Once upon a time, the land of samurai was taken over by aliens. It’s been quite a few years since then. We follow our heroes as they live their lives. What do they do with their lives? They live them.
Ginama’s general attitude towards life is the most appealing aspect of the show for me. When we are introduced to the world and most of its characters we see that they have goals and options to change the world. However, most of the characters unconsciously decided to just relax and enjoy life. This for me is the biggest appeal for the show for me.
Sometimes life just throws too much at you for you to handle so Gintama says it’s ok to just sit back and relax, be lazy you deserve it sometimes. That does not mean that Gintama never has its characters take action.
There are multiple arcs in the show where the status quo is disrupted. And the main characters get involved to protect their way of life. I think Gintama is actually a pretty inspiring show at least on a personal level given how rough the past years have been.
These past two years for me and I feel like for a lot of people were the years of getting stuck. A lot of people lost their jobs and when it was time to work again I found that the jobs were hard to come by. I graduated from college right when the pandemic hit and I was well in a rut. I couldn’t find work that fit me and the jobs I did have were short-term. I felt lost and pretty much like a failure but then I think about the central message of Gintama.
A lot of people have great ambitions and things that they want to do in their life but the true struggle is just going through the day-to-day routine. It’s not really clear what “the point” of Gintama is and I think that there is no point and that there doesn’t have to be one. In an age where we are pushed to achieve and to strive for great things, Gintama reminds us that it’s ok to just live a simple life and go through your day-to-day. Take it easy, the trouble will find you.
All the best
Ani
The Trans-Feminine Gaze 