Gintama (Anime)

Gintama: copyright Hideaki Sorachi / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu-BNP-Aniplex

Nowadays, it’s really easy to find many different kinds of animes, for all the different tastes of the public. Action, adventure, humor, drama, thrillers... it doesn’t matter the type, you will find something to have fun with. Personally, most of my favorite animes have a lot of funny moments, regardless if they are about aliens, robots, dystopias, samurais or new society structures.

And if you want all these elements in one single hilarious series, then you definitely must watch Gintama. It’s the top animes of all time in many lists, and it’s probably the funniest of them all. The humor is the base of the series, which also has many other classical elements to create a unique universe.

Gintama cast (yes, there are "spoiler characters" in this image)

The anime story is about three main characters: Gintoki, Shinpachi and Kagura. They live in a Japan samurai-era, in the city of Edo, where aliens, called amanto, have taken the government and rule everything. In the beginning of the invasion, samurai groups tried to fight back the amanto, but with no success. Since then, the people are resigned and live their lives as normal as possible. Some maverick groups still fight for freedom, as others just embrace the new life style.

Kagura, Gintoki and Shinpachi

Sakata Gintoki is the series protagonist, a former samurai that fought in the war against the amanto. He is a slacker, sugar-blood young man, which is always trying to get advantages on the others. But, above everything, Gintoki is an honorable samurai that could sacrifice his own life to defend the needy ones, and, mostly, his friends and companions. He has founded the Yorozuya, a shop that accepts any kind of job for a fee. Shinpachi, Kagura and her dog Sadaharu, are the other members of the business.

Gintoki (and not "Kintoki" or "Gintama")

Shimura Shinpachi is a teenager samurai apprentice, and the “voice of reason” of the group. Always trying to be logical, he turns to be boring many times. However, Shinpachi is a true samurai, which fight for the weak and for the justice. He considers “Gin-san” a real samurai model, at least at most of the time. And he wears glasses. Yes, this detail is important in the story.

Shinpachi

Kagura is an amanto, member of the famous Yato Tribe. Although not being from our planet, she looks like a sweet girl. Thanks to her origin tribe, she has superhuman strength and speed, besides great fighting skills. She has a very explosive personality, having no fear to start an argument or a fight. Kagura is very innocent about many subjects, asking “Gin-chan” many random questions. Even being somewhat rude, she really loves the Yorozuya, and also can’t endure injustices.

Kagura

Along with them, there are many other characters in Gintama. Each one is able to deliver a different contribution to the series, creating an interesting and complex, but functional universe. For example, Shinpachi’s sister, Otae, is a beautiful woman with a badass personality, or the Shinsengumi, a military force, controlled by the government, or even Katsura and Elizabeth, members of the revolutionary force of Edo.

Gintama is a humor anime, and this characteristic is present in every single episode. Obviously, there are episodes focused in shonen like battles, relationships and even complex dramas. But, regardless the chapter proposal, the jokes are always there, sometimes silly, others appealing or smartly. As expected, most of the chapters are comedy ones, and these are the episodes that show why this anime is so loved and famous among many others.

And we can't forget of Sadaharu (this is an anime screenshot, obviously)

Other important quality of Gintama is the “fourth wall” definition. If the interaction with the audience can provide a good moment, the characters break the fourth wall to create comic jokes. As well as when Gintoki reads a Shonen Jump Magazine, and criticizes a manga called “Gintaman”, or when the last episode was so (funny, but) crazy, that Shinpachi apologizes to the audience during the next one.

Yes, this is also a Gintama episode...

Most of the episodes are independent, telling a complete story focused in some characters or (a Gintama universe) fact. You can have fun watching them, but it may be frustrating if you have not seen previous chapters, that, for example, presented a new character or important fact. That’s probably the only bad thing about the anime: the series tells many single stories, but they are integrated in the background. However, as the majority of the animes are sequential, Gintama can be enjoyed with less background than many others.

Actually, some people may find another Gintama feature annoying. The Japanese culture jokes appear many times, talking about celebrities, televisions programs, government, history facts, and others. If you, like me, don’t know a lot about the local traditions, some jokes will not be understood. You will depend on the translator’s notes, or in a side research, if you want to understand everything.

Gintama is a unique anime, which make use of many features to create good stories: funny plots, remarkable characters, lots of references to real life, smart fourth wall breaks, and, mostly, high quality humor. The action episodes are breathtaking; the scary ones give you goosebumps; the drama stories almost make you cry. And the humor will be always there, remembering you that it’s a Gintama episode. But the best ones are the comedy episodes, as the Yorozuya specialty is the humor, in all its possible (and funny) forms.

The Seven Deadly Sins (Manga)

The Seven Deadly Sins: copyright Nakaba Suzuki / Kodansha Ltd.

When you think about mangas, there is no way to forget some classic shonen titles. They may be somewhat repetitive, but almost everybody has a favorite.

Probably, the best mangas are the ones published by the Shonen Jump. Actually, more than good stories, this magazine manga has the most famous titles around the world. But this doesn’t mean that we can’t find good stuff outside the Shonen Jump World.

One of these mangas is called The Seven Deadly Sins, by the Shonen Magazine. When I first read the title, I couldn’t imagine how the story would be, or how would be the characters design. I say it because these are the two more important factors in any story: the argument and the players.

First Nanatsu no Tanzai volume cover (Japanese original name)

However, after the first chapter, I could easily state “this will be a great manga story”. And now, with 186 chapters read until today, I continue to be fascinated by this great sinful adventure, and its great characters.

The story focus in seven great warriors, each one represented by one capital sin: wrath, greed, envy, sloth, gluttony, lust and pride. The group must help the land of Britannia, in order to defeat all the evil that spreads against the people, in a magical-medieval era. All the seven are very original and interesting, each one with a different origin and motivation. It’s funny to see how they interact, as comrades, fighters, and sometimes, lovers. As the story develops, you are presented to each one, every time in a more difficult challenge.

All the Seven Sins, plus Elizabeth

One of the three main characters is the captain of the Seven Deadly Sins, Meliodas. He is a powerful warrior, with a fair (but also hentai) heart, always ready to help his friends and anybody in need. Making a couple with Meliodas, Elizabeth is a princess of the Liones Kingdom. Lovely, beautiful and brave, she does everything for his friends, and is absolutely in love with Meliodas. At last, but not at least, is Hawk, the talking pig. He acts as a humor point, but also as the great heart of the group.

Hawk (also known as The Captain of the Leftovers) 

As any shonen, there are many fights in the story. The combats focus in magical moves, with spells, curses, natural abilities and, of course, physical blows. They are very original, and it’s very funny to see the different ideas used by the author.

Talking about the author, Nakaba Suzuki has a very detailed and competent art style, being able to deliver fighting scenes as beautiful as the environment scenes, for example (or the fan service scenes, an almost obligation of mangas in general). There are a lot of funny jokes, and the story, still not finished, is very exciting and solid.

A Seven Deadly Sins Magazine Cover

In my opinion, one of the few problems about the manga is that some characters don’t receive enough attention than others. I believe that more side stories could have been done, developing more of the manga group. Another boring point of the manga is that, sometimes, it can get very repetitive and obvious. As the ecchi scenes of Meliodas with Elizabeth, or some battles with weak opponents, when you already know almost everything that will happen in the sequence.

But these two cons are nothing compared to the fun delivered by Seven Deadly Sins. The adventure is addictive, the art is enjoyable, and the characters are original (as much as a shonen manga can be). If you don’t know it, don’t waste time to enjoy the Seven Sins. And if you already like, what’s your favorite capital sin?

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass: copyrighted property of Nintendo

There are game franchises acclaimed by most of the gamers around the world. During all their existence, they are able to deliver great gaming experiences, regardless the video-game model.

And the game type doesn’t matter, because the best ones are defined by a key word: design. These games have a special care on the design of important characteristics for it, as graphics, sounds, gameplay, and story, among others. Thus, the best franchises delight us making everything in the game amazing, even if it’s small details. If it’s important in the game, a carefully design is dedicated to it.

Everybody have a favorite game franchise. Many are not loved by all the gamers, but some of them are respected by the major part of the public. Probably, one of the most important is the epic The Legend of Zelda. Along the years, the Nintendo Company was capable to create fantastic Zelda games for different platforms.

Among the many different titles, I will write about one of my favorite ones, where the design is present, mostly, in the gameplay and the story. The game is The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.

Link's debut in the Nintendo DS

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass was the first franchise game to be produced to the Nintendo DS console. Aiming to use the video-game specifications, the title used a very unusual gameplay: all the actions must use the DS touch-screen, with no need for the D-Pad or the others physicals buttons. As the Zelda games are (normally) based on exploration, puzzles and strategy fights, the touch control could be a major difficult for the players.

I was skeptical in the beginning, and the first playing minutes were, indeed, somewhat confusing. However, as you play the game, and interact with the touch controller, you discover that the Stylus isn’t that bad for a Zelda game. Moreover, Phantom Hourglass was thought for this gameplay, making every action being funny inside the game.

The story follows after the Wind Waker (GC) game, as tells what happened to Link (or “insert your name here”) and Tetra/Zelda after that. The world map is a great ocean chart, where, with the help of a customizable ship, you navigate in many different islands to collect sacred items.

Navigate with the S.S. Linebeck

Link has the help of Linebeck, the captain of the ship, and Ciela, a smart and helpful (and not annoying) fairy. Along the story, new characters and challenges are discovered, creating a very interesting game world. There are many side-quests, increasing the game time (and fun). As usual, Link may use different weapons, as a bow and bombs. The touch-screen control turns every item in the inventory very funny to be used.

Many things to discover and upgrade

Another important part of the game is the maps of the scenarios. The upper screen shows the map, and the lower the game itself. You can change the screens positions to write notes, as door positions or puzzles tips. This “note to remember later” may look boring in the beginning, but after you get used to it, turns to a very useful resource, allowing you to organize your steps and register important information.

The island map shows Link's current postion

Probably the only problem of the game is the difficulty level. There are fill moments where you face great difficulties, requiring high fighting or puzzle-solving abilities. Obviously, this game has a large age public, and hardcore challenges wouldn’t be indicated. In order to compensate this fact, the game offers many side-quests, and even time trials challenges.

For me, it one of the best qualities of the game, but for others it was one of the worst. The touch gameplay, for those who hate alternatives control styles, may prove to be very challenging. As everything needs a “scratch”, a “tap”, or a “sketch” with the stylus, it’s important to have imagination when drawing and a good whist. If you accept the idea, you will have a lot of fun playing Zelda in a new form (if not, well… I’m sorry for you).

Although not being famous as some other franchise brothers, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is able to deliver the best of the series: a very interesting story, a solid gameplay, a lot of exploration, puzzles and fights. And everything was created with a great design, as expected from the Nintendo world’s best seller (along with Pokémon and Mario, of course…).