Matching Gintama‘s gag moments is next to impossible. After all, which other anime can come up with a dialogue as iconic as “Zura janai Katsura da!”? Whether Hideaki Sorachi writes while being boozed or is the personification of the word ‘stoned’ is still a mystery.
Nevertheless, Gintama is the perfect anime for each and every person, whether one is looking for comedy anime or not, whether they are a human or not. Of course, finishing all 300+ episodes of the anime plus movies is no joke, but once they are over, life might feel like a barren field.
Of course, this barren life needs to be filled, and although nothing can be equal to Gintama, here is a list of anime that might remind you of the fun times with Gintoki, Kagura, and Shinpachi.
10. Good Luck Girl! / Binbougami Ga
Number of Episodes13Where to Stream?CrunchyrollStudioSunrise
Ichiko Sakura is a high schooler with an absurd level of good luck. However, she is actually siphoning the fortune energy from those around her, causing others to have bad luck and even the entire balance of the world to end up in peril. Thus, Momiji, the Goddess of Misfortune, has been sent to set everything right. Her task is to target Ichiko and steal her fortune energy, but she ends up underestimating the powers of Ichiko and gets defeated time and again.
Binbougami Ga has plenty of funny moments and references to other shows, but carries an overall positive message like Gintama. Gintama might be a silly mess, but it never forgets some morality and righteousness in the end. The comedic styles of both anime are pretty similar and have protagonists with eccentric personalities.
9. Grand Blue Dreaming
Number of Episodes24; ongoingWhere to Stream?CrunchyrollStudioZero-G, Liber
Iori moves to a beachside town where his uncle owns a diving shop to begin his college life. Little did he know that the Diving Club almost always resides in the shop and is naked, drunk, and rowdy 24/7. No matter how much he tries to escape the drunk club members, he is dragged back to take part in their drunk shenanigans. He is accompanied by Kohei, an eccentric otaku, and Chisa, his attractive cousin and classmate, who is disgusted at his daily acts.
Both Gintama and Grand Blue Dreaming have outrageous and intensely humorous episodes. Grand Blue thrives on alcohol-fueled antics and absurd acts. Both anime have shameless gags with an ensemble of quirky characters. While the characters in Grand Blue might look normal, each and every one of them hides something weird behind their facades. Some are sis-cons, some love being drunk, while others undress spontaneously.
8. Golden Kamuy
Number of Episodes49+4 OVAWhere to Stream?CrunchyrollStudioGeno Studio, Brain’s Base
Golden Kamuy and Gintama do not have any similarities in their premise whatsoever. While Gintama is a pure gag anime with a bit of action, Golden Kamuy has plenty of action, mystery, thrill, along with comedy and a plot that is strictly followed throughout the episodes. However, both have a historical setting with a twist. Gintama mizes the Edo period with sci-fi elements and samurai culture, while Golden Kamuy takes place in 20th-century Hokkaido and blends it with a treasure-hunting adventure.
Related: “It’s a gag anime, so it can be drawn quickly”: Gintama Director Admitted He Royally Underestimated Hideaki Sorachi’s Magnum Opus
Saichi Sugimoto is a war veteran who finds out about the legend of a treasure whose map has been tattooed on the skin of the dangerous Abashiri prisoners. The man was too drunk and had spilled his secrets, which led him to attempt to kill Saichi. The MC overpowers him and later finds that his body is covered with a geometric tattoo. He realizes that the legend is true, and he needs to put together the skins of all the prisoners to reach the treasure.
Both Golden Kamuy and Gintama blend serious and comic elements. Golden Kamuy has more crude humor along with heavy themes of survival and trauma. Both series have a cast of characters who can be both comic and serious.
7. Great Teacher Onizuka
Number of Episodes43Where to Stream?Netflix, CrunchyrollStudioPierrot
Onizuka, a 22-year-old gang member, desperately wants to lose his virginity. He tries to date high school girls but realizes that they are attracted to teachers, which is enough motivation for him to become one as well. Although the anime begins on a problematic note, once he does become a teacher, he becomes more responsible about his students. He teaches them life lessons in his own gangster like way and sets out to become the greatest teacher ever.
What happened to his flirty tendencies? While the school girls are off limits, the other teachers and parents of the students are fair game. Onizuka helps one student at a time, and even if his methods are unconventional, they still yield results. Both Gintama and GTO have unconventional and a bit older protagonists with a heart of gold, despite the several weird shenanigans they get involved in.
Both anime have an episodic structure, and like Gintama, GTO shifts from gag episodes to serious arcs completely at random. Both series have colorful and funny supporting characters.
6. Arakawa Under the Bridge
Number of Episodes26Where to Stream?ShaftStudioCrunchyroll
Kou Ichinomiya has always been taught never to be indebted to another person. So when he gets bullied by some children, falls into the Arakawa river, and gets saved from drowning by a girl, he needs to do everything in his power to repay the debt. He ends up becoming the girl’s boyfriend and starts living under the Arakawa Bridge. Little did he know that the place was full of supernatural beings and weirdoes. Kou’s role seems almost similar to that of Shinpachi in Gintama. Like Shinpachi, Kou’s reaction to the absurd things happening around him makes the plot funnier.
Related: This Underrated Gem Could Outshine ‘Gintama’ as the Best Comedy Anime
Both Gintama and Arakawa Under the Bridge have absurd humor and revel in unpredictable and chaotic scenarios. Both anime have a diverse and colorful range of characters who are used for the purpose of creating comic situations. Both have a slice of life vibe coupled with episodic storytelling and blend humor with some heart-touching moments.
5. Witch Watch
Number of Episodes17; ongoingWhere to Stream?Crunchyroll, NetflixStudio Bibury Animation
Morihito is a descendant of ogres, but he lives like a normal high schooler. His childhood friend is Nico, a witch who is soon to move into his house after the completion of her magical training. Even though Morihito hates the idea, he has to become Nico’s familiar. Unbeknownst to him, Nico also has a crush on him. Turns out that Nico might be a witch, but she is an extremely clumsy one. She often causes problems with her magic, and Morihito has to run around and fix her mistakes.
Both Gintama and Witch Watch prioritize comedy over action-driven plots and have an absurd gag-driven humor. Both series often break the fourth wall, use pop culture references, and shamelessly parody other anime. They also have an episodic structure and eccentric characters who help the humor even more. In fact, the mangaka of Witch Watch worked on Gintama under Sorachi before creating his own series.
4. Noragami
Number of Episodes25+4 OVAWhere to Stream?CrucnhyrollStudioBones
Yato is a minor God, but he is so poor that even his weapon (Regalia) leaves him in the very first episode. He isn’t like the usual graceful and elegant Gods, and instead wears a dirty tracksuit and wastes his meagre earnings on fake good luck charms. One day, he saves a girl named Hiyori from being run over by a bus. However, afterwards, Hiyori’s soul began to be frequently separated from her body. She needs Yato’s help to regain her normal state.
Related: ‘Gintama’ to Become the Next ‘Naruto’
Both Yato and Gintoki take on odd jobs. Yato takes on jobs as a God for the meager price of 5 yen. Both anime show the various adventures of an odd trio. Yato can do everything from fighting demons of the far shore to cleaning up clogged toilets and even solving romantic problems. Like Gintoki, Yato is scatterbrained, sarcastic, but also loves those who are close to him. Both Gintoki and Yato have a dark past, which they rarely talk about. However, despite all the mysterious elements in Noragami, it involves a lot of comedy and gag moments, and Yato’s desperation as a poor God is simply hilarious.
3. Daily Lives of High School Boys
Number of Episodes12 + 6 specialsWhere to Stream?CrunchyrollStudioSunrise
Tadakuni, Hidenori, and Yoshitake are a trio of high schoolers. Daily Lives of High School Boys is exactly what its title conveys, and it shows the daily events of students and their various interactions. The characters routinely break the fourth wall with their meta commentary, and like Gintama, it does not have a continuous plot. Daily Lives of High School Boys is the perfect comedy anime for those who love the random, silly episodes of Gintama.
Both anime have a similar sense of random humor, and they even share voice actors. Both Gintama and Daily Lives blow small things out of proportion just for the comic impact. Daily Lives does not have a linear plot and is a series made for pure comedy, with no story or action. Gintama does have some action scenes and arcs where the plot does matter.
2. Sket Dance
Number of Episodes77Where to Stream?CrunchyrollStudioTatsunoko Production
Three high school oddballs have created their own club named Sket Dan and accept any odd jobs that come their way. Whether it is identifying a graffiti artist or fixing school areas, or helping students fend off bullies, no task is too small or big for the Sket Dan members. In fact, they do it free of cost, all the while getting stuck in various comic troubles.
The Sket Dance trio is quite like the Gintama protagonists. Sket Dan consists of the ‘jack of all trades’ yet ‘good for nothing’ Bossun, the brawny muscle of the group who has been dubbed Onihime, and the tech-savvy, glasses-wearing Switch, who is the most rational of the trio. Similarly, in Gintama, Gintoki is the jack of all trades but a bum at the same time. Kagura is the strongest of the trio, while Shinpachi is the rational man of the group, who also wears glasses.
Related: Top 10 Funniest ‘Gintama’ Episodes of All Time
Just like Gintama, Sket Dan characters take on various odd jobs throughout different episodes and have a slice of life approach. Both are gag anime with a focus on helping others, and Gintama‘s famous randomness is reflected in Sket Dance. In fact, the two franchises even have a collaborative arc together consisting of 2 episodes.
1. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.
Number of Episodes120Where to Stream?CrunchyrollStudioJ.C. Staff
Kusuo Saiki is a high schooler with psychic abilities, but he HATES his own powers. His fav shows get spoiled because he can read minds, and his parents always use him to do various chores. He can get whatever he wants by using his powers, but that life is simply boring. He knows everything, never gets surprised, and never receives a single normal human experience.
The show moves at a slice-of-life pace with plenty of running gags, and like Gintoki, Saiki also breaks the fourth wall. Both Gintama and Saiki K. have a plethora of unique and hilarious side characters who devote their time to creating comedic situations. Both Saiki and Gintoki are done with everything around them and don’t really care about much, but they are still there for their friends and close ones.
Another great similarity between Saiki and Gintoki is their shared love for desserts. While Saiki can wage a war for his favorite coffee jelly, Gintoki also loves a good parfait and his daily dose of strawberry milk.
The Gintama anime is a beautiful and chaotic blend of comedy, action, and various adventures, which has attracted its audience. It’s hard to match Sorachi’s genius. Still, did you find any of these anime similar to Gintama? Do you think they have a similar brand of humor? Let us know in the comments.
Gintama anime is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
