By Robert Ramos
I spent countless hours and many days figuring out how to go about reviewing the live-action rendition of my all-time favorite anime. Should I go about it as an ultimate fanboy? Or, maybe, go in as unbiased critic? How I ever should I step into the realm of reviewing after being gone for so long? OH FUCK WHAT DO I DO!? Spoiler: I fanboy the shit out of this review. Sorry. So how did this movie fair out as a live-action flick of a beloved anime/manga? Let’s find out, shall we?
Before I dive into any substance, let me get this off my chest: From the moment I saw the first trailer, my heart sank. Ever since then, I had been completely hesitant on giving this movie any time of day. Everything about it looked so dumb and forced. Gintoki looks like a half-assed attempt at some decent cosplay, the visuals looking like garbage, etc., etc. Nevertheless, I put on my big boy pants and proceeded to stomach through this film. And since we’re not quite on the reviewing tangent but on the subject of Gintama, if you’re at all curious about what the anime has to offer, I highly suggest reading this well-written review by a pretty cool dude. (Review Link) Onward to this review!
Gags on gags on gags on even more gags. This movie is chock full of them and starts off with the laughs for a good while until we’re given any story. No complaints there. They’re funny and hold true to the nature of the series, something I appreciate very much. When the story finally kicks in, well, it’s the Benizakura arc. Essentially, and in a nutshell, a powerful sword, the Benizakura, is stolen and our gang is left to search for it, as well as searching for Katsura, who is believed to have fallen victim to it. This arc, in particular, is where we’re introduced to the backstory of Gintoki and his friends/enemy(ies), as well as displaying that Gintama is much more than just a run of the mill, episodic comedy. I mean, why else would they have used the arc for the first live-action movie? Funny ha-ha’s and sword fighting all the while bringing our main protagonist to life. A great starting point and a good call, if I say so myself.
The visual department is, for the most part, a miss. Flashbacks are nicely colored and stylized, as is much of the movie. The CGI, if I can even call it that, left little to nothing to be desired, however. At best, and rather insultingly, it’s equivalent to the CGI of everyone’s favorite SyFy film. You all know the one. Yes, it’s that bad. Did it take away from the viewing enjoyment? Not entirely, but it sure as shit didn’t bring anything extra to the table either. As contradictory as this may sound, the action sequences, while visually cringe-worthy, were somehow excusable. Go figure.
Like I stated before, I was initially turned off by the ridiculousness of Gintoki’s appearance. His obvious wig-wearing left a bad taste in my mouth. After a while, though, it was forgotten about and never looked back on. As for the actors and the character portrayals, nothing but praise for them. Everyone was the spitting image of their anime/manga counterpart, except for the Amanto and the ridiculous costumes. I’m sure it was cheaper to stitch up a costume than to CGI those bastards, so I won’t bash the subject too hard. Budgets, Y'all. Again, no enjoyment was taken away. Actually, more laughs ensued at the extreme atrociousness of these costumes.
I have to say, dear readers, I was truly thrown for a loop. What I thought would be a terrible live-action adaptation turned out to be a pretty enjoyable film. The overall integrity of the series was left intact and made for a pleasant viewing experience for this fanboy. In fact, I would even go as far as saying if you’re at all interested in watching the anime of Gintama and don’t want to sit around gawking at 350+ episodes; I suggest you give this movie a whirl. You could also watch the first animated film (the same arc was used), but this movie is worth a shot, too.
P.S.: For the record, this movie is a solid 3.5, not a 4, but Dustin sucks and won’t allow half points.
Score: 4/5
Gintama
Distributed by WellGoUSA