I personally don’t like manga to film adaptations because far often, the films tend to stray from the original storyline too much and for popular film adaptations from well-known manga/anime series, too often the film adaptations aren’t any good. Fortunately, “Gintama” is an exception because not only does the film do a great job of bringing out the crazy characters and also its many pop culture gags, but it’s a hilarious, fun, action-packed film that makes you want to watch “Gintama” again and again.
TITLE: Gintama
FILM RELEASE: 2017
DURATION: 131 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, 16:9, Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Japanes Stereo 2.0, Subtitles: English
COMPANY: Well Go USA Entertainment
RATED: Not Rated
Release Date: March 16, 2018
Directed by Fukuda Yuichi
Original Manga by Hideaki Sorachi
Screenplay by Yuichi Fukuda
Music by Eishi Segawa
Starring:
Shun Oguri as Gintoki Sakata
Kanna Hashimoto as Kagura
Masaki Okada as Kotaro Katsura
Yuya Yagira as Toshiro Hijikata
Masaki Suda as Shinpachi Shimura
Masami Nagasawa as Tae Shimura
Takayuki Yamada as the voice of Elizabeth
Koichi Yamadera as the voice of Yoshida Shoyo
Ryo Yoshizawa as Sougo Okita
Akari Hayami as Tetsuko Murata
Hirofumi Arai as Nizo Okada
Kankuro Nakamura as Isao Kondo
Ken Yasuda as Tetsuya Murata
Seiji Rokkaku as Char Aznable
Tsuyoshi Muro as Gengai Hiraga
Mikako Takahashi as the voice of Sadaharu
Youta Tanaka as Young Gintoki Sakata
Tsuyoshi Domoto as Shinsuke Takasugi
Set in the alternate Edo-period Japan, an alien race from outer space have invaded the country and taken control, forcing the once powerful Samurai to lay down their swords. Once feared as the White Demon , former samurai Gintoki Sakata, works as an everyday handyman until a master swordsman tasks Gintoki and his friends with finding a cursed sword to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. Packed with the sword-swinging sci-fi action and offbeat humor, Gintama is a journey through a visually-stunning universe where fantastical action lurks around every corner.
Since 2003, “Gin Tamaâ€, which means “Silver Soul†has been a manga series that has entertained many “Shonen Jump†fans. Written and illustrated by mangaka Hideaki Sorachi, the popular manga received an anime adaptation which has aired in Japan since 2006 and a live action film was made and a second planned for release in 2018.
“Gin Tama†is a series that takes place during the Edo Period (Tokyo – 1860’s) but in this alternate reality of the Edo Period, aliens known as Amanto have conquered Japan and because of the war against the samurai’s, the Amanto have banned swords in public and are now co-existing with the humans (more like humans are forced to co-exist with the Amanto).  Also, technology has been shared with the people of Japan allowing space travel, giving them access to cars, mopeds, television and more.
The series focuses on the silver haired Gintoki Sakata and his two freelancers who will perform odd jobs for a fee, but sometimes these odd jobs turn out to be more destructive than realized.
A little summary of the primary three characters:
Gintoki Sakata is the owner of “Odd Jobs Ginâ€. Often lazy, likes reading manga, picking his nose or his ear and is late on his rent payments. Willing to take on odd jobs for a living but is also an excellent swordsman who despises the Amanto and those who co-exist with them. Despite the sword ban, Gintoki carries a wooden sword.
And assisting him with these odd jobs is Kagura, an alien girl of the Yato Clan who looks human but has tremendous strength. Kagura fled to Earth to earn money but also to get away from her violent Yato heritage. In Earth, she has to hold an umbrella (which functions also as a weapon) to prevent sunlight from damaging her translucent skin. She loves pickled seaweed, eating, money and often has a temper. She also is blunt about things that women don’t say in public. Shinpachi “Four Eyes” Shimura is a teenager who wants to learn the ways of the samurai and thus becomes a freelancer at Odd Jobs Gin. Often the voice of reason but is hardly listened to and is often a person who receives some sort of punishment. Lives with his sister Tae.
Meanwhile, the three try to keep getting in trouble with the Shinsengumi, a special police for under the control of the Shogunate.
And now the film will be released on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment.
“Gintama” is directed and features a screenplay by Yuichi Fukuda (“HK: Forbidden Hero”, “Jossy’s”, “Blue Fame”). The film stars Shun Oguri (“Crows Zero”, “Harlock: Space Pirate”, “Lupin the 3rd”), Kanna Hashimoto (“Sailor Suit and Machine Gun: Graduation”, “Assassination Classroom”), Masaki Suda (“Kamen Rider W”), Masami Nagasawa (“Godzilla: Final Wars”, “Our Little Sister”, “Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.”), Masaki Okada (“Confessions”, “A Pierrot”), Yuya Yagira (“Nobody Knows”, “Destruction Babies”), Ryo Yoshizawa (“Kamen Rider Fourze”), Akari Hayami (“Forget Me Not”, “My Pretend Girlfriend”), Hirofumi Arai (“Confessions”, “100 Yen Love”, “Parasyte”), Kankuro Nakamura (“Shinsengumi”, Sanada Jyuyushi”), Ken Yasuda (“Shomuni”, “Black Butler”) and the voices of Takayuki Yamada (“Crows Zero”, “Gantz”, “13 Assassins”) and legendary anime voice actor Koichi Yamadera.
There are murders happening in the city and one day, Gintoki’s friend Kotaro Katsura, who is a great swordsman, is murdered by a man carrying a crimson sword.
Gintoki is hired by two swordsmiths, Tesuya Murata and his sister Tetsuko to find the crimson sword known as Benizakura. Not telling him that the sword is special. As Gintoki investigates, he is unaware of what has happened to his friend and how dangerous this sword really is.
Also, looking for this crimson sword is the police force, the Shinsengumi. Isao Kondo is the Commander who can’t seem to keep his clothes on, while his Vice-Commander Toshiro Hijikata can’t help but keep eating. Meanwhile, Sogo Okita is an excellent swordsman but prefers to carry a huge bazooka.
Meanwhile, Kotaro’s alien friend, Elizabeth (looks like a man wearing a bird outfit) comes to get help from Gintoki, but because he is busy, Kagura and Shinpachi go to try and help. Shinpachi goes with Elizabeth, while Kagura goes with her large dog inugami, Sadaharu.
And also arriving to the scene is the extremist group Kiheitai led by Gintoki and Kotaro’s childhood friend, Shinsuke Takasugi. What is his purpose of showing up all of a sudden?
And who is responsible for these murders?
VIDEO:
“Gintama” is presented in 1080p High Definition and is a film that looks great in HD. Visual effects were great and black levels were nice and deep, lighting was good and closeups show very good detail.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Gintama” is presented in Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Japanese Stereo 2.0. Dialogue is crystal clear, action sequences utilize the surround channels quite well. Subtitles are in English.
SPECIAL FEATURES
“Gintama” comes with no special features.
“Gintama†is a hilarious film based on the very popular manga and anime series from Japan.  An action-driven storyline that takes place in an alternate world, full of action and gags, but also references to other popular manga and anime series, “Gintama” was a film that I would have never expected to receive a live film adaptation.
The fact that “Gintama†takes place during the Edo Period and humanity was beaten by aliens and now co-existing with them and sharing technology is quite unique. But it’s the characters that bring something different to the series.
The characters of “Gintama†are just odd. The main protagonist, Gintoki is a booger picking, manga reading, lazy hero that is driven by money but when he is in battle, he’s quick during his sword fights and shows amazing skill as a swordsman and fighter.
Kagura seems like a sweet alien girl but she’s perverted (although her bluntness is more of naivety) in the manner she speaks and has this intense strength that makes her quite scary. She has a huge appetite and her fighting skills are also fantastic.
And then you get the character Shinpachi, the normal guy often referred as “Four Eyes” because he wears eyeglasses, who wants to be a samurai and so he works with Gintoki as an assistant. He tries to be the voice of reason but ends up being the person who gets the raw end of the deal.
And it’s not these three that are unusual, you have other characters like the members of the Shinsengumi, with a Commander who is always naked, a Vice-Commander who is always with a cigarette in his mouth and is always eating and a captain who is an excellent swordsman but prefers to carry a huge bazooka.
But what can you expect when you have a title “Gintama†which is an interesting name by original creator Hideaki Sorachi which is used as a pun on the word “Kintama†which means testicles. “Gintama†is pretty much an action-comedy film adaptation that may not be 100% like the manga and anime series, but it comes damn close.  There are jokes that parody Japanese pop culture and even several nods to other Shonen Jump and popular manga/anime titles.
The film manages to bring out the humor of the manga/anime series to film. You can’t help but enjoy these characters because they are so far off and unusual.
While Shun Oguri is known for playing characters for films based on popular manga/anime, what was surprising is to see idol singer Kanna Hashimoto playing the character of Kagura. For a new actress, she did an amazing job playing Kagura and bringing out that naivety of Kagura but also her amazing hunger and fighting skills. Kagura is a huge part of the gag factor in the manga/anime and it was great to see that come to play in the film.
“Kamen Rider” fans will no doubt enjoy seeing “Kamen Rider W” actor Masaki Suda playing Shinpachi and also Ryo Yoshizawa who played Kamen Rider Meteor from “Kamen Rider Fourze” as Shinsengumi Captain Sougo Okita.
The film also manages to bring many other characters to the film such as Gintoki’s frienemy Takasugi Shinsuke (portrayed by KinKi Kids singer Tsuyoshi Domoto), Shinpachi’s sister Tae (portrayed by Masami Nagasawa), the gun toting Matako Kijima (portrayed by Nanao) and much more.
As for the Blu-ray, the Blu-ray release looks great. Visual effects look great, action sequences are well-done and the film shows very good detail especially on close-ups. As for the lossless soundtrack, Japanese dialogue is crystal clear and sound effects sound great through the surround channels. It’s important to note that this film is in Japanese with English subtitles, there is no English dub included. Unfortunately, unlike the Japanese Blu-ray release, the US releases comes with no special features.
Overall, I personally don’t like manga to film adaptations because far often, the films tend to stray from the original storyline too much and for popular film adaptations from well-known manga/anime series, too often the film adaptations aren’t any good. Fortunately, “Gintama” is an exception because not only does the film do a great job of bringing out the crazy characters and also its many pop culture gags, but it’s a hilarious, fun, action-packed film that makes you want to watch “Gintama” again and again.
“Gintama” is recommended!
