Gintama

Episode 356

The action heads back into space this week as the Kiheitai fight against the clock to prevent Ensho from firing the Flame of Kagutsuchi. In an effort to destroy the eradicate the Earth as thoroughly as possible, Utsuro, who's taken control of the planet's Altana, is attempting to fire a massive dose of it at the weapon in question. According to Takechi, if the combined energies are able to make contact, the entire galaxy could be at risk. As Takechi and a backup of Uranus Hankai attempt to disable the Flame from within, the rest of the Kiheitai heads for the Heavenly Bird's control room. In a desperate attempt to stop them, Ensho orders that all sectors of the ship with confirmed enemy fighters be destroyed, leading to the sudden and unexpected demise of Pluto Bato and Neptune Shokaku, who only just rejoined the fight. With the Flame set to fire in 15 minutes and options running out, Takechi resolves to turn that 15 minutes into 30 minutes in order to buy his friends more time.

Soon after, Takasugi, Matako, and Bansai are intercepted by a battalion of ALA soldiers. Realizing that the group is vastly outnumbered and outgunned, Bansai insists that the other two continue their journey to the control room while he neutralizes the current threat. However, even Bansai has his limits. After incurring a number of serious wounds, Bansai realizes his time has come when he's approached by the spirit of Nizo. Before succumbing to his injuries, he props himself up with his shamisen and activates several powerful explosives, taking out the rest of the enemies in that sector. Meanwhile, with a minute left until the Flame fires, Takechi torpedoes his ship into the Heavenly Bird as he entrusts Takasugi with bringing about a miracle.

In addition to being an emotional gut-punch, the loss of two important characters (and Bato and Shokaku) in a single episode is one of the clearest indicators of how high the stakes have become. Before the series began wrapping up, guest characters and serious villains were the only ones in danger of dying, but with two of the four Kihetai generals potentially taken out in a matter of minutes, all bets are truly off. To be fair, being the brilliant strategist that he is, it's possible that Takechi could have engineered some sort of last-second escape, but Bansai definitely appears to be out of the picture—what with the heroic goodbye and visit from Nizo. Although it's one of many things to happen in a very busy episode, the show places just the right amount of importance of Bansai's passing, neither harping on the sequence, nor devoting too little time to it.

In keeping with the focus on the Kiheitai, episode 356 features a number of well-timed flashbacks that shed additional light on why Bansai and Takechi find Takasugi so inspiring—and why they're gladly willing to lay down their lives for him. Both men truly believe that their leader can save the planet, and if their sacrifices can assist him in any way, they're happy to oblige. Presently, there are two decisive battles being fought: one on Earth, and one in space. It's interesting that while the planet-side battle is being fought by the “good” guys we've been rooting for years, the one in space is largely being spearheaded by characters who used to be the closest thing the show had to recurring antagonists. Now that Takasugi and company have started receiving regular screen time, it's fascinating to learn more about their group dynamic and personal histories. Like the Odd Jobs crew, the Kiheitai is essentially a close-knit surrogate family, albeit one built around a far more serious patriarch.

With Gintoki and the gang occupied, the fate of the planet currently rests on Takasugi's shoulders. However, as episode 356 makes abundantly clear, every step of this battle will be fraught with unimaginable peril. Still, the Kihetai fights on, putting themselves in harm's way and sacrificing themselves when necessary. Gintama's former Big Bads have truly come a long way.

Rating: A

Gintama is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Amy is an author who has loved anime for over two decades.