Gintama

Episode 295

Just when you thought Katsura's plot to infiltrate the Shinsengumi couldn't get any more ridiculous, everyone's favorite space-case terrorist is happy to prove you wrong. Oblivious as ever, he willfully ignores the Odd Jobs Trio as they point out the holes in his twisted plan. Picking up one month after the previous installment left off, episode 295 continues the story of the perpetually silent Saito Shimaru. Still disguised as "Hashira Afuro," Katsura has gained considerable influence in the Shisengumi. Hashira's impressive fighting style and results-driven police work have made him the envy of both his peers and superiors within the organization. Not only are countless officers requesting to be transferred to the Third Squadron, every member of the force–including Kondo, Hijikata, and Sogo–have adopted Afuro's trademark hairstyle.

Since we last saw him, Zura has also accomplished his mission to take command of the Third Squadron by having Saito thrown in prison for "abuse of authority." Because of his refusal to speak, Saito is unable to defend himself against the charges and is sentenced to a court martial. In a rare display of empathy, Gintoki decides to intervene on his client's behalf. Realizing that Saito will never break his silence, Gintoki outfits him with a two-way-microphone/voice-changing-device that bears more than a passing resemblance to the one Conan Edogawa uses to speak for Kogoro Mori in Case Closed. This enables the Odd Jobs crew to do Saito's talking for him once the trial is underway.

Unfortunately, things quickly take a turn for the worse when Gintoki and Kagura have disagreements over speech and characterization. This results in stilted, uneven dialog that causes the Shinsengumi brass to believe that Saito is a foreigner with a limited grasp of the Japanese language. Following a series of cringe-inducing revelations about the Shinsengumi's founding members, it's decided that Saito will have a trial by fire and engage his accuser in combat.

The ensuing battle between Saito and Katsura is among the series' most fluidly animated fight sequences and possibly one of its best overall. For a show that places so much focus on madcap humor, Gintama knows its way around a fight scene. Swords clash as the combatants leap across rooftops and refuse to give each other an inch. In light of how dimwitted and removed from reality he is, it's easy to forget that Katsura is one of the series' strongest characters. Joi War flashbacks even suggest that his combat skills are on par with the rest of Yoshida Shouyou's disciples. Fights like this remind us that Zura can actually back up his bluster with masterfully honed swordsmanship should the situation arise.

As is often the case with this series, viewer expectations are turned on their head multiple times throughout the episode. It seems a given that Saito would break his silence when both his life and professional reputation are at stake; he even tells the tribunal as much. Yet a few minutes later, it's revealed that he hasn't broken character at all, and his dialog is being provided by the aforementioned device. Even when his comrades' lives are on the line at the end of the episode, he remains steadfastly committed to silence, completely squandering the bomb-disarming instructions Katsura provided as a farewell gift. (Luckily for the Shinsengumi, Gintama characters are as impervious to super-powered explosives as Wile E. Coyote.)

My one gripe is that Katsura's successful infiltration and Saito's subsequent imprisonment are quickly glossed over at the beginning of the episode. Some viewers are liable to think they missed an episode in which these plot elements were given sufficient attention. Still, if the producers were determined to tell this story in two episodes, the focus does end up where it belongs: the events of the trial and the Zura vs. Wolfo showdown.

Given how much fun Saito is, I wouldn't mind seeing more of him in the future. If there's one drawback to the show having such a large secondary cast, it's that we don't see many of these characters on a regular basis. Any socially awkward character who can give Katsura a run for his money is a welcome presence in Kabuki-cho.

Rating: A-

Gintama is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Amy is a YA fantasy author who has loved anime for two decades.