[Teach me! Ginpachi Sensei]
Teach me! Ginpachi Sensei
Pen name Gin World asks:
How many members are there in the Shinsengumi?
In Episode 20, about the mosquito-like Amanto,
they said 18 members were "more than half."
Since the Shinsengumi has up to Squad 10
that means there are only 2-3 people per squad.
Is the Shinsengumi comprised of 35-36 men?
Okay, here's your answer.
The Shinsengumi regularly recruits members and has grown into a giant organization.
In the Crisis Arc, Kondo tried to return to his hometown
because he wanted to recruit members.
Currently, there are roughly 10 men per squad.
By the way, you must never go back and pause previous episodes
to count the number of people.
In anime, 10 or more are counted as "many."
And so, transfer-student Saito, go and stand outside in the hallway!
[Note: Saito is the new editor for GinTama manga.]
[Earlier, when we received a large amount of mail supporting us, a bigwig said, "Something's going on, right?"]
[Three years and still zero trust. Anime "GinTama" continues its popular run!!]
Do you understand, Kyojiro? This is you...
The Guardian dog always stands in front of his master,
unmoving, protecting his master from all harm.
Look at this face...isn't it magnificent?
I think you can grow up into a man as noble,
majestic and strong as this Guardian dog.
But that really depends on you. Work hard...
Whoa! It's huge!
You know, I think it's finally happening!
I don't know what sort of job this is,
but I think we can look forward to major compensation this time!
We'll be feasting tonight!
After all, we've never been picked up like this!
Quiet, you two. You're embarrassing us.
Thank you.
Think it's a top Bakufu official?
We've become quite famous.
Let's do our best.
["Kids Don't Understand How Their Parents Feel"]
Gin-san...I feel like I could be shot full of holes at any moment.
This goes way beyond giving us the evil eye.
Think they're trying to fire laser beams at us with their eyes?
Listen, they're probably going to tell us to deliver some white powder for them.
I'm sure it's flour, so just quietly do as they say, okay?
Understood.
Stop that Gin-san. Don't give up hope so soon.
You guys the Odd jobs?
Thanks for coming.
I'm your client, Kaguzo Mashiroi, boss of the Mashiroi Gang.
[Note: In Japanese: Mashiroi Kaguzo can mean "I'm gonna sniff some white (powder)."]
Uh-oh, he's about to sniff some white powder.
The reason I called you here today is...look over there...
See that storehouse?
Inside, is the...
Uh-oh, here he comes...
the white powder.
the Mashiroi...
[Note: In Japanese: Mashiroi is a homonym that can mean "white."]
The Mashiroi Gang's successor...my only son, Utsuzo Mashiroi,
[Note: In Japanese: Utsuzo means "depressed and stored away" and "to shoot up." So Utsuzo Mashiroi can mean "I'm gonna shoot up some white (powder)."]
who's locked himself in there.
Huh?
Five years ago Utsuzo locked himself in there and never came out.
He detested becoming a yakuza and went to earn an honest living
as an apprentice at a textile wholesaler.
But then he abruptly returned from his apprenticeship,
moved all his personal effects into the storehouse and hasn't stepped foot outside since.
I haven't even seen him the past five years.
C'mon, are you sure he's not already dead in there?
Stop it, Gin-san.
No, I haven't seen or spoken to him for five years,
but a note with his meal requests and things he wants appears between the gap in the door every day.
You're right. There's one now.
Boss!
Guys! Animage, JUMP and a Hepsi NEX!
[Note: Parody of Pepsi NEX. Animage is an anime magazine from Tokuma Shoten.]
Got it!
A yakuza's son shutting himself off...
If word got out-my reputation is everything-I could never remain a yakuza.
I've been so concerned about how it would look even though I know it's silly,
that I haven't even confronted my son face-to-face.
By the time I realized it, five years had passed.
I'm responsible for driving Utsuzo into going this far.
I'm willing to do anything to get my son back.
...But as pitiful as this sounds, I don't know what I should do.
What should a parent do in a situation like this?
Just stand there and watch.
If you feel that way, that's enough.
Leave the rest to us.
Yakuza aren't comfortable with delicate work, right?
...You people...
Essentially, you want us to drag your son out of the storehouse, right?
Hey, Kagura.
Come on out! Get a job, you stupid son!
Hey! Even yakuza could've done that!
Do you know what "delicate" means?
Young Boss!
Dammit! What the hell are you doing?!
Just a minute. We understand, we understand.
We'll be more delicate! Just don't kill us!
What is all this?
Are these guys comedians doing a life-or-death routine?!
I feel like a fawn that's stumbled into the polar bear cage.
What hasn't changed is our lives are still hanging by a thread here.
Please be delicate.
We have you completely surrounded.
Cease your resistance and come out peacefully!
If you don't do as we say,
we will repeat our demands every two hours, morning and night!
Do yourself a favor by giving yourself up before you get raccoon eyes!
Otherwise we'll throw you into a bear cage, dammit!
That's not very convincing!
Don't play games, dammit!
Don't think you can get away with threatening a yakuza's son!
Huh? It's a note! A note just came out!
He must've had a change of heart!
Boss!
Two-kilobattle...?
[Note: Refers to NHK's "On Air Battle." Amateur comedians perform for 100 judges who drop golf balls in a bucket if they like the comedian. Kilobattle (KB) is the unit used to measure the weight of the bucket. 545 KB is a perfect score and 93KB is a zero score.]
Isn't that score a bit low?
What the hell is this?!
Can't you tell? It's a charcoal brazier.
I could tell that by looking. What I was asking was...
No, no. Say no more. This is my strategy. I call it...
You call it...
Huh? That looks like fun.
When he opens the door a crack to peek out, we drag him out!
That's the plan!
Let me explain.
The "Huh? That looks like fun.
When he opens the door a crack to peek out,
we drag him out!" plan works like this...
First, we grill meat or something on this charcoal brazier.
Then we throw a lively party to attract the Young Boss's attention.
You're just retelling the story of Amanoiwato!
[Note: Parody of the Amaterasu myth. She shut herself in a cave and the gods threw a party to lure her out.]
Just to let you know, forcing the doors open is my job!
Who cares?! Enough of this silliness!
Man, you yakuza have no patience.
Did you really think we Odd Jobs would come up with such a simple-minded plan?
All of your plans up to now have been simple-minded.
There's more to this plan. In other words, it has two stages!
Two stages, you say?!
Let me explain!
If he doesn't show interest in our party,
we'll leave the food on the brazier and use it to smoke the kid out!
Stop it!
You're playing games with us!
Don't think you can make fools of yakuza and get away with it!
We're sorry. We won't do it anymore! Really, we won't!
Oh, it's another note.
Boss!
Smoky...
Definitely.
Oh, okay, okay! We'll use our last resort.
What is it? Do you have a plan?
I do! There's one way to definitely get him out!
Hey, Kagura!
That plan, huh?
Come on out! Get a job, you stupid son!
That was the first thing you tried! The first, not the last!
Young Boss!
Dammit! What the hell are you doing?!
Another note! He's still all right!
Really?!
[Farewell.]
This is his dying message!
What the hell have you done?! You idiots!
What're you going to do about this?!
Hey, that's enough.
This isn't blood. It's tomato juice.
Seems the Young Boss is eating his vegetables.
I'm relieved.
Brother!
Who's that?
That's our junior boss, Kyojiro Nakamura.
Utsuzo thought of him like a brother back when he was still out and about.
He knows Utsuzo better than I do.
Boss, it's appalling to see all these adults made fools of by a kid.
I've...decided to deal with my son face-to-face.
It's too late for that.
You should just leave Utsuzo alone.
When the time is right, he'll come out on his own.
Don't hurt Utsuzo any more than you already have.
I won't let you forget what you did to him.
B-Boss!
Boss, hold on!
Hanzo! Get a gurney, now!
R-Right!
Hey! Pull yourself together, Boss!
Boss!
Gin-san!
The two of you go with them to the hospital.
What about you, Gin-chan?
Me? I...
I see... No, you men stay with him tonight.
Yeah...I'll take care of things here. Don't worry about it.
I'll bring Young Boss his meal.
Huh? The kids are a nuisance?
You mean the kids the boss hired? Ignore them.
How cruel is that?
His father collapsed, but he won't even budge.
Your client collapsed.
There's no reason for you to remain here, is there?
I just want to see his face-
the face of the obstinate son who won't budge even as his father is about to die.
...You suspected, didn't you?
...What the Boss did was that bad...
Here.
Hey, is this okay? Isn't this for the idiot son?
Never mind. Only those who work can enjoy the taste of sake.
I've known the Young Boss since he was a little kid.
He was meek, gentle, and despised the yakuza way of life even back then.
He didn't have what it takes to live in this world.
He chose to make an honest living against the Boss's wishes.
He seemed happy at his job...
But that didn't last long.
It was the Boss.
Utsuzo was his heir.
Boss tried to bring him back to the yakuza world by showing up
at the Young Boss's workplace and harassing the store over and over.
Once people found out they were related, Utsuzo was immediately fired.
It's all the Boss's fault that the Young Boss is the way he is.
He's making a big fuss now over getting the Young Boss
out after ignoring him all this time because he knows his death is imminent.
He's desperately trying to make his son succeed him before he dies.
Don't you think that's self-serving?
I don't know all the messy details, but...
Does a parent who wants to see his child before he dies need a reason?
Does a child need a reason to see his parent?
Utsuzo...is Utsuzo here...?
Do a father and son need a reason?
They want to see each other's faces-isn't that reason enough?
You're...a good man.
Hearing that from a guy doesn't make me happy at all.
Sorry. Regardless of whether he has his heart in a shell,
I'm dragging him shell and all to his father.
Come on out. We're going to punch your dying father in the face.
It opened?
Man, I give you credit for making him open that door.
Is it time to change shifts?
Isn't it a little early?
A woman?
Who are you? Where's Utsuzo?
He's not here.
He left this world a long time ago.
Who...are you?
Where's Utsuzo?
He's not here.
He left this world a long time ago.
Man, your skills are top-notch... Looks like I got caught by the wrong guy.
Damn you. What's going on here?!
I already told you. It's too late to drag out the stupid son now.
Those guys are all idiots.
They haven't seen the guy or heard his voice for five years-
how's he supposed to be still alive?
It's the Boss's fault.
Just when I thought his son went straight and wasn't in my way anymore,
he goes and drags him back.
If the son's around I'll never get my chance.
There was nothing I could do about it,
so I made sure he would never come out of his shell.
No matter how much anyone called out to him or yelled at him,
the Young Boss was never going to come out.
I mean, all that's left inside his shell are bones.
The Young Boss will forever remain in his shell in here,
even if the Boss dies.
Too bad for the Boss, but he'll see his precious son in the other world.
Was it you?
I'm asking you if you're the one who killed Utsuzo.
Back then I looked after the Young Boss.
Even after he shut himself away, the Young Boss would see only me.
It was a cinch to set things up.
It'd have been trouble if there was a fuss.
The foolish son won't come out even though Boss dies.
The gang will need someone to take his place, right?
That's right. You can't have the unreliable heir take over.
You need someone with sharp skills and a sharp mind.
A real yakuza.
You're no yakuza...
You're nothing but a scoundrel.
You...
Seems the poison is finally taking effect.
I was starting to think poison doesn't work on a fool.
I guess the reason the sake tasted bad
wasn't only because it was poured by a man.
Finish him.
Right!
Kill him!
Come back here!
Now you've done it...
Die!
Find him!
Drag the river if you have to, but find him!
Right!
Brother.
We just got a call from the hospital.
The Boss...
just died.
I see.
You did it. Everything is finally yours.
It's the start of the new Mashiroi...no, the start of the Nakamura Gang.
We're leaving.
Huh?
That's enough diving for sea sludge, guys.
Let's go home. He won't survive those wounds.
Brother, what about the kids the Boss called?
Forget them. They can't do anything, anyway.
But Brother, if people connected to the Boss find out, it'll get messy.
Brother!
[The next episode... "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid"]
[Gintoki's whereabouts remain unknown. Shinpachi and Kagura are worried.]
[As Kyojiro attends his inauguration ceremony, what secret is he hiding?]
[See you next time.]