I just realised that in the final cut, Gintoki calls her "baa-san" instead of the usual "baba". It's the difference between calling her a hag/gran in a comical or nonchalant way and actually calling her "granny" or "grandma" in a familial sense. And his voice is so soft and heartfelt as he delivers that line too 😭
Sorachi has an interesting habit. He never draws Gin's face in his most intense moments. Rage, stress, anything intense. In the manga this was one of the most iconic moments and the anime at least honored this partially here. You saw how furious he got, seeing his foster mother dead, and how he degenerated into a demon that would make any lesser man panic. This fury along with his utter exhaustion made him lose, though. You can also see an important character trait that Gin shares with Otose: A selflessness that, at times, can border cruelty. Neither sought help from the others to keep them out of it. That way, only they needed to die if things got bad. I mean, Otose knew she'd die, if she went there. And, of course, there's also their stubborness. She could've left, but this is her town and she woudn't want to die anywhere else. You can also see more of Gin's selflessness later. He can get REALLY vicious when he thinks he knows what's best for others. It's one of his greatest strengths and weaknesses at the same time.
This ep is another example of how the "soul" affects the power scaling in Gintama. Whenever the characters lose themselves to the dark side, they lose. This is the 1st time Gintoki has ever snapped in rage; he's in complete beast mode that he's not even talking, not even saying anything threatening. In other arcs, he does fight seriously, and he's strong in his conviction of punishing the villain or protecting someone, but he never lost sight of the bigger picture, and he usually has a speech full of wisdom. In other shounen anime, usually the 1st time the main character goes rage mode, they win, because the rage is used as a power-up. In Gintama, rage mode looks cool, but it's a debuff. Don't lose your soul. "The real fight is between you and yourself" 16:36 I cried harder on rewatch. Gintoki losing his "lord/master" that he pledged loyalty to; that double disgrace to his soul as a samurai... Gin lost his direction; losing his master, losing the war and his friends fractured. Pledging loyalty to Otose gave him new purpose, and he failed again. *cries in a corner* 9:47 I watched Gintama on my own without looking up arcs or OPs and EDs. My friends were watching too and they were updated on latest manga & anime while I was catching up. But after Benizakura, I didn't want to hear spoilers so I watched on my own and didn't discuss Gintama with friends. So I was even more in awe because I never know when the comedy takes a massive turn to wholesomeness, drama and/or tragedy. One day, I'm watching a comedy episode during lunch break, then it turned into the Yoshiwara in Flames arc; seeing Kamui for the very 1st time since Benizakura movie didn't exist yet! So I had to agonize over the rest of the day's work because I couldn't watch the next ep lol.
Big off topic (i already watch this on patreon so i would not say the same stuff) but watching you simping for Gin , and in the last comment i ask if you prefer Laxus or Gin (the og vs the new daddy) but i forgot that your other daddy was Yami , so i literally passed 4 hours yesterday rewatching some of your reaction of Black Clover , damn how i miss the show and your reaction on that . Like i need more people simping on Yami like you (and me) and being proud of Noelle (No L for a reason) , and waiting together for Asta to turn 18 👀. Aside for that i will ask again this time with all three Yami / Gin or Laxus ? (For me look wise probably Yami>>> Gin>>> Laxus , but character wise Gin>>>Yami>>>Laxus)
