Its honestly kind of hard reviewing a new entry in something youre already a big fan of. I can go into every new seasonal anime with a clean slate and form my opinions solely on the show at hand for good or bad. But a new Gintama spinoff? When Gintama is the single greatest work of fiction Ive ever experienced? Theres no way I can give that a fair shake. Im at equal risk of blindly glazing it because its More of the Thing I Liketm or crankily complaining about every small difference. Ive just got too many expectations of what Gintama is supposed to be and any way this spinoff falls outside those expectations is going to bristle whether its actually a flaw or not. So if youre new to the story of Odd Jobs Ginsan and his merry band of dumbasses... well dont start with this show its very much made for fans lmao. Just go watch Gintama proper and experience Peak Fiction for 300+ episodes then come back to this review and see if you agree with my bitching or not. Deal? Deal. Now for you nonfans who stuck around anyway and want to know what the deal is heres a quick rundown: Ginpachisensei is a running gag in the main series that reimagines the cast as a class of unruly students. Its really just a few sketches at the end of a handful of episodes but as with all of Gintamas running gags the sheer quality of the jokes themselves have pushed it into iconic status within the fandom. I guarantee you every Gintama fan has at least one Ginpachisensei sketch they can quite line for line. So the logic of this spinoff makes sense: just expand those sketches into a full AU and let us see the cast in new scenarios riffing on school anime tropes. Gintoki is the beleaguered putupon teacher most of the cast are his students a few of the older characters are also fellow teachers at the school series antagonist Takasugi and his crew are the delinquents who get into fights all the time and so on. Though since this IS Gintama were talking about everyone is still fully aware of their time in the main series and constantly breaks the fourth wall about their new roles in spinoff land. Cause thats just how this show rolls. Conceptually I think thats a fine idea for a spinoff. Was it ever going to be as good as the main series? No obviously not. But considering how deeply I adore these characters Im not gonna say no to another chance for them to hang out and show off their incredible chemistry. Gintamas cast is just magical and at its best Ginpachisensei hits the same kind of infectious gleeful comedy that makes this franchise so special. Theres a bit in episode 2 where perpetual straightman Shinpachi tries playing the bokke instead of the tsukommi and the way it escalates had me choking back tears by the end. You couldve put that gag in the main series and it wouldnt be out of place at all. Ditto the deranged class reunion that closes out this show with some of the most densely layered recursive gags Ive seen in a while. And if the entire show was at that caliber Id happily call Ginpachisensei an essential entry in the Gintama canon. Unfortunately most of the show isnt at that caliber. In fact the longer Ginpachisensei went on the more those moments of true Gintama brilliance started feeling like the exception rather than the rule.Theres something off about this show about its approach to the comedy and characters that define Gintama. Yes maybe this is just my fanboyism talking but there IS a new team working on this show new staff that havent been marinating in everything Gintama for the past two decades of production. And I cant shake the feeling these new guys dont really get the nuances that make Gintama a oneofakind masterpiece. To an outsider it might not be obvious but to someone who lives and breathes Odd Jobs like me the pieces out of place only got more noticeable as time went on. Think Im overreacting? Well let me ask you the question I cant get out of my mind when I think about Ginpachisensei: Why dont the female characters get to do anything? Seriously Why dont they do anything? Wheres Tamas screentime? Or Sacchan? Or Catherine? Why is Otae only ever focused on when Kondos creeping on her? Why is Kagura the third most important character in the entire damn show given fewer lines and less to do than fucking Yamazaki? Literally every single episodic plot focuses on the male characters for comedy and drama alike the women are lucky to even show up And Gintamas female cast fucking rules Theyre consistently the funniest coolest bestwritten ladies in all of shonen and the shows constantly letting them kick as much ass and pull as much narrative weight as the boys But theyre so sidelined here its easy to forget they even exist Hell they have the gall to put my gorgeous genderfluid queen Kyubei in the OP and then they get like two lines in the whole damn show while their obnoxious creep of a master Tojo gets to force his stupid lotion jokes into every episode. Thats just unforgivable. And no this isnt just about the sexism of paying so little respect to such an incredible female cast though it is absolutely that as well. The fact is Gintama is such a towering achievement because it takes nothing for granted. From its characters to its jokecrafting to its sweeping overall narrative its constantly making bold thoughtful choices that feel like the writers considered every possible way to tell this story before settling on the best one. There is so much creativity and courage in any given episode it borders on lunacy a result of Sorachis generational skill as a writer and the insanely talented anime team refusing to settle for anything less than the best. And considering the vipers nest of sexism that is Shonen Jump yes: giving the female cast so much agency and letting their stories matter is unquestionably part of that commitment to excellence. So seeing Ginpachisensei completely disregard that achievement and turn this sprawling egalitarian community into just another boys club? That to me is damning proof this show doesnt understand what makes Gintama special. And unfortunately you can feel that lack of understanding permeating deep into the bones of this thing. As fantastic as the best jokes in Ginpachisensei are too many of them feel like boring basic hack stuff youd get in the absolute worst episodes of the original show. The grossout gags arent iterated on to make their comedy more complex than lol look at the bodily fluids. The comedic overreactions stagnate instead of escalating to the insane heights theyd reach in something like the Magical Banana skit. And somehow the few attempts at drama are even worse. Gintama could make me bawl my eyes out over a fucking umbrella but the random NPC classmates this show trots out to build Serious Emotions around are so underwritten they dont even feel like first drafts. Were not giving enough time or context to care about anyones problems hell sometimes it feels like they forget to properly express what those problems even are So the solutions are all forced and unsatisfying and the whole thing feels like a giant waste of time. Gintamas sheer attention to detail and commitment to emotional/comedic complexity are what made it so consistently peak for fifteen years of upward momentum here it feels like the only consideration was keeping the IP fresh and profitable for a little longer. Whats especially wild though is the show kind of agrees with me In fact when Takasugi finally takes center stage in the final act he basically calls out this show for what it is: a soulless cashgrab coasting on its reputation stripping the story and characters of their meaning for the sake of continued marketability. And Gintoki agrees with him Even as meta as Gintama has been in the past I never expected this show to directly admit its own pointlessness and try to make peace with it even calling out its own overreliance on the male characters Not since The Woman Called Fujiko Mine have I seen an anime so thoroughly argue against its very existence like this. But much like Fujiko Mine I cant help but feel like... I mean you couldnt have given us a good show anyway? Was it too much to ask for your selfcritical metacommentary to not come at the expense of the product itself? This is fucking Gintama were talking about going meta for the sake of making itself better should be second nature at this point And the fact Ginpachisensei struggles so much with something that the main show pulled off so effortlessly time and time again is a pretty clear sign to me this spinoff just doesnt have the juice. But is that the worst thing in the world? At this point Gintamas legacy is more than secure now and always it will be the absolute pinnacle that storytelling is capable of. One mediocre spinoff isnt going to tarnish that especially when it still gets it right at least some of the time. All I ask is if this does get the continuation it haggles for in the final scene? Try locking the fuck in a little bit. Because I know exactly what Gintama is capable of when its firing on all cylinders and with a little elbow grease theres no reason Ginpachisensei cant live up to that example as well. Or you know at least just let Otae and Kyubei smooch already. That alone would make this whole production worth it.