Gin Tama, Vol. 1

This manga is a lot like "Rurouni Kenshin" on acid. Lots of acid. With aliens and motorcycles. Fortunately Hideaki Sorachi is apparently up to the task of penning such a tale. The first volume of "Gin Tama" takes readers into a bizarre sci-fi/historical world, where aliens have settled in Japan and the days of the samurai are over. Fortunately it never devolves into preachy melancholy -- it prefers madcap action and comedy. Shinpachi and his sister Otae are barely scraping by, especially since Otae clings to their late father's dojo. But when Shinpachi loses his job -- courtesy of the violent silver-haired Gintoki -- they're forced to either sell the dojo, or have Otae enter a floating brothel. Shinpachi has only one way to save his sister's honor: join up with Gintoki and ride to the rescue. On a motorcycle. Unfortunately life with Gintoki is kinda weird -- they're called in to deal with a vast alien "pet," a ridiculously strong alien girl named Kagura, and a mad police chase to capture a thieving employee. Then things turn nasty when they deliver a package to an embassy... which turns out to be a bomb. Gintoki finds himself dealing with an old friend from his past, who is heading a cabal of terrorists who plan to bomb out the aliens. Unfortunately, Gintoki and his friends have been identified as terrorists too -- and it's going to be messy getting out of all this. Obviously, the late 19th-century Japan of historical record doesn't have much to do with the setting of "Gin Tama." Sure it has space aliens in place of Western travelers and a police force called the Shinsengumi, but otherwise this version of Meiji-era Japan is pretty much Sorachi's own bizarre, surreal little playground. And boy is it fun. Along the way, he happily packs it with plenty of clever satire, bizarre aliens (some of them based on mythical creatures) and some wild action sequences (including a car-wrecking chase scene after a thieving cat-girl). And Sorachi never hesitates to have his characters bicker or yell with hilarious results ("I am not going to sell my kidney"), on the occasions when they aren't struggling to make the rent. Gintoki is a fun anti-hero -- he's a lazy, violent guy with a past as a legendary warrior, and a willingness to savagely beat anyone who gets between him and his sugar fixes. Shinpachi is a bit whiny at first, but the placidly violent, super-hungry Kagura and the level-headed bomber Katsura (mmm, handsome) make good supporting characters. "Gin Tama Volume 1" makes a solid start to a hilarious series, and adds a little weirdness to historical manga. Definitely a must-read.

Viz is on a roll.... Death Note, Naruto, Naoki Urawasawa's Monster, Strawberry 100% and now Gin Tama. These are all masterpieces of their respective genres and that Viz has each is high praise indeed (not just for them but for us Americans who maybe have heard of these properties, seen the fansubs and wanted to own them ourselves outright). I am so intrigued and happy about this I don't know what to say, this is hands down one of the funniest manga in the US! I have lauded Sgt Frog and Yakitate japan (both which can sometimes be lacking in total humor and seem like they are trying TOO hard) but Gin Tama is one of those rare manga that is in control of its comedy 100%. It gets everything right, wraps it up in a very interesting premise and gives shonen jump fans (who require a little bit of action) to even get off a few beats of coolness once Gin Toki jumps into his sugar fueled berserker rages. This manga is even more funny when one actually is familiar with Edo period historical characters like Kondo. All in all, very funny 1st volume and I can attest it gets even better as it goes on.

I've loved this series since I first set eyes on the fansubbed anime back a few months ago. If you can suspend all your regular systems of belief that Peacemaker and Rurouni Kenshin might have taught you about the Edo period, you will undoubtedly have fun with this. The Gintama-fied version of the once fearsome Shinsengumi had me in stitches: Okita is no longer sweet, childish and playful-he's now a crazy person carrying around a rocket launcher trying to off his boss at any oppurtune moment. Kondo is now a complete buffoon (and crazy person) trying to stalk Shinpachi's sister...and failing miserably. And the long suffering Hijikata is now-you guessed it! a crazy person-desperately holding on to what remains of his sanity while keeping his subordinates under control, and kicking the stuffing out of them in the process. Oh yes; and the famous rebel bomber Katsura now has a giant pet duck named 'Elizabeth' who might just be an hairy old man in disuise. Its stupid, its crude, and its crazy, but good grief its funny. Special mention must also go to our protagonist Gintoki, whose hilariously cynical and philosophical approach to life, even in the most off-the-wall situation, is a breath of fresh air into a genre where most of the heroes are cardboard cut-out sterotypes that spout 'I want to become stronger!' over and over again. And believe it or not, there is a decent storyline hidden in there too; so even if you don't like the 'client of the day' theme, I beg of you to just hang in there and you won't be disappointed! The only thing I find disappointing with the manga adaptation is that Katsura no longer has his famous line-'Zura ja nai! KATSURA desu!' which is a great shame and an unjustifiable change. Other than that, full marks go to this comedy/action masterpiece, Gintama truly wins the gold (or silver!!) award for the best series to grace Shonen Jump since Naruto. Lets 'pray' for english release of the anime soon! (puns intended) 5/5