Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-33550676-20171103005210/@comment-28139390-20171110023139

TrashPanda12 wrote: Oh awsome! I wasn't expecting such a well thought out and thorough response. I remember my sister telling me about Gintama once but that was before I even understand what anime was. I'll make it my mission to watch at least the first episode before the end of tomorrow! Thanks for the super solid recomendation!  No worries! And a little warning, start with the third episode, as the first two are filler episodes made for those who've already read the manga. The series doesn't hit its stride straight away, but because of its episodic nature, you can feel free to watch any amount of episodes at a time, be it two in a week or twenty in a day.

 Also, there's lots of references to anime/manga/culture, and at times, especially in the starting episodes, a lot more of them reference more obsure shows, so at times, you might feel lost over a certain joke or have a parody fly over your head (this is something they have acknowledged in the show). Don't worry, references/parodies make up only some of the jokes, the majority of jokes come from the character interactions and the pure absurdity, which can be undertood by anyone, and while the starting episodes aren't the funniest thing out there, the further you get into it, you notice the creator start to develop his own, absolutely hilarious comedy style. I can honestly say that I've never laughed more in my life than I have at Gintama.

One more thing I should let you know, in case you get curious as you're watching, the first action packed plot arc starts at episode 58. Though even before that, there are bits and pieces of plot put throughout the episodes, and the series does get good before that point (you won't need to wait over fifty episodes for the series to become enjoyable, I was hooked before that arc was close. Just... even more hooked afterwards).

Hopefully you enjoy it! While JoJo is my favourite manga, I'd say Gintama is my favourite anime. I actually plan on rewatching it very soon to prepare myself for the final arc!