Gintaka x that scene from Mononoke Hime crossover

Quite surprising considering other villains Sorachi has written and even more surprising taking into consideration he’s the final boss. I tried to keep this as concise as possible focusing on both the character and the story.

How he affected the story

Gintama, through its comedy and serious arcs, showed how people struggle and overcome different situations in their lives. The main characters, Gintoki, Shinpachi and Kagura, have suffered losses that made an impact on them and on who they’re. This is especially true in Gintoki’s case, since he not only lost the war, he lost his friends and his master, by his own hands. Then, part of Gintoki’s story arc was to show how he deals with the consequences of his decision. However, when Utsuro was introduced a large part of the emotional weight said decision entailed dissipated. Gintoki was supposed to be one of the many orphans, one of the many who fought, one of the many who lost. And how with the same events he, Katsura and Takasugi took different paths. But Utsuro changed that, giving them a chance to atone themselves, something no one in the universe could have. At the beginning we’re told this character isn’t Shouyou, they just share the same body, although this would prove to be incorrect later. That Utsuro killed the Shouyou persona, but it still was Gintoki the one who killed his master. That Takasugi knew it all along. The story had to adjust itself to work around Utsuro, instead of Utsuro explaining the story. 

The altana

This power helped to explain the advanced technology present in the series and why the Earth was a target. Nevertheless, it was never really explained how it worked. People could regenerate with some blood, or ashes, it wears off after some months or years, can reincarnate, can possess bodies… it became the ace up his sleeve to justify the plot. Besides, it was properly introduced to the series pretty late, in chapter 554. Said chapter discloses Utsuro as a being born of altana, but how this happened and what makes him different from Kouka, who died when she moved away from her birth planet, isn’t explained either.

He doesn’t make sense

Utsuro founded the Tenshouin Naraku because the government decided it, then lead the organization for centuries. His backstory is tragic, he was persecuted, tortured and killed. However, most of the time he was very passive in the sense of letting things happen. If people found out somehow he’s immortal, why couldn’t he just go to another town once discovered? Or another country for that matter. He always stayed in Japan, letting himself be locked up and leading a group because others told him so for 500 years. He wanted to escape the suffering but didn’t make an effort until the last years of the story, when the Shouyou persona decided to leave and pursue happiness. Later he rejoins the organization in order to end himself by blowing up the entire planet since he can’t die for some reason, although he tried to survive when he fought against everyone. On top of that, dying, as seen in chapter 703, was actually easy.

Being the final villain

What does a final boss, or any antagonist for that matter, need? A video I watched (The Dark Knight — Creating the Ultimate Antagonist by Lessons from the Screenplay) explains it very well.

1. A powerful antagonist is exceptionally good at attacking the hero’s greatest weakness 2. Antagonists pressure protagonists into making difficult choices 3. Antagonists compete for the same goal as the protagonists 4. An antagonist causes the hero to grow

Something powerful about Utsuro was his physical strength and immortality, but there wasn’t any other struggle that actually posed a threat. Despite knowing vital information of Gintoki, he didn’t use it to target any vulnerability of him. Utsuro didn’t succeed into pushing Gintoki’s limits, test and reveal his character, either. Maybe he wasn’t the right antagonist to our hero, or maybe he could’ve been if handled differently, who knows. But he failed to have a profound and specific effect on the story and the protagonist. There wasn’t any battle of beliefs and principles, or a moment when Gintoki really questioned himself, or the chance to understand where Utsuro was coming from because of what Utsuro’s goal was. He just wanted to die. In order to to that, he must sacrifice the entire planet. The good guys can’t allow that to happen, right? The problem is, it’s way too impersonal.

The downfall

There’s more to be desired of the final boss than be a fully crafted character and complement the protagonist in things such as personality, values and objectives. They need to be the climax of the story, therefore, embody the story. Ultimately, Utsuro’s theme was about emptiness, he thinks everyone is hollow and is useless to struggle against fate. But in the end he realizes that, in fact, people are hollow, but because they know that, they can bring other people in to live on inside them. This is the reason why Takasugi couldn’t be the final boss, there’s just not philosophycal weight in him realizing that since it wasn’t his theme and he never detached himself from people. However, since there never was a clash of ideologies between Gintoki and Utsuro, that realization falls flat, also because the way the antagonist is overcomed is essential to the conclusion and Gintoki did it just by hitting him.

I understand that Sorachi didn’t have everything planned from the start and coming up with new ideas each week can be very difficult and stressful. But not being able to craft the final villain since his first appearance (ch. 541 in May 18, 2015) to the last (ch. 703 May 27 2019) it’s a shame since it affected the story in a negative way.

But after utsuro was introduced, we were told that the reason why shouyou picked gintoki up was because he needed someone to defeat utsuro, that he was happy that gintoki killed him instead of takasugi/katsura because the disciples, who will eventually kill utsuro, were spared. He never bothered telling his disciples that he’s actually immortal and had an evil alter ego that needed to be defeated. Before the utsuro reveal, he was a nobel sensei who was willing to sacrifice himself for his disciples. After the reveal, he just seemed like an irresponsible asshole who dumps all of his issues on his disciples because he didn’t want to deal with them.

If given more time I really could have seen him flesh out the Naraku more and considering their connection to the Ninja and Gov’t and just the overall theme of community, having this sort of organization would have been a perfect foil.

Shouyou could have still been Utsuro but he should have stayed human. More of his historical counterparts history could have been included and there could have been some really good commentary about the negative aspects of devoting oneself to their country. Rejecting the Naraku’s extremist ideology, seeing the wonder the Amanto brought about (like Shouin did) would have been a really good way to explain where his philosophy came from. We could have seen Shouyou’s own little character arc from different characters perspectives like the other wings and maybe even other govt officials. Really force the 3 Disciples to grapple with a past they would disagree with while understanding how it shaped him.

Most of these problems arise in the FS arc and I feel like if Sorachi had made one change it would have drastically changed the story.

Rather than Utsuro coming to stop them it should have been the Yagyuu family.

These guys were the retainers to the Shogun but now that he’s dead (they weren’t even part of the party to protect them) they are in a perilous position. Help Nobonobu’s faction or their lives are at stake. It would have added so much political and philosophical drama, be a sequel arc of sorts to Kyuubei’s intro arc, and even turn the comical rivalry with Katsura into something dangerous.

Duty vs Love, Retainer vs Friend, Heir vs Freedom, a lot of these questions would have been cool for Kyuubei to think about.

And it would be cool to see the grandpa and 4 aces fight real.

This one change could have triggered a fascinating domino affect. The Rakuyo arc would still work though maybe have Umibozou fight the First Captain of the Harusame or even the Tendoshuu at Shouyou’s execution.

The Earth plot would focus on Amanto and corrupt govt interference and how the communities of Yoshiwara and Kabuki district would fight back. It would be a great way to bookend Kyuubei’s arc with Otae, show the dark side of the country that must change, and trigger more development for characters like Soyo to lead that charge.

This series has never really been a typical Shonen with a big bad but seemed more interested in systemic evils.

It could have allowed for characters like Takasugi and Shinpachi to explore what they really wants, have all the Disciples have a broader understanding of Shouyou’s growth before he died to allow them to truly grieve, and follow up on threads like the Kamui-Yoshiwara connection, and for the series to explore how they feel about the transition to a different future. (Just imagine if we got an FMA style ending where we just see pictures of the characters in a new status quo, nervous but content with the unknown)

If a big bad is needed, it could just be the Tendoshuu at Shouyou’s execution since he appeared multiple times and could offer an interesting perspective to Shouyou that no one else knew.

I really like the point of exploring more of Shouyou’s past and having Gintoki, Katsura and Takasugi confront it so that all three (INCLUDING Zura) reflect on what they’ve been doing and face their trauma.

The idea of the Yagyuu family being an antagonist is very interesting! after all they’re the Shogun’s servants. I remember thinking they would show up at some point in SA arc, but they never did. It would’ve also helped further develop Kyuubei’s character.

Another point that you make, and I think the show lost in the end, was how systemic the issues were and how different factions worked to maintain the status quo and oppress people. Instead, we’d a “big bad” that oversimplified the problems presented to us. Not to mention that when there’s so much at stake, paradoxically you don’t feel anything. You know that a villain who threatens to destroy the Earth isn’t going to succeed. But you feel the pressure when the threat is on a small town or on a person.

FMAB finale was pretty good. Instead of having a time jump in the middle of SS arc, which was useless, it would’ve been better to put it at the end to show the new status quo of the characters and what they’re doing, how they’ve grown. In the case of Kagura and Shinpachi, I feel like with the series finale their potential came to a halt. From the beginning they weren’t related to Utsuro in any way, aside from Gintoki, even though they’re part of the main trio. So it would’ve been great if they forged their own path.

I really like the other ideas you mention in the tags, like Takasugi being a teacher, giving Kamui a new purpose, Gintoki healing from his trauma, and the rest of the characters adapting to the new times. Much could’ve been accomplished with more guidance and planning.

When Takasugi died, I was in shock, not because I didn’t see it coming but because I didn’t think it was actually going to happen for various reasons. At that moment I thought that maybe I was being too sensitive and that it would be better to let time pass, it could be that there was something I didn’t understand. However, I still find issues with the writing, and regardless of whether you liked his character, didn’t care, or hated him, the implications of his death are unsettling once seen.

Without going any further, the idea that Takasugi finds a solution to his problems in death is pretty messed up. It’s not a strange thing for me, but this very series actually taught me that we can overcome adversity, that it will be difficult, but as long as we don’t give up we can live beautifully, including our sorrows. Often the series compares Takasugi and Gintoki, Katsura once said that Gintoki suffered the most (referring to the fact that he has more reason to hate the world). Under the logic that whoever suffers the most deserves death to rest, shouldn’t Gintoki have died then?

There is also the idea that losing memories and starting from scratch is a blessing. Interestingly, one of the early arcs in the series had Gintoki losing his memory as the plot, and while he became a productive member of society and seemed less sad, the big problem was that he wasn’t Gintoki, he was someone else. That’s why Kagura and Shinpachi fought to get him back. Takasugi, like all the characters, experienced both sadness and joy. Negative experiences also play a fundamental role in helping you grow and overriding that is a mistake.

Those are things Sorachi wrote in the past and yet he contradicted himself by putting an ending that wasn’t appropriate for this type of series. Perhaps for one with a darker tone, the idea of erasing your identity to be happy would’ve been consistent, but not with Gintama. He tried to give Takasugi a nice resolution by resurrecting him through the altana, but seems to have forgotten the implications of being doomed to immortality. That could’ve worked with Takasugi until SA arc, but after that he’d a lot of character development, new goals, his bonds were strengthened, a new worldview, people to live for. That’s why I still don’t understand why he decided to undo what he did with his character and his story.

Sorachi said multiple times he didn’t know how to end the series and it was clear he was unsure whether or not to kill off Takasugi. This became apparent when he showed the events leading up to his death after the timeskip (an odd device in itself) rather than before, when the events occurred chronologically. Later he focused a lot on his character because the only thing left was his fate, but it was set up as if there was only one way to go: Takasugi had to be killed in order to kill Utsuro. However, when Utsuro was defeated, Takasugi remained alive for a few minutes, proving they didn’t have to die together. When Sorachi made him reincarnate, was it because he went back on his decision? Who knows.

Love of my life

You’ve hurt me

You’ve broken my heart

And now you leave me

Love of my life

Can’t you see?

Please God

Bring him back

Don’t take him away from me

Because you don’t know