Introduction
Thinking that the anime could get canceled after a first year that didn't go very well as expected, the cast all argue over new ideas for the series.
Plot
This episode begins by discussing the unsteady future of Gintama, followed by a collection of trailers as the characters of Gintama brainstorm boosters for to kickstart the second year:
Kagura -"Once Upon a Time in China-Girl Gintama"
Otose and Catherine - "Tama Cure: Silver Soul"
Katsura - "Takarazura Opera Company: Gintama"
Sacchan - "Saccyan"
Otae - "DragoBleaPiece"
Hasegawa - "Madao: Road of Gintama"
Hijikata - "World Gintama Cooking Show"
Kondo - "Romantic Gintama" and "Otae and Kondo"
Okita - [omission]
Prince Hata - "Gintama: Prince of the Jungle"
Trivia
Kagura's trailer, "Once Upon a Time in China-Girl Gintama" refers to:
- Red Dust (滚滚红尘, gun3 gun3 hong2 chen2) - This episode uses this landmark lovers-pulled-apart scene (<-warning, movie spoiler). Red Dust is a classic romance movie set in China during WWII amidst the Japanese invasion.
Otose and Catherine's trailer, "Tama Cure: Silver Soul", refers to
- Pretty Cure (プリキュア) - A magical school-girl franchise with over 450 episodes. The Gintama trailer shows Otose and Catherine as Misumi Nagisa and Yukishiro Honoka respectively (who are red and blue oni respectively). Nagisa's/Otose's mascot, Mepple, is replaced by Sadaharu. The hearts from Pretty Cure are replaced with sake bottles. In general, Otose and Catherine seem to be entering the rainbow-blast tranformation sequence using some kind of sake bottle instead of the usual card-and-mascot-device mechanism. Otose and Catherine also fight with "nuts, kiss chocolates, persimmon seeds" instead of with pretty lights.
Katsura's trailer, "Takarazura Opera Company: Gintama", may refer to:
- ?Hustle and Flow - This movie is about a pimp who starts thinking about his life and decides to pursue a future in music. A famous line from this movie is, "You know what they say, everybody gotta have a dream"--Zura had said, "If you believe, dreams will always come true."
- ?8 Mile
- The Rose of Versailles - a shoujo manga and anime, referred to in this episode of Gintama as "The Pork Back Rib (Rose) of Versailles", with Gintoki as Oscar and Katsura as Marie Antoinette. Gintoki's pigtails are also a running gag from the last time he and Katsura got dressed up.
Sacchan's "Saccyan" trailer refers to:
- (some kind of terrifying horror movie. vampires and stakes? chainsaw massacre?)
Otae's trailer, "DragoBleaPiece", refers to several shounens (containing strong comaderie and super powers):
- Dragon Ball
- Bleach
- One Piece
Hasegawa's "Madao: Road of Gintama" is about a bum who finds another bum, and then the two bums wander and enjoy life as it comes:
Hijikata does a strange handshake and talks to a person named Steve in "World Gintama Cooking Show", which may have references to:
- Paula Deen's Obsession with butter?
Kondo's "Romantic Gintama" refers to:
- Roman Holiday - With Kondo and Otae as Princess Anne (Audrey Hepburn) and Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) respectively. References to Rome were changed to Kabukicho, yet the trailer retains the famous "Mouth of Truth" found in Rome.
Kondo's second trailer, "Otae and Kondo", refers to
- Romeo and Juliet - With Kondo and Otae as Juliette and Romeo respectively. Again, Kondo is "taking the princess's lines)
Okita's "trailer" may have a reference to
- ?Pokemon: Computer Soldier Porygon (でんのうせんしポリゴン) - this season 1 episode 38 was aired in Japan on December 16, 1997. After it was removed, Pokemon went into a 4 month hiatus. 685 viewers were hospitalized for "Pokemon Shock", due to the seizure-inducing special effects. It was covered extensively by the media, and was recorded in the Guiness Book of World Records.
Prince Hata's "Gintama: Prince of the Jungle" refers to
- Tarzan - a human boy raised with three ape friends (the Amanto prince as the human, the Yorozuya as the apes). Tarzan is famous for his yelling, which Hata makes an attempt to do.
- Star Wars - after Prince Hata leaves the Yorozuya apes the music changes to a variation of the Star Wars theme. The pink slug and home in the desert are reminiscent of Luke's hometown, while the green man in the next photo refers to Yoda.