< Gintama

Gintama/Characters


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This page lists the characters of Gintama and their associated tropes.

Yorozuya Gin

Gintoki Sakata

= Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (JP), Chris Patton (EN, movie) =

A lazy, washed-up samurai living in an era when samurai are no longer needed. Gintoki resides with his friends Kagura and Shinpachi, taking on odd jobs to make the world a better place and to pay off their rent. The three of them run a freelancer business known as Yorozuya Gin (Odd Jobs Gin).

In the Joi war, he was known as the Shiroyasha or "White Demon" due to his silver hair and white coat he wore in battle, which, combined with his impressive capabilities as a swordsman, made him famous among his comrades and struck fear into the hearts of the Amanto. He fought the invaders until he realized the lack of sense in doing so, leading to him choosing to instead make a living as a freelancer for hire in Edo.

Gintoki has an insufferable sweet tooth and is also obsessed with acquiring and reading the Weekly Shōnen Jump. Despite his uncaring attitude and brash behavior, Gintoki has a great amount of pride for the old bushido code and will go to great lengths to protect anyone in trouble, be it those he considers close comrades or complete strangers.

  • Actor Allusion: Probably just a coincidence but during the episode where Sadaharu goes into a rage and they were going to seal him in the baseball field, Gintoki catches the ball in the exact manner as Kyon in the baseball episode. With the exact same tone of voice used.
  • The Alcoholic: No, it's not a problem for him, but he loves a drink, and he routinely gets completely drunk.
    • Although, at one point his nearest and dearest decided it was a problem and...took steps.
  • Badass: Not immediately apparent, but once you get to know him...
    • Badass Normal
    • Badass Boast: "Hey, listen. I don't care what you punks do around the universe, but this is my sword, and anywhere it can reach is my country. Bastards who come in and try to mess with my things... whether it be a shogun, whether it be space pirates, whether it be a meteorite... I’ll destroy them!"
  • Berserk Button: Hurting his True Companions is an excellent way to trigger Gintoki's change from a seemingly useless bum to the White Demon.
    • Let's not forget the how he was first introduced to us
    • A teacher abusing his own student is another, as Jiraiya learned the hard way.
    • Men that exploit and trample upon relationships tend to face the really bad side of the White Demon, as Housen (strongest Amanto) and former shogun Sadasada find out.
  • Big Brother Instinct: At one point a one-off character actually assumes he is Shinpachi's big brother. It's also implied that he would kill any guy who tried to shack up with Kagura. In addition, Okita of all people looks up to him as something of a big brother figure, as seen when Gintoki is the first person Okita goes to after Okita's sister asked Okita if he has made any friends outside of the Shinsengumi.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Usually accompanied by some truly fantastic snarking.
  • Brilliant but Lazy: An amazingly skilled fighter who could slice through a legion of enemies in seconds, yet spends his days scrambling after JUMP magazines and lounging about eating sweets.
  • Celeb Crush: Has one on Ketsuno Ana. He's absolutely thrilled at getting a chance to help her in a later arc, but then a shikigami comes crashing into his house...
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: How else can one describe the human who is able to take on people of mass destruction such as the swordsman possessed by parasite sword who can cut through warships like knife through butter and the mob boss from one of the strongest races in the universe?
  • Chivalrous Pervert
  • Combat Pragmatist: While primarily a swordsman, Gintoki won't hesitate to mix in some punches and kicks, or cheat outright.
    • Case in point: His first fight with Kondo.
  • Dark and Troubled Past
  • Determinator: During the climax of any serious arc.
  • Drunken Master: Bansai remarks while fighting him that his tune is "haphazard, like jazz" but with an undignified air, as if he were drunk.
  • Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: People often tell him that he has dead, fish-like eyes.
  • Failure Knight: A large part of Gintoki's desire to protect other and the absurd lengths he goes to do it is due to the guilt of believing that he couldn't save or protect anyone during the war. The other part is him being Gintoki.
  • Fashionable Asymmetry
  • Freaky Friday Flip: With Sadaharu at one point and then at the end of episode it switches to Shinpachi's glasses. Of course everything's back to normal in next episode.
  • Friend to All Children: He's willing to go fight a literal deathmatch in a coliseum just to make some children stop crying, in addition to singlehandedly challenging the mob boss of the strongest alien race in the galaxy to reunite a scruffy pickpocket with his mother. It's safe to say that he has a weakness for kids.
  • Goofy Print Underwear: Pink strawberry boxers.
  • Groin Attack: May explain why he can survive many fatal wounds, as most if not all of the damages goes into his groin, including detachments, conversion, and disintegration. Also explains why it's called Gintama.
  • Heroic Albino: He has white hair and red eyes—although they're green in the manga.
  • Historical Domain Character: Kintaro or... Sakata Kintoki.
  • Hot-Blooded
  • Honor Before Reason: He takes his code of Bushido very seriously and will always do the right thing in the end no matter how dangerous it is, as shown in several arcs like the Gladiator Ring arc.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold
  • Let's Get Dangerous: He loves this trope so much.
    • Lampshaded with the title There Will Be Hell to Pay when a Lazy Man Gets Angry.
  • Meaningful Echo: He first meets Otose much like he meets Shouyo-sensei--getting food from the dead. Only this time he asks.
  • My Name Is Not Durwood: Sakamoto always calls him "Kintoki" instead of Gintoki. Gintoki always objects to this, especially since if his name were "Kintoki", the series' title would be "Kintama", which, in Japanese, means balls.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity
  • One-Man Army
  • Papa Wolf: He tries his best to take care of Kagura in place of her dad and serves as a heartwarming father figure in the Lone Wolf and Cub parody arc. His reaction to violence being committed near the child is less than calm.
  • Public Domain Character / Very Loosely Based on a True Story: He is named after and partially based on the semi-mythical Kintarou, also known as Kintoki Sakata.
  • Red Baron: Probably not a good idea to take the nickname "White Demon" lightly.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: Inverted. Despite having deep red eyes, he is not what you'd call a bad guy.
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: Lost many of his friends during the Joi war. While he is not out for vengeance, his grief over those losses is implied few times and is never played for laughs.
  • Sweet Tooth: To the point he invented the now infamous Strawberry Milk speech.
  • Talking to Himself: In the Sket Dance crossover.
  • Technical Pacifist: Actively avoids causing grievous harm, as shown by his weapon of choice (a wooden katana), but has absolutely no qualms about delivering killing blows if it comes down to it.
  • Third Person Person: While Gintoki normally uses male pronouns, he occasionally switches to talk like this, referring to himself as Gin-san. He isn't being egoistic or anything when doing that. It's more like that he gets his point across better then. Such as "Gin-san really can't figure out how to separate trash, give him a break," for example.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Anything sweet, really, but strawberry milk (!!!) seems to be the most prominent for him, as well as chocolate parfaits and a heap of sweet adzuki beans on rice.
  • Tsundere: Despite being male, he's explicitly said to have incredible Tsundere tactics at least once.
    • His modus operandi is a similar deviation as well. He's rude and snarky to almost everyone and often scoffs off other people's problems as none of his business. However, when push comes to shove, his kindness and sense of honor pushes him beyond humanly possible limits and the juxtaposition certainly makes him seem that much more awesome.
  • Verbal Tic: Ends many of his sentences with "Oy", which is Japanese equivalent of "Hey".
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: With Katsura and Sakamoto. And pretty much all of his friends.
  • What Could Have Been: He was originally going to be a younger Hijikata. In order to keep from ruining the image of the real Hijikata, the name and design were changed.
  • White-Haired Pretty Boy: More like White perm-haired pretty boy but he does not fit the personality mold.
  • Wooden Katanas Are Even Better: Gintoki uses one made out of the wood of a 10,000 year old diamond/adamantine tree, which he calls Lake Toya.
    • According to Word of God, all his swords are actually bought through mail order, and it being a present from a wizard is just an urban legend Gin made up for fun.
    • Somewhat mitigated by the fact that Gintoki uses steel swords when he is up against stronger opponents (i.e. his battles again Night King Housen and Nizo possessed by Benizakura).
  • Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Zigzagged. He has no compulsion about hitting girls, especially in a comical way, but he indeed never killed one and hesitated long enough at the end of the Harusame arc to let Kada exit the scene, despite being in perfect position to kill her and put an end to her threat.

Shinpachi Shimura

= Voiced by: Daisuke Sakaguchi (JP), Mark X. Laskowski (EN, movie) =

A 16-year-old samurai-in-training who joins Gintoki in hopes of studying under him. He stays at his family's dojo along with his older sister Otae Shimura. Although he commonly criticizes Gintoki's lazy behavior, Shinpachi comes to regard him as a very important person to him in the same fashion as Kagura.

Despite his meek, scholarly appearance, Shinpachi is a more than competent swordsman. He serves as the captain of the "Otsu's Imperial Guard," a fan club devoted to the famous idol singer Otsu and takes his role seriously.

Kagura

= Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (JP), Luci Christian (EN, movie) =

Seemingly an innocuous, carefree young girl of Chinese descent, Kagura is actually an alien belonging to the Yato Clan, one of the strongest and most bloodthirsty of the Amanto races. Because of her Yato blood, she is extremely strong and an incredibly fierce and capable fighter, able to singlehandedly take down multiple fighters, crush vehicles with her bare hands, and regenerate from wounds sustained in combat. She came to Earth to earn money for her family, and to escape her violent Yato heritage, which she staunchly rejects.

Kagura and Gintoki's relationship is very much a father-daughter one and she is highly protective of him, often affectionately referring to him as Gin-chan. Kagura also has an unusually strong appetite and is often seen devouring mountains of food or complaining that she's hungry. She is often seen with or riding atop of her gigantic pet dog Sadaharu.

  • Achilles' Heel: She is a cute Lightning Bruiser who can throw a car one-handed, but without her parasol she'll get sunstroke.
  • Action Girl
  • Analogy Backfire: At one point she compares Gin, Shinpachi and herself to a human body (i.e. they work together well and have to stick together), but claims that Gin and Shin are the left arm and leg, and she is the white blood cells. The others are less than reassured after being told that they're a pile of bloody, disembodied limbs.
  • And Call Him George: She kills any cute animal she keeps (like say, a rabbit) by hugging them when she sleeps. (Both Gintoki and Shinpachi were unsure whether to laugh or cry at such a story). Averted later when she gets Sadaharu, who is normally aggressive and deadly, and has the tendency to bite on anyone's head to draw blood, but for someone like Kagura, is the perfect pet.
  • Anime Chinese Girl: In both appearance and in speech mannerisms, aru.
  • Badass
    • Badass Abnormal: Her super strength comes from being from the Yato clan.
    • Badass Adorable: Her quirky, childish tendencies are all so endearing, but she can hold her own against an entire army if need be.
    • Badass Family: Easily qualifies, given her strength, as well as Kamui's and Umibouzu's strength.
    • Little Miss Badass
  • Bare-Fisted Monk: Whenever she doesn't have her Parasol of Pain, she uses this fighting style.
  • Berserk Button: Like Gintoki, any attempts to hurt her friends will be dealt with severely.
  • Big Eater: Her tastes are rather plain though, befitting of her childish behavior.
  • Big Sister Instinct: She loves Otae, addresses her extremely respectfully, and hugs her a lot.
  • Blue Eyes
  • Boobs of Steel: Inverted. She is among the physically stronger female characters of the show but she hardly has any breasts to speak of.
  • Cain and Abel: Her brother Kamui. He seems rather indifferent but Kagura is still sore over the attempt to kill their dad and the abandonment.
  • Can't Stand Them Can't Live Without Them: She really loses her temper when she pretends to run away and no one really seems to notice, but in the end she misses them and comes back, justifying it by saying that she's the only one who could put up with Gin and Shinpachi.
  • Chronic Pet Killer: Played for laughs. Like in episode 65, where she crushes her own beetle in agitation. Happily averted with Sadaharu, who's big enough to survive it.
  • Cute Lightning Bruiser
  • Does Not Know Her Own Strength
  • Dysfunctional Family: Her family has problems.
  • Fiery Redhead
  • Foe Yay: She doesn't like Okita much, but she can feel this kind of vibe coming off of him towards her, and they get along fairly well when they're not fighting.
  • Healing Factor: Comes from being of the Yato clan. She can heal bullet wounds in a matter of hours.
  • I Am Not Left-Handed: During the Abuto fight.
  • Like Father, Like Daughter: Even though they're not related, Kagura really takes after Gintoki, even more so than her own father.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: When she fights for food.
  • Odango
  • One of the Boys: Most of her friends in Kabukicho are shown to be boys, she does use crude language.
  • Parental Abandonment: Her father is, for the most part, off fighting monsters, while her mother died of an illness. After Umibouzu's first appearance, it seems they keep in touch through letters.
  • Parasol of Pain: Dual-functionality. Sunlight deterrent (the Yato are incredibly weak to the sun's rays) and a rapid-fire projectile weapon.
  • Parasol of Prettiness: Completely subverted due to the above.
  • Pretty Freeloader: After her introduction story, she got Gintoki to take her in by punching (and cracking) the wall next to him. Now, she lives with him as a coworker/daughter-of-sorts, sleeping in his closet.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red Oni to Okita's Blue Oni. They compete at everything, but are more than willing to team up against rampaging robots that ruin a festival for them.
  • Slasher Smile: Shown only once, during Yoshiwara arc. And it was permanently on her face when her Yato instinct and inner bloodlust took over. Since her brother and father also have this kind of expression when "getting serious" it's probably an ethnic trait that... runs in the blood.
  • Super-Powered Evil Side: She's far more ruthless when her Yato instincts take over. Case in point: Abuto's utter curb stomping at her hands. Unlike Kamui, however, Kagura's not predominantly violent by choice, and her trying to maintain control over her Yato instincts is one of her greatest goals.
  • Tomboy: Often very crude and blunt in her manner of speaking.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Sukonbu, or pickled seaweed.
  • Tsundere: Yup.
  • Unstoppable Rage: Only invoked once thus far when Shinpachi is mere seconds from death and her innate Yato instincts are awakened, turning her into a rampaging monster.
  • Unusually Uninteresting Sight: No one ever seems to find the presence of an ultra-rare alien worthy of comment, even though she's apparently identifiable on sight as otherworldly.
  • Verbal Tic: Ends many of her sentences with "aru", a typical speech pattern for Chinese characters in Anime (which is translated as "uh-huh" in the Viz licensed volumes).

Sadaharu

= Voiced by: Mikako Takahashi (JP), Kyle Jones (EN, movie) =

A huge dog that was abandoned on their doorstep by a pair of Miko sisters. At first Gin and Shinpachi weren't too keen of the idea of Sadaharu living at Yorozuya, thanks to his habit to chew on anything smaller than himself (including humans), but as the time has passed in series they have become attached to him too and he has become tamer and friendlier towards everyone as well, even letting Kagura ride on his back regularly. Shinpachi and Gintoki too, when the situation is serious enough and they need to get somewhere fast.

Sadaharu was named after Kagura's first pet rabbit which she accidentally killed while having a nightmare. After that incident, she vowed to never go near animals again, were the same thing happen again. Since Sadaharu is pretty strong himself, she doesn't have that problem with him. After seeing how important that is to Kagura, Gintoki agrees to take him in.

The Shinsengumi

Isao Kondo

= Voiced by: Susumu Chiba (JP), David Wald (EN, movie) =

Commander of the Shinsengumi. A goofy, but good-natured and honorable leader who has won the respect and admiration of his subordinates. Despite appearing completely incompetent, he takes his job seriously and will not hesitate to make tough decisions in order to protect his comrades and the people of the country.

The members of the Shinsengumi are fiercely loyal to him and he shares a particularly close bond of friendship with Sougo Okita and Toshiro Hijikata. Okita often remarks that Kondo's nice attitude is also his weak point as he never takes notice of a person's negative traits.

He has a crush on Shinpachi's sister, Otae Shimura and stalks her, to which she responds by repeatedly beating him senseless.

Toushiro Hijikata

= Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai (JP), Blake Shepard (EN, movie) =

The chain-smoking "Demonic" Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi who has garnered an infamous reputation for his ruthless, no-nonsense attitude both on and off the battlefield. Since he's the one usually left in charge of the operation, he takes his work seriously and is fiercely loyal to his commander, Isao Kondo, and the Shinsengumi as a whole.

Cucumber cool for the most part, Hijikata is respected and feared by his subordinates, as he's responsible for implementing the 45 Regulations (on pain of Seppuku). His swordsmanship is second only to Okita, although he ran into difficulties on discovering his sword was possessed.

Hijikata is also obsessed with mayonnaise and has a tendency to smother anything he eats under a mountain of it, in addition to carrying a mayonnaise jar-shaped cigarette lighter. Under his callous, brazen exterior, Hijikata is genuinely compassionate and cares as much about the people he protects as Gintoki. He regards both Gintoki and Okita as not only rivals, but close friends.

"These crackers are so spicy... Damn. They're so spicy it's making my eyes water..(sob) So spicy..."

  • Smoking Is Cool: Lighting a cigarette with a mayonnaise jar is even cooler.
  • Straight Man: Often plays this to Kondo, Okita, or Gintoki.
  • Tall, Dark and Snarky
  • Trademark Favorite Food: There's a reason why people refer to him as Mayora. He'll put a heap of mayonaisse (to the point it resembles s**t) on everything, even dessert and coffee.
    • Quoting Okita: "He basically elevated normal food into dog food"
    • He also tries to make the embarrassing things the show puts him through look cool, only to fail.
  • What Could Have Been: He was originally set to be the (much younger) protagonist of the series, but the author backed out early in the design process, because he respected the real-life basis for Hijikata too much to ruin his image by making him a character in a gag manga. The end result of trying to preserve his "coolness" was the Hijikata we all know and love.

Sougo Okita

= Voiced by: Kenichi Suzumura (JP), Clint Bickham (EN, movie) =

The 18-year-old captain of the first squad and widely-regarded as the best swordsman in the entire Shinsengumi. He tends to be light-hearted and somewhat childish, though his speech is heavily deadpan. Unlike Hijikata or Kondo, he seems to take his position for granted and is often seen slacking off or napping.

Okita displays a strong dislike of his comrade Toushiro Hijikata, and continuously tries to embarrass, wound, or even kill him whenever he has the chance in order to take his rank of Vice-Commander. He also holds a deep grudge towards Toushiro for having left Mistuba, Sougo's beloved sister, and holds him accountable for her never being able to find happiness before her death. His violent tendencies and habit to torture others mentally in glee have caused his comrades to label him a "sadist," a title which he actively embraces. Nonetheless, he still thinks of Hijikata as his friend and also holds Gintoki, whom he addresses as "boss," in high regard.

"Eat this! SADO BEEEEAAAMMMM---!!"

  • Even Jerkassery Has Standards: Sadistic as he is, he shows utter contempt towards the bosses of the death match arena and enlists help from Gintoki & co to bring about their downfall. Can also be counted as a Pet the Dog moment for him.
  • Even the Guys Want Him: Kamiyama, anyone?
  • Fair Cop
  • False Friend: Sometimes towards Hijikata whom he's not above backstabbing or setting up.
  • Foe Yay: He gives off this vibe regarding Kagura, who's arguably his 2nd favorite target for his pranks.
    • Nobume too. There's no telling whether they want to use their swords for killing each other or something else.
  • Heroic Comedic Sociopath: Technically a good guy, at least later on, but that doesn't stop him from torturing suspects, blowing up buildings at the slightest provocation, or trying to backstab his teammates.
  • Historical Domain Character: He is loosely based off of the real-life Okita Soji.
  • Kid Samurai / Teen Genius: While not anywhere close to the age where he could be considered a "kid," he is significantly younger than the rest of the Shinsengumi members. And is the captain of the 1st squad, making him not only the leader of the foremost battle unit, but third in the overall chain-of-command.
  • Knight Templar Little Brother: Despite being the little brother, he dearly loves his big sister, Mitsuba, and will do anything to make her happy. Screw things up for her, especially by using her wedding as a way to do illegal business, and you're DEAD, as Kuraba would have told you from his bisected exploding car.
  • Jerkass: Proud owner of the nickname "Prince of Sadists."
  • Morality Pet: His sister.
  • My Sister Is Off-Limits: Very protective of his older sister and basically forbids anyone he doesn't trust near her. This includes Hijikata.
  • One-Man Army: In the Rokkaku Incident, he's credited for killing most of the enemy rebels (possibly 33 out of... 33). Later in the Itou Arc, he easily takes down an entire train car full of enemies with nary a scratch. Granted this is a show full of One Man Armies, but Okita is fully capable of taking down the most and the worst opponents.
  • Pet the Dog: Has his own arc dedicated to it. Where he still manages to be a Jerkass.
  • Poisonous Friend: To Kondo and for the Shinsengumi in general, although it's Played for Laughs. They acknowledge and use his sadistic tendencies.
    • Okita even lampshades this in an early episode by commenting that he and Hijikata need to be cutthroat, as Kondou is too kind for his own good.
  • Precision F-Strike: In the Itou arc.

Okita: (to Itou) What do you think you're doing, you piece of shit?

  • Psychotic Smirk: Often when indulging in his sadistic tendencies or trying to dispatch of Hijikata.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue Oni to Kagura's Red Oni. They compete at everything, but are more than willing to team up against rampaging robots that ruin a festival for them.
  • Sleep Mask: He was first seen using one to sleep while on-duty, and it's become iconic of his character ever since.
  • So Proud of You: His older sister, Mitsuba.
  • The Gadfly: Oh so very much. Most of his pranks turn out to be quite harmless, however.
  • Treacherous Quest-Giver / The Stool Pigeon: Once did this with Itou in order to set up Hijikata for demotion.
  • Verbal Tic: Often ends his sentences with -desu zee or -desaa, which are polite ways for young men to assert their masculinity.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Everyone is under the impression that Hijikata and Okita are bitter rivals always looking for an opportunity to take the other's head, but in truth, they share a strong bond of friendship.
    • It should be noted however that Sougo does hold Hijikata accountable for Mitsuba's death.
  • What Could Have Been: was originally going to be female so that the Shinsengumi would have at least one girl. Her basic design was reused for Otsu, and her "fighting with an umbrella" gimmick was given to Kagura.
  • Yandere: At least some of his behaviour towards Hijikata stems from his belief that Hijikata "stole" Kondo's attention from him. In the Itou arc, he calmly states that he's more than willing to backstab and kill anyone who gets too close to Kondo, because "the place at Kondo's side is mine."

Sagaru Yamazaki

= Voiced by: Tetsuharu Oota (JP), Clint Bickham (EN, movie) =

A member of the Shinsengumi, he handles intelligence work, often serving as a spy. He's often seen with a badminton racquet (sometimes during sword training, when Hijikata's more likely to beat him up for it). Shinpachi and Yamazaki have a bit of a rivalry, being the more plain and generic guys on their respective teams, but they're good friends nonetheless.

  • Beware The Nondescript Ones: It's easy to overlook Yamazaki, but you have to remember that this guy tends to do all the reconnaissance missions for the Shinsengumi, usually alone. Then there's him being the one behind all the paranoia in the Popularity Poll Arc. Oh, and then there's ANPAN SPARKIIING.
  • Butt Monkey: He gets hurt a lot, especially by Hijikata. Also, despite his popularity, the author stated that Yamazaki will never be on the cover of any Gintama manga volume. Notably, after being spared by Bansai during the Itou Arc, he spies on the Shinsengumi, thinking that they're holding a funeral for him. It turns out that the funeral is being held for Matsudaira's pet, with Yamazaki being treated as an afternote.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: After surviving an entire month only eating anpan...
  • Homage: Aside from always carrying around his Badminton racquet, he once cosplays as Ryoma while playing Badminton against Musashi. Mada mada da ne, indeed.
  • Edible Ammunition: ANPAN SPARKING!!!!
  • Madness Mantra: ANPANANPANANPANANPANANPANANPANANPAN
    • Recent arc: TAMACHANTAMACHANTAMACHANTAMACHANTAMACHANTAMACHANTAMACHAN
  • The Nondescript: Aside from his Badminton, he's acknowledged in-universe as a very plain and generic guy. He uses this to his advantage against Shinpachi (himself another nondescript) during the OwEe arc, playing pixellized vomit Tetris in such a boring and non-flashy manner that he made fewer mistakes. And he states that one of the reasons he's the best undercover agent of the Shinsengumi is because he is so easily overlooked.
  • Sanity Slippage: After eating Anpan for a month.
  • Slasher Smile: Gets some absolutely deranged expressions during the OwEe battle against Shinpachi, including this.
  • Stalker with a Crush - With Tama
  • Straight Man: At times
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Subverted, Yamazaki eats anpan with milk during stakeouts as an offering to the "stakeout god" even thought he doesn't like anpan. However, after a whole month of anpan it takes its toll on his mind
  • Weapon of Choice: Though he's also a swordsman like the rest of the Shinsengumi, he sure likes holding onto that racquet.
  • What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: "Your lameness...is on a completely different level from mine!"

Katakuriko Matsudaira

= Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto (JP), Kyle Jones (EN, movie) =

An infrequently recurring character, he is the daimyo who acts as the direct superior to the Shinsengumi and reports to the Shogun. He's often regarded as a dangerous, paranoid nutcase who resorts to violence at the first sign of provocation and sees potential assassins everywhere around him. In addition, he is extremely protective of his daughter, Kuriko, often ordering the Shinsengumi to assist him in shadowing any dates she goes on.

Although appearing to be an unstable lunatic, he is highly devoted to his job. Unlike Kondo, he is unable to sympathize with the Shinsengumi on a personal basis as he is not in direct command of them, but he holds the safety and well-being of the country and its people in high priority.

Four Heavenly Emperors

The Heavenly Emperors are the four leaders of Kabukicho. They are:

Otose

= Voiced by: Kujira (JP), Shelley Calene-Black (EN, movie) =

Gintoki's tough-as-nails landlady. "Otose" is just her alias, and her real name is Ayano Terada.

She owns a snack-bar and is usually helpful towards those in need. Up until the Kabukicho Arc, she mostly remained in the backgorund, often giving precious advice or taking in Tama, Catherine or Hinowa's son temporarily.

Despite constant arguments over Gintoki's inability to pay his rent, she is confident in his defense of her. She is apparently one of the four "emperors" that rule the Kabuki District and has the personal title "Empress of the Kabuki District," mainly because of her good relationships and channels... and Gintoki.

  • Badass
  • Cool Old Lady
  • Her Heart Will Go On: As is exposed during the Kabukicho arc.
  • I Was Quite a Looker: Yes she was.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite her often blunt attitude, she sincerely cares for the Yorozuya and her employees, Catherine and Tama (even though Catherine's very introduction into Gintama was trying to steal from Otose) , going as far as to call them her family. This kindness was more obvious when she was a young woman, as she secretly fed poor children food from her job (and got fired for it).
    • Pet the Dog: Among other examples, she is shown many times ripping into Gintoki for not paying her each month's rent on time, yet she cuts him some slack a few times all the same.
  • Killed Off for Real: Subverted! In chapter 300, she got stabbed by Jirochou... but in the next chapter, it's revealed that she survived, to the relief of many fans who thought Sorachi would actually go through with it. In fact, it was part of Jirochou's plan to keep her alive in the first place.
  • Landlady: To Gintoki.
  • Never Mess with Granny: Her title "Empress of the Kabuki District" should tell you that this is one old lady you do not want to mess with.
  • Non-Action Snarker: Despite counting on the Yoroyuza for her own protection since she is just too old to really make an impression in a heated physical fight, she does gibe at them a lot.
  • Only Known by Their Nickname
  • Plucky Girl: In her youth.
  • Protectorate: Otose first met Gintoki while offering meat pies at her husband's grave. She let grubby-looking Gintoki eat them and for this favor, Gintoki promised to protect her until she joins her husband.
    • Earlier, Tatsugoro (Otose's husband) with his last words entrusts her safety to Jirochou.
  • Smoking Is Cool
  • This! Is! KABUKICHOU!!!
  • Undying Loyalty: Be it Gintoki himself, Catherine, Tama or pretty much anyone who knows her well, she inspires this due to her kind and caring self underneath her apparent toughness.
  • Widow Woman


Tokumori Saigou

= Voiced by: Hisao Egawa =

A former member of the Anti-Foreigner Faction. Since his wife's death he has done everything he could to be both a father and a mother to his son. He is the also the owner of an okama cabaret bar, and most of the crossdressers are formerly of the Faction as well. In his first appearance he tried to transform Gintoki and Katsura into crossdressers too until they helped him out.


Kada

= Voiced by: Miki Itou =

Also known as "Kujakuhime" ("Princess Peacock"), she is an Amanto who operates most of the gambling outfits in Kabukicho.

Manipulative, vain and highly territorial, she runs her casino with an iron fist and isn't very close to the other "Emperors" of Kabukichou. During the Kabukicho arc, it is revealed that she is actually linked to the Space Pirates known as Harusame and that her intentions are far from benevolent.

Jirochou Doromizu

Voiced by: Takayuki Sugou

The last Emperor of Kabukichou to be revealed in the series. A former member of the Anti-Foreigner Faction, currently a yakuza. Grew up with Otose, he ended up befriending her future husband. Due to the fact that he also loved her, he backed down, allowing Otose to marry his best friend. When Otose's husband died protecting Jirochou from a bullet, Jirochou took it upon himself to protect Kabukicho.

Residents of Kabukicho

Tae Shimura

= Voiced by: Satsuki Yukino (JP), Shelley Calene-Black (EN, movie) =

Shinpachi's violent and unhinged older sister. She runs the Kakidōkan Dojo, the family dojo, with her brother, working part-time as a bar hostess to pay for the upkeep.

She is usually addressed as "Otae", although Kagura always addresses her as anego ("big sister" in Japanese informal speech), and the Shinsengumi call her nee-san ("big sister" in Japanese formal speech), which the usual honorific used to refer to a samurai leader's consort.

Despite her sweet face and cheerful demeanor, she is one of the most brutal characters in the show. She often delivers sound thrashings to Isao Kondo and Gintoki, or well, anyone else, whenever they anger her.

  • Action Girl
  • A-Cup Angst
  • Armor-Piercing Slap: Oh yeah.
  • Bastard Girlfriend: How Kondo sees her.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: A variation. She isn't exactly malevolent but she does put a front of kindness and sweetness to hide her much less pleasant real self.
  • Blade on a Stick: Her Weapon of Choice. Mostly utilized for threatening the likes of Gintoki and Kondo.
  • Cool Big Sis: Deconstructed. See above.
  • Cute and Psycho: Tae (or Otae as she's more known) can be somewhat Tsundere, but she also flies into a crazy, violent fit at the slightest disturbance while still acting the sweet older sister. (Add the fact that she shares a voice actress with Shmion of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, and well...)
  • Dissonant Serenity
  • Does Not Like Men: A subtle one. But she clearly has no interest in men whatsoever, despite being courted by many handsome or high-status guys (including Kondou), and only seems genuinely well-disposed towards like-minded females such as Kagura. Which leads to...
    • Ambiguously Lesbian: There is clearly something going on betwseen her and Yagyu, but nothing is confirmed as of now. It would explain many things though.
  • Heir to the Dojo: Together with Shinpachi.
  • In-Series Nickname: Otae, which is simply adding the prefix "O" to her name, which is a respectful way to address a woman.
  • Intertwined Fingers: This staple of the Yuri Genre is used between her and Yagyu. Which seems to speak for itself.
  • Lethal Chef: Shinpachi even suggests that his bad eyesight is from eating too much of her cooking.
    • ...and it's been shown to cause amnesia. Lethal, indeed.
  • Perpetual Smiler: Always smiling and welcoming, even when she's about to fly into a hissy, violent fit.
  • Yamato Nadeshiko: Mercilessly subverted. She has many characteristics and attributes, including the (apparent) prim attitude and the naginata, but her true self is anything but this since she can hardly cook and is very violent otherwise.

Taizo Hasegawa

= Voiced by: Fumihiko Tachiki (JP), Chris Ayres (EN, movie) =

A close acquaintance of the Yoroyuza Gin, introduced as an official working for the Bakufu. After an incident with Amanto dignitary Prince Hata, whom he was assigned to serve and protect, he fled. He has consequently become homeless, jobless, and a heavy drinker and survives pretty much the same way Gintoki and his pals do: doing pretty much anything he can get paid for.

He is often referred to as "Madao," which stands for "totally useless middle-aged man" in Japanese. In the English translation, it's "dork", which stands for "dumb old retarded kook."

  • Actor Allusion: Assumes the Gendo pose in the Kagura "replacement" episode.
    • In the parody of the final episode of Evangelion, he appears with his wife in the same way as with Gendo and his deceased wife.
    • During the Mon-Hun Eyecatch his silhouette is shaped like Kenpachi
  • Almighty Janitor: Subverted. Despite having bouts of Hidden Depths, his epiphanies and reflective speeches are often ignored by everyone.
  • Butt Monkey: Things keep getting worse and worse for him. (If it helps any, he's most definitely not the only Butt Monkey among the cast.)
  • Cool Loser: Despite being called out on his inability to crawl out of his homelessness, he is still part of the Yoroyuza's entourage and they consider him a friend.
  • Cool Shades: Subverted. Although he starts off as a high-ranking official in the government, he becomes less cool and far more loserly as the series goes on. On the other hand, they sorta invoke the image of Gendo Ikari, whom Fumihiko Tachiki also voices.
    • In a hilarious demonstration, during the Ryugu palace arc, he is shown to have the fighting power of something around 600K (K for kelp, and regular humans possessing roughly 360 times K, Shinpachi had 364). That is, until he drops his sunglasses and it's revealed that device was reading data from said sunglasses and his actual fighting power was a mere 1K, i.e. on the same level as kelp. "It's true, Madao is nothing more than a pair of sunglasses."
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Who would've though a laid-back, easy-going homeless guy would hold such a fierce streak in times of need?
  • Embarrassing Nickname: Madao.
  • Hobos: A rather benevolent and dignified one.
  • Jerkass Facade: At one point, puts one on in order to dissuade a caring family from taking him in.
  • Perpetual Poverty: After his redundancy.
  • Running Gag: His nickname, Madao.
  • Smoking Is Cool: Not that it makes him any less of a loser, though...
  • The Tramp: Rather than a member of the Crazy Homeless People since he is much more sympathetic and much less slovenly than your average bum.

Catherine

= Voiced by: Yuu Sugimoto (JP), Luci Christian (EN, movie) =

A middle-aged cat-eared Amanto whom Otose takes in. She used to be a cat-burglar and eventually gor framed for larceny by Gintoki and his pals after trying to steal from them.

Sharp-tongued and rather unpleasant, she often gets called out on her "lack of manners" by Otose and often gets into fights with Kagura. However, she can be genuinely helpful and kind when she wants to. Especially remarkable for her strange accent and her uneven accentuation when she speaks.

Tama

= Voiced by: Omi Minami =

Tama is a female android found as a disembodied robot head in a trash can one night by Gintoki and Kagura. She was named by Kagura, who was obsessed with eating egg on rice at the time. She seems to have some rather strange main functions, such as acting as an interactive interface for a Dragon Quest game.

Tama was originally a robot servant created by Dr. Hayashi to provide his sickly daughter with a companion. Hayashi tried to implant the personality of his daughter, Fuyo, into Tama, but the experiment killed his daughter in the process. He gradually became wracked by grief and his intentions became more and more selfishly twisted after the event. Tama came to possess the element known as the "Seed", and is therefore capable of human emotion in addition to retaining some of Fuyo's personality.

After the events of the Android arc (in which she was introduced), Tama was fully reconstructed and has since been employed at Otose's snack house where she is always seen working alongside Otose and Catherine.

Gengai Hiraga

= Voiced by: Takeshi Aono =

A crazy inventor who can repair any kind of machine. He is often concerned about his son who he often wishes to have raised better.

He is the one to put Tama back together and helped a lot in taking down the army of robot-maids.

Kurogoma Katsuo

= Voiced by: Katashi Ishizuka =

An infrequently recurring character and one of the higher-ranking members of Dobunezemi, Jirochou's organization. An on-again-off again antagonist.

Kyoushiro Honjou

The owner and frontman of the #1 host club, Takamagahara. Occasionally visits Gintoki and company for help.

Allies

Kotarou Katsura

= Voiced by: Akira Ishida (JP), Illich Guardiola (EN, movie) =

A former comrade of Gintoki during the Joi war. Even after the Amanto take-over of Japan, Katsura continues to resist the Amanto, and has amassed a band of followers known as the Anti-Foreigner Faction, which is in continuous, direct conflict with the Shinsengumi.

Although his initial methods were more violent in nature, Katsura has since come to believe that there are people important to him in Edo, and decides that he no longer wants to destroy the country. He and his faction now seek a way to bring about change without causing needless bloodshed.

Since he is a wanted man, Katsura is often seen wearing disguises (which are always completely ineffectual). Katsura sometimes works odd jobs to raise money for his terrorist activities and is often seen trying to coerce Gintoki into assisting him with his eccentric endeavors. He is always accompanied by his pet, Elizabeth, whom he cares deeply for. Gintoki often calls him "Zura," to which he will typically respond with "Not Zura, it's Katsura."

  • Alliterative Name
  • Attractive Bent Gender: Invoked as Zurako when he is forced to go undercover with Gintoki.
  • Badass
    • Badass Long Hair: Sometimes. Ironically, one of his most badass moments occurred when he and Gintoki fought against Takasugi and the Harusame pirates, at which point he had short hair due to it being cut off earlier.
    • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: A highly capable and lethal warrior, on par with Gintoki, completely obscured by the fact that he is always seen with a giant duck by his side. His strength is such that during the Benizakura arc, Gintoki tells Nizo that "there's no way in hell Zura would lose to him."
  • Bishonen: Comes with his voice actor.
  • Bomb Throwing Anarchist: At least initially. His Cartoon Bombs are still indicative of his scatterbrained nature.
  • Bunny Ears Terrorist: His actions and reasoning are often incredibly eccentric and strange but he's displayed a shocking amount of competence in managing to evade the Shinsengumi day-after-day. Need I also point out that he fought side-by-side with Gintoki during the Joi war?
  • Catch Phrase: "Zura janai, Katsura da!"
    • Now that he believes his role has been taken over by Kyuubei, his new catch phrase is "I am/was on standby the entire time."
  • Cloudcuckoolander: He thought that Gintoki could hide from some ronin in an empty tin can, keeps Elizabeth as a partner without so much as a single question (completely ignoring the fact that it's just a guy in a costume[1]), and fends off attackers using poisoned fried rice and curry as a weapon. Heck, when he had a Newtype reaction, he can only say completely nonsensical things!
    • Here's a really extreme example: he once went out for a pleasant bicycle ride... through a safari park, just because he wanted to see the animals' paws up close—while everyone that has a lower ranking than him wants to kill him.
  • Cosplay Otaku Terrorist: He's so single-mindedly incompetent at disguising himself that it might just be something he does for fun.

"He likes his pet alright, but he loves his costume, uh-huh." As Kagura put it once when he showed up in Captain Harlock cosplay for the second time. Live on television, no less. Using Captain Katsuura as his alias.

  • The Comically Serious: Subverted because we see him doing something utterly stupid or weird more times than we see him be serious, but he remains perfectly serious during all of his appearances.
  • Crossdresser: He has a crossdressing "persona" named Zurako.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: He may want to kill the Shogun, but he will not do it when the Shogun is naked and has his dick out aiming at him. In fact he insist Kondo protect him!
  • Flanderization: In his first appearance, he's at least reasonably competent, dangerous, and aware of the world around him, if a bit prone to idealistic ranting. After the debut of Elizabeth, he's a silly Cloudcuckoolander with the naive idealist traits turned Up to Eleven. He's considerably funnier this way.
  • Historical Domain Character: Katsura Kogoro.
    • Historical In-Joke: A lot of his characterisation is based on Kido "Running Katsura" Takayoshi, who lived a lot longer than most rebels by virtue of clever disguises and running away when he needed to.
    • In one chapter he hides from the Shinsengumi with a ramen shopkeeper named Ikumatsu, and falls in love with her. The real-life Katsura met his wife, Ikumatsu, while in hiding from his enemies.
  • Insane Troll Logic: Just look at the exam he wrote...
  • Likes Older Women: Has a thing for older women, according to Gintoki. There was also the incident with Ikumatsu...
  • Lovable Coward: He can fight, but he will run away from losing battles, as indicated by an early flashback in which he tries to persuade Gin to do the same. (See Historical In-Joke above.)
  • Master of Disguise: Or so he thinks.
  • My Name Is Not Durwood: Zura Janai, Katsura daaa!
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: Whether he dresses up as a priest, as Captain Katsura (Dattebayo/Believe it!), or as Katsuo, almost nobody (excluding Gintoki & co.) ever seems to recognize him, despite baring his unaltered face in plain sight. A lot of times, he doesn't even bother going for secrecy:

After accidentally stepping on a kid's toy, disguised as a priest.
Kid: Hey, smelly priest!
Katsura: I'm not a smelly priest, I'm Katsura.

    • Moreover, when he's interviewed by Hanano, he's outraged with the network altering his voice, obscuring his face with a mosaic, and using an alias instead of his real name. Instead, he has them stop, using only a pair of gag glasses as a disguise, and he even takes those off just to eat some ramen.
  • Red Baron: It's probably a good idea to not take someone with the nickname "Young Noble of Terror" lightly.
  • Shower Scene: While talking about how he sometimes likes to take a whizz in the shower.
  • Snark Ball: Has his moments
  • Traumatic Haircut: In the Benizakura arc. It's grown back the next time we see him.

Elizabeth

= Voiced by: Shinji Takamatsu, Tohru Furuya (in Episodes 234 & 235) (JP), Andrew Love (EN, movie) =

Katsura's right hand... duck/penguin-costume-guy-thingy. Originally a present from Sakamoto, Elizabeth hangs around with Katsura, who doesn't even think twice about treating it like a dear friend (and not some person in a costume). It almost never talks, preferring to communicate with signboards (which it uses as weapons, whenever necessary). Real name is General Eren, and belongs to the mercenary race of Renho.Or not, as there are (at least) two Elizabeths; General Eren is apparently a temp who fills in on Mondays.

  • Author Avatar: It has been revealed that underneath the costume is the director, although this is obviously a gag exclusive to the anime adaptation.
  • BFG: Sometimes uses a bazooka.
  • Everything's Better with Penguins: Or ducks... or whatever Elizabeth is supposed to be.
  • Homage: Elizabeth seems to like dressing up as a reference to Golgo 13, while Eren is a complete shout out to Amuro Ray. Heck, they even pilot the same Gundam and are voiced by the same person.
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: Elizabeth's appearance already seems like a costume, but look at Elizabeth when it's running, and you'll see flippers being worn by hairy legs. More obviously, when its mouth is open, you can see either glowing eyes or a man (the director).
  • Plucky Comic Relief
  • Talking with Signs
  • The Lancer: To Katsura.
  • The Quiet One: It talks once in a while (emphasis on while), but usually, it just communicates through instant signboards.
  • Weapon of Choice: Those signboards. Well, that, or the bazooka.

Tatsuma Sakamoto

= Voiced by: Shinichiro Miki (JP), Chris Ayres (EN) =

A former comrade of Gintoki during the Joi war. He is perpetually cheerful and upbeat even in the most dire of situations. Despite his goofy nature, Sakamoto is actually a successful businessman and pilot with a private, well-equipped defensive business fleet, the Kaientai. Sakamoto's goal is to use trade to improve relations and negotiations between Earth and the Amanto in order to bring about freedom in a peaceful manner.

  • Badass: He fought alongside Gintoki and Katsura during the war but he gets bonus points during the Renho Arc, where he gets most of the Renhos to join their side by working out a business deal. Ah hah hah hah.
  • Bring My Red Jacket
  • Chivalrous Pervert: A goofy variation of this.
  • Cool Shades:
  • Cloudcuckoolander
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Remember that he did fight with Gintoki against the Amanto, just like Takasugi and Katsura. He also was able to build up a big multi-planet company, the Kaientai.
  • The Fool
  • Genius Ditz
  • The Gunslinger: Now prefers a pistol to the sword he used to wield during the Amanto war. Definitely a shout-out to the historical Ryōma Sakamoto, who was also a master swordsman and entrepreneurial genius.
  • Heterosexual Life Partners: When they were younger, he said that he was only willing to try flying because he knew Gin was waiting for him on the ground. Gin is impatient with him in the present day, but both are willing to risk their lives for the other.
  • The Hyena: AHAHAHA!!
  • Keet: A rare grown-up example.
  • The Pollyanna: Rare Male Example. He can somehow find an optimistic explanation for waking up to being eaten by a giant dog.

"(...) Must've sweated while I was asleep too. Eh? Why's everything going red? ...Oh yeah...I was drinking tomato juice."
"Look, there's a limit to positive thinking, okay?!"

  • Running Gag: Always refers to Gintoki as "Kintoki", which replaces the "silver" kanji with "gold" kanji. Much to Gintoki's annoyance.
  • Strange Minds Think Alike: Seeing as he was the one who gave Elizabeth to Katsura as a gift, it's probably safe to assume that these two are the only ones who operate on the same wavelength.
  • Urban Legend Love Life: There's a brief mention that he can "only handle Earth women" in the manga, but we never actually see any evidence one way or another.
  • Technical Pacifist: He doesn't like pointless combat and would rather avoid unnecessary violence. But if you challenge him, all bets are off.
  • Verbal Tic: Ends many of his sentences with the suffix "-o" which is an informal way of emphasizing the whole sentence.
  • Wide-Eyed Idealist: Believes there is a way to bring about peace in a non-violent manner whereas Gintoki has succumbed to indifference and both Katsura (initially) and Takasugi have resorted to terrorism to bring about change.

Mutsu

= Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe =

Sakamoto's serious, down-to-earth second-in-command, and the real leader behind the Kaientai.

Competent and reliable, Tatsuma usually leaves her in charge of everything while he's away... which is 90% of the time. A Running Gag in the series is her trying to find him.

Ayame Sarutobi

= Voiced by: Yuu Kobayashi (JP), Carli Mosier (EN, movie) =

A female ninja and member of the Oniwabanshū nicknamed Sa-chan. She meets Gintoki when she falls through his roof during a failed mission and has since become infatuated with him, much to his chagrin. Her feelings for him seem to be encouraged, as she enjoys being put down and threatened by him, due to her blatant masochism.

Zenzo Hattori

= Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara =

A skilled ninja originally from the Oniwabanshu, acquainted with Ayame. He's a big fan of Weekly Shonen Jump, just like Gintoki—once he and Gintoki fought to the death over the Jump Christmas double issue (which turned to be a double issue of Akamaru Jump). Despite his great skill, he's unfortunate enough to have the runs. Even more unfortunately, Ayame loves taking advantage of that fact...

Kyuubei Yagyu

= Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa (JP), Brittney Karbowski (EN, movie) =

An aristocratic young lady who was brought up as a male in order to succeed her family's clan. She dresses and behaves like a boy due to her upbringing. She was close friends with Otae Shimura when they were children, and lost her left eye protecting her when they were young. The incident also left her with the determination to become stronger and improve her skills.

Ayumu Tojo

= Voiced by: Koji Yusa (JP), Blake Shepard (EN, movie) =

A steadfast servant of the Yagyu clan who personally looks after Kyuubei. He is extremely dedicated to the point of obsession in his concern for his young master's well-being. He goes to great lengths to ensure that no misfortune ever befalls her, much to her annoyance. In return, Kyuubei is usually indifferent to Tojo's excessive attention, although she has stated on one occasion that she has never liked him from the beginning and never shys away from responding with physical abuse.

His obsession with making Kyuubei happy is most pronounced when he repeatedly tries to force her to wear gothic lolita outfits, claiming they suit her perfectly. Despite his radical approach to caring for his master, he geninuely has the best of intentions for both Kyuubei and the Yagyu family. He is generally incredibly calm and composed in both appearance and mannerisms although he easily becomes agitated whenever anything concerning his master is brought up.

  • Battle Butler: As he is a part of the Yagyu clan and has been entrusted with the safety of its successor, he is a highly skilled combatant.
  • Berserk Button: Ah, he sure loves eating his raw egg yolk on his rice... but when the yolk breaks...
  • Butt Monkey
  • Cheshire Cat Grin: Combine this with his seiyuu and this should remind you of someone.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Despite appearing hopelessly incompetent, it's implied that he used the Yorozuya to drive off some of the Yagyu clan's more disrespecful/dishonest benefactors in attendance at Kyuubei's birthday party. It was all for the best, although a bit of a heads-up would have been nice.
  • Elegant Gothic Lolita: Obviously not one himself, but he really likes imagining the sight of Kyuubei wearing these. She typically responds by blowing said outfits up whenever he buys them for her.
  • Eyes Always Shut: A part of his perpetually calm demeanor. If they do open, however, the whites of his eyes are actually black, and his pupils either glow with an unearthly green, blue or red.
  • Fan Disservice: The less is said about his crossdressing incident, the better.
  • Keigo: He generally speaks in a very polite manner, using masu and desu instead of the short dictionary forms usually employed in normal male-speech.
  • Mentor Ship: Probably never going to reach this point and always played for laughs, although the 7th opening has drawn comparisons between his relationship with Kyuubei and Kondo's equally unrequited relationship with Otae.
    • It's more likely that Tojo wants Kyuubei to confide in him than pursuing anything like a romantic relationship. However, considering Tojo's overprotectiveness and imagination of Kyuubei in gothic lolita clothes, Kyuubei does have good reasons to keep some distance from him.
    • Then explain why his Virtual Girlfriend resembles Kyuubei. (His explanation: "She's not my girlfriend, she's my mother!" Before proceeding to having his diaper changed by Virtual Kyuubei)
  • Overprotective Mentor
  • Trademark Favorite Food: He has an obsession with beating a raw, unbroken egg yolk on his rice for meals and has been shown to fly into a rage if the yolk breaks.

Umibouzu

= Voiced by: Show Hayami =

The father of Kagura and Kamui, he's another of the last members of the Yato clan. He travels the galaxy as a famous alien hunter. Like all Yato, he fights using an umbrella. He is one of the few characters able to overpower Kagura. He first appears when aliens go berserk in Edo, and he uses the opportunity to take Kagura away with him, despite her desire to stay with the Yorozuya. He relents after fighting an especially powerful alien off together with Gintoki.

He's appeared rarely afterwards, first via a letter, warning Kagura about Sadaharu, and then via his own day in the spotlight. He appears again after Gintoki defeats Housen, warning him about Kamui, who now wants to fight Gintoki himself.

  • A Day in The Spotlight: He gets an episode where he helps liberate a planet from its rampant environmental computer. It's really a hair growth shampoo commercial.
  • Badass
    • Badass Abnormal
    • Badass Family: A lot easier to pull off when you're from the Yato clan, yet he's undeniably a badass dad. Fighting evenly with Housen for days, while Gintoki barely survived fighting Housen to a standstill, even with some help from the Hyakka? Blocking a Wave Motion Gun with his umbrella? He more than qualifies.
    • Badass Mustache: Some of the only real hair he has left.
  • Bald of Awesome: Not that he likes being bald...
  • Daddy Had a Good Reason For Abandoning You: He tries to justify his leaving (see below), but realizes that, for the most part, he was just being a coward.
  • Disappeared Dad: He is Kagura and Kamui's Disappeared Dad. He left Kagura with her dying mother after an incident with Kamui: Kamui tried to kill him, and Umibouzu tried the same in retaliation. The only thing stopping him from doing so was Kagura. He left, afraid that Kagura might one day turn on him too, and that he would kill his own daughter.
  • Dodgy Toupee: He insists otherwise, but everyone can see it. However, hair or no hair, he is undoubtedly a Badass.
  • Dysfunctional Family: He blames himself for the current state of his family.
  • Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: Used to have a nice long braid before his onset of baldness.
  • Handicapped Badass: It's hidden underneath a glove and a long sleeve, but his left arm's actually a prosthetic. Not that it impairs him, though.
  • Meaningful Name: Umibouzo is a legendary creature who lives in the ocean, characterized for having a big, bald head.
  • One-Man Army: One, he's from the Yato clan. Two, he used to be their leader.
  • Overprotective Dad: Cares deeply for Kagura, to the point where he tried to take her away from the Yorozuya (rather, away from the planet).[2]
  • Papa Wolf: Don't hurt Kagura. Don't even let Kagura get hurt in front of him.

(in a letter to Kagura) If anything happens, all you need to do is send me a letter. I'll go over there and kill everybody.

Tsukuyo

= Voiced by: Yuko Kaida =

The leader of the Hundred Blooms of Yoshiwara, a law-enforcement squad of Yoshiwara that consists of all females, deployed by the Night King Hosen. A competent Action Girl, she is also known as the "Courtesan of Death", which means she doesn't serve as a geisha, rather she protects them from unsavoury patrons and general aggression. She scarred her own face to display her refusal of classic femininity.

Despite initially appearing to be a bitch, she becomes quick allies with Gintoki and the Yorozuya who were successful at bringing out her nicer inner self and thanks them for it. Her loyalty and home lies with Hinowa who looked after her when she was a child.

Antagonists

Shinsuke Takasugi

= Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu (JP), Kyle Jones (EN, movie) =

A former comrade of Gintoki and Katsura during the Joi war and a major antagonist throughout the series. He leads a radical branch of the Anti-Foreigner Faction called the Kiheitai (Demon Soldiers Army) and is known amongst the Shinsengumi as one of the most dangerous criminals. After the war ended, he vanished and has since gained a deadly reputation due to his assassination of many of the Bakufu's main officers.

Unlike Katsura, he believes that the only way to save the country is to destroy the "rotten" post-Joi war world. His resentment and overwhelming spite drove him to strike a partnership with the space pirates Harusame in order to eliminate the Bakufu.

  • Arch Enemy: For now he is.
  • Badass: He was former comrade-in-arms with Gintoki and Takasugi during the Joi War, there's no way he's not badass.
  • Big Bad: Arguably the main antagonist of the series.
  • Butterfly of Death and Rebirth: His kimono is covered in golden butterflies and the symbolism is perfectly in-line with his radical intentions.
  • Eyepatch of Power: His bandages serve as one.
  • Evil Counterpart: His character is a fairly good representation of what Gintoki and Katsura could become if they ever decide to go on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
  • Knight of Cerebus: Whenever Takasugi or the space pirate group Harusame shows up, things start getting serious.

Elizabeth: Such a violent development! Did this turn into a different anime?!

Bansai Kawakami

= Voiced by: Takumi Yamazaki (JP), Andrew Love (EN, movie) =

Regarded as one of the strongest swordsmen in the country, Bansai serves as second-in-command of the Kiheitai. He carries a shamisen which doubles as a tool for garroting or tying up his opponents.

On top of being famous as a skilled swordsman, Bansai is also a talented songwriter. He works as a music producer under the name Tsunpo and the pop idol Otsu's newer songs are written by him. Overall, Bansai is shown to have an extremely calm demeanor, although he is capable of violence when necessary and appears to take an interest in potential challenges to his skill.

  • Anti-Villain: Arguably this, after sparing Yamazaki's life and after confessing to Takasugi that he'd "fallen in love with the heroes' song."
  • Badass Longcoat
  • Cool Shades
  • The Dragon: Takasugi's right-hand man.
  • Finish Him!: The Itou arc contains a rarely-seen subversion in that Bansai is the one playing the part of the reluctant party given the command and ultimately chooses to spare Yamazaki's life. It appears that, despite his ruthless swordsmanship and the fact that he's a high-ranking antagonist, he is more than capable of showing mercy.
  • Headphones Equal Isolation: Subverted. He wears them to show his innate connection to music, which he uses as a means of judging a character's personality and fighting style.
  • Keigo: He ends his sentences with de gozaru and uses the humble first person pronoun sessha. Remind you of anyone, de gozaru? Turns out he was named after Gensai Kawakami, one of the four notable assassins of the Bakumatsu period, whom Kenshin himself was inspired by.
  • Instrument of Murder / Senseless Violins: Shown in his fight with Gintoki, Bansai can use the strings from his shamisen to restrain people. Also, said shamisen has a katana hidden inside of it.
  • Razor Floss: From his shamisen strings, no less.
  • Sunglasses at Night
  • Verbal Tic: As noted above, he uses "-de gozaru", an ancient suffix mostly used by Ronins and other types of rogue swordsmen to mark hostility and masculinity without being rude.
  • Villains Out Shopping: Although he works with Takasugi in the Kiheitai, he's also a songwriter who's written songs for Otsu Terakado while off-duty.
  • Warrior Poet
  • You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Matako Kijima

= Voiced by: Risa Hayamizu (JP), Carli Mosier (EN, movie) =

A member of the Kiheitai who is skilled at using firearms rather than swords. She wields a pair of pistols and is known as the "Red Bullet" for her honed sharpshooting skills. She is extremely loyal to Takasugi to the point where it appears she has a crush on him. She is quick-tempered, easily agitated, and prone to screeching when upset.

Takechi Henpeita.

The strategist of the Kiheitai and mainly a background character.

Notable for his strange fetishes and his usually brilliant assessment of situations. He can fight but his abilities are lesser than most big players of the Kiheitai.

Kamotaro Itou

= Voiced by: Mitsuaki Madono =

An advisor to the Shinsengumi who serves as the main antagonist of the "Shinsengumi Discord" arc. Initially introduced as a ruthless, power-hungry tactician, he is revealed to be a traitor, secretly allied with Shinsuke Takasugi

He considers himself a rival to Toshiro Hijikata and manages to get him suspended from the Shinsengumi, later attempting to assassinate Kondo.

Hosen

= Voiced by: Banjo Ginga =

The ruler of Yoshiwara and a high official within the Harusame Space Pirates. He is of comparable strength to Umibouzu, the most powerful alien hunter in the universe, one of the few who opposed Housen. He founded the 7th Division of the Harusame, of which Kamui later would become the youngest leader.

Kamui

= Voiced by: Satoshi Hino (JP), Chris Ayres (EN, movie) =

Kagura's older brother. He is the leader of the space pirates Harusame's 7th squad. He left his family after challenging his father and cutting off his left arm. Although he is almost always smiling cheerfully, he is in fact a violent fighter who lusts for blood, like the majority of the Yato clan.

Jiraia/Danzo Tobita

= Voiced by: Yara Yuusaku =

Other

Tsu Terakado

= Voiced by: Mikako Takahashi =

A popular Idol Singer Otsu, who's sung multiple hit singles with surprisingly foul lyrics ("Where the hell is your mother from?"). When she started her singing career on the streets, Shinpachi was the first to cheer her on, and he's continued doing so as the leader of her fan club ever since.

Ana Ketsuno

= Voiced by: Sayaka Narita =

A reporter and weather forecaster for Oedo News, well-known and loved for her cheerful disposition. It isn't elaborated until later, but she uses fortune telling in both her weather and horoscope predictions, which are always very accurate. It's mentioned in the series that she gets married, and that she later gets divorced. The latter is the focus of one arc. Gintoki has a crush on her.

Her real name is Crystal.

Today you die! Today your lucky color is red. So let's hide that blood-covered body with something red!

Shouyou Yoshida

= Voiced by: Koichi Yamadera (JP), David Wald (EN, movie) =

The swordmaster who taught Gintoki, Katsura and Takasugi everything they know. He was unjustly accused of trying to raise an army and executed by the government, in return for saving his students' lives.

  • Decapitation Presentation
  • Despair Event Horizon: His execution is what made Takasugi what he is today.
  • Disappeared Adoptive Dad
  • The Faceless: Finally averted in chapter 396, which showed him like a long haired and gentle version of Sougo. Or a white haired version of Katsura.
  • The Mentor: To Gintoki, Katsura and Takasugi.
    • The Obi-Wan: Considering how Shouyou-sensei taught Gintoki, Katsura, and Takasugi everything they know about the path of bushido and the amount of respect those three still have for him in return, Shouyou-sensei definitely qualifies despite appearing only in brief flashbacks.
  • Noodle Incident: Pretty much everything about him...
  • White-Haired Pretty Boy: Understatement if there was one.


Shigeshige Tokugawa

= Voiced by: Yuki Ono =

Also known as the Great General, he is the ruling Shogun of Edo in the Gintama world. He is a close-friend of Matsudaira.

  • Butt Monkey: It's amazing how a man who could order to execute any person he wish can achieve such big levels of humiliation and pain in just a few seconds/a few panels after his appearence. It's a record even for Gintama standards!
  • Gag Penis
  • I Just Want to Have Friends / I Just Want to Be Normal: The main reason of his appearances.
  • Nice Guy
  • Our Shoguns Are Different
  • Running Gag: Him getting naked.
  • The Quiet One
    • Beware the Quiet Ones: Wielding lots of political and military power? Check. As if that's not obvious enough, in avalanche arc, even though he was still constantly abused (and ended up naked, again), you got to respect a guy who was able to survive frigid cold (naked), have his (naked) testicles bloodied thanks to having Gin using him as a speeding (naked) snowboard, able to find a shelter (naked), facing a bear with his bare (naked) hands and win, turn it into a winter clothes, and ended up rescuing Kondo (semi-naked) and the rest of the casts.
  • The Stoic

Prince Hata

= Voiced by: Kouichi Sakaguchi (JP), Andrew Love (EN, movie) =

An Amanto prince that regularly visits Edo. He likes collecting unique and dangerous animal/alien species and when there is a Monster of the Week episode, he's usually the one at fault.

He really has little idea of how repulsive the rest of the characters find him.

Isaburo Sasaki

= Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa =

The leader of the newly-established and significantly more illustrious Miwarigumi. He comes from an elite samurai family, with the skills and training to match. He's polite and disdainful—but his personality changes completely when he uses emails, becoming sickeningly sweet instead.

At the end of the Baragaki arc, he was shown amiably conversing and plotting with Takasugi Shinsuke.

Nobume Imai

= Voiced by: Aya Hirano =

An assassination from the Miwarigumi. She serves as Sasaki's second-in-command.

Back to Gintama
  1. ↑ and when a similar-looking person switches places he doesnt notices at all
  2. ↑ At least he doesn't try to shoot Kagura's friends, unlike Matsudaira up above...
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