CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 227

QUESTION FROM MR. “I REALLY LIKE BIRDS AND GINTAMA“, AICHI PROVINCE

Sorachi sensei, sorry to bother you. I’ll get straight to the point. One day my father was playing golf and hit a swallow with the ball and it died. Since then, he has been losing his hair. Now, I’m looking for a way to reverse this curse. I thought maybe you could help me, sensei! Please, if you know of a suitable technique or magic formula, let me know.

ANSWER:

So, I’ll teach you the magic formula I keep in store for big occasions. Learn it well: “The-two-things-happened-casually-at-the-same-period-and-you’re-simply-becoming-bald. The formula should be pronounced by the whole family and addressed towards your father’s bald head, once you have surrounded him.

This should stop both the curse and your father’s absurd justification. And now let us all recite together a magic formula to avoid being cursed in turn: “Let-the-67th-volume-of-Gintama-begin”!

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 228

QUESTION FROM MR. YAMAZAKI BAKING’S SPRING BREAD FAIR

Good morning, Sorachi sensei! There’s a question that’s been rattling around in my head for a while, so I’ll ask it: each department of the Shinsengumi should have its own commander, right? But in the 471st lesson, Yamazaki reports to the deputy chief, ” Squad #5, #6, and #7 are ready!” as if he’s in charge of them. What is Yamazaki’s position?

ANSWER:

As I once wrote in the Shinsengumi’s organization scheme, the espionage officer is a kind of spy who moves under the command of the deputy chief, independently of each squad. So even from the point of view of position within the organization he is independent and is difficult to place as superior or inferior to anyone, but the others have a low regard for Yamazaki because of his personality. Since his role is to control the situation of the scouts and his own troops in case of an emergency, I imagine that Yamazaki at the time mentioned above, was doing that job. However, he did not command the squads in question.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 229

QUESTION FROM MR IGURIN SORACHI SENSEI IS GOD

Is Kamui a mama’s boy? I really care about this question, Sorachi sensei. Definitely let me know!

ANSWER:

For better or worse, Kamui is a mama’s boy, plus he has a complex about his father and sister. In other words, he’s san-com*.

*San-com could mean “three complexes” but it’s pronounced like the surname of a famous Japanese TV character, Ousmane Sankhon.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 230

QUESTION FROM “MR. SETOUCHI LEMON SALAD DRESSING”

Hello, Sorachi sensei, I have a question for you: how do you select and publish the questions sent to you by readers?

ANSWER:

I usually get all the questions that come in, except for the dangerous ones, and after reading them I choose them regardless of their content. There are a lot of funny ones even among the rejected ones, and the ones that are published are not necessarily the most interesting. I almost always let myself be guided by the mood of the day, or maybe they just come at the right time.  For example, this postcard was chosen because it was written by a very mediocre person, lacking taste and imagination, who asked a question that is easy to answer, perfect for someone who has no time to waste like me. So when you’re bragging about it to your friends, tell them these exact words: “Hooray! My postcard has been published because I lack imagination and taste! Now cheer up!”. Anyway, I am very grateful to you for offering me your cooperation in filling this extra, albeit tasteless, page.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 231

QUESTION FROM MR. “I THINK YOU SHOULDN’T BE LATE WITH YOUR RENT PAYMENT THOUGH!”, TOKYO METROPOLITAN AREA

Good morning, Sorachi sensei! Since Gintama characters’ jokes are so cool that I sometimes feel ashamed while reading them, I was wondering if you felt ashamed while drawing them. Also, aren’t you embarrassed that your editor and family members will read them, since they’re so awesome?

ANSWER:

It’s true, there are a lot of jokes in Gintama, it’s just that when I’m drawing, I identify with the characters and I always end up getting excited rather than embarrassed. Then when I see the anime, after a while, I realize that sometimes I used excessive tones. Instead, in the case of the manga, especially regarding Gin-san’s jokes, I elaborate them thinking about his apathetic and listless way of speaking in any situation, be it dramatic or joking, and his expressionless face, so maybe this leads my brain to automatically cancel the hilarious personality.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 232

QUESTION FROM MR. “THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD WHO LOVES THE SHINSENGUMI”, SAITAMA PROVINCE

Sorachi sensei, super good morning! The other day I reread the first volume of Gintama and I noticed that the artwork has changed a lot compared to the last volumes. Since you’ve been drawing Gin-san and company for more than ten years, do you think your style changed spontaneously over time or was it a deliberate choice? I’m very curious about that. Let me know, super Sorachi sensei!

ANSWER:

There’s only one thing I’ve changed intentionally, and that’s Gin-san’s goggles: I made them stop appearing because it was such a hassle to draw them. Everything else changed spontaneously. Sometimes I try to try a new technique, but since it’s a weekly serial publication, I don’t really have the time to devote to stylistic issues. At the end of the day, I find myself adopting the style I find easiest and most comfortable at the time. Lately I have stopped asking myself too many questions about style.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 233

QUESTION FROM MR. CHINKYOKU HOSHIMOTO, GUNMA PROVINCE

Hello, this is my first time writing to you. I’d like to become a mangaka because I’d like to be like you, who gives us a lot of laughs and emotions, Sorachi sensei! But finding good names for the characters is impossible. What should I do?

ANSWER:

Judging by the way you signed your name, I could tell right away that you’re hopeless at coming up with names that are even decent. A layman easily tends to fall into the error of choosing fanciful names created by putting together the ideograms he likes or that seem coolest to him. Such names are implausible, like yours, or those of the classic novel Genji Monogatari, and also reveal the superficial taste and intelligence of someone who thinks that cramming cool things together makes everything awesome. Comparing it to a dish, it’s like “Hamburger-curry-ramen-omurice”. Sounds stupid, doesn’t it? To someone like that you want to say: “I’m happy for you, that you have so many delicious dishes in front of you!” but meaning exactly the opposite, that it’s as if it were a “Ramen-ramen-ramen-ramen”. It is not only lacking in intelligence, but also in elegance, isn’t it? It’s almost like eating a plate of ramen four times. In this sense, cooking and coming up with names are two similar activities. One must strive for a good balance, not just one’s own taste. Names also require what is known as a breakdown of calorie requirements. I would now like to discuss with you how to create calorie-balanced names.

Let’s start right away with a negative example of a fancy name that is easy for everyone to understand.

Raito Hyoryu: “Thunder Dipper” or “Ice Dragon”. Even at first glance you can tell it’s stupid. Comparing it to a dish, it is like ‘Chinese-style stir-fried rice-ramen-ramen-chinese-style stir-fried rice’, i.e. a rice sandwich with ramen in the middle. Just saying it fills your stomach, doesn’t it? This name turns out to have an unbelievably high calorie index, i.e. in pursuit of a good idea you can easily get heartburn. And in this particular case, since the ideograms of ‘dragon’ and ‘thunder’ have been combined, the calories shoot up immediately. Therefore, it is better to choose a single cool ideogram rather than a combination, thus sacrificing the first or last name. Let’s say we go with Hyoryu… But Hyoryu is already as good as “Chinese-ramen rice”, so the surname alone has been over-carbohydrated, so we need to minimise the calories of the name. Given the situation, we have no choice but to name it Tagosaku Hyoryu: since there is already ramen and rice, we can only put Zha Cai*. What do you think? Looking at Raito Hyoryu and Tagosaku Hyoryu, Raito is detestable, while Tagosaku is acceptable, am I right? Tagosaku can’t be a good guy. “You were putting on airs because your last name is Hyoryu, but your name is Tagosaku?!” At some point you realize you’re also putting your arm on his shoulder. In short, if you shoot high with the surname, you have to rebalance with the name, and vice versa. Even if you choose Raito, there’s only one answer: Raito Benkyozukueno: “Well, you were showing off because your name is Raito… but in the sense of the light of the desk**?!”…

“Don’t talk nonsense, Tagosaku!”. Moreover, it’s Tagosaku’s desk light! I mean, at one point, when you turn on the lamp, you realize that you’re even studying together! Tagosaku is definitely a good guy. Keep that in mind.

As just demonstrated, there is therefore a method of lowering calories by balancing surname and first name. Of course, it also works well with a western name, such as Wolfgang Tagosaku. But if you just don’t want to give up using pretentious ideograms, you can still use the name Tagosaku to adjust the balance. Otherwise, if someone doesn’t want to compromise and thinks “To hell with Tagosaku!”, there is also a method by which you can keep your calories up but reduce your appetite. Raito Hyoryu has about 5,000 calories, but by applying the “Hiro 💩 Tsunoda “*** technique, you can make “Raito 💩 Hyoryu”; that is, just inserting 💩 in between the Chinese-style stir-fried rice and ramen will make anyone go hungry. This method can be applied to almost any fancy name, whereas with “💩 Tagosaku”, as you can see, it has no effect. That said, listen up, Chinkyoku 💩 Hoshimoto! When choosing a name for a character, try to balance it out by using 💩 and Tagosaku!

Signed Tagosaku Sorachi.

New Topic: Tagosaku is such a good guy, isn’t he?

*Radice of green mustard that is preserved in a spice mix.
** Benkyozukueno can mean “Of the desk”, while Raito’s pronunciation in Japanese resembles that of Light.
***Famous Japanese folksinger.

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CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 220

QUESTION FROM MR ATSU OF AOMORI PROVINCE

Hello, Sorachi sensei! In the interview with Mr. Onishi in volume 19, you said you were planning to draw the ninja saga, the one about the great war in Kabukicho and the one about Mutsu and Sakamoto, then an in-depth chapter about Otose and the story of Kagura’s older brother. Compared to the ideas you had at the time, did the episodes you made turn out as you imagined? I’d really like to know before the work is finished!

ANSWER:

Thank you for purchasing volume 66! I had completely forgotten about those speeches but thinking about it now I can say that I realized those chapters quite faithfully compared to the idea I had at the time. About Otose, I originally had a touching episode in mind where her (incredibly stupid) son came home after several years and caused a commotion, but then I thought the old woman wasn’t suited to having children, so I changed the plot to talk about her husband and placed that chapter within the Kabukicho War saga. A similar thing happened with the ninja saga: since Zenzou and Sacchan had a reputation for being unserious, I wanted to show readers another side of those characters, so I combined this saga with the saga of the Shogun’s assassination, a profoundly serious story I had worked out separately. Zenzou was supposed to die, but Sacchan worked harder than I imagined, so he survived. As for the saga of the assassination of the Shogun, I had been thinking about that for a long time, but knowing that once I started it, it would never be the same as before, I postponed as long as possible. From that moment on, even though I stated that the last story arc would start in this volume, I began to draw as if inside me this had already begun.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 221

QUESTION FROM MR. KATSURA, KYOTO PROVINCE

Hello, Sorachi sensei. I decided to write to you because there is a matter that is very important to me. At the beginning of Gintama, Umibozu said that Kamui had his arm ripped off because of an old Yato custom of “killing one’s parents,” but there’s no mention of this in Volume 65… Tell me why!

ANSWER:

Kamui hadn’t yet declared “I’m going to kill my father now”, even though he has in fact always put this intention into practice. Since Umibozu isn’t the type to recount in detail such a painful fact from A to Z, he traced it all back to the old Yato custom of killing parents….

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 222

QUESTION FROM MR. “EVEN IF I APPLY MEREBU’S MAGIC FORMULAS ON MY FAMILY, EVEN THE DOG DOESN’T PAY ATTENTION TO ME.”

Sorachi sensei, good morning and congratulations on the live action version of Gintama! I wanted to ask you who is your favorite character in the teledrama Yusha Yoshihiko. Mine is Merebu. Please let me know!

ANSWER:

I follow Fukuda’s works, including Yusha Yoshihiko, for the sole purpose of seeing Mr. Jiro Sato in action. If I agreed to Fukuda shooting Gintama live action, it’s mainly so I could watch Jiro Sato do something ridiculous. That’s the harsh truth.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 223

QUESTION FROM MISS “ELIZABETH IS LOVELY” OF HYOGO PROVINCE

Dear Sorachi sensei, are you familiar with the Osomatsu-san cartoon you’ve been hearing so much about lately? I like both it and Gintama, but I only recently found out that they have the same director, Yoichi Fujita! I’d love to know what you think, Sorachi sensei!

ANSWER:

I have to admit that my magnanimity has a limit, and it stops in front of the success of others, so instead of applauding I find myself thinking “How I wish Fujita would fail!”, and I don’t think this will change with the passing of time, if anything, in case he really does, I might find myself thinking “Well, but I liked that work!”.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 224

QUESTION FROM MISS “CHERRY BLOSSOMS DRIVE ME CRAZY”.

I’m having a hard time fully understanding the story of Utsuro and the Altana. Could you please explain it to me in detail? I’m sorry, but I’m a little slow on the uptake.

ANSWER:

Altana is the life energy of a planet. On earth it is called the “dragon’s vein”. This energy flows underground like a river and the points from which it flows are called “dragon holes” or simply “holes”. According to Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese Taoist geomantic art, building a house over one of them brings much prosperity. In the world of Gintama, although nature benefits in terms of fertility, when humans absorb a large amount of Altana they experience mutations, i.e., deviations from the laws that govern living beings. Utsuro’s immortality and eternal youth are examples of this. For this very reason he has been persecuted and killed several times, but because he cannot die, he continues to suffer for a dizzyingly long time. In order to escape such suffering, he multiplied himself into numerous “personalities”, locking up his true self in the depths of his heart. These personalities continued to be harassed by men and began to perpetrate massacres in order to obtain revenge. To stop them, Shoyo, another personality, who later became the master of Gin-san and his companions, was born. However, Shoyo also clashed with human society and met a grim fate. So Utsuro, who couldn’t stand watching himself suffering from the secret of his heart any longer, decided to kill all his personalities, including Shoyo, in order to end the pain, causing a huge war that would wipe out planet Earth, and thus himself.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 225

QUESTION FROM MISS HIJIRI ICHIHARA OF GIFU PROVINCE

Good morning, Sorachi sensei! I don’t quite understand what happened between the Tendoshu Clan and the Liberation Army. Could you explain it in a way that even someone with low intellectual capacity like me can understand?

ANSWER:

First, the Tendoshu clan is an organization officially known as the “Altana management society” that has exclusive control over this energy. If we compare this situation to our real life, it is as if the energy resources we rely on, such as oil and gas, were in the hands of a single entity. Having said that, the planets were under the control of the Tendoshu clan, but at one point Utsuro, one of its members, unleashed a sweeping loss of control of the Altana on his own initiative, causing the destruction of those planets. The survivors, unaware of how things really were, blamed the entire organisation for the disasters, so they decided to take back the Altana by force: “We can no longer allow the Tendoshu clan to do what it wants in our home!”. All the countries agreed on this, and so the Altana Liberation Army was formed, gathering the anti-Tendoshu forces scattered across the universe. The army destroyed the society’s headquarters in various places, scraping away their power and expanding their sphere of influence. Eventually it raided Earth, the true stronghold of the Tendoshu clan.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 226

QUESTION FROM MR. “THREE MEALS, GINTAMA AND OTSUYA-SAN” FROM HIROSHIMA PROVINCE.

I have a question for you, sensei: how many assistants do you currently have? What do you usually talk about? I would be very curious to know what kind of assistants are in a work like Gintama! I really hope you’ll answer me!

ANSWER:

I have nine, six of whom are permanent in the studio, the others come in shifts. Our typical conversations include bad-mouthing the others and their works, as well as dirty jokes. Itani, the author of the manga Takuan To Batsu No Nichijo Enmacho, also serialized in Jump, also worked for me for several years, but then his friends told him with contempt, “Since you’ve been working for Sorachi, your personality has gotten worse!” My studio is a funny place, known for crippling people’s personalities rather than developing their skills. If you want to come and work for me, the door is open! That said, volume 66 by the undersigned Gorilla and his merry men ends here. Although the people who drew it have a perverse soul, I believe the readers are all good people, so I ask them to kindly buy the next volume as well.

New topic: “Fujita, next time you fail!”

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Thank you for purchasing the 65th volume of Gintama. You may already know that a live-action Gintama will be made soon. To be honest, the project had been in the works for a few years, but it always fell through because they couldn’t find a director. To be honest, I didn’t really care, so when someone came forward, I would give them all the material and watch. I took it for granted that the film would be a flop because it would look like cosplay, but this didn’t bother me at all since my work lends itself very well to mockery. So, letting myself be carried away by the course of events, I kept on picking my nose for about a year, during which the whole thing stood still, basking in the thought that “Ooh, how I imagined it was an unfeasible idea!”. However, when I was convinced that the project had vanished completely, I came across some of director Yuichi Fukuda’s works, namely the teledram Aoi Honoo and Yusha Yoshihiko, and then I started thinking “Huh?! Although the actors look like cosplayers, the result isn’t bad at all! Maybe he could have done it!” … But I didn’t tell anyone about it and kept picking my nose, until one day, while I was drinking with Onishi, my first editor, he said to me: “You know, the plan to make a live action film hasn’t completely collapsed yet. Other directors have been named. Do you know Fukuda, the author of Aoi Honoo?” I was amazed.
Well, once the right director was found, the project was unblocked and got off to a flying start, and I could finally relax completely, putting myself completely in Fukuda’s hands. Not that I did anything different before, mind you. Even when they made the Gintama anime, all I did was leave my boogers lying around. I mean, I think the best thing to do, no matter what, is to leave everything to the professionals. If a gorilla like me were to interfere with the work of a willing director, looking like a know-it-all, it would just get in the way. Moreover, the director in question would end up losing enthusiasm. In short, if someone wants to use my work to make an adaptation that fully satisfies him, even if the final product turns out to be a flop, I don’t give a damn. Therefore, I hardly ever put my mouth on the cast either. If it’s a matter of selecting people through whom the director can bring out his potential, I’m fine with Takuzo Kadono as Gin-san. If instead it were me, as the author of Gintama, demanding that very actor as the main character, I bet you’d get the impression that I’d established that Gin-san must look like Takuzo Kadono and you’d think “But he’s nothing like him!” …
I think every reader has the right to keep their image of Gin-san as they’ve built it up, only this time, in Fukuda’s film, it will be Takuzo Kadono playing the role. In fact, it won’t be Shun Oguri at all. It’s just that at the time I was silently picking my nose during the cast meeting, it seemed to me that it had made it easier for everyone to accept that Gintama was taking another form. I had collected so many boogers that I made a figurine out of them, and when I looked at it, everyone exclaimed, “That’s Shun Oguri! Why don’t we hire him?”. That’s how the main character was chosen.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 219

QUESTION FROM MISS “BE HAPPY, DEAR TAKASUGI!”, FROM CHIBA PROVINCE

If the Altana’s influence has given birth to a new species of immortal “mutants”, why has only Kouka survived among Koan’s Yato affected by this mutation? Let me know, Sorachi sensei!

ANSWER:

The Yato who remained on Koan only adapted to the hostile environment, and it took them a long time, but they didn’t become immortal. Only Kouka has undergone that mutation.

Having said that, the special in volume 65, “In the end, I just picked my nose”, ends here. Actually, the real reason why Oguri was chosen is as follows: When the director told him about the film, he said he absolutely wanted the lead role because he’s a big fan of Gintama. So, the director asked me, “What do you think, sensei?” and I said, “Well, I don’t think it’s a good idea because I make fun of Gin-san a lot in the comics and I’m afraid that when Oguri and I meet, it might end up like Suzuran vs Hosen…” I was then told that Oguri’s reaction was, “Well, that’s exactly why Sorachi sensei couldn’t refuse!” …

“Well! Then it’s decided! Our main character will be Oguri!” I was trepidatious when we made that decision. I mean, I don’t think anyone has ever trembled about assigning a role to an actor. If I got sued by Oguri, I would have to pay him at least 800 billion yen. So, I preferred to let him earn that money with the film.

I don’t know what you think of this project, but as you can see, the crew is made up of people who are just as passionate about Gintama as you are, so I’m confident that the result will not disappoint you, even if it turns out to be a flop. I understand your concern about the fear that your image of the work will be spoiled, but in the end, for me, the most fun is in saying “Lupin should be the shaved-head version of Yamane from the Ungirls*!”.

I mean, even these kinds of thoughts are part of the pleasure of witnessing the transposition of a manga into a movie with real actors. So, if possible, I urge you to enjoy the whole process starting with showering Oguri with criticism, both before and after seeing how she plays Gin-san. I’m convinced that Fukuda and Oguri will be able to draw more charm out of my work, but most of all 800 billion yen.

New topic: “I would gladly accept 800 billion yen even if you didn’t see the film.”

(*Famous Japanese comedy duo.)

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CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 212

QUESTION FROM MR. “GORILLA CLERK”, KAGAWA PROVINCE

I work part-time at a video store. The other day, a customer was looking for Gintama, and as I walked him to the shelf, I couldn’t help but tell him about the appeal of the work. Since then, this customer has been renting the entire series, starting with the first season, and I was really excited about it, so the day he got to the fourth season, I said to him, “You’ve already started watching the fourth season?! How glad I am! How nice!” He hasn’t been seen since. Sorachi sensei, where did I go wrong?

ANSWER:

Your work in spreading the word is unbelievably valuable to me, and I thank you for it, but I would have stopped coming to your shop too. It was fine when you told him about Gintama in the beginning, but I think that was all that needed to be said. I mean, assuming the customer in question had also rented the fourth cucumber from the veranda garden of a lusty married woman living in a council house, maybe you could figure out why. “Has he started watching season four yet?!” … “Huh? This clerk remembers every video I’ve rented?! Then did he also realize that I didn’t get enough of the first, second, and third cucumber and can’t stop anymore?! So, he’s figured out that I’m renting Gintama just to disguise the cucumbers and he’s being ironic?!” … He might think that, right? It’s fine to serve customers honestly, but if you don’t reset your memory, they might suspect you’ve figured out all their tastes and tendencies. In short, it’s like you’ve got them in the palm of your hand because you know their weak points. I think that in a shop like yours, where customers are inevitably displaying their preferences, the salesperson must maintain a certain psychological distance.

That said, 64th obscene Gintama now begins, rolled by a married woman living in a council house.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 213

QUESTION FROM MR CHOCOSAND, CHIBA PROVINCE

I have a question for you, Sorachi sensei. Your characters, when they send someone on an errand, very often ask for yakisoba pan. Tell me why! Wouldn’t melon pan be good?!

ANSWER:

There’s a sense in the fact that these are ordinary sandwiches stuffed with noodles. The despicable tone with which they order the unfortunate person to go and buy them, making them exhausted, makes people even more irritated.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 214

QUESTION FROM MR. “WHY DID GIN-SAN, DESPITE BEING THE MAIN CHARACTER, COME IN 29TH PLACE IN THE RANKING OF ALL CHARACTERS?”, FROM HOKKAIDO

The hems of the Shinsengumi’s uniform are white in the manga, but yellow in the anime, why?

ANSWER:

Rather than yellow, they are golden in the anime, while in the manga they are silver and not white. Since you can see colours on the screen, you generally use colours that stand out to the eye. This doesn’t apply to comics, of course, so I can choose colours that suit the roles of the characters. For example, for the samurai, gold would have been too flashy, so I went for a sober colour. Since I don’t attach so much importance to these details, the staff behind the anime are pretty much free to choose the colours they want. After all, I find it fun to look for colour differences between the manga and the anime!

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 215

QUESTION FROM MISS “I’D LIKE TO BECOME A STARBUCKS FRAPPUCINO”, FROM THE TOKYO METROPOLITAN AREA

Sorachi sensei, listen to this absurd story. The other day I accidentally spilled milk on the hardwood floor at home and cleaned it with the first thing I had on hand, my father’s towel. When my mother saw me, she scolded me saying, ‘You have to treat other people’s stuff with respect!’ A few days later she happened to spill some barley tea on the floor, and I caught her wiping the floor with such speed that she seemed invisible using… my father’s towel! Just like her! So, I said to her, “You’ve been using other people’s stuff, just like me!” and she said, “But that’s allowed for barley tea. Why is it OK for barley tea but not for milk?! Explain it to me, Sorachi sensei!

ANSWER:

There was a misunderstanding between you and your mother. When she told you to treat other people’s stuff with respect, she was referring to the milk, not your father’s towel. So, she wanted to tell you not to waste the fruit of the cows’ sweat and tears. Whereas barley tea, not only does not spring from the breasts of any animal, but is made trivially from abundant tap water, which smells of chlorine, and produces a negligible amount of sweat. So even if a little is wasted, no problem. The towel, which had previously absorbed your father’s bodily fluids, had no human rights from the start. There goes the misunderstanding.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 216

QUESTION BY MR. POEMER FROM TOKYO METROPOLITAN AREA

Sensei, I find Takasugi’s rain poem that appeared in the 573rd lesson a little difficult to understand. What did he want to express? Was he by any chance half asleep?

ANSWER:

After all, Takasugi has a poet’s soul, so what I’m about to do will greatly indignify him, that is, I’ll explain his poem.

“This sky… It looks like it’s going to cry… Did I fall from up there? I try to rummage through my foggy memory. Am I the first drop of rain this gloomy sky couldn’t hold back or the last drop it shed after crying its eyes out, trying in vain to hold on?” Having been in a coma for a long time, Takasugi can’t remember who he is, so he thinks he might be a raindrop that fell from the sky. The first or the last? This passage reflects a dilemma that dwells in his subconscious, between the Takasugi that openly explodes his anger and pain, and the Takasugi that torments himself wondering if it’s okay.

“I could be both or neither. Either way, what’s certain is that I’ve had enough of all this rain.” He does not know which of the two things he is, but he clearly feels that he is fed up with the rain, that is, he does not want to indulge in pain any longer. His poetry expresses these feelings and reveals his true nature, whereas normally he cannot be honest with himself.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 217

QUESTION FROM MR. “I LIKE GINTAMA TOO MUCH” OF AOMORI PROVINCE

Good morning, Sorachi sensei! In the 574th teaching, “The Road”, it seems that Takasugi had already discovered the true nature of Master Shoyo/Utsuro, but I just can’t get my head around it. Judging from the plot progression, from Takasugi’s point of view, Shoyo=Utsuro can only be a mere assumption, so the fact that he’s determined to destroy the world created by the “something” that Shoyo Sensei resisted just based on a suspicion seems shallow and questionable to me. Since I like Gintama and Takasugi too much, it’s important to me to resolve this issue as soon as possible. I can’t even work! Please give me an explanation that even a moron like me can understand.

ANSWER:

Since Takasugi is a man of few words, I’ll give you a fuller explanation. Quoting his own words – “Dunno…”, you can tell that he wasn’t initially convinced that Shoyo was Utsuro, but only had a vague doubt about his origins.  After he began to carry out his activities against the foreigners to destroy the Shogunate and avenge Shoyo and his comrades, and after getting some information about the Tendoshu clan and Utsuro from Sasaki, Nobume, etc., his doubt grew bigger, until he found full confirmation in the 574th lesson. I imagine that, after awakening from his coma, he was brought up to date on the latest events by Matako and the others as he rushed to Bansai and his comrades and only then came to a definite conclusion. Takasugi’s words express his personal opinion of Shoyo and Utsuro, and reiterate his intent on destroying the world, which has remained unchanged despite the latest developments. All in all, for him, Shoyo and Utsuro, despite having the same body, are two different individuals from the point of view of their inner selves, and the fact that Shoyo died, and he couldn’t save him also remains unchanged. Since the enemies who killed Shoyo are the Shogunate and Utsuro, even though the latter has the appearance of his teacher, he is determined to take him down without hesitation. There you go.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 218

QUESTION FROM A GINTAMA FAN, FROM CHINA

Hello, Sorachi sensei! I’m a Gintama fan living in China, attending university in my second year. I have to do a paper for my Japanese language class. I chose the title “Japanese tsukkomi culture in Gintama“. Gintama is a good representation of tsukkomi, the role in traditional manzai cabaret of showing mistakes and stupidity in people’s speech, but lately I have heard from the content that tsukkomi is disappearing. Sensei, what is your opinion of tsukkomi? Can you tell me? Thank you! (sic!)

ANSWER:

Well, a Chinese university student has sent me this letter asking me about tsukkomi, in order to write a paper on Gintama. I think I’d sooner give him a direct demonstration of it… “Well, if it’s for a paper like that, no probleeeeeem!” That’s already an example. Or:

“Think carefully about what you’re going to do, otherwise you’ll have to repeat the exam next year!”, “Where is China trying to go?”, etc… These are all adequate jokes for the purpose. Considering the relationship between China and Japan, the best thing would be to settle everything with one word: Ni hao!

Having said that, the special in volume 64 “The Friendship between China and Japan” ends here. Who knows what will happen between these two countries in the future? Regardless, we’ll try to get along by criticizing and receiving criticism respectively!

See you on the next volume! Ni hao!

New topic: “Ni hao!”

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CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 205

QUESTION FROM MR. “SOMEONE WITH SEVENTH-GRADE SYNDROME FEELS ATTRACTED TO THE EYE PATCH AND THE PIPE”.

Happy New Year! After hearing that Gintama in Japan will end in 2016, the new year does not find me happy at all. I’m afraid I’m suffering from the “loss of Gintama” instead of the “loss of Fukuyama*” … What should I do?

ANSWER:

Thank you for purchasing volume 63 of Gintama! Last year at Jump Festa, I made it public that the final chapter of Gintama would be starting. Since I’ve been receiving a lot of letters like this, I can only assume that you were very upset by the news. That’s why I would like to give you all an explanation. I did not say that the work will end in 2016, but simply that it will enter its final story arc. I couldn’t say whether it will end this year or next year either, but if you read the comic, you can see that the story has reached its climax. In making that announcement I certainly didn’t intend to encourage the public to follow the work in view of an imminent ending, even though lately the staff of “Jump” magazine has been cunningly trying to launch ad hoc news to create a sensation, especially on the web. So, in the end, I too was forced by Onishi, my first scandalous editor, to announce that the work is nearing its conclusion, even though I myself am not clear about it. I knew that such an announcement would make the atmosphere gloomy, so, having no other choice, I had the stroke of genius to also make fun of the hair of Mr. Sugita, Gintoki’s voice actor, and so the latter news was highlighted on the internet more than the former. Well, it’s true that his hairline has receded, but in the end only Be___** and I turned out to be ” Gesu No Kiwami Gorilla“. Seriously, what the hell does the world look like? Who in the end is really scandalous?!

*The expression “loss of Fukuyama” refers to the discontent shown by singer Masaharu Fukuyama’s fans after he got married.
**Reference to Becky, star of the entertainment industry who had an affair with the married vocalist of the band Gesu No Kiwami Otome, which could be translated as “Really scandalous girl”.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 206

QUESTION FROM MR. “I REALLY LIKE GOING TO THE DENTIST – LAUGHTER”, OKINAWA PROVINCE

There’s a question that’s always been important to me. Did you use any patterns or themes for the designs on Gin-san’s kimono?

ANSWER

The theme is the cloud.

It’s meant to indicate that he’s indecipherable and unpredictable like the clouds that drift across the sky.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 207

QUESTION FROM MISS “I READ ‘JUMP’ IN THE CAR DURING WORK” – A 31-YEAR-OLD SALES REPRESENTATIVE FROM FUKUOKA PROVINCE

Since when did Okita start using the courtesy register towards Hijikata? (I guess it’s since they decided to move to Edo…)

Ever since Mitsuba taught him.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 208

QUESTION FROM MR. “A 15-YEAR-OLD BOY WHO CRIED WITH JOY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS LIFE WHILE WATCHING THE PROMOTIONAL VIDEO OF THE GINTAMA’S SHOGUN ASSASSINATION SAGA,” FROM MIE PROVINCE

Sensei, I have a question. In the 305th lesson, it turns out that the head of the 4th Harusame division is Kada, but in the 561st it turns out to be Shokaku. Since this is the story created by the super-great Sorachi sensei, it certainly won’t be a mistake, but since I felt a great sense of dissatisfaction, I took the liberty of asking you this question.

ANSWER:

The head of Harusame’s 4th division was originally Kada, but she betrayed the organization, so her division was left without a head. So Shokaku came along. However, he too, with his temper, due to a personal dispute caused the organisation to lose face and was punished and imprisoned. However, after the elders were eliminated by Utsuro, he was freed and recalled to defeat the seventh division. Since the Harusame are all rogues, there are many individuals who make such messes, so it is not uncommon for personnel changes like this to be made.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 209

QUESTION FROM MISS “I’D LIKE TO BECOME A CAT”, OSAKA PROVINCE

Good morning, Sorachi sensei! Being a woman, for 22 years, that is, since I was born, I have never seen ba___. Can you understand me? I mean just what you’re thinking. How can I see them? Please let me know, Sorachi sensei, please!

ANSWER:

Watch the TBS channel at nine o’clock on Friday nights.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 210

QUESTION FROM MISS HIROCCHIMI, KANAGAWA PROVINCE

Good morning, Sorachi sensei! In volume 60, it was revealed that Yamazaki is 32 years old, but could you tell us some other little tidbits that you haven’t told anyone yet? Please grant the request of one of your biggest fans!

ANSWER:

Catherine has terribly ingrown toenails.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 211

QUESTION FROM MR. “I LIKE TOSHI IN GINTAMA, AND I LIKE HOWL AMONG GHIBLI STUDIO CHARACTERS” FROM CHIBA PROVINCE.

When Gin-san beheaded Shouyo sensei in the Shogun Assassination saga, where was Sakamoto? In one scene, he had confided in Gin-san that he was going into space. Was this event before sensei’s death?

ANSWER:

The scene in which Sakamoto declared to Gintoki that he would go into space, looking at the starry sky, was before Shouyo’s death. He often said this. Later, Sakamoto sustained major injuries in battle and was forced to withdraw from the front line for treatment. In the meantime, in another battle, Gintoki and his comrades suffered a crushing defeat and Shouyo also died. When he recovered, Sakamoto rushed to his friends, but those who survived had already fled and scattered, as they were wanted by the Shogunate, and so the war ended. The only companion Sakamoto found was Gintoki. The scene in which he asked him what he wanted to do from then on takes place at that very moment, after which Gintoki stayed on earth and Sakamoto went into space.

That said, the volume 63 special “I’m Enough to be Considered Scandalous” ends here. Regardless, I believe the final chapter will begin within the year, but I can’t say when it will end, because I’m a punk-ish mangaka who’s been walking an extremely unsteady rope for about thirteen years, meaning I don’t even know if I’ll be able to complete the storyboards for the next issue in time.

So for now, it’s already a miracle if you find Gintama published in next week’s issue of Jump. So I would like you to enjoy reading it chapter by chapter, without worrying about the future. I think a manga, primarily, should be read that way. Well, I’m not talking about the fun it should provide in the immediate future, but I ask you to forgive me if I fail to meet the deadlines properly again this year.

New topic: “Whatever happens, I ask for your support again this year.”

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CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 202

QUESTION FROM MR. “THE NOSE OF UTSURO’S MASK IS LONG, ISN’T IT?” OF IWATE PROVINCE

Good morning, brilliant Sorachi sensei! I found out that you can draw Elizabeth by following the lyrics of a song made especially for that purpose! Try it yourself!

ANSWER:

*Reference to Oba-Q, protagonist of the manga Obake No Q-Tato by Fujiko F. Fujio.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 203

QUESTION FROM MISS MAMEKO, FROM GIFU PROVINCE

Hello, Sorachi sensei! I often dabble in drawing Gintama characters, but older men don’t do well. Do you have a technique you can suggest?

ANSWER:

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 204

QUESTION FROM MR. MAMY POKO PANTS OF KAGAWA PROVINCE.

Sorachi sensei, since I’m a bit hard of understanding, I don’t really understand the relationship between the Tendoshu Clan, the Harusame Council of Elders and Naraku. Can you explain them to me so that even a fool like me can understand?

ANSWER:

Thank you for purchasing volume 62! So, I’ve been getting a lot of questions like this lately, so I’m going to tidy up the various groups a bit. First, a brief overview of each one:

The pattern of initial correlations between the various groups is more or less like this. The Tokugawa Shogunate (Bakufu), which has become a puppet government, is loathed both by those within and outside it. The patriots campaigning against foreigners aim to overthrow it because they cannot accept the country being in the hands of such a government. Within the Bakufu, the anti-Shigeshige faction plotted in the shadows to wrest power from the Shogun Shigeshige Tokugawa, while the Hitotsubashi faction increased its authority. Taking advantage of this situation, Shinsuke Takasugi approaches Isaburo Sasaki, the director of the Mimawarigumi who is part of the Hitotsubashi core, and allies himself with him to destroy the government; at the same time he makes contact with the Harusame space pirates, the largest criminal syndicate in space, to increase his strength and exploit their power.

Under Takasugi’s leadership, the Kiheitai seeks to destroy the Shogunate and the Tendoshu clan, exploiting the strength of the Harusame. The Harusame, however, are also under the wing of the Tendoshu clan, feared by the council of elders, who therefore do not authorise any operation that might invade their territory. For this reason, Takasugi has removed the twelve divisions, the operational units of the Harusame, from the upper echelons, i.e. the elders and the admiral, taking advantage of the conflict between the various factions within the organisation. In this way, Takasugi ensured that the power of command passed into the hands of the seventh division and its leader, Kamui, considered the strongest of the space pirates, and eventually formed an alliance with him. So the two of them began to manoeuvre the Harusame as they pleased, ignoring the directives of the elders.

On the other hand, the Hitotsubashi faction and Isaburo Sasaki, who are trying to bring down the government from within, act as mediators between the Tendoshu clan and the Shogunate, and then try to get Sadasada, a veritable puppet of the Tendoshu clan, removed from office, using his past misdeeds as leverage. But the Tenshoin Naraku, a group of assassins reduced to pawns of the Tendoshu clan, gets in the way to prevent this from happening. Ironically, thanks to the “collaboration” offered by the Yorozuya and the Shinsengumi, with whom they were at odds, and thanks to the fact that Shigeshige Tokugawa did not accept the protection of Sadasada and the Tendoshu clan, the plan of Sasaki and the Hitotsubashi faction comes to fruition. Thus the rift between the latter and the Tendoshu clan becomes irreparable and leads to the outbreak of war.

Takasugi tries to take the head of Shigeshige, who has been isolated because he has rejected the protection offered to him by Sadasada and the Tendoshu clan, mobilising the forces of the Kiheitai, the Hitotsubashi faction and the Harusame, but his assassination plan is stopped by the Yorozuya, the Shinsengumi and the Oniwabanshu. He is then attacked from behind by Nobunobu Hitotsubashi, who betrays him, and by the Tendoshu clan, who have decided to support the latter after facing the impossibility of reducing Shigeshige to a puppet. So the Tendoshu clan lured Nobunobu to its side, securing for him the throne of shogun in exchange for distancing himself from Takasugi, who was only ostensibly under his command. In addition, putting pressure on the Harusame council of elders, he unites the twelve divisions, which were about to split up due to Kamui’s arbitrary conduct, and convinces them to launch a surprise attack on the seventh division. Takasugi and Kamui suffer a heavy blow and the Kiheitai and the seventh division risk extinction.
Shigeshige Tokugawa tries to form a new force in Kyo in order to conquer the clan of Tendoshu and Nobunobu, who in the meantime have formed a new government, but his initiative is immediately crushed by them.

When Nobunobu takes the throne, betraying Takasugi and the others, Isaburo Sasaki infiltrates the new government, pretending to be on his side. Alongside Nobunobu, who purges the members of the former shogun’s faction one by one, Sasaki continues to incite the rebels, eventually provoking a major uprising at the hands of the police force, thus demolishing the new government and ultimately destroying himself. Following this, a strong desire to reform the country spreads among the population and the Shinsengumi leave the city of Edo to organise a resistance movement. Out of a burning desire for revenge, Nobunobu decides to personally carry out the extermination of the last surviving rebels, using the strength of the twelve divisions and keeping out both the Tendoshu clan and the Harusame elders, effectively reducing the space pirates to mere pawns in the elimination of the rebels. However, the Tendoshu clan decides to make a move to take out Gintoki and his comrades… What will happen to our heroes and the city of Edo? This is approximately what has happened so far.

That said, the volume 62 “let’s get everything that has happened so far in order” special ends here.
The plot is so intricate that even I end up getting confused. I apologize to everyone who has struggled to get to the bottom of it. Normally, an author should be able to explain everything through the comic, so my poor skills are to blame. Anyway, the story won’t get any more complicated, but will be heading towards its conclusion. So since you’ve come this far, please follow Gin-san and his friends to the end.
See you in the next volume!

New topic: “Even my editor said he doesn’t understand much.”

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CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 200

QUESTION FROM MR. “IT’ S STILL UNCLEAR WHAT THE OTHER HALF OF BUFFERIN ASPIRIN IS MADE OF”, FROM CHIBA PROVINCE

Gin-san removes his nose hair with his fingertips, doesn’t he? It’s really hard to do, isn’t it? I can’t even remove them in one go with tweezers because they break off… Is there some secret technique?!

ANSWER:

Before removing your nose hairs, know one thing: they are there to protect your nostrils, that is, they are indispensable, so refrain from doing it without criteria. If you forcibly remove them, you risk damaging the pores and causing nosebleeds. The best thing would be to cut them off with scissors. Fingers are to be regarded as a lethal weapon to be used in an emergency. However, the first thing to do is to find out which hairs should be removed, and which should not.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 201

QUESTION FROM MR. DONTENMARU OF NIIGATA PROVINCE

I have a question: on the cover of volume 59, Okita-san and Hijikata-san seem to have changed their eye colour from what it used to be. Didn’t you set a colour for your characters’ eyes?

ANSWER:

No, I didn’t set one for any of my characters. I consider that the colour changes depending on what their eyes are looking at or reflecting.

That said, the “secret art of removing nose hair” special in volume 61 ends here. I’ve gone on too long, but at the end of the day I wanted to say that volume 17 of Dragon Ball makes our hearts beat so fast that we forget about nose hairs when we read it. See you in the next volume! Bye!

New topic: “Of all of them, I prefer volumes 17-19.”

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Thank you for buying volume 60!

In my studio, while working, we often talk about comics and movies, and since I am called “Sensei” despite everything, I feel obliged to set a tone when expressing an opinion. However, the fact that I don’t like superheroes like Spider-Man or Iron Man, which young people like so much, leads me to talk in circles, pretending that I’ve watched certain films when in fact I haven’t. Lately I’ve found an escamotage that allows me to get away with these situations and that consists in using rather vague metaphors to speak abstractly about the film in question, giving me the air of someone who knows a lot about it. Take The Avengers, for example. Although I’ve never watched the film, I brilliantly dribbled out a comparison between the heroes and two Chinese dishes: “A plate of Chinese stir-fried rice or a plate of Chinese dumplings are good eaten individually, but if they were combined, the taste of the first would be covered by the stronger taste of the dumplings. … “He’s right, Sensei! I only tasted Iron Man!” … “See? You don’t necessarily get a good result if you put delicious dishes together!” …and so on. If you use Chinese cuisine as a comparison, everything goes smoothly: “Listen, sensei, but isn’t the set of ramen noodles with half a portion of Chinese stir-fried rice that you always order the same as The Avengers?” … “No! If anything, it’s like Alien vs. Predator: like Alien, which in that specific context still stands out as the villain, in this case the ramen serves as a brothy base, highlighting the rice!”.

As you can see, whether we’re talking about food or films, Chinese cuisine is never wrong.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 193

QUESTION FROM MR. COCONUT PALM TREE OF KANAGAWA PROVINCE

In Lesson 518, the day after Shouyo sensei drove out the government officials, what happened to Takasugi? Was he eventually disowned?

ANSWER:

He ran away from home before they could disown him.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 194

QUESTION FROM MISS “I’M CRAZY ABOUT SAITO”, IBARAKI PROVINCE

While reading volume 59, I noticed something. Why isn’t Shimaru Saito in the Roshigumi recruitment scene? Since Okita says in volume 55 that they’ve known him since before the Shinsengumi were formed, it’s strange that he’s not there… isn’t it?

ANSWER:

As you know, Saito is a guy who always goes “zzz”. When Kondo and the others left for Edo, he got up late and stayed behind. He tried to catch up with them as fast as he could, but because he’s always going “zzz”, he wasn’t able to ask anyone for the way, and at some point he found himself in China. So, in a panic, he decided to ask for directions and diligently jotted them down in a notebook, but being, as you know, a guy who always goes “zzz”, people thought he was English and sent him to England. And so, being a guy who always goes “zzz”, he joined the other Shinsengumi with considerable delay. ZZZ.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 195

QUESTION BY MR. JC THE SUPER S

In the 425th lesson “One super S… and another super S”, Mr. Kondo says, “If you two super S’s collide, since two S elements repel each other, I will end up being an M for one thing or another!” But if a super S and another S actually repelled each other, what would happen? For one thing or another, I am an S!

ANSWER:

You can figure it out by placing two south poles of two magnets side by side: impossible to stick them together. If you don’t keep them at a certain distance and insist on bringing them together, one of them succumbs and becomes a north pole. The same applies to humans: one of them converts and becomes an M. Humans are living beings who are endowed with both inclinations, S and M. Therefore, if you happen to meet a person with whom you have the impression that you cannot get along, it is better to ascertain his inclination and adjust yourself accordingly, otherwise you may as well keep your distance. If this were the case, our species could perhaps avoid unnecessary conflict.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 196

QUESTION FROM MR. TOWELHEAD OF SAITAMA PROVINCE

How old is Yamazaki? I’m so obsessed with this thought that I can’t take a nap anymore, so let me know!

ANSWER:

He’s 32. By the way, Kondo’s 28 and Hijikata’s 27.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 197

QUESTION FROM MR. “LATELY GINTAMA IS MASTERFUL”, KOCHI PROVINCE

About the Shinsengumi and Miwarigumi’s uniforms, both Saito and Nobume wear a different one from the other members. Did they modify them?

ANSWER:

The commanders have two uniforms, one short and one long. The two of them simply prefer the second one, which is similar to the long school uniform with the high, stiff collar. Despite appearances, they care about elegance.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 198

QUESTION FROM MR. “SASUKE OF GINSAN” (A__HOLE WHO APPEARED IN VOLUME 33), FROM YAMAGUCHI PROVINCE

Sorachi sensei, good morning! Lately I’ve been watching Gintama anime with my better half, and episode after episode, she started making a lot of dirty jokes. When I first met her, she was a clean-cut girl, but now she reacts to the words “hole” and “stick” like a junior high school boy! Surely, it’s the influence of the opera. Sensei, can you compensate me in any way?

ANSWER:

Let me make one thing clear to you. Those who blame others for their own misfortunes are bad people. The fault is yours, that you showed Gintama to your girlfriend!

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 199

QUESTION BY MISS YUSUKE OF GIN-SAN, YAMAGUCHI PROVINCE

Sorachi sensei, good morning! I’ve been watching the anime Gintama with my boyfriend lately, and for a while now he’s been picking his nose and farting in front of me without any qualms. When I first met him he seemed like a clean-cut guy, but now he’s lost the look he once had. Surely it’s the influence of the opera. Sensei, can you compensate me in any way?

ANSWER:

Let me make one thing clear to you. You are the one who sent the question before, aren’t you? It’s not possible to get a combo of identical questions from two different people, even if they are engaged. Come up with something new together with your virtual girlfriend, who only exists in your mind, and above all never let go of her hands!

That said, the volume 60 special ‘The set with half a portion of Chinese stir-fried rice is always a guarantee’ ends here. Without realizing it, we’ve reached the 60th volume, but no matter how good the rice is from a renowned restaurant, you get sick of it if you eat it sixty times in a row. Not so if the rice is cooked by your own mother. Or rather, even if we get sick of it, we have no choice but to swallow it, because if we complain we will be slapped. So I, aiming to make a manga that’s like my mum’s Chinese fried rice, will continue to put all my efforts into it. Even though I’m getting nauseous just thinking about it. Please continue to support me!

New topic: “My mum’s Chinese-style rice stir-fry.”

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Thank you for buying volume 59! As I mentioned in the last issue, I have been going to the dentist lately. I haven’t done that for about fifteen years. When I was a kid, I found the dentist scary, as well as painful. In fact, once – I was in primary school – when the light from the dentist’s office lamp dazzled me, I closed my eyes and the dentist slapped me and said, “Don’t sleep!”. It’s only when you have an accident on a snowy mountain or go to the dentist that I used to go to that you get a slap for closing your eyes. I went to treat the swelling caused by a tooth and came home with another swelling. But setting foot in a dentist’s office again after a long time, I realized that things are different. First of all, I was surprised by the fact that treating teeth does not involve the slightest pain. Moreover, the former torture room has been transformed into a relaxing place with a TV set next to the dentist’s chair. What’s more, I was amazed to see that instead of a middle-aged man slapping people, there was a beautiful young lady, so I almost wanted to be slapped. By now it can be considered a kind of amusement park: ‘You want the drill? Then call me your majesty, you damned caries bacteria!” …

“Your Majesty! Aaaaah!” … Drrrrrill! I mean, it’s a place where even witnessing such a scene wouldn’t be all that strange. If there is anyone who has been holding on to a decayed tooth for years because of the negative image they have of the dentist, I strongly encourage them to go and see for themselves.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 189

QUESTION FROM MR. “RED-FRAMED GLASSES” OF OSAKA PROVINCE

In the 524th lesson, you see Gin-san wrapped in bandages looking at ships at the window. What period does that scene refer to?

ANSWER:

I apologize if the scene is difficult to understand.

Gintoki is looking at the shogun’s ship while lying on the futon, receiving medical treatment in the Momochi family’s villa in Iga, a few days after fighting Takasugi. After the battles, the group stayed in Iga for a few days, returning to Edo only when the shogun left for Kyo. Once back, the wounded were admitted to the Edo hospital.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 190

QUESTION BY MR. “LOSER” FROM NAGANO PROVINCE

Ever since I was little, I’ve loved drawing, even comic books, but I’ve never been able to show my work to family and friends because I’m ashamed. Can you, Sorachi sensei, do it without any problem?

ANSWER:

When I was in primary schools, I used to draw comics in a notebook, but I stopped after my father found it and made fun of me. So I started doing some illustrations on the sly.

Today, when I see my father buying a huge TV set with the money I send him, I feel like hitting him with a wad of cash.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 191

QUESTION FROM MR. KONDO OF TOKUSHIMA PROVINCE

The female characters in Gintama generally wear a short kimono and knee-length stockings. For example, Kuriko and Tama. Are they inspired by Otsu? Are you a fashion influencer, or do you just like girls with knee-length stockings, Sorachi sensei?

ANSWER:

Those are not ordinary knee-length stockings but very long tabi*, so-called “nagatabi”. It wasn’t Otsu who invented them, but when the short kimono became popular in Edo, this type of tabi also became popular.

That’s because I like socks that are Oolong-to-the-knee-God-Super Saiyan!

*special socks for flip-flop sandals.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 192

QUESTION FROM MISS “DIE, MY SISTER!” FROM THE PROVINCE OF MIE

Good morning, Sorachi sensei! I recently started reading Assassination Classroom but I had a fight with my sister and she revealed the whole story to me. You don’t do that, do you?! I’m dying for revenge! Do you have any advice on how to do that? Please let me know before I kill her!

ANSWER:

Before I kill you both, think about what you have done and check again the address to which you should have sent this letter!

Having said that, the volume 59 special “Everybody go to the dentist” ends here. The progress of science gives us great hope for the future. The time when we used to complain and say “I’ve got a tooth decay, it couldn’t get any worse” is over! We now live in a fantastic world where we can say ‘I’ve got a tooth decay, hooray! I’m going to go to the dentist and have it pulled!”.

But there’s one thing I want to draw everyone’s attention to: before you go to the dentist, always brush your teeth thoroughly. I brushed my teeth so thoroughly that they bled because I didn’t want to be hated by the beautiful doctor. The time when I did it a little more superficially, she put a kind of mouth guard in my mouth for the X-ray and when she took it out, the saliva that had stuck to it dripped down like the thread of the spider that Kandata climbed on to get out of hell*. That strip of saliva was so strong that Kandata could have used it successfully. So I became agitated because I was ashamed of it, but I couldn’t break it. The dentist also seemed agitated and finally started wrapping it around my arm, including Kandata, and finally tore it off.

Both Kandata and I blushed completely. I’m sure they have a nickname for me in the office and are saying behind my back, “Kandata is coming today.

I don’t want to go to the dentist anymore.

New item; “Take care of your teeth.”

*Reference to the short story Kumo No Ito by Ryunosuke Akutagawa

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CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 186

QUESTION FROM MR. GORILLA GORILLA GORILLA

Good morning, great Sorachi sensei! In the 516th lesson it turns out that Gintoki became a student of Shoyo sensei before Takasugi and Katsura. In the manga it appears so, but in the film “Gintama: Shinyaku Benizakura Hen” there is a scene that suggests otherwise. A genius like you couldn’t have made a mistake like that! It’s certainly an oversight by those clueless anime staff, isn’t it?! Let me know, great Sorachi sensei!

ANSWER:

Let’s open volume 58 with a critique! I imagine you’re all worrying about me, fearing that I don’t have any arguments to defend myself, but rest assured… As you may have guessed from the name, I wrote this question myself! I did so because I have received many requests for clarification, so I tried to summarize the criticism in a way that would make it easier to tone down the sharpness and break it up with a clean stroke. Actually, I wouldn’t have anything to justify myself for, because there is no such scene in the manga, so let’s cut the bull by saying that the staff decided it on their own. However, in view of the upcoming airing of the anime, I couldn’t just ignore it. So the staff should thank me. Having said that, now we can all reflect together on the matter.

The scene in question is when Gintoki, who was injured in the fight against Nizo, remembers his past. Here’s what you see in the film:

It is true that, if we look only at this scene, it seems that Gintoki entered the school when Katsura and Takasugi were already part of it. Therein lies the contradiction with the manga. But those who have seen the film know that in this flashback there is no dialogue and that the words of Shouyo’s teachings are superimposed on the images, off-screen, so we cannot know what they are saying at that moment. So now the original author of the work will personally take care of inserting the jokes in this scene. So let’s see what it is…

So the scene in question was actually a moment of moral lynching of Gintoki for pooping himself, not his entrance to the school. Of course, the staff members of the film “Shinyaku Benizakura Hen” and I worked together from the beginning, consulting each other in detail, so this scene was born that way. I might have said, “Ah! Please put in the scene of Gintoki pooping his pants, because I couldn’t put it in the manga!” Does that make sense to you now, Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla? Since I’ve convinced myself of that, surely you have too.

CONTACT WITH THE READERS: QUESTION CORNER 187

QUESTION FROM MR. “I’M CRAZY FOR CHERRIES”, TOKYO METROPOLITAN AREA

Good morning, Sorachi sensei! Is there a planet inhabited only by Yato people?

ANSWER:

It doesn’t exist. In the great war that broke out in space a long time ago, the Yato people showed off their extraordinary strength through outstanding ruthless actions. Thus, feared by all, they were exterminated along with their home planet. To this day, the few survivors are not welcome anywhere, so they live in hiding on various remote planets, or have turned to crime, like the Harusame.

That said, the “I had completely forgotten that scene” special in volume 58 ends here. I’ve gone on and on about it, but what I meant to say is that when you find something inconsistent in a work, it’s better to try to read between the lines or make up for a gap by imagining what’s not written, instead of ranting as if you’ve made a great discovery. One should not stop and look at things as they are, but make them the starting point to set the imagination in motion. This is the only way to develop good thinking skills. Moreover, if everyone did that, there would be no more irresponsible people making indecent excuses, like me. If this issue has served to make you reflect in this sense, I am happy. Well, see you in the next volume!

New topic: “Please follow the anime when it comes back on TV”.

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