Gintama Dance 227

In order to celebrate their latest milestone the Yorozuya are forced to do a collaboration with the gang from Sket Dance, even if their past collaborations really only came down to them ripping off other series with silly parodies.

However Gintoki presents his research on Sket Dance, that it’s a comedy series that revolves around three people doing odd jobs in a high school setting with some touching moments along the way, the setting being the only difference to Gintama. Leading him to the conclusion that they’re clearly trying to usurp them, they even now occupy their old time slot. But most of all the idea of a Gintama/Sket Dance crossover is just boring, so as the Sket Dan make their entrance they both agree that it’s for a battle to eliminate the weaker show. And after a few voice actor jokes about the roles played in each of the shows, the Sket Dan are kind of creeped out by them.

Regardless though Gintoki and Bossun lead their respective groups in this battle, heading to an island with the pizzaz that they need to destroy the other’s show, the Pizzaz-Pizzaz Fruit. The side effect however, is that the one who eats it will have their crotch turn into a hammer, which as Himeko shows is a clear case where the Yorozuya has the advantage, they can’t handle these kinds of jokes. Of course though only Gintoki and Bossun are hyped about this, and as they race Switch mentions Bossun’s complex about being a boring main character, something which he turns out to have in common with Gintoki, neither have any special characteristics, powers, or even goals. And it’s this conversation that defeats them.

After hearing all of this they just want to give up and while they were against each other before, the two main characters are now bound by the pain of being the leader and not doing a good job of it, attempting to limp away and get the others to follow them. However just as it looked as if the two became friends they spot the Pizzaz-Pizzaz fruit and start fighting over it, or at least until they spot an old carpenter whose hands won’t work but his crotch does, wishing that his crotch could become a hammer. So together they fill his request, and in the end the others see that despite everything their leaders still do a good job, at least until they find out that some of the fruits juice hit them.

Next Episode:

Thoughts:

Well this was a fun episode, Gintama can be fun enough on its own but with the addition of the characters from Sket Dance in a proper collaboration (as opposed to just ripping off other series) it seemed to get even better. Addressing of all things, the opinion that the fans have of the two series.

That with all the things that they have in common, a three person team taking up odd jobs with some comedy and some touching moments along the way, not to mention how they now occupy their old timeslot and while it wasn’t mentioned, Shinohara being Sorachi’s assistant before he started Sket Dance. It can simply be concluded that it’s a cheap imitation to it and that it’s trying to take their place. Heck the only real differences between them are the high school setting and the much more dirtier style of comedy that Gintama has. That said though, both are still good series and if anything it was almost like these claims were being made fun of when the Yorozuya mentioned them.

Not to mention how they were used for the plot of the episode, that the only reason for them for this collaboration in the first place was so they could stomp each other out, also bringing in the fact that when it comes down to it Bossun and Gintoki are kind of lame as main characters. Gintoki has his moments from time to time but you have to admit that both of them lack that little extra something to give them the pizzaz they need to stand up against other main characters. And the fact that Bossun actually admits and has a complex about it, is also one of the things that I like about him as a character, breaking the fourth wall to me is kind of questionable depending on the circumstances but when combined with Bossun’s supposed lameness it backfires. Having the opposite effect instead.

After that it also goes without saying that one of the best parts of this episode were the parts where the characters joked about the roles that their voice actors had in common between the two shows, where the most notable one of Tomokazu Sugita voicing both Gintoki and Switch was actually neglected. And without so much as a refusal by Gintoki to argue with him it instead went about doing the other characters instead, not only Hiroyuki Yoshino‘s roles as both Bossun and Shinpachi’s bro, but more particularly that of Himeko’s voice actress Ryoko Shiraishi voicing of all things the monkey from a few episodes back just so they could get her to repeat its incredibly long name. It’s just a shame, or perhaps not really, that Rie Kugimiya doesn’t have a role in Sket Dance left, it felt like wasted potential.