Gintama is the Shonen comedy king that has been making fans laugh and copywriters rage for well over a decade. This little romp about samurais, Japanese history, aliens, androids, video games, spirits, and whatever Elizabeth is has defined and raised the bar for what's possible in anime comedy, using the medium to its fullest to caricaturize, exaggerate, parody, and even celebrate even the slightest facet of Japanese life.
At the very least, a show as comical and surreal as Gintama is certainly a place to find some high quality memes. And there are certainly a lot of them. Honoring the faithful fans who tried to take a stab at what Gintama does best, this list will be looking at a few of the most hilarious Gintama memes.
10 The Awkward Moment When Your Sarcasm is So Advanced
Gintama is a series where it is genuinely hard to tell if the characters are genuinely doing something stupid or just playing an act. At one end, it is their job. At the other, Hijikata does eat a lot of mayonnaise. It's the same way in how teenagers are becoming increasingly sarcastic, to the extent that they don't even know what they like.
Pranks are becoming so deep and dedicated that no one really knows what's funny or just harassment. Facebook memes call themselves memes. The line between comedy gold and reality is blurring so much that we all may very well just be stupid.
9 You Guys Always Act Like You're Better Than Me!
The "straight man act" in anime is pretty much code for the other characters' punching bag. Shinpachi is the spunky, aspiring kid who always wanted to become a samurai but got stock being the lackey of a revolutionary hero and a super human alien. The bar isn't even remotely within jumping distance.
As such, Shinpachi is always the butt of the joke, either the one reacting to gags or the one most affected by skits gone too far. However, to be fair, every so often he does have his day in the sun and gets to become an episode's focus. These are episodes where Gin and Kagura don't want to work too hard.
8 Basically Online Gaming
To all the angry online gamers offended by Gintoki's statement, just know that his words come from both the personal experiences of his staff writers and himself. Gin and some of his best friends live within the lowest dwelling of Japanese living, struggling just to get by.
Being the responible the adults that they are, they consistently try to find ways to escape life's sorrows via drink, gambling, and even video games. This line is just a harsh truth that Gin and especially Madao have to face everyday.
7 They Told Me I Could Be Anything
There's a lot to unpack in this scene, but let's take a shot at the most obvious thing. The leader of the Shinsengumi, Isao Kondo, is characterized as everything but. His strive for personal affection has left him a desperate, shell of a man vulnerable to even the slightest corruption of an external force.
As such, it really isn't that hard to get him to do anything, especially if that something gets him naked for some reason. So why not let him be a Harley Davidson, let alone a perverted, very sad Harley Davidson?
6 Anpan, Sukonbu...Mayonnaise
Gintama is a series that knows its tastes. Literally. It's a huge part of character writing for television series, especially anime, to identify the base personality traits and likes of characters, such as what books they like to read or what their favorite food is.
Gintama does not care to take this writing practice seriously. Gintoki has an outrageous sweet tooth, Kagura loves dried sea weed, and, for whatever reason, Hijikata will eat heaping plates of mayonnaise. Just mayonnaise. Try unpacking that quirk, Hollywood.
5 Only in Gintama
The Character Poll Arc was not only one of the series' most hilarious arcs but one that took meta to the next level. When one of the characters somehow takes out the series creator and even somehow the animators, the show's opening sequence is reduced to, well, poorly edited Microsoft Paint.
Consequences in a series can mean a character dying or someone forever missing a limb. Gintama loses its key animation.
4 Why Are You Putting on Sunglasses?
Gintama's tumultuous relationship with the animation studio, Sunrise, has been both a historied and often spoken one. That is the say that the characters themselves would constantly complain of their schedule restraints, often dedicating entire episodes to it.
Probably not due to these arrogant remarks (they're a huge part of what built they're large fanbase), but the series and Sunrise would part ways in 2013 after 6+ years run, finding a new home in 2015 in Bandai Namco, Sunrise's parent company. Still, the old sentiments and the ending relationship with the studio did no favors between the Gintama faithful and Sunrise.
3 Your Reaction When You Annoy Your Best Friend
The funny faces in Gintama are always on another level of hilarity. Whether they're expressions of shock, abject horror, or even genuine, sinister intent, the style and animation of the character's faces will do more than personify those feelings.
One can pretty much just pick any Gintama face and use it to accurately display a facet of life, such as with personal interactions with friends as in the above. The series as a whole is just a wonderful collection of some of the best faces to ever outclass real human emotion.
2 "Bleach"
It is amazing that Gintama has not been sued or at least been yelled at by execs about its constant barrage of parodies and references. This series constantly seems like a friend awkwardly describing their favorite anime, with the off brand version of that description manifesting in the series itself.
Of its list of victims includes One Piece, Dragon Ball, Naruto, To Love Ru, Kuroko's Basketball, Gundam, and, yes, even Bleach. While the above is not actually a parody from the series itself, it might as well have been, as Gintama did dedicate an entire arc around Soul Reapers and Soul Societies.
1 When You See Someone Flirting With Your Crush
Perhaps best characterized out of all of Gintama's facial expressions is its looks of spite and contempt. When a character gets mad, jealous, or disappointed, the dark outlines, purple backgrounds, and stink lines kick in, as their face contorts to some of the most horrid forms possible.
The dialogue itself does a great job complimenting this, as the typically chill and even goofy characters can quickly change to sound like even the most malicious and sadistic anime villain. If anything, try not to flirt with anyone's crush.