Long ago, one of the most beloved Shōnen Jump series of all time made a solid case for anime filler in a condensed, funny package.Gintamais a well-worn shōnen series renowned for its comic take on a genre that, during its heyday, often took itself too seriously, in a way, serving as a forerunner to franchises likeOne Punch Man.Gintamahas won enduring success without abandoning its themes or a serious tone altogether, and it’s earned a place in shonen’s pantheon of genre greats, as well asa brand-newGintamaanimeshown off at Jump Festa.
Anime filler has gained a lot of notoriety for obvious reasons. Even in the best cases,franchises likeNarutoshow that filler is a double-edged sword, capable of helping or hurting a franchise.Gintama, though, gave a breakdown of anime filler and timelines that serves as a hilariously sincere reflection on the difficulties of anime production—and it paints filler in a totally different light.
Gintama Breaks Down Anime Filler With A Killer Punchline
Crunchyroll Shared a Clip That Resonates With Anime Even Today
In theclip shared by Crunchyroll on Facebook in 2018,Gintamalead Gintoki Sakata runs Shinpachi Shimura and Kagura through the logic of anime filler. Explaining that anime and manga fall out of sync with one another and breaking down different ways of responding to the anime soldiering on regardless, Gintoki ends the lesson and is asked what the best option is. Gintoki looks visibly flustered and then the punchline breaks through, with him avoiding the question and suddenly saying they managed to earn four minutes today.
Crunchyroll shared the video, simply saying “It’s so true”. The likes and laugh reactions rolled in, but there’s an astute observation at the core of the clip: anime adaptations are in a rough position, and there’s no surefire way to win. Although fans can dislike filler for good reason,Gintamaopens up an interesting conversation about the merits of filler and the reason for its existence.
Gintama Broke Down Why Filler Can Be Risky—But Why It’s Also Necessary
Gintama Hailed From a Different Time When Filler Was a Necessary Part of Anime Production
Back inGintama’s day, filler was more or less a certainty of anime production. Now, seasonal releases which cover discrete arcs are the most common way to go, and they insulate modern anime from many of the problems that could plague earlier series. However, not that long ago, long-running shōnen series would often have weekly release schedules instead, and these always made it possible for the anime to outpace the manga.
Filler in the sense it’s known today wasone ofDragon Ball’s many innovations. Filler allowed for efforts to air a weekly show that would keep viewers engaged and returning on a consistent schedule.Dragon Ball’s huge success should be a perfect indication of how well this actually worked; viewers could count on a show always being on at a given time, without worrying about staying on top of the latest news in the industry to know when a show would start airing, stop airing, or return to air.
For younger viewers targeted by battle shōnen anime, especially, this was a huge deal. It became super easy to just follow a show as it aired. This worked especially well in syndication, too. Filler allowed for channel-surfing viewers to latch onto single episodes and “dip their toes” into a series without being forced into the middle of an arc. For the era, filler was the perfect solution for several problems, and it wasn’t all bad.
One Anime Pranked Its Viewers With an OP That Broke the Series
The absurd comedy anime Gintama once pranked its viewers with an experimental parody of its own opening that completely broke the show’s art style.
As theGintamaclip outlines, this approach wasn’t without troubles. The filler could lead to characterization or storylines hugely different from the manga; the manga or the anime could be canceled before the two stories converge once again; really, any number of catastrophes could lead to the anime and manga never being on the same page again. Filler was and is a high-risk strategy, but it was necessary, and the rewards made it worth it.
ForGintamaitself, filler actually wasn’t so much of a problem—the series ran for 369 episodes, out of which only 23 were filler. All things considered, a 6% filler count was pretty low for the time. Nonetheless, the clip showsGintamamaking a case that every anime fan needs to hear, and it inadvertently sticks up for some of the other contemporary series that were more filler-laden than itself.
Gintama
Cast
Gintama is a Japanese anime series based on Hideaki Sorachi’s manga. Set in an alternate Edo-period Japan overrun by extraterrestrial invaders, it follows the eccentric samurai Gintoki Sakata and his odd-jobs crew as they navigate a world of adventure, humor, and rebellion.
