[dirtbra1n]

Hi db dirtbra1n marlacum3n (I'm pulling out the thesaurus for these atp) My friend, hope we are Well and Fine on this regular day! 9 2 and 29 for the writing ask game :))

hi malt my friend malt I feel very Well and Fine on this regular day. I think I sense no underlying ominous tone in your ask. I like the 9 and 2 theming. this is an ask game :)

9. start to finish, how long did it take you to write the last fic you posted?

okay I really like that you asked this one. let me go do some poking around. OKAY a few days worth of poking around later I’m gonna lazily cheat a little and say it started on september 26, 2022

because while the scene in which tashiro actually wraps wounds did not make the cut into the final thing I Think. Probably. I guess there was that snippet I posted maybe last summer that covered it Anyway. it was this line of thought that wound itself up into seven thousand words flat on ao3 this year. tashiro post took sooooo long malt it took so so long. so I guess like a year and three quarters, because I really was writing up until the last second before it went up

2. a character whose POV you're currently exploring

okay so the most relevant answer to this question is a spoiler so I’ll bite my tongue and tell you about the alternate answer. Really really been thinking about prev prez lately . like it’s really very serious to me. like especially in conjunction with Accidentally big and long director’s commentary on today you are a girl and its timeline relation to Prev Prez Gets Ice Cream With Hanzashiro it all has me thinking about how to honor a guy we know hardly anything about, his attitude towards his underclassman and chosen successors, and the wealth of personality he had in Actually let me go count—got distracted rereading it again Ha ha ha ha ha :phoenixheadinhands:—five lines of dialogue. I’m gonna fucking get this guy if it gets ME

29. how easy is it for you to come up with titles?

NOT EASY AT ALL!!!!!!! had help coming up with ‘current events’ Thank you @aranarumei . titles just don’t come easy to me in the least. like I know they don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things but it’s not really an anxiety of not having one that’s good enough it’s just my mind completely blanks on anything at all. and a title generally Does need to be anything at all. really really sucks for me. I think titles of fics that align with the way titles work for their source materials are neat though I’ve seen a lot of gintama fics that fall in this category. maybe someday I’ll get myself sorted. but honestly Really probably not

[whosname]

I finished watching Gintama last year on hijigin day. No, not kicking that can of worms, just that... I remember exactly when i finished it 'cause I could FINALLY get into the tag without fearing spoilers.

I avoided spoilers for 11 months, the only heads up I got was was a pic from Hashida Kanshichirou from Infant Strife Arc that got my brain racing for 2 days. But, cliff scene? ooooh, no, I got there blind, I didn't know shit about cliff, I suspected something from Benizakura Zura's "Gintoki he who has the most reason to hate this world has always endured it", but never that. It blew my little weaabo brain, not gonna lie.

where i was going with this? i have no idea. prolly that I enjoyed GIntama without the spoilers A LOT A STUPID LOT (i think you can tell).

[megaboy335]

10 Years of My Hero Academia

I have been an avid reader of Weekly Shonen Jump manga since I was a child, and later started following the magazine closely since around 2009. In that time I've witnessed countless titles start and finish. My Hero Academia is the rare kind of series that connects us from the previous generation of the magazine to its current era. It started in Issue 32, 2014 and finished in Issue 36-37, 2024. That makes it the 2nd oldest series in the line-up at the time of ending. Below is my review of the series. I give my thoughts on several of the story moments and give my final impressions. There will be spoilers and it's a long discussion.

Let's first flashback to the summer of 2014. I was in college preparing to spend my Junior year abroad in Japan. My Tumblr was very active and about to reach new highs with my presence in the Nisekoi fandom. In the Weekly Shonen Jump world, a generational shift was about to occur with the new debut of a new battle manga from a previously 2 time canceled author, Kohei Horikoshi.

Looking back on the issue when My Hero Academia started, we can clearly see how it was a completely different era of Jump. Naruto was still running at chapter 683. That is near the end of the 4th Great Ninja War arc. Naruto would later finish that fall in Issue 50, 2014. Additionally, Kuroko was just a couple of issues away from wrapping up and cementing itself as one of the best sport manga Jump had seen in a decade. One Piece was in the middle of Dressrosa, where little did we know that chapter 752 would only put us halfway through the arc. Gintama was just about to make a major pivot into full time battle manga mode. This issue also saw the conclusion of iShoujo at 20 chapters. (It would later get rebooted on Jump+ as a launch title and run for 14 volumes). It's very clear how My Hero Academia started in a complete era than where are now. So, how was My Hero Academia in the early days? Well, quite honestly I thought it was a very middle of the road title. I was already familiar with Horikoshi through Barrage (the very first simlpub in the digital Jump era that Viz started from chapter 1). He always had a good sense of perspective and the way he draws mouths with depth is a distinctive feature. The series also wore its Naruto inspirations quite openly, while taking advantage of the popularity in superhero movies to add some visibility in the eyes of readers. I thought it was riding the coattails of current trends. The early chapters were standard fare in modern day shonen. Speeding through character introductions and establishing the setting. Shigaraki made an early appearance with the mob baddies called Nomus but it was hard to get invested in the central conflict so soon. However Shigaraki’s eerie design of being covered in hands certainly stood out at the time. I was curious but not necessarily invested right away. (of course in retrospective its clear how Horikoshi used the early events as building blocks for what was to come later)

But you know what sways me the most: Tournament Arcs! This Sports Festival tournament was where I finally started feeling invested in the series. In part because tournament arcs provide an easy to use template for establishing character relationships, create unexpected match ups, ground character arc trajectories, and provide payoffs if used later in the story. The big plot point introduced in this arc was the #2 Hero Endeavor and the relationship with his son, Todoroki. If All Might is the honest public face hero, then Endeavor is the power obsessed guy. He destroyed his family and took extreme measures to produce a child that can beat All Might. Todoroki's story begins with him outright rejecting his father. However, this changed during a fight with Deku. Deku and Todoroki are both foils and yet mirrors of each other at the same time. They were both blessed with powers that were not obtained naturally. Deku was given a quirk on the spur of the moment from All Might. Todoroki was given his abilities in service of someone else’s goals. One accepts their reality and the other does not. Deku showed that Todoroki accepting the power is not the same as acting in father's wishes. He should use the powers gifted to him in whatever ways he sees fit. This moment comes with the first end of chapter title drop and the moment when Horikoshi’s writing clicked into place for me. The scene when Todoroki uses his flames for the first time is powerful because I loved how they were depicted coming out so naturally. These flames are a part of himself and always have been. Todoroki has at last accepted that side of himself going forward.

After the tournament, it shifts into a short arc with the Killer Hero Stain. He brings up the idea that Heroes should be more than symbols for people to worship, and instead Heroes should practice what they preach. He sees All Might as the only authentic hero to follow. This is the first time we see a villain figure making a valid point that pins down one of the faults to hero society. Stains describes how everyone is doing it for fun, out of obligation, or for making money. All Might is someone whose confidence is so strong that his hero persona and outward personality are one in the same. Sadly this arc was too short to fully explore the idea, but it would come up again later. Jumping ahead, the series quickly reached its first major story climax: All Might vs. One For All. I went into this fight thinking All Might was going to die and was very surprised when he didn't. The master passing the torch to his student through a death scene is such a common trope (which yes, it made me even more surprised how All Might survived the entire story). I was on the edge of my seat when reading this weekly and consider it a high point of the series. This fight ended up marking the beginning of the end to the Hero Society. All Might's retirement shakes the very foundation of the Hero world. Who can possibly replace someone who inspires people from all walks of life? From this point on, Deku and Shigaraki are now  walking similar paths as the heirs to this conflict. The following arcs saw the league of villains poking at the cracks and expanding the seeds of distrust.

When manga serializations are constantly one-upping itself on story climaxes, it can be hard to return to any semblance of a daily life in the aftermath of major moments. This middle section of the manga from about volume 12 to 24 is a boring stretch of the series. First getting the provisional licenses felt unnecessary in the grand scheme since there's really nothing stopping them from fighting the bad guys other than technical loopholes in the writing. Then the Shie Hassaikai arc was almost like canon filler to me.  It amounted to very little at the time and came off like a side quest. (This arc also marks the beginning of frequent breaks). Afterwards the U.A. school festival was a refreshing turn back into school life but still, Gentle isn't the fodder we need to see. Lastly, the worst offender of this stretch by far was the class A vs. B matches. A tournament style arc just for show. No stakes. Nothing of consequence.  It basically paused the story for about 2 volumes. Thankfully Horikoshi would resume the plot right afterwards with a bang.

My Villain Academia is exactly what the story needed to get itself back together. The League of Villains seemed like they were supposed to be foils for class A-1 and yet any comparable character development just wasn’t happening. This was finally going to change. This arc focused exclusively on the villains and each member would get a quirk power up, while Shigaraki received the rampaging ally Gigantomachia. We also have the Tenko: Origin chapter to put his past into perspective. While I still have issues with the villain writing, it felt like the villains could finally stand on their own in the story.

The momentum continued into the Paranormal Liberation War. An all-out fight between the heroes and villains at their peak across multiple areas of Japan. The countdown to Mirko stopping Shigaraki from reaching his true form was thrilling. Then came the first real clash between Deku and Shigaraki. However, the star of the show for this arc was undoubtedly Dabi who effectively canceled Endeavor’s entire career. Dabi exposed the past of Endeavor by explaining his own story. He showed that Heroes put up a public positive face to hide their power hungry desires motivating them behind the scenes. This makes Heroes no different from villains in many regards. These words brought an end to Hero society as we knew it. The public was already feeling uneasy after the retirement of All Might, and signaling out Endeavors’s past showed how the system was built on an image, not human understanding. Japan was left in ruins, numerous convicted villains were released back into the wild, and the people have nobody they can trust.

I consider the spread page above to be my favorite from the entire series. Horikoshi’s art reached new highs throughout the Paranormal Liberation War arc. His ability to depict Shigaraki as a real force of nature against the Heroes was crazy good. You could really feel the impact behind every attack on each individual and the surrounding environment. Shigaraki ability is something that alters landscapes wherever he goes.

The final stretch of the story begins with Deku acting like a vigilante. Hero Society at-large has hit its lowest point where the institution of Heroes who maintain public safety is no more. The public is scared for their life. Heroes have largely abandoned their post. One for All and the strongest villains are on the loose, and Deku has been completely worn down by the burden of his role. His mind has entered the idea that only he alone can fix this. The Lady Nagant storyline was awesome. She is someone who had to adapt to survive in these precilous times. A hero and a villian is only matter of perspective after all. Sometimes people will do what they need to in order to survive. If even our main character can be swayed then where is the line hero and villain?

The Dark Deku arc is when Deku is stripped down to his core convictions: the desire to protect his friends and defeat One for All. However it's the very friends that he was trying to push away, who ultimately reached out the hand to save him. Deku has touched each of their lives in ways he can't even begin to imagine. Now it was time for them to return the favor. This brings the story to a touching scene where Uraraka yells to an audience of scared citizens to remind them how Heroes are people too and Deku is one of them. This section is my favorite part of the entire story. It felt like everything had changed. We didn't know where the story was going next nor where to begin tackling the awful state of the world. Everything was so raw. It was an exciting time to be reading weekly.

After reaching a new series high, we drop down to one of its lowest points in my opinion. Star & Stripe vs. Shigaraki was an absolute shame. There should have been a study abroad arc so Deku could meet and experience heroes around the world. So when the Number One American hero is introduced, with death flags, I was skeptical about why. I don't like when characters are introduced just to die immediately. The whole point was to artificially weaken Shigaraki so the heroes would stand a chance in the upcoming final battle. Similarly, I would have liked the traitor reveal if it had been more important throughout the story. Barely came up after the training camp arc in volume 9. It came off like Hoirkoshi just needed to check off that box to appease readers before entering the final battle. But, finally seeing Hagakure’s face was a very nice reward. Despite the stumbles to set up the final battle, I thought it was incredible. One of the best in recent memory from Jump. A fight with the future of Japan on the line across numerous locations. In shonen manga style, it pulled in every single character from throughout the series, used all the mobs to their fullest, and pitted villains vs. their foil villain character. Iit definitely checked off all the boxes of what you need for a grand finale to a long running battle shonen. I think Dabi and Todoroki got the thematic ending it needed. Spinner could have used a little more focus. Himeko and Uraraka reached an understanding at the very end that was probably the safe end for their storyline. I loved seeing the floating stage slowly descend to the surface as the climax approached, while the fighting began to center around Deku and Bakugo. Horikoshi once again reached new artistic highs I couldn’t even imagine throughout the final battle. I like to think the frequent breaks allowed him to pace it better than you typically find in Jump manga final arcs.

As the series comes to close, I am left very pleased with where character arcs ended up. Deku is someone who had to grow up almost overnight. From a quirkless boy to saving all of Japan in the span of a year. He has something that All Might lacked. The spirit to never give up on leading a hand to someone in need. If All Might presented himself with confident bravado, then Deku was the honest human type. Shigaraki is someone who was beyond saving, and yet even if for a moment, Deku wanted to give the respect he deserved as a person. Deku losing his powers cements the story as being about a moment in his life. That he never took the powers he was blessed with for granted, and used them to the fullest throughout the story. I appreciated that Horikoshi made no effort to justify the villain's actions (besides partly Himeko). They are a product of unfortunate circumstances and deliberate choices which brought them to this point. Their actions speak for themselves. This applies to the heroes as well. Endeavor is a complex man with a storyline that reads more mature than you'd expect at first glance. He is a man who drove his family to ruin for the sake of strength, and those choices came back to haunt him in the form of Dabi and Todoroki. He's effectively lost everything. I think Horikoshi stuck the landing by giving readers the final judgment if he should be redeemed or not. The family members were left mixed, and Endeavor is prepared to rebuild from nothing. Shigaraki’s death is best for the sake of tying a bow on the story. Deku indirectly caused it, but he doesn’t beat himself over it that much. The world is the same as it was before the conflict. Heroes will remain in people’s lives. The systemic issues of a Hero society that sells certain images of people and casts aside those who don’t fit will persist. Another person or organization like the league of villains could easily rise up again in the future. However, Horikoshi presents a simple solution. Leading a hand to each other is a good starting point towards making the world a better place. Happiness can spread from person to another, and lead to a better understanding of those we don't know. It takes collective action to make the world a better place for everyone and that can begin with a single person.

So overall, what do I think of My Hero Academia? Ending at 430 chapters is an incredible run for a weekly manga in this current era. Horikoshi covered a lot of characters and topics, many of which I still didn’t cover at this post. I think the series has some of the strongest battle manga highs we’ve seen in the past decade, and of course some parts could have been better. I take issue with pacing and writing choices at times. The villains collectively speaking were the weakest aspect, but the genuine passion for Heroes shines through in every aspect of this work. He used that as a lens to look at problems of the world. Naruto is very optimistic with how communication is the key to bridging differences. My Hero Academia in comparison says that is only a piece of the puzzle. Everyone needs to make a conscious choice to reach out to others. We all can be a hero to someone out there. My Hero Academia will be remembered as the generation-defining Jump series of the past 10 years, In the same way its beginning overlaps late Naruto, perhaps in the future, Kagurabachi fans will remember how it started at the end of My Hero Academia’s run. My Hero Academia will finish as the 9th longest series ever in the history of Weekly Shonen Jump. This is a position it will hold long into the future. I don’t expect anything in the current line-up to come close in length. I've considered Horikoshi to be the best artist in the magazine for the past several years. He always kept improving right up to the end with insanely detailed panels and spread pages. His presence in the magazine will be missed. Thank you Kohei Horikoshi. It's been a long ride. I'm glad you could finally cross the finish line. I look forward to whatever you might do next in the future!

[deliy-art]

Takasugi and Gintoki GINTAMA THE FINAL (Ending scene, edit, spoiler) [Dub ITA]

I already posted this on Reddit, so I'm gonna do the same here.

The song is called "Poetica" by Cesare Cremonini, a very talented Italian singer.

It's technically a love song but I always thought that love songs can be interpreted in SOOOOO many ways. Not only for a lover but also for a family member or, in this case, not only a childhood friend but a part of his soul.

The part when Cesare says "troveremo il modo anche quando poi saremo stanchi" at the end when Takasugi was slowly drifting to the eternal sleep and also watching Gintoki trying his best to not cry and forcing a smile to not let his eye see as last thing his sad expression, broke my heart NGL.. especially for me that I was adjusting the Italian subtitles and had to watch it 4929392919 times.

I'll write down below the translation of the song.

Also when we'll be tired

We'll find the way to surf in the dark

Because it's easy to give in to the waves

That break on us

Tell me where are you, I'd want to talk to you

About all those things that I already threw away

Cause of the loneliness

I never told it to anyone

To anyone except you

Tonight you're beautiful

If you know that it isn't over hug me

And even when we'll be tired

We'll find the way to surf in the dark

Because it's easy to give in to the waves That break on us

Tell me how are you, why don't you speak

Now keep me with you, your hand in the dark

Heals my loneliness

I never asked to anyone To anyone except you

Tonight you're beautiful

If you know that it isn't over hug me Even if you think that it isn't poetic This life smiled at us and you know it It never ended

Hug me

Hug me

Hug me. .

Also when we'll be tired we'll find the way

Also when we'll be tired we'll find the way

Also when we'll be tired we'll find the way

Also when we'll be tired we'll find the way

Also when we'll be tired we'll find the way

Also when we'll be tired we'll find the way

Also when we'll be tired we'll find the way

[randomxfiction]

Headcanons about Gintoki, Otae, and Kondo's relationships!

(Spoilers, of course)

I think Gintoki actually considered Otae as a potential love interest, especially in the earlier episodes (~100). It felt like Sorachi originally planned for them to have something going on but somehow backpedaled along the way. Maybe he realized that Gintama didn't need canon ships lol or maybe he was saving him for Tsukuyo, who was then introduced in later arcs.

Either way, I think Gintoki can actually be vulnerable with Otae. More than any other women in the cast, tbh. They've had so many emotional scenes together. He's also grown very comfortable around her. Do questionable things for her. Trusts her to care for him when he's injured. He sleeps and hangs out at the dojo, too. Plus they have a common ground-- Shinpachi. They share the responsibility of being parental figures for him (or at least a proper older sibling that he can look up to and can protect him). Heck, he once even asked if he could grope her, if we wanna count that.

I think they already developed a sturdy base of friendship to work with for a romantic relationship to happen. Otose even revealed at some point that Otae has a little crush on Gin. I believe this. She was really there for him and she always showed up when it matters.

The ball was entirely on Gin's court, and he could've easily explored the possibilities if he wanted to, but he didn't.

I think he's just not that into her. Like, sure, she's a great prospect. Beautiful, hardworking, tough spirit. But that was it. In his head she had great potential, but I think Gin never really pondered about the idea of them. Maybe he was just too lazy for a relationship, or he considered Shinpachi and how awkward it might turn out (as he would most likely disagree but would allow it in the end), or maybe he found Otae to be "too much of a trouble" if he was to pursue her. I also think the 10 year age gap would throw him off. It could be many many things, mostly Gin's personal reasons, but my number one headcanon as to why he never took a step forward is because of Kondo.

It almost felt like a bro code or something. Gin clearly knows that if he shows anything remotely romantic towards Otae, she will FOLD faster than Kagura's umbrella. (Her behavior in the memory loss arc said a lot.) So Gin just ended up not doing anything because he knows that he wasn't even that sure if he wants to pursue her or not. He could even be afraid that he might hurt her feelings at some point (or get hurt himself) if we're going to be honest here. I don't even think he knows how to handle romantic relationships in the first place, let alone if he is ready for one.

And ultimately, Gin knows that Kondo is the one who truly loves her. Even the whole Shinsengumi already accepted her as their "mistress" (Chief's wife). Gin respected this, shrugged and decided to just forget about it.

(There's also Kyubei who is also madly in love with Otae. Imagine breaking the hearts of two fellow casts at the same time? Gin would never.)

It's not like he wanted her that bad anyway. Though she sure as hell crossed his mind once or twice, and he sure as hell fantasized what it could be like if he was to pursue her, at least a little bit.

PS. At the end of the Yagyuu arc, Gin asked Toshi about what he thinks is the real standing between Otae and Kondo. And Toshi said Otae is definitely in love with Kondo. I believe this, considering Toshi is the only one who canonically had any proper experience with romantic relationships, thus his read is probably the most credible.

PPS. In the later arcs, Otae is practically attached to the hip with Kyubei, and her "relationship" with Kondo has been infinitely teased and trolled throughout the series. Meanwhile Gintoki is pretty much cemented with Tsukuyo. Although they still didn't end up together.

So, my final conclusion is: Gintama doesn't need canon ships! :) Everyone loves everyone and that's all that matters.

[zurajanaizurakoda]

Political Lessons are Only Important if you can Hold Your Listener's Attention (6490 words) by ZurajanaiZurakoda Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 銀魂 | Gintama (Anime & Manga) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Katsura Kotarou/Sakata Gintoki Characters: Katsura Kotarou, Sakata Gintoki, Other Character mentions Additional Tags: Gintama The Final, Somewhat established relationship, Light Angst, Multiple Orgasms, Anal Sex, referenced toys, Bottom Katsura Kotarou, Top Sakata Gintoki, Hair Pulling, Implied/Referenced Blow Jobs, Canon Major Character Death, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Spoilers, Gin doesn't understand politics, attempted humor Summary: After everything that's gone down Gintoki figures it's finally time to have that conversation he's been dreading with his long time not-quite-boyfriend Katsura. Contains spoilers for entire series and final movie.

I got an invitation to A03, so everything is up there now! I'm still writing a lot, I'm just deciding what to put up. I'm used to a much more mainstream couple, but I'm a little excited that I could actually make a noticeable blip in the Ginzura fanfics on A03.

[kaolinite91]

My review about One Piece Live Action (OPLA)

(Pic source: OPLA Netflix twitter)

Okaaay, you probably knew that I was one of old Nakama, since I've been following one piece for around 20 years (since elementary school haha)

And honestly when I saw the first plan about OPLA from Netflix.. I have a very great cynicism..because you know how baaaaad most of Hollywood anime adaptation were. The good anime adaptation which I think best was Gintama n Kenshin live action, but that's has major Japanese casts and in Japanese languange. But One Piece gonna have diverse casts..how scary. I really put my expectation bar..really...really low back at the time.

But then I saw the list of the casts and honestly, when I saw Inaki Godoy as Luffy for the first time, I kinda unsure and was like "hmm..let see his IG profile first", and I saw him somehow being naturally cheerful and goofy just like Luffy. And I saw his still from one of mexican drama where he looks really cool and badass. I was like " maybe this kid can be Luffy", my expectation kinda growing.

The cast for SH crew looks promising after I saw their profile..except from Taz because back then he has no IG yet. Very2 limited info from him. But after some times, I can see how he & the other cast really2 love the characters they are playing and worked hard for it. They were working with heart and it's shown..

Oda- sensei gives his thought about the adaptation too..and apparently he was the one who want the OPLA to be happened, tho he will be really strict about it. And I honestly I was starting to believe (I mean if the creator already said so), but great doubt still lingered in my heart.

Some months pass..finally the first picture of the cast with full outfits appeared, the first teaser during One Piece day..my expectation started to grew again. I got really hype tho people around me still really sceptical.

More info about how Oda approved Inaki as Luffy because his audition tape made Oda laughed. How Inaki got a strawhat from Luffy's seiyuu,Mayumi Tanaka, and all original anime seiyuu gonna voiced the chara in the live action too. He got a warm support from Shueisha and even met Oda himself and got a STRAWHAT from Goda? Well I started to BELIEVE!! I mean..this OPLA got support from the original source material!! How very awesome! I want this to succeed!

As a long time fans I got a secondhand nervousness.. I really want this live action to be successful. I already saw how the casts chemistry works really well during the interview etc..I want it to succeed!! I even shared a lot of the promotional media to my IG story which was rarely happened from me..hahaha

and after a bit more wait, the series released Yesterday at 31 August 2023. It's during weekday, on Thursday and the Netflix premiere in indonesia was at 14.00 wib. I applied for leave just to watched this Live action yesterday. How was it?? WORTH IT!!

I am so glad I love One Piece and so happy that my favorite manga got a very well made live action.

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SPOILER SPOILER

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Spoiler

Here're some of my faves things & moments:

- Many different approach in telling the story, so it felt fresh!! Because the main point were still conveyed but the location differ and some interaction between characters got adapted to catter the limited episodes (only 8 eps)

- many interesting new interaction!! Luffy and Nami interaction, zoro & nami, zoro & sanji etc..haha loves when SH crew appears

- I got teary eyes during flashback moments (Shanks gave his hat, Zeff advice to little Sanji, Bellemere moments 🥲🥹)

- Zoro very very cool and awesome..and honestly trying to rewatch with JP dub really made him even more WHOLESOME..omg

- when Sanji called Zoro mosshead

- when Ussop and Kaya kissed..hahaha (so there will be romance?)

- when Nami only hugged Zoro and Usopp & Sanji only saw from the sidewalk..

- love Nami theme song because it's pretty and sung by Aurora!

- loves the hidden easter egg: binks sake song, anime ost instrumental, mentioned Jaya, and story of Mobran Noland (even the story book!) Etc

- Garp denden mushi looks cute somewhow haha

- how Buggy looks super creepy like Joker hahaha but I love it! It's super interesting

- Helmeppo really annoying just like in the comic, Koby looks very similar with the comic counterpart too!!

- I love how the story combines SH POV with Koby as marine POV (which should be after vol 45), but it makes the introduction of the world more seamless and easier for the new fans ro enjoy

- JP Dub really a whole other experience!!! You must watch it at least twice I think! Hahaha original voice and JP dub!!

What I don't really like or can be improved:

- need more episodes, 8 was too short and made the story telling too packed.

-This also impacted the timing of the screen which supposed to build up the impactful scenes: like when Gold Roger dies,Zoro almost died from hunger, Shanks arm got eaten, Sanji's thankfulness to Zeff, Luffy's promise to helps Nami and when he yelled that Nami is his Nakama from Arlong park ruins.... it's not really highlighted. Kinda felt like just another ordinary scenes 🥹🥲😭

- somehow Luffy fight not really as dynamic as Zoro, so I kinda feel sad..but in east blue saga he still kinda weak(?) So maybe that's okay

- No Hachi in arlong park, no battle with Krieg...No usopp's little kids crew and somehow Merry died (I know he's more like NPC but it still sad because Kaya alone now)

- a bit more gory with blood etc

- Garp characterization...somehow a bit confusing. He seems a lot stricter than in the manga, and rarely laughing too.. which is okay. But why he really want to captured Luffy is still not understandable for me...? In vol 45 he just want to Meet Luffy as his Grandpa, but not sure in OPLA, is he still want to makes Luffy a marine? (Maybe I need to rewatch it). He contacted the Shichibukai to captured Luffy a bit stretched too..since Garp division in manga should be the part of marine who didn't believe in Shichibukai as 'protector of the sea'.

- how Genzou not have importance to the plot as Nami's and Nijiko's father... He should be the reason for the pinwheel, but in OPLA Bellemere the one who made it.

- Bellemere's name in the EN subtitles only written as Woman.. during Nami episode her name never mentioned and only written in her graveyard (saaaad)

- Sanji needs more screentime!! Huhuhu he just started join the crew in EP 7 and the episodes already finished at 8...saaad. I need more of him too 😭

- the SH crew interaction very limited because of the packed pacing and short number of episodes. I wish they can be explored more. It's funny because the screentime got divided into coby, helmeppo and garp interaction too. They really felt like another main characters.

- how Luffy recruitted the crew also not really highlighted, thus it's a bit weird on why suddenly Zoro want to follow him as his crew. it's kinda felt random..

-Luffy a lot more...wise and mature? I wish he looks more goofy like how Inaki in his IG stories. And because not many interaction with usopp yet..his childish part seems not really explored?

Maybe that's that for now.. but TLDR. It's a fun & fresh live action and I recommend you to watched it and be a new Nakama!

For me OPLA season 1 score was: 8.5/10

Ps. Above was the objective score from me because I kinda particular.. but subjective score with EN dub was 10/10, for JP dub is 11/10 because I love how fun and fresh it is!! (I still rewatching it for the JP dub hahaha)