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Episode 308
308
Quote:
"Is it raining?"
Hijikata Toushirou




Introduction[]

In the aftermath of Shige Shige's death, a shakeup rattles Edo. And it begins with Kondo's and Matsudaira's arrest and the Shinsengumi's disbandment and scattering.

Plot[]

Days after his assassination, the entire city of Edo attend his funeral procession. Kagura and Shinpachi watch from an alley and Kagura soon flees, unable to stand looking at the pained expression on her friend Soyo's face. At the same time, in their spaceship, the Tendoushuu mocks Shige Shige for defying them and trying to abolish the Shogunate; they were also pleased in the way he was ironically killed. Back on Earth near an Edo river, Momochi tells Hattori that the assassin was a childhood friend of Shige Shige; the ex-Shougun was trusted his friends to the end and the Tendoushuu took advantage of this. She adds that he decided to live and die by his own choices instead of being the Tendoushuu's puppet, thanks to his friends. Hattori denies being a friend, believing himself as a loser and a sinner after he sacrificed his comrades to save Shige Shige but was ultimately unsuccessful. Above them on a bridge, Sarutobi quietly overhears their conversation.

In another part of Edo, an injured Gintoki enters the empty building of the Shinsegumi to find the person who called him here, Kondo waiting for him, to drink and chat. Meanwhile, in the Shogunate building, Matsudaira is in a meeting with Nobu Nobu, refusing to pay respects to him as he only serves Shige Shige. Nobu Nobu is amused by the police commissioner's loyalty but the older man deduces that the previous Shogun's assassin, who committed suicide after being caught, was forced to commit the crime due to one of his relatives being taken hostage. He believes that Nobu Nobu was behind it and vowed to investigate the case. Although he denies it, Matsudaira decides to kill the new Shogun himself, but is stopped by Isaburo, who to Matsudaira's surprise had not been cast side by the Hitotsubashi faction unlike the Kiheitai. Nobu Nobu reveals that he had appointed Isaburo as the new Police Commissioner. Back in the barracks, Kondou admits his disillusionment about war, where everyone, the victors and the defeated, has something to lose. He asks the war veteran Gintoki on his thoughts on the matter. Gintoki agrees, adding that only the will to change yourself and to rid the world of the senselessness of war is the only thing worth holding on to and fighting for. As the two pour sake into three cups, the third one for Shige Shige, Kondou agrees with Gintoki's words as gives a farewell throw of the sake. He tells Gintoki to convey a message to his subordinates to still protect Edo and in front of Gintoki's horrified eyes, the Shinsengumi chief walks up to the recently arrived Mimawarigumi to be handcuffed. In the Shogunate building, Nobu Nobu tells Matsudaira that for the failure of protecting Shige Shige, both Matsudaira and Kondou are to be arrested and executed and the Shinsengumi will be disbanded.

Gintoki demands to know what is going on but is stopped by Nobume, who is disappointed by the lack of Shinsengumi and is surprised at the silver-haired man's behaviour about Kondou. She believes that it was because the shared guilt of allowing the Shogun to die had strengthened their camaraderie. She also adds that since Kondou knew that there will be changes due to Nobu Nobu's reign, including his potential arrest, he had sent his subordinates to oversee the funeral so they would not interfere and get themselves into trouble. After the funeral, the Shinsengumi drive back to their building and spot Kondou in a Mimawarigumi van. Shocked and enraged, they find the police group standing in front of the building and attack, with Okita and Hijikata standing by. Everyone freezes when Gintoki walks out of the building to apologize to the two. Later that night, the Shinsengumi members decide to try and save Kondou by any means necessary. But Hijikata tells the men not to; they should listen to Kondou's wishes and continue to live on and protect Edo, even though Okita refuses to follow the corrupted bakufu or protect Edo as samurai if their leader is dead. Hijikata tells the men of his conflict between protecting Kondou and protecting his men but tells the men to do whatever they want, since he no longer has the authority to command them as the Shinsengumi vice-chief. Before he leaves, he tell them that as long as they follow their hearts, they will always be part of Shinsengumi, no matter which path life takes them.

Days later sees the Shinsengumi scattered and working under new jobs, which includes Hijikata working in the regular police force as a subordinate to Kozenigata. Later that day, Kozenigata visits Gintoki to tell what has happened since Kondou's arrest. Nobu Nobu had purged or transferred all the people who followed Shige Shige and replaced them with his own faction which includes Isaburo and his Mimawarigumi, as well as splitting up the disbanded Shinsengumi. A restless Hijikata looks at his barricaded Shinsengumi home and silently cries; Yamazaki looks out over a bridge, Saito trains in a bamboo forest, and Tetsunosuke works in an inn. A homeless Okita sits at a park bench, staring at the sky and saying to himself that when a demon gives them a look like that, there is nothing that they can do.

Characters[]

  1. Tokugawa Shige Shige (cameo and flashback)
  2. Tokugawa Soyo (cameo)
  3. Rotten Maizou (cameo)
  4. Shimura Shinpachi (cameo)
  5. Kagura (cameo)
  6. Momochi Rappa
  7. Hattori Zenzou
  8. Sarutobi Ayame (cameo)
  9. Sakata Gintoki
  10. Yoshida Shouyou (flashback)
  11. Shinsengumi
    1. Kondou Isao
    2. Hijikata Toushirou
    3. Okita Sougo
    4. Saitou Shimaru
    5. Yamazaki Sagaru
    6. Sasaki Tetsunosuke
    7. Harada Unosuke
  12. Matsudaira Katakuriko
  13. Hitotsubashi Nobu Nobu
  14. Mimawarigumi
    1. Sasaki Isaburo
    2. Imai Nobume
  15. Haji
  16. Kozenigata Heiji

Trivia[]

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