[Gintama] A rare role for a straight man!? 10 charms of Shimura Shinpachi!

"Gintama" is a hugely popular manga and anime. It is a sci-fi comedy based on the original work by Hideaki Sorachi. It is a popular work that is full of laughter, tears, seriousness, emotion, and dirty jokes. It is set in Kabukicho, Edo, where aliens have invaded, and features many unique and attractive characters. Among the many free-spirited characters, have you heard of "Shimura Shinpachi", who is a rare straight man? In this article, we will introduce 10 charms of Shimura Shinpachi!

Charm of Shimura Shinpachi 1. He's too important! The tsukkomi position in the story

Source: Gintama © Sorachi Hideaki / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu, BNP, Aniplex Shimura Shinpachi is a young man who works at Yorozuya, run by Gintoki. He was originally the head of a sword-fighting dojo called Kodokan. He is 16 years old, born on August 12th, a Leo, and 166cm tall. He is the narrator of the story and the other main character after Sakata Gintoki. In a word, Shinpachi is the "tsukkomi position", and is quite valuable among the characters who are free-spirited and tend to go out of control. There are other characters who make tsukkomi, but basically the story doesn't move forward without Shinpachi. Sometimes he will even make a sharp tsukkomi to cut into people who are higher up in rank. As the only person with common sense, he works hard every day to make sharp tsukkomi. However, it seems that he has been slacking off on tsukkomi recently, and the three Yorozuya members are having fun. That seems like it would be fun in itself.

Shimura Shinpachi's charm ② Is he so plain that his glasses are the main part?

Source: Gintama © Sorachi Hideaki / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu, BNP, Aniplex Shinpachi is a pretty "plain" character, and is often teased by other characters in the anime. He certainly wears glasses, and has no other distinctive features, and looks like a timid, plain young man... Shinpachi's friends say things like "his glasses are his true self," "a glasses-wearing device," and "glasses worn by a human" (?). According to Gintoki, Shinpachi's body is made up of "98% glasses, 3% water, and 2% garbage"! That's quite something to say. The original author also said, "The glasses are Shin, and the frames are Eight." He is also a bit of a shadow, and he is often harshly criticized, such as "bad glasses" and "loser." But it's not all bad. For example, even when he is attacked by enemies, only his glasses are destroyed, and in the gender reversal arc, the damage is limited to his glasses turning pink. Even enemies and aliens think that his glasses are his main body. By the way, he is not that nearsighted, but his fighting ability is inferior without his glasses.

Shimura Shinpachi's charm ③ A Jack-of-All-Trades mother? He also does housework!

Source: Gintama © Sorachi Hideaki / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu, BNP, Aniplex Shinpachi works at Yorozuya. Unlike Kagura, who works as a live-in employee, Shinpachi commutes from the dojo to Yorozuya. He always does the housework in place of the lazy Gintoki, and can do all kinds of household chores. Although he cooks and cleans, and is very caring, he can also be a bit of a busybody, to the point that Gintoki and Kagura sometimes find him annoying. Still, it is because of Shinpachi's support that the Yorozuya business runs smoothly. In that way, he is just like a "mother"! His quick thinking and thoughtfulness are what help Gintoki and Kagura in some ways.

Charms of Shimura Shinpachi 4: The Captain of Terakado Dori's Personal Guard!

Source: Gintama © Sorachi Hideaki / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu, BNP, Aniplex Shinpachi is a big idol otaku and loves an idol called "Teramon Dori". He serves as the captain of Teramon Dori's guard (president of his fan club), and when he chases after him, his personality changes completely and he becomes a hot-blooded man who is suffocating. He is a leader who brings the other members together, and has even created a code of conduct for members consisting of 99 articles. When Shinpachi was still an apprentice, he was inspired by listening to Otsu's songs. It is understandable why he gets so enthusiastic about cheering for Otsu. He is also quite tone-deaf, but is unaware of this and can confidently sing in front of others.

Shimura Shinpachi's charm point 5: His sword skills are top-notch!

Source: Gintama © Sorachi Hideaki / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu, BNP, Aniplex Shinpachi is often treated as plain, but his sword skills are top-notch! His family runs a dojo, and he has been training in swordsmanship since he was a child, so he is a skilled swordsman. He has extremely high fighting ability compared to the average person, and in the feature-length "Benizakura Arc", he was caught off guard, but he cut off one of Okada Nizo's arms to save Gintoki. At that time, Gintoki praised him, saying, "I knew you could do it if you tried." Also, after his fight with Abuto in the feature-length "Yoshiwara In Flames Arc", he resolved to become even stronger together with Kagura, and the two of them seem to be working hard at training. It looks like he'll get stronger and stronger from now on, so we can't wait to see more of Shinpachi in action!

Shimura Shinpachi's Charm 6. Is he actually a virgin? He doesn't seem to have much experience with women. Source: Gintama © Sorachi Hideaki / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu, BNP, Aniplex Shinpachi is often teased as a "virgin" in the story. In fact, he is not good at talking to women, and although he once had the opportunity to exchange letters with a girl, there was a scene where he didn't know how to write a reply and consulted Gintoki and Hijikata. Incidentally, one of Shinpachi's famous lines is, "Don't underestimate a virgin!! A man who remains a virgin until age 30 is called a God Hand, and can be reincarnated as Kato's Hawk!!" It is also revealed in the story that he has pornographic magazines hidden in his room. So far, Shinpachi has some siscon elements, and seems to love his sisters Otome-san and Otome-chan, so it will be interesting to see what happens to his love life in the future.

The charm of Shimura Shinpachi ⑦ His name is based on "Ken Shimura" and "Shinpachi Nagakura"

Source: Gintama © Sorachi Hideaki / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu, BNP, Aniplex The names of many of the characters in "Gintama" are taken from historical figures from the end of the Edo period. The name "Shimura Shinpachi" comes from the comedian "Shimura Ken" and "Nagakura Shinpachi", the captain of the Shinsengumi's second unit. Nagakura Shinpachi was a member of the Shinsengumi, but later he had a disagreement with the head of the group, Kondo, and they parted ways. Incidentally, the name "Nagakura Shinshichi" appears in the list of Shinsengumi members in Gintama. This is probably Nagakura Shinpachi. Gintama's Shinpachi seems to have been taken from the name alone.

Charms of Shimura Shinpachi 8. He looks cool 5 years later!

Source: Gintama © Sorachi Hideaki / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu, BNP, Aniplex The Shinpachi of the world five years later that appears in "Gintama: The Final Movie" is just so cool! Where did the plain Shinpachi go? He has grown into a cool, handsome man with glasses, which surprised Gintoki and his fans. With Yorozuya disbanded and him parting ways with Kagura, his personality has changed, becoming calm yet aggressive. By the way, he seems to be consciously refraining from tsukkomi. Even so, he's still surprisingly cool. He was even featured on the cover of Animage and was quite a hot topic at the time. I'm sure Shinpachi's fan base has grown as well.

The charm of Shimura Shinpachi 9. The voice actor is Sakaguchi Daisuke

Source: Gintama © Sorachi Hideaki / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu, BNP, Aniplex The role of Shinpachi in the anime is played by the popular voice actor Sakaguchi Daisuke. He made his debut as Uso Evin, the main character in "Mobile Suit V Gundam." His other roles include Yuzuhiko in "Atashin'chi" and Fudo Yukimitsu in "Touken Ranbu". He often plays young boys with younger brother characteristics, and is particularly known for playing straight man characters and characters who can't read the mood.

A "real Shinpachi"? Looks just like him

Source: Gintama © Sorachi Hideaki / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu, BNP, Aniplex Once upon a time, Sakaguchi Daisuke appeared on a TV show cosplaying as Shinpachi. His appearance was so similar to Shinpachi that the original author, Sorachi Hideaki, called him "Real Shinpachi." He certainly does look similar! By the way, he even made some comments.

Shimura Shinpachi's charms 10: Masaki Suda plays the live-action version

Source: Gintama © Sorachi Hideaki / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu, BNP, Aniplex The live-action movie version of "Gintama" was a hot topic. The role of Shinpachi was played by the very popular actor Masaki Suda. Masaki Suda is good at playing cool characters, but he also suits the role of the plain Shinpachi! Fans were very surprised at how well-made this look was. The other cast members were also very well-made, which shows how serious they were. There was also talk that the live-action Shinpachi's tsukkomi was so similar to the anime version. There is also talk that there will be a second live-action version of Gintama, so we are very excited to see how it develops.

It's already become a topic of conversation in the original work!

Source: Gintama © Sorachi Hideaki / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu, BNP, Aniplex When the cast for the movie was announced, he was immediately made fun of in the original work "Gintama". While reading Jump, Gintoki is surprised and asks, "Are they making a live-action version of Gintama?", and jokes about the commercial starring Masaki Suda, saying to Shinpachi, "You were doing the 'Grab', weren't you?". He also says, "Why are you the Granblue Fantasy Masaki?" and "I can't find any common points between us other than the two-breath walking style."

Summary of Shimura Shinpachi's charms!

Source: Gintama © Sorachi Hideaki / Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Dentsu, BNP, Aniplex That's all about the charm of Shimura Shinpachi! Shinpachi is often treated as plain, but he is the only one with common sense and plays the role of tsukkomi, so he plays a very important role in the story. He's not just plain, he also serves as the president of an idol's fan club and shows off his fighting skills when the time comes. The main story of "Gintama" is finally reaching its climax. I'm looking forward to seeing what Shinpachi does next!