Gin Tama

[laceblade]

I think I'm bouncing off of this series. I read four entire volumes, though! Maybe I'll hang on to 5-9 in case I change my mind.

I appreciate the hilarity, and especially find the manga-ka's notes on the omake pages quite funny. There is a lot of potty humor, which I tend to ignore, and the characters themselves are often quite funny. BUT, it's too much for me. I need drama mixed in with my funnies!

I wouldn't call this series stupid, or terrible. I just don't like it enough to look forward to reading a new volume.

I did like the way the Shinsengumi was involved, though.


If anyone has any final epic professions of love detailing why I should like this series, speak now!

Comments

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's why I only read it one volume at a time, with space in between.

As far as epic confessions of love...have you noticed how Otae and Kagura are more badass than any male in the series, and are deliberate "stuff you"-s at all the shounen that creates the "gute fighter girl who isn't" and "sweet martial arts sisters/dojo girls" who can supposedly fight but aren't allowed to? I think even I'm scared of Otae. (Kagura is still young enough to distract with cute things.)

[mystickeeper.livejournal.com]

I *have* noticed that the girls are legitimately bad-ass, which I do enjoy.

Maybe it would be better spaced out! Too bad my usual library in Madison doesn't carry the series, :[

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I think what makes it stand out that the girls are badass is that, unlike other shounen, the mangaka never really tells us that they're badass or great fighters unless tey're actively destroying things at the time. Not "this girl is badass but here is a plot device that keeps her from showing it and I'll just tell you."

[lavendersleeves.livejournal.com]

And maybe I also appreciate that they are bad ass but aren't in any way *strange* for being bad-ass. There's no reason to think that these girls are stronger than the other girls in the background. They don't have anything that sets them apart, other than the fact that they're main characters (Let's face it--even Buffy acknowledges that other girls could never be as strong as she is, because she's special).

[lavendersleeves.livejournal.com]

Also, regarding plot--it will become more complicated, but I think this story is more like (in terms of plot-style) Azumanga than, say, Nana. It'll play with drama, but this is ultimately a daily life story (all the more humorous, maybe, because of the unusual setting).

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Yup. It's treated as perfectly normal. And no one looks down on Otae for being a hostess, or thinks it's weird that Shinpachi's sister can kick his butt (he gets picked on for coming across as a wuss at times-which he isn't-not for having a sister who can beat him up with her pinky) and when Kagura is pointed out for being weird, it's because she's an alien with alien habits, not because she's a girl who can easily destroy city blocks. Ditto with Sacchan being an assassin.