Gintama: The Semi-Final

Returning to the anime community is the king of comedies that tugs on your heart’s strings, Gintama! How fitting is it that after many fake outs, it finally ends with the Semi-Final and not The Final! Gintama the Semi Final features two fun stories that deliver the full Gintama experience. Tons of laughs, dirty humor, callbacks, poignant conversations, and heartfelt character progression. The Semi Final adapts chapters 686-698 of the source material and is structured in two parts: the Yorozuya and the Shinsengumi. Considering the amount of character progression & plot developments that occurred in those chapters, not to mention the comedy, it surprisingly adapted alot of it with acceptable pacing in two 20 minute episodes. It would have been better if they had adapted the material chronologically and with 10 extra minutes to each episode, but you can’t win them all. It did cut out a significant portion of material however as it was only working with two 20 minute episode timeslots and was primarily focused in the development of the Yorozuya and Shinsengumi dynamics respectively. As such, the Semi Final was very devoid of plot and cut out material covering Gintoki, Katsura, and Takasugi. Due to the latter, anime-only fans may think that they had skipped a scene or two when in actuality the events (which happened to be some of the best in the entire series according to general consensus) had either been offscreened and cut out, which is extremely unfortunate. With that said, it is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED anime only fans should read Gintama chapters 686-698. However, they shouldn’t think that this entry was a bad adaptation either. Considering the global pandemic going on and the difficult time constraints, which lead to a small team of animators (that haven’t worked on the movie) to deliver us fans this new entry to the franchise, the art was rather polished, more so than it was for Gintama Silver Soul. The animation was minimally done but not in a manner that it was jarring & hindered enjoyment, so it looked good visually! The angles and storyboarding were great, you can tell the team wanted to still put some effort into the two episodes to give the fans a good experience. Of course, most of that passion is put towards the movie, which covers the pinnacle of the story and closes off one of the most beloved series in the medium beautifully. All in all, two fun episodes meant to shed light on our Silver Souls yet again after such a long wait for the movie. Does not serve as a substitute for the manga at all though.

In case fans of Gintama want to know what The Semi-Final is, it basically adapts a few chapters that took place between episode 367 and The Final that weren't gonna fit/didn't blend well with the story in the final film. It's a direct pickup from episode 367, so it does feel a bit weird to watch these two episodes, but it probably would feel nicer to watch if you watch this right after episode 367. Have I been waiting to watch this forever, or what? To preface this review, I have read the manga content that went into The Semi-Final and The Final, but I'm notreally gonna talk about how this compares to the manga. Also, Gintama's soundtrack is awesome, but SPYAIR's contribution to this special and the final film is insane? Wadachi is a banger, fam. So, like I said, these two episodes feel kind of weird because of what they are. They're a continuation of the comedic period that took place after the two-year timeskip, but because episode 367 ended so strangely, it means that stepping into this special is slightly disorienting. Plus, the majority of these two episodes aren't serious, but rather, comedic. It just means that, though this is part of the final endgame of Gintama, many parts of it don't feel like major story material. However, I didn't mind that. I thought it was really smart to put these two episodes into their own special (even though the beginning scene felt more disorienting than the rest) because it reads like one last hurrah of Gintama-brand comedy before everything truly ends in the final film. It was a great "prequel," so to speak, for what comes next in the story since it sets the foundations for the film to go straight into the meat of the final battle without having to explain how the characters got to that point. There are still some wonderfully heartfelt moments in these episodes, too, because how could there not be, given the plotline at this point? It's clearly no secret that Gintama can move between genres in a way that makes it all seem like one genre, and these two episodes did just that with the Yorozuya and Shinsengumi members. I cried, actually, which is probably the best endorsement I could have when talking about emotional content. There's not a whole lot more to talk about with these two episodes because... it was just two episodes, but it set the tone very nicely for the ending of Gintama (which is sad and exciting at the same time). The comedy feels super dumb, which is what makes Gintama awesome, and seeing Yorozuya and the rest of Kabukicho made me really happy. So, yeah. I love these episodes, and thanks to these episodes, I'm more excited than ever to watch the movie. I'll see you there.

This is a very tough rating. On one hand the second episode, Kondos gorilla marriage, is a nice episode. An 8/10 on its own But the first episode, Im giving it a 2/10. It would be a 0/10 but it had some really nice comedy. The Semi-Final should have been part of the Silver Soul Arc, and Kondos marriage should've been part of Farewell Shinsengumi or some other place as it did not make sense to put it here. The OP is same OP, it was not bad.The humour slapped though. That is what I liked about of Gintama. The first episode could've used a lot lot more work however. Final Score: 5/10. 8+2 / 20 = 5/10 I wish I could give it higher but yea. Ill give it a not recommended for the first episode. Second episode is a nice watch though Thanks!@ -CyanCheetah

Gintama: The Semi-Final should have been the bridge between the chaotic Silver Soul arc and the final movie, a chance to resolve lingering questions or at least refocus the story before its conclusion. Instead, it delivers two entirely skippable gag episodes that contribute nothing to the narrative and double down on the same juvenile humour that has plagued the series’ later seasons. Episode one wastes significant runtime reviving the infamous nipple jokes from the Shinigami arc. This gag was already exhausted the first time around and now feels especially insulting given the context. Rather than addressing unresolved plot threads, character arcs, or the state of theworld after Silver Soul, the episode chooses to recycle crude humour with no payoff. The uncomfortable Shinpachi “lolicon” jokes also return, once again leaning into material that is neither clever nor funny, and instead actively detracts from the viewing experience. Episode two continues in the same direction, bringing back censored genital jokes and yet another Gorilla marriage gag centred on Kondo. By this point, the repetition becomes impossible to ignore. These are not new ideas or fresh twists on old jokes, but the same punchlines reheated yet again, occupying what should have been meaningful narrative space before the franchise’s finale. What makes The Semi-Final especially disappointing is its timing. This is the last television instalment of Gintama before the final movie, and it chooses to do nothing of substance. No major revelations. No emotional setup. No answers to the long list of unresolved characters and factions. It feels like deliberate stalling, padding out the runtime with crude comedy rather than engaging with the story it has spent hundreds of episodes building toward. As a result, The Semi-Final is not only unfunny but narratively pointless. It adds nothing to the overall experience and actively weakens the momentum of the conclusion. For viewers hoping for closure or even tonal preparation for the finale, these two episodes are a frustrating detour into the worst habits of late-stage Gintama. Entirely skippable, repetitive, and emblematic of how the series increasingly prioritised juvenile gag recycling over meaningful storytelling.