Gintama Season 4

Gintama. (with a period at the end, often read as "Gintama Dot") is a 2017 season of the Gintama anime. This entry covers 12 episodes that aired on TV Tokyo from January 9 to March 27, 2017. In the full series, these are episodes 317 to 328. It was made by Bandai Namco Pictures and directed by Chizuru Miyawaki, and it adapts the manga by Hideaki Sorachi. Later in 2017, a separate run of comedy episodes called the Porori arc followed it.

Gintama is set in an Edo-period Japan that aliens, called the Amanto, took over. The samurai lost their power, and swords were banned. Gintoki Sakata is a silver-haired samurai who runs the Yorozuya, an odd-jobs shop, with his friends Shinpachi Shimura and Kagura. The series is famous for jokes and parodies, but by this point the story has grown much darker and more serious.

This season comes right after big events in the previous season. Gintoki and his friends are now on the run, hiding together with Kotaro Katsura and his group of rebels, the Joui. They have turned against the government. Then they get a job that pulls them into a war in space. Shinsuke Takasugi, Gintoki's old comrade from the war against the aliens, has vanished after his ship was attacked. Takasugi is a dangerous rebel, but he and Gintoki share a long and painful history.

The group also learns about the Tendoshu, a secret group that controls many powers from behind the scenes. Its leader is Utsuro, a man who looks almost exactly like Shoyo Yoshida, the teacher who raised Gintoki, Katsura, and Takasugi when they were young. Who Utsuro really is becomes one of the biggest mysteries of the story. With help from Tatsuma Sakamoto, another old friend who now runs a space trading company, the team flies to Rakuyo. Rakuyo is the home planet of Kagura's people, the Yato, a race of very strong fighters.

On Rakuyo, many groups meet, and old hatreds come to the surface. Space pirates, rebels, and secret agents all have their own plans. This arc is often called the Rakuyo Decisive Battle arc. It is full of huge fights, family drama, and emotional scenes. Kagura has to face her own family, including her brother Kamui. The four old friends, Gintoki, Katsura, Takasugi, and Sakamoto, are pulled together in a way fans had waited years to see.

This season has much less comedy than usual, though there are still a few jokes. It is serious and full of action, and it sets up the final part of the whole story. Because it builds on many earlier seasons, it is best for viewers who already know the characters. For long-time fans, it is one of the most exciting and emotional runs in Gintama.