Gintama: Mitsuba hen (2017)

Okay, the plot is from Okita Mitsuba arc, in the manga it is like a minor arc but a very important one since it explained the history of the three important Shinsengumi officers. I really like Hijikata in the manga, so I am happy they chose this arc since he didn't have too much screen time in the live action lol.

You can just watch this one without watching the live action, the storylines are not related. It focused on Sougo and Hijikata with Gintoki on the background. Gintoki is still as awesome as ever even only as a sidekick, don't worry. But Shinpachi and Kagura didn't appear here. Just like the live action, this drama literally follow the manga and didn't change any of the plot so it is very enjoyable for the fans. It used the same style and music from the live action so it didn't feel like two different Gintama.

You can just watch it alone or complete it with the live action. Nicely done, recommended.

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A short simple webdrama - nothing fantastic but I still enjoyed it! I finished this after I saw the movie but you can watch them in any order fyi - their stories aren't connected to each other. I will take new viewers into account (though I'm guessing mostly fans will be watching this haha).

Story:
Not a whole lot to it since 1) it's something more for the fans than new viewers, and 2) the point of the webdrama was to promote the movie. The plot alone is enjoyable enough but nothing amazing. Fans will appreciate it more since they have a better understanding of the characters, especially Okita Sougo and Hijikata Toushirou. I love the story mostly for the character exposition as well as the relationship between Mitsuba/Sougo. There's some bouts of comedy especially in Episode 1 (including some hilarious drama-original lines from Gintoki when he shows off as Sougo's ~good friend~), but it's mostly a serious series -- not a unique feelsy story but still a good feelsy story nevertheless. The quality of the episodes feels lackluster at times but it's only a webdrama so nothing surprising. For fans curious about any changes, there's some cuts in content but no big changes. (Also feel free to skip the entire opening segment with Elizabeth, Takeichi and Gengai in Episode 1, it's really unfunny and pointless imo.)

Characters + cast:
I'll focus on the two mains - Sougo and Hijikata, who get to shine here compared to the movie - but generally everyone else did a mostly good job at their characters. Shout-out to Mitsuba (the center of this story) and Yamazaki who only appear in this drama and not the movie - I think their actors did well enough. Oguri Shun basically brings our fave slack yet caring protagonist Gintoki to life, and Nakamura Kankuro makes the most out of Kondou's rather brief appearance.

Okita Sougo is the main character here, and you get to see the usually deadpan shit-head show a softer side towards his sister. Thank god for this Sougo-eccentric story because Yoshishizawa Ryo still blows me away, I can't get over how well he portrays him especially in the more emotional scenes.

Yagira Yuuya also gets to shine here as Hijikata aka our favourite grouchy but ultimately sincere vice-commander. Weirdly I feel like I liked him more in the movie than here (even though I'm pretty sure this was filmed later) -- he seemed a little stiff to me at times, but he got the character down-pat otherwise so I was pretty satisfied.

Music:
Not much OST to go around and nothing special but it fits the mood so not bad. The ED song, DECIDED by UVERworld, is great!

Overall, an okay and enjoyable webdrama! Recommended for fans who won't be picky and can just appreciate the drama for what it is, including a solid cast.

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This tiny little web drama had the perfect balance of ridiculous humor and them feels! I wish the movies were like that, too, because their humor was simply not my cuppa. Here, it offered a nice counterbalance to the heavy emotional stuff.

And Yoshizawa Ryo killed it as Sougo. He does so well in emotional scenes. I haven't read the manga nor have I watched the anime so I didn't know that Sougo, Hijikata and Kondo had known each other from way back when, that Hijikata and Kondo met Sougo when he was a little brat. And though they would rather die than to admit it - especially Hijikata! - they both saw him as their kid brother, despite his rather sadistic and violent tendencies.

The scenes where it was revealed that Hijikata went after Mitsuba's fiance not just because the guy hurt Mitsuba who was dying and so vulnerable but also because he wanted to protect Sougo, his position within the Shinsengumi! Or when Sougo told Kondo that he'd always felt like there was a distance between him and Kondo & Hijikata, that he'd felt like he didn't belong with them, the way Kondo closed his eyes for a moment because he'd never realized that Sougo saw it like that - and then he punched Sougo for being stupid. I mean, of course he did ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So, yeah, it's kinda funny - and honestly touching, too - that Sougo despite being so brutal and sadistic and actually a rather merciless killer when push comes to a slight shove has always been protected and looked after by so many people in his life, mostly without him realizing it, Gintoki included.

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