Gintama -- Funniest Anime Ever.

Hijikata: Well, guys like us, you see, live our lives never knowing when our dying breath might be. We don't give a damn whether our comrades fall. I'll just kill that many more enemies for [them].
They don't need words of sympathy.
All I can do is fight alongside them until I fall myself.
All the way to the limit.

Since I'm extremely bored and feeling particularly obsessive today, I'm going to dive right into blathering about one of my absolute favorite animes. In case you couldn't tell by the post title, that would be Gintama.

Man, this show kills me, and my kids love it too. I've laughed so hard during some episodes that it almost made me pee myself. Yeah, there are some not-so-great ones, but the overall absurdity guarantees at least one belly laugh per installment. You won't be bored with highbrow stuff here -- it's puns, vulgarity & slapstick almost all the way, along with plenty of parody of other famous anime and (Japanese) TV shows. Booger-flicking, poo jokes and hemorrhoids abound.

The very first episode started off with a "Bleach" spoof which hooked me instantly, and I have to say it's only gotten funnier and more outrageous from there. There are some more-or-less serious storylines, such as the Benizakura arc, but none of them are entirely humor-free. Profound statements are uttered in the midst of freewheeling chaos. These interludes serve to show the genuine affection and respect the main & secondary characters have for each other despite the constant snarking. They show up for the rescue when it really counts. Everyone's a hero in disguise, don'tcha know? All in all, Gintama is a endearingly silly and heartwarming series that I can't recommend highly enough.

As of this writing, I've seen up to Episode 85 and am eagerly awaiting the next fansubbed offering. I really hope this show doesn't get canceled anytime soon.

General summary:

The story centers around a lazy, laid-back guy named Sakata Gintoki. He was once a feared samurai who fought against the alien Amanto who invaded Japan during the Edo/Bakumatsu period along with a few other characters in the series (notably Katsura). Now that the aliens are in charge and swords are outlawed for commoners, he's in charge of a company called the Yorozuya that includes a ridiculously strong, parasol-carrying Yato girl named Kagura and glasses-guy Shimura Shinpachi. Kagura owns an enormous alien dog that randomly bites peoples' heads and other body parts, and he's called Sadaharu. Together, the trio (and dog) do various odd jobs in order to pay the rent and fill the bottomless pit that is Kagura's stomach.

Expressing shock and horror at actually being offered a job, lol.

There's lots of zany peeps in this free-for-all. The local police, the Shinsengumi, are my personal favorites:

In foreground, from left to right: Okita Sougo, Commander Kondo Isao, Vice-Commander Hijikata Toshiro, and spy Yamazaki Sagaru.

Kondo (everybody calls him "Gorilla") constantly stalks Shinpachi's sister, Otae, a martial arts expert struggling to keep her late father's dojo going. He's regularly battered by her as a result. Short-tempered, chain-smoking Hijikata smothers everything in mayonnaise, including dessert. Baby-faced, sadistic Okita keeps trying to kill Hijikata in order to succeed him as Vice-Commander and has an ongoing rivalry with Kagura ("I'm the only one allowed to beat that girl"). These guys are a scream whether by themselves or while not playing well with others.

Then we have Katsura Kotarou and Elizabeth. Katsura is an anti-Amanto resistance leader wanted for terrorism by the Shogunate and hunted by the Shinsengumi. His duckish companion, Elizabeth, is something of a mystery. Zura's serious demeanor hilariously offsets his actions and bizarre outfits, like when he & Gintoki dress up in drag and when he's Space Captain Katsura (complete with fake scar and eyepatch).

This show has just too many wonderful characters to list. Even minor ones who only show up in one or two episodes are nicely fleshed out and have backstories of their own. Stereotypes are present, yes, but spoofed to the maximum and turned on their collective ear. Nothing and no one is sacred, not even Buddha!

If you know what scene this is from, you're probably rofling right now.

I've yet to sit down and read the manga, mainly because there are big, volume-sized gaps in the available scanlations. Maybe someday I'll be rich enough to buy them all. *sigh*

In closing, here's a crazy clip where the Yorozuya and Katsura are undertaking ninja training under kunoichi Sarutobe Ayame (who, incidentally, has a masochistic crush on Gintoki):