When I decided to start watching the anime Gin Tama, I expected to be greeted with goofy characters, nonsensical comedy, comical character interactions and a simplistic plot. That was exactly what I got for the most part until I reached episode 58, which was the start of the thrilling Benizakura arc.
This arc took me by surprise in the best possible way, sharing almost no similarities whatsoever with the previous 57 episodes. My only disappointment was that the arc was too short. The Benizakura story line meets its end in episode 61, however in just 4 episodes the anime did an amazing job of meshing together suspense, drama, character development, superior action sequences and of course comedic relief.
The Mysterious Benizakura sword and terrorist organization Kiheitai
The first glimpse we get of the sword Benizakura is when Kotaro Katsura (Zura) is attacked on a bridge by a suspicious ronin. The ronin challenged Katsura to a duel to test out his new sword. Before seemingly getting slashed by the ronin, Katsura recognized the sword being wielded by his attacker.
Soon after, it is revealed that Katsura’s attacker was none other than the blind samurai — Nizo the ‘Butcher’ who had lost in a duel against Gintoki Sakata a few episodes ago. Gintoki acquires a new client — a blacksmith named Tetsuya who warns Gintoki of this dangerous blade. Tetsuya declares that the blade was stolen by a serial murderer and requests freelancer Gintoki to find it and return it to him.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth asks Kagura and Shinpachi for their help in tracking down Katsura. While Shinpachi and Elizabeth are gathering clues about Katsura’s whereabouts, they run into Nizo who slashes a police officer in front of them. As Nizo is about to slash Shinpachi, Gintoki suddenly appears to parry his attack. Nizo announces that he has killed Katsura and even shows them proof of Zura’s topknot being chopped off. Gintoki and Nizo have their second duel in the series and this one by far had the best looking animation.
The action was back and forth, added color effects and sound effects made for a classic anime action sequence. Gintoki is overpowered by the blind samurai and his mysterious blade and we end up seeing a splurge of blood as Gintoki is sliced in the chest and then stabbed brutally. He realizes that Benizakura is no ordinary sword and he stands no chance of victory at the moment. Shinpachi jumps in and slices Nizo’s arm off, forcing the butcher to retreat before he could finish off Gintoki for good.
Kagura’s search leads her to a camouflaged ship which turns out to be used by the terrorist group known as ‘Kiheitai’. Soon after Kagura storms the ship looking for answers, it is revealed that the leader of this group is Shinsuke Takasugi, whom we have seen interacting with Katsura and Gintoki on separate occasions in the past. The link between the dangerous blade Benizakura and terrorist group Kiheitai are revealed when we see the one armed Nizo aboard the same ship working as part of the terrorist organization.
Character pay offs and intense action sequences
The Benizakura arc pays off some of the character moments and fight sequences that have been hinted at since the beginning of the series. In this arc, every duel seemed like it was a battle to the death which was intense and resulted in me being on the edge of my seat.
In the initial clash between Nizo and Gintoki, we see Gintoki’s cherished wooden sword get cut in half and then Gintoki being mortally wounded with blood leaking out of him. If Shinpachi had not gotten involved, Nizo would have finished the job. Soon after, we see Kagura sneak alone the Kiheitai’s ship alone which was not a wise decision as she is confronted by a dozen soldiers and a skilled woman who manages to pierce Kagura with two bullets. We see Kagura bleeding and barely able to stand, this is the first time in the series we see Gintoki and Kagura getting seriously wounded.
In the past, whenever we see the odd jobs trio get into fights it is usually for comedic purposes and no one gets permanently damaged. However in this arc, every fight feels realistic and action sequences are well put together to drive the intensity and dramatic effect. This is especially seen with the rematch between Nizo who has merged with the sword Benizakura and an injured Gintoki who is now wielding a real sword after his wooden sword was broken in their previous battle. This was the first time in the series we see Gintoki wield a real blade and it made for a great payoff which we fans have been waiting for a long time to see.
Another great pay off moment is when Gintoki is in the middle of his rematch with Nizo and Tetsuya is in awe as he sees Gintoki fighting like a beast and overpowering Nizo. This is a surprise to him because the blade Benizakura gathers data each time it is used in battle to become a stronger and deadlier weapon, however Gintoki is not only able to match the blade’s speed and power but is even able to go beyond that.
Tetsuya comes to the realization that Gintoki is not evolving as he fights against Benizakura, rather he has activated his war memories which have been laying dormant in him all this time. It is an amazing pay off moment to see Gintoki being called ‘The White Knight’ as he goes all out using a real sword and of course the action sequences in this battle were crafted beautifully, the speed and movements, the sound effects and the intensity smeared on Gintoki’s face. This was by far the most satisfying fight we have seen in the series and at times I even felt like I was watching a totally different anime.
This arc also managed to keep the suspense of Katsura being dead until the very end when he shockingly appears disguised as Elizabeth. It was a satisfying reveal which caught the villain Takasugi by surprise allowing Katsura to slice him across the chest.
From the very first two episodes of Gin tama, we see references of the anti-foreigner war that took place in Edo twenty years prior when the Amanto arrived. It is also hinted that Gintoki and Katsura fought side by side while surrounded by aliens even when the odds were stacked against them.
In the final scenes of the Benizakura arc, we see another great payoff when Katsura and Gintoki are reunited in similar fashion and fighting with their backs against each other whilst being surrounded by a combination of Harusame pirates and Kiheitai’s soldiers. The arc concludes with a brief exchange of words between Gintoki, katsura and Takasugi leading to the former two’s escape, setting up Takasugi to return as a villain in a furture arc.
