Gintama

Episode 278

Gintoki doesn't have to be in an episode of Gintama for laughs to be abundant—and neither does any (adult) male character, for that matter. In an episode in which virtually every female Gintama character gets a chance to bring the funny, the proceedings are over-the-top as usual. Although the formula is clichéd, the episode manages to consistently amuse and tug at the viewer's heartstrings by episode's end. Who expected an episode of Gintama to revolve around motherhood so well?

Relieved of his sex toy shop duty and free of Tsukuyo and Gintoki's bizarre tutelage, Seita attends a local temple school with kids his own age. Hinowa, his adoptive mother, notices that he's not fitting in with the kids at school and worries about him. Tsukuyo realizes the reason right away: in her attempt at acting like a "normal" mother, the former high-ranking courtesan has been sending Seita to school with mile-high bentos packed with luxurious homemade food. Seita's too embarrassed by the showy lunch to eat with his classmates, so he seems standoffish as a result.

Cue the series' key female characters trying to make a more normal lunch for Seita so he'll feel comfortable dining with his peers. None of them are mothers or even well-adjusted adults, so each messes up in a comically spectacular fashion. From a Sazae-san-homage Sa-chan adding a bit of "drama" to the lunch, to Kyubei suggesting Seita be a man and get lunch for himself—by killing a Toriko-inspired Amanto alligator—each woman "helps" in her own characteristic way. They all genuinely want to make things better. It's just that they, like every Gintama character, have no clue how to be normal, and that's why they're so successful at keeping us entertained. (I'd have loved to see Tama's or Catherine's take on a kids' lunch, but there was only so much time in the episode. I bet Tama would have just poured oil in the box, anyway.)

The episode takes a brief yet effective dramatic turn when Seita decides he's had enough and flings Hinowa's latest bento away, pointing out she's not his "real" mother anyway. He even hits her where it hurts, reminding her that she can't be a normal mom because of her courtesan past. (The recycled Gintama soundtrack music for poignant moments fits nicely with Hinowa's pain at her son's rejection.) He immediately feels bad about it, but it's only when he has a frank discussion with a classmate who's taken a shine to him—a girl who's lost her own mother—that he does the inevitable and embraces Hinowa's original, outlandish bento creations. He even shares the meal with his classmates and deflects the teasing he gets for it with finesse. It's a predictable turn of events for any show that deals with kids embarrassed by their moms, especially those raised by women other than their birth mothers, but it works.

Gintama isn't a show too often weighed down by serious drama, but it usually does a good job of making viewers empathize with the characters. Even though the dramatic backbone of this episode is something we've seen before, it takes on new meaning in the Gintama world. As a palate-cleanser (pun definitely intended) from one multiple-episode arc to the next, episode 278 does a commendable job.

Rating: B+

Gintama is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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