Big Gintama Exhibition [Photo Report]

With Gintama’s manga rapidly heading to its last chapter, what could possibly console us? For starters, the Big Gintama Exhibition, its first - and last? - exhibition!

Gintama has been an especially hot topic lately, with a new anime series next January and a live-action movie coming to the big screen. So, we headed down to Akiba Square to take a look!

Packed full of scenes of laughs and tears that only Gintama could bring us, the Big Gintama Exhibition displayed not only a huge number of original drawings and manuscripts but also accompanying comments from Sorachi-sensei.

Stepping inside, you’ll find Gin-san, Shinpachi and Kagura apologising on their knees. For any Gintama fan, this has to be a pretty familiar sight! Behind them are the covers for the Gintama manga, while their platform is made of Jump magazines.

Next, you’ll meet a roaring wave of characters welcoming you to the exhibition!
This section has mainly picked up on the Gintama gags and hilarious parts that make it such a great work. How many scenes do you remember?

This quote below the Yorozuya trio is particularly Gintama-esque: “If you’re just going to apologize insincerely, it’d be more graceful of you to just not apologize.”

After this, get ready for a blast of nostalgia. You’ll have the pleasure of seeing classic scenes in the form of Sorachi-sensei’s original manuscripts together with his own comments. Everything here will have any Gintama fan excitedly remembering, “Oh yeah, this happened!” or “This character was awesome”... or maybe even wondering “Where did this enormous, furry butt come from?”

Next up, the “No Staff Allowed!” parody zone! This area displays a number of frankly hilarious drawings from authors whose works have been copied - uh, parodied by Gintama. Toriyama Akira of Dragon Ball has contributed a Super Saiyan Goku/Gin-san drawing, while Kishimoto Masashi’s illustration is a Naruto/Gin-san showing their… ninja-samurai way? In short, this section has brought together the biggest names in Jump for a collaboration with Gintama! All drawings are also accompanied by comments and stories from each author.

Kids, you’d best turn back here, because now we’re heading into the (gasp!) “R18 - Kids Not Allowed Area”!
Just kidding. If you’re a Gintama fan, you already love and appreciate how dirty it can be. You’ll just have to visit this exhibition to see what this part is like!

Now, relive the Shinsengumi Crisis, Okita Mitsuba and Farewell, Shinsengumi arcs in this razor-sharp Shinsengumi Zone.
How awesome are these massive Hijikata and Okita panels?

You’ll feel the impact from this battle of a lifetime, starting with these Kamui and Takasugi panels.

The Jouishishi Zone, featuring Gintoki (in his time as the “White Demon”), Katsura, Takasugi and Sakamoto’s memories with Shouyou-sensei, as well as their final battle.

Unlike the comedic zones at the beginning, you might find yourself shedding a tear at the abundance of touching scenes found in the Shinsengumi and Jouishishi zones.

But next, you’ll find yourself bouncing back to sheer awe at this faithful reconstruction of Sorachi-sensei’s working environment! They’ve stopped at nothing to build such a realistic set, from pens and other tools he actually used, to an impressive model of the author himself.

At the very end is another wonderful surprise - the actual costume worn by Oguri Shun in the filming of the live-action film! What do you think? Are you for or against this adaption?

In its 12 years, Gintama has brought 66 manga volumes, 201 anime episodes, and a lifetime of laughter and tears to us - and this exhibition does a truly fantastic job of pulling it all together for our enjoyment. With more than 150 original drawings on display, it’s a legitimate must-see for any fan!

Of course, there’s still a lot more to come in the Gintama world - so keep checking back for updates on the upcoming manga, anime, and live-action film!

Event details:
Rensai Kanketsu Sunzen Dai Gintama-ten ~Tsuke ga Mawaru Mae ni Ketsu wo Fuke~/On the Brink of the End of Serialization The Big Gintama Exhibition ~ Wipe Your Butt Before You Pay the Price~
Date: Dec. 23, 2016 to Jan. 9, 2017 (open every day)
Location: Akiba Square, Akihabara UDX 2F, 4-14-1 Soto-Kanda
Official website: http://daigintamaten.com

This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article with photography by Takemori S.
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