Gintama 2: Yonimo Kimyo na Gintama-chan (2018)

Weak but still funny.

A short webdrama that aired at the same time as the second Gintama movie to help hype it up. Unlike the last webdrama, it is entirely episodic and focuses on comedy rather than drama. The episodes do not relate to the movie so you are free to watch then before or after the movie! Either way, this is definitely for people who already know Gintama. I don't really recommend this to newcomers since I don't think it's that enjoyable from an outsider's point of view.

The first episode is about Kagura struggling to sleep (with Gintoki naturally suffering the consequences); the second is about Hijikata coping with the new smoking ban (since he practically lives on cigarettes, this of course ends well); the third is about Gintoki and Hijikata going the dentist (and acting like the totally mature adults they are). As the humour is Gintama's shining point (and also the thing this live-action adaptation is best at), this is a good way to have some laughs at ridiculous gags and storylines. The webseries clearly doesn't take itself seriously, as evident by the deliberately shoddy budget (the characters parodying certain shounen anime shows in one episode are basically wearing very cheap cosplay and that just makes things all the more funny). The episodes definitely feel very low quality at times though so you might not enjoy all of them.

Multiple characters appear but only two actually have significant screentime throughout the whole thing -- Gintoki and Hijikata. Kagura only appears in that first episode, but the rapport between her and Gintoki is hilarious so it makes up for her short screentime. The over the top acting feels awkward at times, but otherwise they bring a lot of energy and silliness into this webseries.
(Also, each episode starts off with Mastudaira chilling at the cabaret club, raving on about... things. Very boring things, honestly. I highly recommend you skip his segments. He is a hoot in the original series but brings absolutely nothing here.)

Overall a solid webdrama that Gintama fans can enjoy. Very hit-or-miss, but worth sparing 3 x 10 minutes of your time to laugh at some dumb humour.

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