I would like to kick things off by positing that character titles are Bad. Not because they’re lazy or anything, but because when the thumbnail flashed for a second on Crunchyroll of Arc-Boss Guy and his dead wife, I thought to myself ‘Hey, it’s Sailor Moon’, intending for it to be a ‘Cowboy BeBop at his computer‘ type joke, only to immediately realize the joke wouldn’t work because the character I’d be referencing is actually called Sailor Moon.
Anyway, in today’s episode we get more development of Arc-Boss Guy and his dead wife.
Just when you thought Arc-Boss Guy couldn’t be any more of a deplorable asshole, we get the big reveal that he murdered (through inaction) his brother, so he could get with his sister-in-law, and even made his move on her during her husband’s actual goddamn funeral. And here I thought being a mass-murdering shithead was bad enough.
It’s really cool how he was set up with a sympathetic backstory, only to reveal that, no, he’s really not sympathetic at all. He’s a dickhead all the way through. It’s a refreshing reversal of the usual pattern, and seems almost like an intentional ‘take that’ to whatever editorial mandate gave us The Housen Bullshittery.
The first part of the episode also gives Takasugi a moment to have an existential crisis, which, yeah, fine, your friend just died but maybe save it for later? Let’s stay focused a bit here. People are dying. Though it’s hilarious how his internal-monologue voice isn’t as low-pitched as his normal speaking voice. I should’ve known he was trying to sound more badass than he is.
The Arc Boss Guy might be a bag of dicks, but he does some really neat and creative stuff with his laser sword. Like goddamn. George Lucas eat your fukken heart out. The whole fight between him and Takasugi was pretty neat. Gintama usually has the typical shonen problem of characters being unable to shut the fuck up while they’re fighting, but I don’t think Ensho and Takasugi exchanged a single word. It was really cool.
Speaking of characters needing to shut the fuck up, next episode Nobunobu delivers yet another speech. Till next time.
Ace Anime Reviews 