The Fall Anime 2025 Preview Guide – GINTAMA – Mr. Ginpachi’s Zany Class

What is this?

Sakata Ginpachi is a high school teacher with his trademark silver, curly hair, dead-fish eyes, and a sloppily worn lab coat. He’s in charge of Gintama High School’s Class 3-Z: home to a ragtag group of frequent troublemakers, including idol otaku, stalkers, mayo guzzlers, sadists, delinquents, and many more. Follow Sakata Ginpachi as he navigates his rollercoaster life, nonchalantly resolving any trouble that comes his way; meanwhile, his unique students continue to raise hell!

GINTAMA – Mr. Ginpachi’s Zany Class is based on Tomohito Ōsaki ‘s spinoff novel series of Hideaki Sorachi ‘s Gintama manga. The anime series is streaming on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Anime.com.

How was the first episode?

Bolts
Rating:

Gintama is back…sort of? Classroom parodies are nothing new in the world of anime. The anime industry has spent a considerable amount of time milking that setting and showcasing its popularity to the average anime fan. So, in some ways, it makes sense to take a show that in no way, shape, or form has to do with school and see how these characters would act in that setting. I personally love over-the-top and ludicrous comedic anime, with School Rumble genuinely being one of my all-time favorite anime. However, what happens when you put a show that is already over the top in that setting?

I love how extreme Gintama is with its lampshading. I never finished the original manga or the anime, but I have seen a good chunk of the franchise, and I know that it’s pretty standard for the series to poke fun at itself, the company that makes it, and the author who pens it. The series, which started with a full confession that it is essentially a cash grab that will disappoint the fans, was probably the funniest, if not the most obvious, joke in the entire episode. But outside of that, I will admit it was a bit hard for me to get into everything that was going on the minute we actually got into the classroom.

I think it’s because, and it might shock some people, the episode was genuinely way too predictable. Gin is laid-back but jaded, and nothing about that really changes when you make him a teacher. He’s still rude, he’s abrasive, and he initially always seems like he’s looking out for himself, but we know deep down he actually does care to an extent. Some of the characters act a bit younger than they usually do (remember, most of the cast are adults), but their jokes mostly revolve around certain character traits that we’ve seen from the show itself. The only difference is that they’re all wearing school uniforms, and now they’re in a classroom.

The problem with doing this type of parody for Gintama is that this premiere could’ve just been an episode of one of the earlier seasons of the show. Sometimes, Gintama would have an episode focused on an entirely different setting, lampshading a different genre. While I am happy that the show is self-aware enough to know that this is a tired premise, the show was still made, and it’s expected to generate some profit, right? My biggest concern is whether this series will be able to generate as many laughs as the original series, given its more limited premise for an entire season. I feel like if anybody could pull that off, it would be Gintama, but I’m also cynical in my way, so who is to say?

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