Gintama

Episode 274

If a copywriter were looking for an anime that painted an accurate picture of the brainstorming and idea rejection that goes into developing a marketing campaign, she needn't look any further than this week's Gintama. Both stories presented in this episode revolve around marketing strategies. The first segment finds the Odd Jobs trio trying to promote their business while attracting new fans to the series at the same time. (As Shinpachi points out, this season has featured more fourth wall-breaking than usual.) In the second half, the current Four Devas of Kabuki-cho meet—with Otae strong-arming her way to become their new no-nonsense leader—to discuss ways to improve the neighborhood's reputation and attract new visitors.

The first segment revolves heavily around the Mother series, known as Earthbound in the U.S. The Odd Jobs trio produces numerous parodies of a famous moving poster of the game—and makes comments about Mother's lead designer Shigesato Itoi's incredibly large nostrils. The joke works better for Japanese fans—and those of a certain age, for that matter, as the Mother games aren't exactly new. It's another example of the show's humor not always translating to foreign audiences. If you have to Google images of the person with a black bar over his eyes to get the joke, it probably won't be as funny to you.

The second segment is less reliant on obscure Japanese references, although there are still plenty to be found. The story follows the Four Devas and their respective followers attempting to create a mascot for Kabuki-cho. Since it's pretty well known throughout the world that Japan is rife with mascots, the jokes shouldn't be lost on too many foreign viewers. However, the ideas that Otae, Gintoki and Azumi come up with—leaving yakuza head Katsuo as the segment's required tsukkomi—are so irreverent and bizarre, they'd be at home on an Adult Swim show. It's funny for a while, but as Gintoki rambles on ad nauseam about matryoshka-style mascots that keep opening up, and Azumi continually fixates on gigantic chins, it starts to feel like it might never end. The segment does a commendable job of showcasing Otae's sweet-yet-easily-angered personality, but it's not overly memorable.

Gintama is made for a Japanese audience, and the fact that so many foreign fans love it is an added bonus. However, it does mean that there are going to be certain gags that just don't land with anyone who doesn't have a thorough knowledge of Japanese pop culture history. (Even studying modern pop culture will only get you so far, as the references to decades-old figures and franchises abound.) It's kind of like how a series like Regular Show might appear to a foreign audience: enjoyable on one level, but some of the references to American '80s and '90s pop culture are bound to go over a secondary audience's head. Usually these jokes come in small doses, but episode 274 is full enough of them to make it less accessible to non-Japanese fans.

Rating: B-

Gintama is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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