i hold my breath until you creak to life

Gintama Primer

ipsius — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 09:43:40 GMT

I first wrote this a few months ago in an email to a friend, because she wanted a primer for Gintama, which is a wildly funny and brilliant series, but extremely difficult to describe. I've emailed it to enough people now that I figured I should just make it into a post.

Note: This is not a complete guide to all of Gintama. This is basically something I think would be helpful if you're trying to figure out if you'll like this series. I think if you watch through all the episodes I suggested and still aren't too fond of it, then it might not be for you. (I'm less confident of saying this about the corresponding manga chapters, because I feel like it takes more reading to get a good sense of the series. ... If that makes sense.) But if you DO like it, you can scroll down to the very bottom for more comprehensive guides.

So if you're interested in trying out this series...

GENERAL INFORMATION
Gintama doesn't really have a plot. Its main character has no goals. He doesn't aspire to be the strongest ninja in the village or the king of the pirates. (I think his greatest wish was to have been born with straight hair.) Once you start watching, you really watch this series for the characters, who are all amazingly wacky and likeable. (Seriously, I love all the characters, and that almost never happens.) The show is organized into arcs and standalone episodes. The one shot episodes are usually just comedic, while the arcs, which can be 2 to 5 episodes long, can be any combination of crack and srs business. For this primer, I'm just going to list enough episodes to give you a good idea of what this show is like. If you want to watch more, this page has all the arcs so far: here. Crunchyroll has all the episodes available for streaming: here.

SETTING
Gintama is basically set in an universe where, instead of the United States barging into Japan in the 1800s and forcing them to open their ports, aliens come down to earth and do the same thing. Edo thus becomes this mix of Tokugawa-era and modern-era, and that just means the mangaka can do whatever the hell he wants.

So much anachronism!

OUR DARING HEROES

Sakata Gintoki: 20-something, lazy bum samurai. He runs a freelance business called 万事屋銀ちゃん (Yorozuya Gin-chan), where he does random jobs for customers. Years ago he fought in the war for resisting the entry of aliens (Amanto) into Japan, but he disappeared from the battlefield close to the end of the war and doesn't care about that anymore. He just wants to get by in this new crazy world while remaining true to his principles. Everyone sort of ends up falling a bit in love with him.
Hobbies: eating sweet things, reading Shonen Jump, not paying the rent.

Kagura (aka MY QUEEN): 14-year-old alien from the Yato clan, a warrior tribe with superhuman strength, healing abilities, and fighting instincts. Kagura is blunt, unladylike, doesn't take crap from anyone, has no common sense in the most hilarious ways, and is the most kickass 14-year-old you'll ever meet. She and Gintoki have this fantastic father/daughter, brother/sister kind of relationship. She's a mini-Gintoki in training, and she's going to grow up to be the biggest badass this side of the galaxy.
Hobbies: eating pickled seaweed, eating an entire rice cooker full of rice, walking her giant dog, kicking Okita Sougo's ass.

Shimura Shinpachi: 16-year-old from a samurai family. He's the straight man of the trio and the most "normal." He's the most responsible and motherly, and his comedic role is usually involves yelling at Gintoki/Kagura/the world for being idiotic/weird/nonsensical. He idolizes a pop idol called Otsu and is a rabid otaku fan of hers. He's the captain of Otsu's Imperial Guard, a fanclub he started, which he rules with an iron fist and lots of really embarrassing dancing. His older sister is terrifying and violent. Other characters mock him by saying his only defining characteristic is that he wears glasses. Poor boy puts up with a lot.
Hobbies: listening to Otsu's songs, going to Otsu's concerts, practicing group cheers for Otsu's performances.

And together they are...

The Yorozuya!: These three and the bonds between them form the heart of this series. It's not enough to say that they're friends: they are absolutely a family. (Gintoki sometimes even refers to them as the "Sakata household.") As wacky, absurd, and unconventional as they are, they ultimately elevate Gintama as a show, because during the most touching moments, you get a palpable sense of how much they love each other. Gintama is about a lot of things, but at its core it's about the love that makes people family.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THIS CRAZY SERIES
Comedy, drama, action, adventure, family, friendship, crack, penis jokes, toilet humor, no overarching plot whatsoever, kickass female characters, fourth wall breaking all over the place, parodies of other Shonen Jump series, mockery of mangaka's editor, complete batshit insanity, lots and lots of heart.

Have I mentioned humor? So much humor. Every time you read/watch, you'll have epileptic fits of laughter. Did I talk about drama? When things get serious, the feelings will wreck you. You will laugh, scream, and cry in various alternating patterns and then repeat the process all over again and enjoy every single second of it.

Additionally, I would add that this series really rewards you for putting in the time to get to know the characters. It's not like some other series where, in a dramatic flashback, you learn that character A suffered a tragic loss in his past and suddenly this explains everything about his characterization. It's harder to sum up Gintama's characters, especially Gintoki and Kagura, who are the most fleshed out. What happens is that you pick up certain things about them by going through each of the episodes/chapters, almost like how you get to know someone in real life, until you have a good idea of how they would react in all sorts of situations.

POSSIBLE REASONS FOR DISINTEREST
There are none, are you crazy? This show is genius. Jk, I'm sure there are valid reasons. I just can't think of any, maybe other than the fact that it doesn't have an overarching plot?

EPISODES (with handy references to corresponding manga chapters!)

Ep. 3 and 4

In which our three main idiots meet. (Ch. 1 and 3) (Note: Skip ep. 1 and 2 because they were complete filler.)

Ep. 5

Katsura, Gintoki's friend from his war days, is now an anti-Amanto terrorist and wants Gintoki to join him, just like the old days. Too bad he has a few screws loose. [important for character interactions + introduction to Shinsengumi] (Ch. 5-6)

Ep. 8

Tae, Shinpachi's sister, has a really persistent stalker, and the Shinsengumi will never recover from this stain on their image. [so funny I hurt my spleen] (Ch. 8)

Ep. 9

The Shinsengumi attempt to protect their honor, and Gintoki meets his rival, mayo. [important for character interactions] (Ch. 9)

Ep. 10

Kagura finds a dog in a box outside the Yorozuya office. Problem: the dog is taller than Gintoki. Other problem: an alien prince wants to add him to his animal collection. [lots of warm, fuzzy feelings] (Ch. 10)

Ep. 13

The Yorozuya bust a drug gang! Intro to the Harusame, space pirates and the largest criminal syndicate in the universe. [important for warm, fuzzy feelings and plot points] (Ch. 12-14)

Ep. 14

Part A - The Shinsengumi have to protect a jerkass Amanto official who's rumored to have been involved in the drug trafficking gang and whose life is now threatened. Part B - Kagura makes a new friend who's tired of her royal life. [important for warm and fuzzy character interactions] (Part A: Ch. 15, Part B: Ch. 23)

Ep. 20

In which Gintoki and Hijikata are wusses in the same exact way. Ghost stories with the Yorozuya and Shinsengumi. [so funny I hurt my spleen] (Ch. 33-34)

Ep. 31-32

Gintoki loses his memories arc. [50% crack, 50% nakama tears] (Ch. 50-52)

Ep. 40-42

Kagura's dad comes to earth and wants to take Kagura away. Meanwhile, there's a giant, energy-eating tentacle monster that's going to destroy Edo? [25% crack, 75% THIS PLACE MEANS SO MUCH TO HER AND YOU'RE MAKING HER LEAVE?] (Ch. 57-63)

Ep. 125

Most fourth-wall-breaking recap filler episode you will ever watch in your life. Once you've seen a few minutes of the beginning and appreciated the anime team's brilliant tactics at dragging out an episode, you can skip to minute 14:38. The Yorozuya go for the annual cherry blossom viewing with Tae, but the Shinsengumi show up, and things just go downhill from there, and I mean that in the best way possible. [so funny I hurt my spleen] (Ch. 17)

And then after this... After this... IT ONLY GETS BETTER AND MORE AMAZING AND BREATHTAKING AND I HAVEN'T EVEN MENTIONED ANY OF THE REALLY EPIC ARCS OR FUNNY MOMENTS.

Go. Just do it. Sit down and watch. It will bring so much happiness into your life.

ELSEWHERE

1. Yorozuya Soul
The main English Gintama fansite. They have episode and chapter guides, anime/manga news updates, etc. If you want to know something about this series, they probably have the answer.

2. Two-part primer by nemicon over at Dreamwidth. Part 1 | Part 2
I found this guide incredibly helpful when I first started the anime, and you should all take a look. She covers more episodes and arcs than I do. If you've been duly convinced of Gintama's brilliance and are prepared to watch through it, her guide will be more useful than mine.

3. Episode Guide with Supporting Characters Appearances by marypoopins
Incredible document detailing which characters (in addition to the Yorozuya) show up in each episode all the way up to episode 252. REAL LABOR OF LOVE RIGHT THERE. Mad respect.

49 Geass Icons Ep. 6 - 8

ipsius — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 04:21:19 GMT

I finally caught up! \:D/ Now I can make them as the episodes come out!

Samples:

1. 2. 3.

01. 02. 03. 04.

05. 06. 07. 08.

09. 10. 11. 12.

13. 14. 15. 16.

17. 18. 19. 20.

21. 22. 23. 24.

25. 26. 27. 28.

29. 30. 31. 32.

33. 34. 35. 36.

37. 38. 39. 40.

41. 42. 43. 44.

45. 46. 47. 48.

49. 50. 51. 52.
_

Credit | is overrated
Comments | are not
Resources | are here

102 icons and a lovebar

ipsius — Sat, 24 May 2008 05:41:47 GMT

I have never made so many icons so quickly. This is a little scary. Also, making anime icons is still slightly strange and new to me. I mean, they're colored already. Holy shit.

Samples:

1. 2. 3.

[60] x Code Geass R2 Ep. 1 - 5
[09] x Katekyo Hitman REBORN!
[33] x Stock (includes photography from Michele Constantini and Kamil Vojna)
[01] x KHR! lovebar

C O D E   G E A S S*

01. 02. 03. 04.

05. 06. 07. 08.

09. 10. 11. 12.

13. 14. 15. 16.

17. 18. 19. 20.

21. 22. 23. 24.

25. 26. 27. 28.

29. 30. 31. 32.

33. 34. 35. 36.

37. 38. 39. 40.

41. 42. 43. 44.

45. 46. 47.** 48.

49. 50. 51. 52.

53. 54. 55. 56.

57. 58. 59. 60.

*The screenshots are from Animay Screencaps Gallery and Rebellion. ♥ Also, this series currently owns a piece of my soul.
**The tiny text in 47 actually does say something, though you're obviously not supposed to be able to read it:
And we shall play a game of chess,
Pressing lidless eyes and waiting for a knock upon the door.
- from "The Waste Land" by T. S. Eliot

(I amaze even myself sometimes with the extent of my nerdiness. >_>)

K A T E K Y O   H I T M A N   R E B O R N !

01. 02. 03.

04. 05. 06.

07. 08. 09.

~ K H R !   M A F I A   B O Y S   A R E   L O V E ~

S T O C K

01. 02. 03.

04. 05. 06.

07. 08. 09.

10. 11. 12.

13. 14. 15.

16. 17. 18.

19. 20. 21.

22. 23. 24.

25. 26. 27.

28. 29. 30.

31. 32. 33.

_

Credit | is overrated
Comments | are not
Resources | are here

Manga Coloring Tutorial

ipsius — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:58:29 GMT

Well, this is something new. Requested by aleyshav ages and ages ago. If you're reading this, I'm sorry it took so long. AP tests happened. I give you full permission to slap me with a fish. >_>

Going from to .

Involves: PS7, curves, and color balance.

01: I chose this scene, cropped the image, and used filter >> sharpen >> unsharp mask a few times. (There were problems with the original image I needed to fix - such as the black borders - but since that wouldn't be relevant to any other image, I'm going to skip those steps.)

02: I created a new layer on top of the picture, and set the new layer to "multiply." Using a few image references and the brush tool, I colored in the characters.

03: I made another layer on top of the colors and set it to "multiply." I flooded the layer with a light yellowish peach color using the paint bucket. (If you want to be technical, it was #FFF0D6.)

04: Then I made a new curves layer by going to layer >> new adjustment layer >> curves. What I basically wanted to do was make the image brighter and the colors slightly redder. Other than that, I just played around with it until I thought it looked good. The specific inputs and outputs were:
RGB: 131,124
RED: 140,155
GREEN: 131,124
BLUE: 143,140

05: Made a color balance layer over the curves layer by going to layer >> new adjustment layer >> color balance. Everything that I said about the curves layer applies here too. The points were:
MIDTONES: 10, 5, 7
SHADOWS: 15, 0, 5
HIGHLIGHTS: 10, 5, 2

06: So then I pasted this scratch texture over the layers, and set it to "color dodge." The change is really so subtle that I probably could have skipped it.

07: I made a new layer, set it to "multiply," and colored in the sky.

08: Finally, I made another layer and set it to "lighten." I chose a reddish orange color (#F15916 if you really need to know) and a soft-edge brush, and highlighted a few regions. At which point, I was done.

MOAR ICONS

ipsius — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 08:43:12 GMT

Samples:

1. 2. 3.

... This set took a while.

Am going to collapse soon. Perferably into a comatose state.

24 Miscellaneous Stock Icons

ipsius — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 08:28:32 GMT

Samples:

1. 2. 3.

01	02	03	04

05	06	07	08

09	10	11	12

13	14	15	16

17	18	19	20

21	22	23	24

_

Credit | is overrated
Comments | are not
Resources| are here

When We Were Young: An Icon Project

ipsius — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 08:37:34 GMT

Months ago, I was suddenly struck by a Brilliant Idea - which I promptly proceeded to ignore because it was too much work and I just didn't want to bother at that moment. Then I got bored.

At any rate, it's very simple.

The Premise: I make one icon per chapter of part one of Naruto, which adds up to 238 icons in the end. (Kakashi Gaiden won't be covered.)

Current Progress: 238/238 (DONE)

Recent Samples:

1. 2. 3.

i. The Beginning: Childhood is tinted gold (1.1.08)

001. 002. 003. 004.

005. 006. 007. 008.

ii. Wave Arc: And someday we'll be legends

009. 010. 011. 012.

013. 014. 015. 016.

017. 018. 019. 020.

021. 022. 023. 024.

025. 026. 027. 028.

029. 030. 031. 032.

033.

iii. Chuunin Exam Round 1: Trial by fire (1.13.08)

034. 035. 036. 037.

038. 039. 040. 041.

042. 043. 044.

iv. Forest of Death: Tempered steel

045. 046. 047. 048.

049. 050. 051. 052.

053. 054. 055. 056.

057. 058. 059. 060.

061. 062. 063. 064.

v. Preliminaries: We'll climb a little higher (2.1.08)

065. 066. 067. 068.

069. 070. 071. 072.

073. 074. 075. 076.

077. 078. 079. 080.

081. 082. 083. 084.

085. 086. 087.

vi. Training: Sometimes, when you fall, you fly

088. 089. 090. 091.

092. 093. 094. 095.

096. 097. 098.

vii. Tournament: Take a look at me now (3.8.08)

099. 100. 101. 102.

103. 104. 105. 106.

107. 108. 109. 110.

111. 112. 113. 114.

viii. Konohagakure Invasion: Living in a house of cards

115. 116. 117. 118.

119. 120. 121. 122.

123. 124. 125. 126.

127. 128. 129. 130.

131. 132. 133. 134.

135. 136. 137. 138.

139.

ix. Itachi's Return: Old poison rotting away my heart (3.24.08)

140. 141. 142. 143.

144. 145. 146. 147.

148.

x. Search for Tsunade: We three old kings

149. 150. 151. 152.

153. 154. 155. 156.

157. 158. 159. 160.

161. 162. 163. 164.

165. 166. 167. 168.

169. 170. 171. 172.

xi. Sasuke's Defection: And there was a crooked boy

173. 174. 175. 176.

177. 178. 179. 180.

181.

xii. Sasuke Retrieval Arc: The worship of false gods (5.12.08)

182. 183. 184. 185.

186. 187. 188. 189.

190. 191. 192. 193.

194. 195. 196. 197.

198. 199. 200. 201.

202. 203. 204. 205.

206. 207. 208. 209.

210. 211. 212. 213.

214. 215. 216. 217.

xiii. The Valley of the End: The last twist of the knife (5.29.08)

218. 219. 220. 221.

222. 223. 224. 225.

226. 227. 228. 229.

230. 231. 232. 233.

234.

xiv. The Aftermath: Out of the ashes, phoenix rising

235. 236. 237. 238.

fin
_

Credit | is overrated
Comments | are not
Resources | are here
Tutorial | is here.

A closing note: Half a year, 7 sets, and 238 icons later, it's done. Thank you for all your comments and support. It's been a very fun project. This is goodbye, Naruto fans. ♥

Icon/graphics dump

ipsius — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 07:45:36 GMT

[7] x Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou
[11] x Naruto
[13] x Stock
[4] x Misc.
[5] x Graphics/Wallpapers

Teasers:

1. 2. 3.

They've been decomposing in my hard drive for ages, but no matter. You know you want to. :D

[YOKOHAMA KAIDASHI KIKOU]

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7.

[NARUTO]

01. 02. 03. 04.

05. 06. 07. 08.

09. 10. 11.

[STOCK]

01. 02. 03. 04.

05. 06. 07. 08.

09. 10. 11. 12.

13.

[MISC.]

1. 2. 3. 4.

[GRAPHICS/BANNERS/WALLPAPERS]

[1280x1024]

[1280x1024]

_

Credits | are a nice form of advertisment, but not necessary.
Comments | ~~feed my starving ego~~ are 50 different kinds of awesome.
Resources | are here.

I haven't been able to icon anything for ages. Anyone want to make a request? :D If you do, though, please provide an image and a general idea of what you want it to look like. I'll take the first 20 ~~if there're actually that many people interested >_>~~.

Multifandom icon post of massive dumpage

ipsius — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 01:51:38 GMT

63 icons. I am never making this many ever again.

[20] x Dogs
[10] x Naruto (coloring by Amaretti)
[23] x Samurai Champloo
[10] x Stock

D O G S

01	02	03	04


05	06	07	08


09	10	11	12


13	14	15	16


17	18	19	20

More people need to read this manga. It may be little known and still very short (1 prologue volume and 20 chapters), but the plot has immense potential. Direct downloads for everything can be found here. Major warning: Contains graphic violence and a little sex. I suppose it could be rated 16+.
_

N A R U T O

01	02	03


04	05	06


07	08	09


10	NA	NA

The pictures are, of course, from the amazing Amaretti, whose work can be found here and whose original art is located here. I claim no credit. Someone go make him a fan club.
_

S A M U R A I C H A M P L O O

01	02	03	04


05	06	07	08


09	10	11	12


13	14	15	16


17	18	19	20


21	22	23	NA

More people need to watch this too. 26 episodes, anachronisms like crazy; the Wikipedia synopsis is here.
_

S T O C K

01	02	03


04	05	06


07	08*	09


10*	NA	NA

*08 won 2nd place in challenge #5 at scenic_icontest
*10 won 1st place in challenge #10 at scenic_icontest
_

Credit | is strictly optional, because bunches of pixels just aren't worth it.
Comments | are 50 different kinds of awesome, since reciprocity makes the world go 'round.
Resources | are all here.

Resources

ipsius — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 04:46:58 GMT

Fonts

DaFont
Font Garden
Abstract Fonts

Brushes/Textures

Hybrid Genesis
Portfelia
84 Percent
Inobscruo
Imagination
Rain Harbour
dearest
ewanism
teh_indy
asya_17
icons_are_hot
weapon_icons
walky_talky
eirenealetheia
neke
iiokua
urbanstrokes
lookslikerain
_iconographer
ohfreckle
blanket_icons
tuulia_
irenic_icons
heygingersnap
shoqolad
lovestoryxx
dusty_memories
mangoninja
noisettee
chaoticfae
elliptica
kristallsturm
rlf_icons
onlydreamers
erniemay
keoni_chan
abernathie
the_justiner
eveningwalk
indienotebook
theharkness
dignityy
toybird
notsostrange
profoundly_gray
silverqe
xonlyashesx
spooky_window
ddg_textures
aaskie
dirtystereo
soldierboy
samantha_vnr
acidicicons
maytel
ennife
nathan7321
padabee
lifeisdolce
innocent_lexys

Stock/Screenshots/Scans

Inmagine
Getty Images
Polanoid
One Manga
Anxiety
Animay Screencaps
Rebellion