Thank you for purchasing the 12th volume of Gintama! For those of you who will have this volume in your hands on release day in Japan: tune in to the channel that shows the Sakata family, not the Ito family*… the anime starts today!
The other day I went to peek at the production (I wanted to watch the voice actors work), but my editor got the time wrong, so when I got to the studio I only found Katoken** singing Katoken Samba. Despite not seeing anything, I irresponsibly greeted everyone by saying, “Well, your voices are just right for the characters!”.
Anyway, I really think they’re up to their roles, even though I don’t know anything about it. Then I talked a bit with Mr. Sugita, who voices Gin-san. I’ve met him twice before, but I always got the impression that our conversation wasn’t in perfect sync. I don’t know why, but our discussions always end up with no rhyme or reason. This time too, we talked about the singer and comedian Masashi Tashiro… But why? Why did I talk about Marcy? We should have discussed the anime! Well, anyway, given the ditzy look on his face, he’ll definitely give a great performance.
I also met with the director and staff.
But we chatted about adult videos for a good 80% of the time. Even the last time we only talked about nightclubs… However, since they hide a great passion under that dirty spirit, surely some wonderful anime will come out…
Naaa, impossible!
*Variety TV show
**Ken Kato, a character from Gintama.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 33
QUESTION FROM MR. “I LIKE THE FACT THAT JUST AWAY IS NOTHING BUT JUST AWAY”, FROM OSAKA PROVINCE
Sensei, about Gin-san’s wooden sword, in volume 1 he said he bought it during a school trip, but in volume 5 he gets one by mail order. The one he has at the beginning he bought during a school trip, while the others he bought by mail order… Is that so? Since I’m stupid, I can’t help thinking about a detail like that… Tell me the truth!
ANSWER:
No, he bought all the wooden swords by mail order, from the first to the last. “I bought it on a school trip” or “A hermit who lives on Lake Toya gave it to me” are all, shall we say, embellishments made by Gin-san himself. I guess for him, Lake Toya is a place full of memories…
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 34
QUESTION FROM MR. JOHNNY, FUKUSHIMA PROVINCE
I hear Mrs. Otose is agonizing over Gin-san’s (Yorozuya) rent arrears. How many months does he owe her? And how much does he pay in rent? Since I care about those two points, I took the liberty of asking you this question.
ANSWER:
The rent is sixty thousand, although the place is in Kabukicho… So it’s a fair price. Unfortunately, Yorozuya is a freelance profession, so there are times when you earn money and others when you don’t. Moreover, even if you manage to earn money, you can’t do it. On top of that, even if he manages to make some money, the cost of food for Kagura and Sadaharu is by no means negligible, so he’s always broke. Despite his appearance, he works hard, but is always two months’ rent in arrears.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 35
QUESTION FROM MR. LIKELY INHABITANT OF THE PLANET OF SADISTS, TOKYO METROPOLITAN AREA
Sorachi sensei, don’t you sometimes regret what you draw in Gintama?
ANSWER:
Every time I get a letter like this.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 36
QUESTION FROM MR. KUDO OF AOMORI PROVINCE
In “The 58th Night,” Lavi shouts, “We’re at war, there’s nothing we can do!” and it looks like his eyes are filled with tears. Is it just me? I don’t think so. Answer me as a real man should, without running away!
ANSWER:
Lavi was definitely crying… Well, he must have suffered for various reasons too, and he’s desperately trying to convince himself that there’s nothing to be done, because they’re at war, but deep down… I imagine he’s in a situation like that. Anyway, since I’m not Lavi, I can’t give more details… Also, this manga is not D. Gray Man! The addressee says “D. Gray Man-interview room”, and it seems that by some mistake this postcard was sent to me… don’t worry, Mr. Kudo… I’ll make sure it’s sent to the correct address!
I’m sure you don’t read Gintama, so you can’t imagine that your question was posted in one like this, right?
So, we’ll leave it at that for now. Before I started the serial publication of this work, when I was still at my parents’ house, a long hair sprouted on my back. Since it was making an impression on me, I tried to pull it out, but my mother said: “It’s good luck, don’t do that!”, so I left it where it was. The other day I looked at my back, after a long time, and found it covered with hair! Is that back hair? It’s making me sick, Mum! Huh? Does that mean I won’t have any problems? Will I die when Gintama ends? Since I still have so much time ahead of me, I’d like to, say… spread my luck evenly. But the hairs on my back are already going at full speed! It’s as if I’m in this situation: before the marathon they tell me we’re going to run together, but once the race starts the hairs take off with all their might and I shout: “Hey, wait a minute! At this rate, you’ll collapse from exhaustion halfway through the race!” … Under the circumstances, all I can do is slow down. But when I cross the finish line last, if you greet me with warm applause and shouts of “What a fool! He ended up like that because he’s been going at full speed since the beginning! I was moved by it anyway!”, I will be grateful. So, from now on, we’ll be running together”!
Topic: ‘We will run together’.
Yorozuya Shinigami 