CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 41
QUESTION FROM MR. “CATHERINE’S CAT EARS ARE TO BE CONSIDERED THE MOST EVIL AND STRONGEST WEAPON IN HISTORY” FROM KAGAWA PROVINCE
What do you want to do with Gintama? I don’t really understand it… I can’t see a goal for this manga.
ANSWER:
I DON’T UNDERSTAND IT EITHER.
Thank you for buying the 15th volume! That said, despite having published fifteen of them, I still get a postcard like this! I have the impression that it would have been better to have the protagonist say: “I will become the king of the samurai”, or something similar. I think that around volume 20 we’ll start to get a glimpse of his goal. It may be that this work doesn’t last that long, but I think it’s enough that we get a glimpse of, “Ooh! So that’s what he was aiming for?”. Please follow me until then.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 42
QUESTION FROM MR. D.O.R.K (I LIKE OKITA A LOT, REALLY), FROM OSAKA PROVINCE
I have a question for you, Sorachi sensei! In the 87th lesson, in volume 11, at the entrance of the house where Hatsu now lives, there was a plaque with the surname “Hasegawa”. But Hatsu left home, right?
Or did Madao take on Hatsu’s parents’ surname? I don’t really understand the situation, explain it to me!
ANSWER:
Hasegawa took on his wife’s surname, like Masuo from Sazae-san. He was born into an unimportant family, but he managed to win the heart of the Hasegawa family’s daughter, who was directly employed by the Shogunate. So he married a woman of higher social standing than himself and began a brilliant career, rising to the top of the immigration office. However, since he has taken on his wife’s surname, his position in the family is the weakest. It seems that his typical D.O.R.K. character developed in this context, and “Madao”, his nickname in Japanese, is similar to “Masuo”.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 43
QUESTION FROM MR. JAWA 100%, TOKYO METROPOLITAN AREA
Why did you decide to have the stupid prince appear (on a cover)? And on volume 14, Kyuubei… When will Yamazaki appear?
ANSWER:
Yamazaki will never appear on any cover. He is the way he is, his modesty prevents him from doing so. Otherwise he wouldn’t be Yamazaki anymore! That’s how I see it. Secretly, he stands next to you and starts doing something silently… That’s how he is. When you remember the past and think “That time we had so much fun! Who did we go with?”, “Well… Takahashi, Sato, me… and there was another one… who was it?” … It’s Yamazaki. He’s comparable to that green decoration in the shape of a jagged leaf found in the package of a ready-to-eat meal; the typical man who only looks better than usual at the graduation ceremony; a work glove dropped near the feet of a guy who, despite insisting on running a marathon together, suddenly sped up just before the finish line. Everyone always has Yamazaki in their hearts. Even if he never appears on a cover, he is still everywhere… Look, even next to you…!
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 44
QUESTION BY MR STTa, FROM THE PROVINCE OF AICHI
I have a question.
Shinpachi, with those glasses, gives the impression of being incapable and overly critical, but he’s quite strong, not least because his family runs a dojo… How strong is he really?
ANSWER:
Shinpachi is quite strong. Because he’s surrounded by monstrous characters, he doesn’t stand out as much as he should, but his strength is three times that of Kosuke, who was the ringleader a year older than me in junior high. I’d say he’s pretty strong. If there were three Kosukes, honestly no one could stop them. He’s not a frivolous man at all. Even though he’s a Yankee, that is, a delinquent, when he rides a bicycle, he always keeps his back straight… Kosuke isn’t a frivolous man at all.
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 45
QUESTION FROM A PERSON WHO WISHES TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS
Teach me how to draw the faces of the Yorozuya members!
ANSWER:
Since I explained how to do it for Gin-san, I’ll tell you how to draw Shinpachi and Kagura.
All the characters are based on Shinpachi. If you learn to do him, you’ll be able to draw the others too! Come on, give yourselves to Shinpachi!
CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 46
QUESTION FROM MR. KOBAYASHI OF CHIBA PROVINCE
For the next episode’s commercial placed in Jump magazine… for example, the swimming style invented by Gin-san, his debut as a rapper, etc… For these commercials, I was saying, which I’m not indifferent to, are you pulling the strings behind them, Sorachi sensei? And what does it mean to make them?
ANSWER:
It’s Onishi the chimpanzee, my editor, who writes the commercials by imagining the plot on his own. Gintama changes its story drastically every episode, and I often draw a completely different story from the one I created after consulting with my editor. That’s why it’s difficult to predict what will happen, and you have to resign yourself to it. Well, it’s only natural that he does that, but when he writes that “The next episode will feature the Kabukicho district marathon race” while I’m drawing something very serious, I get nervous!
Yorozuya Shinigami 