#once he was done they took him to shouyou and utsuro who were waiting in the zoo jail

[averagelonelypotato]

Shouyou and Utsuro are banned for life from the zoo because when they took oboro when he was younger they lost track of him and decided to cool their heads in the penguin exhibit only to see Oboro somehow got into the exhibit and was chilling with the penguins 

[razberryyum]

Gintama manga chap 688

~

Dear Gintama gods and Sorachi-sama,

Finally, FINALLY, a Yorozuya reunion!!! Well, close enough. Ok, so Shinpachi was out cold and Kagura is in her granny form—and will probably murder Gintoki in the next chapter for seeing her naked—but at least they're all together again, back in their Yorozuya home! I wanted to cry! Actually I already started tearing up when Gintoki was carrying Shinpachi home on his back. That was such an unbelievably sweet moment: I wish Pachi-kun was actually awake for it. I was hoping that he was only feigning unconsciousness, that he actually saw it was Gintoki in that quick moment when Shachi partially pulled down the loincloth and he is only pretending to have passed out so that he could listen to everything Gintoki was saying as he brought him home. Shinpachi did react for that split second, so I really hope that was actual indication they he knows it is Gintoki already. If Gin-chan beats it out of there before Shinpachi wakes up, I think I would honestly cry. I know I shouldn't raise my hopes too much that you would let them have a proper reunion when Gintoki is still on his mission, but at the very least, I hope that Shinpachi realizes he's back in Kabukichou, even if he won't reveal his identity to everyone.  

Watching Gintoki survey his home again made me a little emotional because even though he spent most of the chapter talking about how he might have held the ones he loved and cared about back by leaving them two years ago, the truth of the matter is, both Shinpachi and Kagura have gotten on quite well without him. Both of them actually have grown stronger, and even though Shinpachi was forced to take up the responsibilities of the Yorozuya, I am hard-pressed not to believe that he would have done that anyway even if Gintoki stuck around. His family dojo has already found a better purpose, and is flourishing, so what IS left for him other than the Yorozuya? Not only has he been successfully carrying on the duties of their business, but he was also able to help Edo rebuild. All in all, he's been pretty productive during Gin-chan's absence and has definitely matured as a person. The same goes for Kagura. Sure, she took maturity to an extreme, but she has obviously gained a lot more in strength and abilities. Even if she wasn't able to reverse the effects of the Altana on Sadaharu, at least she has been able to preserve and protect him. Of course they are sad about Gintoki's absence—all three of them obviously miss each other—but everyone made their own choice and they have lived purposefully as a result of it. The truth is, the only person whose life was put in stasis because Gintoki left is really only poor Shachi, who has been waiting for his big bro to return and review his manga. I mean, even Sacchan, for all her misguided goals, has been promoted to head of the Oniwabanshuu. So even though everyone no doubt missed Gin-chan, they have all—with the exception of Shachi—have done remarkably well.  

If anything, I would think Gintoki should actually feel a bit saddened by the fact that Shinpachi and Kagura have done well without him. He should be the one regretting ever leaving them in the first place. He hasn't held any of them back; he's been held back by his own ghosts of the past. One prominent ghost of his past to be exact. And I'm not quite sure I agree with his assessment that Shinpachi would stop him from saving the guy who might destroy the earth. If Shinpachi had seen Utsuro in his baby Shouyou form and how helpless he appears to be as a child, I almost have no doubt that he would be the one staying Gintoki's killing hand. Originally I thought the reason why Gintoki left was because he was going to kill what was essentially a child, and he didn't want the people closest to him to see him carry out such a seemingly inhumane act. But if his worry was that Shinpachi would stop him from killing that "child"...I really don't think that would have been a problem. I have strong feeling Shinpachi would have probably talked Gintoki into adopting that kid and raising him to not be a monster. Kagura, on the other hand, would probably kill that kid or at least be less optimistic about his chances of not being a homicidal, world destroying shithead. But since she had already chosen to go on her own journey, that wouldn't have been an issue for...well...until Gintoki and Shinpachi figured out a way to talk her out of not killing the pint-sized Utsuro.  

I could understand if Gintoki just didn't want to involve them in his mission since, obviously, there are dangers involved. The stupid Tendoshuu is still after him. But I somehow think that really wouldn't make Shinpachi or Kagura feel better that he didn't trust them enough to be able to protect themselves. There’s really a lot of things that need to be said between them; I really cannot wait for them to clear the air by having a very long talk and be one family unit again. 

As for Zura and Takasugi, I was of course excited to see them reunite, but I hope they don’t have to return to being adversaries once again. I don't know why Takasugi thinks Zura is trying to end the country, when from all appearances he has been rebuilding it (he is definitely not deserving of the Zurump nickname), so I am hoping he’s just being facetious. I would love it if he’s actually going to enlist Zura’s help in rescuing baby Utsuro from the Tendoshuu. Either way, they too have some catching up to do and I really hope that we're afforded the opportunity to see them properly converse like old comrades. I also hope that this won't be the last we see of Shachi and Asaemon. I'd like to think they will be allowed to have a greater role than to just act as the completely accidental impetus for the Yorozuya's reunion. It was an important purpose, to be sure, but I like them enough that I wouldn’t mind their further involvement in the current proceedings since they were forced to sit the entire war out. 

Yours truly,

A silly fangirl with yaoi dreams

(^3^)    

[sparda3g]

Gintama Chapter 679 Review

I know I was asking for answers, but I think I will be fine if it doesn’t result to a cruel ending. Sorachi somewhat surprised the fans with a new backstory that leads to Gintoki’s discovery. The problem is that it’s clear that we are in for a dark and possibly depressing outcome. This chapter ignited a gripping story of master-disciple bond on a quest with inducing fear. This is not going to be easy...

It’s no wonder that we have plenty of comedy earlier. This chapter leaves nothing to laugh over; maybe with one panel of a kid falling on the ground hard, but outside of that, it’s downright serious. It’s too early to call, but I got to say, this backstory is perhaps the darkest one so far. It’s the culmination of father-son, master-disciple, and a man with a hard hitting temptation to end his heavy burden.

The beginning already starts off with the dark vibe with Gintoki in the flashback left on a journey to find something important. It’s the first time to see him looking extremely determined; it’s quite surreal. He asked the Inugami Maidens, Ane and Mone, to give him the pinpoint locations of every Dragon Holes. I admire Sorachi’s writing for using those two in plenty of significant plot points, even at this point. It goes to show you how his writing works. Whenever the character appears for an arc or so, they will hold a relevant contribution to exploit.

One of the sisters explained a newly informed detail of the Dragon Veins; even the lore gets expanded this late. There is no actual count on how many Dragon Veins are in the world; not even the Maidens can grasp all of them. Not only there are countless of it, but the size can differ from many. It can be the size of golf ball hole and it would be considered as a Dragon Vein. This does explain why Gintoki took a long time to resurface; at least in terms of reconnecting with old friends. There’s another reason why he took 2 years, but we’ll get to that soon.

The Maidens warned him that it can take forever, which already sound impossible because human nature, but without an actual response to them, rather to himself, he was hell bent to find “it;” even if it does take him decades. It’s astonishing how much he has spent his 2 year journey, going across Japan searching for every single one until he hits jackpot. The scary part is he would have left Yorozuya behind possibly forever. Could you imagine if he didn’t find it in 2 years prior? That’s how unbelievable his determination was. Thank God, he found it as early as he can get.

I thought the flashback ends there, but it’s only for momentary to unveil the grand revelation: Utsuro is alive. It’s no surprise for fans to guess, but it is undoubtedly a huge deal for the characters. After going through many hells he brought in, knowing he’s alive only brought the mood down further. Gintoki recovered Utsuro’s heart after 2 years, though it is left to speculate on whether the latter will resume his reign of terror or somehow, a miracle will bring Shouyou back. This is trivial since it can go to many directions with the heart in presence; not yet form a body. It could be a brand new Utsuro for all we know. It’s kind of freaky to even think on what to do if they cannot kill it.

I’m glad Sorachi shed the light on how Gintoki came to his decision to split up Yorozuya, though it came with an enthralling yet disheartening result. Gintoki proves to be smarter than what his image usually portrayed in comedy routine since he recalls Utsuro dropping himself into the vortex of the Dragon Vein. Because of it, he thought the possibility of his body being vaporized by the Altana in which he was originally born from it. In other words, how could he died by what he was originated from, let alone being his source of life. He describes with simple yet good thinking analogy with Utsuro to Altana and water to an ocean.

What grasped his attention were Utsuro’s final words as he was falling down into the vortex. It finally cleared up on why Gintoki went hasty to catch him. While he did want to stop him from escaping in a sense, he was compelled by his words, which is why he was really upset when he failed. It’s why Kagura and Shinpachi picked up his hurtful tone. It’s those words that gave Gintoki a purpose; to reunite with Shouyou somehow, someway. Could it be possible to save him? I was moved by his ambition as a loner. It is no longer for the sake of humanity and he’s not going as a Yorozuya; it’s Shouka Sonjuku’s Sakata Gintoki, going to put an end.

Back to the flashback and once again, it’s intriguing how much Sorachi continues to explore more of its lore at this time. There is one Dragon Hole that is enshrined for generations; even Ryuujin (Dragon God) dwells inside. That basically mean that hole is worthy of attention. The only question was whether Utsuro came out from there. Once the old man began to describe the story of a strange phenomenon, it was clear that Gintoki hit the jackpot. It’s a good thing the image of a mass of meat wasn’t fully displayed because it sounds rather disturbing.  What shocked me is Utsuro was a baby.

It’s not just because the fact he was once a meat and somehow turned into a baby without medical logic. What truly startled me is if Utsuro was a child in the flashback, why the hell was Gintoki carrying his heart now? That gave a serious bad vibe; believing that he would kill a baby to remove the heart. The chapter wasn’t over, but I was freaking out around that point. It felt like it was building up that it was just Utsuro’s organs, but with a newborn baby, the end path was looking very grim.

While the ending is arguably the main spotlight, the page of one night with the baby is up there. It’s probably the grimmest display this series has offered. The protagonist Gintoki has the baby that once led a life of murders and destruction. He had the chance to put an end to the baby’s life, even though he probably could return later on. Even so, the train of thought drove Gintoki to approach the baby with a small sword and had the range to put it end. This was heavy stuff.

I was clinching my teeth. Sorachi got me believing that Gintoki ended it there. The paneling is excellent in this one page; how it shows his temptation to go through with it. His eye roared with anger, inch by inch to the heart, almost ending his suffering. Sorachi will get the protagonist’s hands dirty. It may not paint a bright light for inspiration, but for the sake of deeper storytelling, it should be done.

The next page was a huge sigh of relief that he didn’t do it. It’s crazy to imagine how it would feel if he did do it. Although he’s not doing it for the world, he technically did carry its fate by letting him live. If Utsuro does return, vicious and all, it would be his fault. If he did kill him, it would paint him as a disturbing image. The other risky part is who knows what the baby will grow up to. What if it was going to be Shouyou? It’s amazing how this one scene could have leaded him to many possibilities, but not worth feeling satisfied.

It’s jarring that after raising the baby for a bit, Utsuro has grown into a child, presuming the same age as when Shouyou met Gintoki for the first time. It transpires to a short but really nice father-son/master-disciple bonding scene with those two. To think, the role has been reversed as the two’s journey along the way. I feel like Sorachi is being cruel to have Gintoki experiencing in his master’s shoe and later, harbor another hardship end. That said it does create a very appealing backstory.

It does draw us fans closer to Gintoki’s character. He truly cherished his master more than anyone, so even though he was bothered by his presence, he can’t bring himself to kill. He would rather risk raising a child that could bring horror back than killing with a gamble. As funny as the line, “I feel like I’m raising a final boss” is, it holds many truths behind it. I felt his sincerity when he remembered Shouyou, connecting with how he probably felt as his master. It’s really touching to say the least; the most heartfelt scene of the chapter. That is until the end happened.

The parallel is so striking. Not only it told us how the role has been reversed but it was the trigger for Utsuro to speak for the first time. Every single line from him gave me crazy chills. It’s haunting how he can remember a lot as a child; detailing everything that answered Gintoki’s question. Those words keep on coming and it draws closer to the grand twist. The look on Gintoki’s face is very telling; you know how tensed it is when he’s awestruck by his words alone. It could play off like a horror film; unable to comprehend the scene. The message is clear: Shouyou has returned.

Honestly, it’s early to say if that is really the case, but it would appear that he was at least on the polite side as of that moment. It could be Shouyou, Utsuro lying under a false presence, or someone else entirely. It’s very tricky, but that’s what makes it gripping. It was such a heartfelt scene that unfortunately reminded me that this was all in the flashback. Why does Gintoki now carry the heart? What went wrong? Does it have to do with the request? It still leaves more questions but I am thrilled to learn more.

This was a strikingly emotional chapter that Sorachi has outdone himself once again. Just because the series is ending doesn’t mean he is burnt out of writing. He continues to deliver a rich story with plenty of outcomes that is nothing but dark. The shivering tone of that one night was so intense I thought my eyes were fooling me. I did read it in the early morning, so you could imagine how I reacted. The storytelling has been excellent so far and the ending was touching but possibly alarming. We have a long wait for the next chapter. Damn you and your timing, Gorilla!