“Too Much Like the World of Gintama in the First Three Minutes”—Meta Jokes, Beep Censor Overload, Sudden Live Action... Hilarious Anarchy in the New Anime “GINTAMA - Mr. Ginpachi's Zany Class”

The new anime “GINTAMA - Mr. Ginpachi's Zany Class,” based on the spin-off novel from the mega-hit manga Gintama, began airing on October 6. Bursting with wild content like meta jokes and sudden live-action scenes that rival the craziness of the original Gintama, viewers couldn’t stop laughing: “It becomes the world of Gintama within the first three minutes!!” “There are so many beeps, I can’t understand what they’re saying (lol).”

In episode one, titled "Cram School Teachers Always Say You Don’t Need a Perfect Score, 70 Is Enough," the main characters—Gintoki Sakata from Gintama and Ginpachi Sakata from “GINTAMA - Mr. Ginpachi's Zany Class” (both voiced by Tomokazu Sugita)—meet face to face. A “Passing the Torch Ceremony” for the protagonist takes place, and during it, a slew of meta comments are made about how the anime “GINTAMA - Mr. Ginpachi's Zany Class” came to be. Ginpachi even quips in an equally meta fashion, “Are you seriously spilling all this at the start of the first episode!?”

The next scene then abruptly shifts to a live-action image. Among the figures are characters who seem to be Shinpachi Shimura and Kagura. Ginpachi objects, shouting, “Hey! Who authorized this random live-action baton pass?!” Gintoki responds, “Can’t help it,” trying to explain the situation, but nearly every line is heavily censored with self-imposed beep sounds.