HILARIOUS. Witty and well-written.

It's episodic, mostly, but has that awesome story of Gintama's past running through the entire thing (and I actually wish the mangaka would focus more on that because it's fascinating and the best arcs are always the ones that elaborate his past a little more). Super funny and great use of gags. There's even like four chapters devoted to people getting trapped on the toilet without toilet paper! HAHAHA! It was ingenious. Although this manga deals with samurai and shinsengumi and aliens and other mythical creatures, it's so refreshing and honestly AWESOME to throw all of those characters into a situation as seemingly trivial and mundane as getting stuck on the toilet without paper.

Super funny and all the characters are so damn likable. Gintoki and Hijikata are my faves, but I love the whole crew. Some characters are definitely better developed than others, but with the series being as long as it is now, the mangaka has had time to flesh out these characters. Actually some of my favorite arcs revolve around the supporting characters. The Madao arc and Mitsuba arc come to mind. Both of those arcs made me CRY! In a gag manga! WHAT.

I think some people may be put off by the episodic nature of the manga and the fact that it can get so random, but this is a gag manga at heart. And the gags are usually really funny and I love them! But despite me saying this, the absolute best stories to me are the more serious arcs. Benizakura is still my favorite, although the Yoshiwara arc comes very close cause we get Tsukuyo and Kagura/Kamui. The current arc regarding the corrupt Shogun Sadasada is soooooooooo good. I love when Gintama gets serious!

Very enjoyable series and one I always look forward to reading. (The anime is also fantastic. Great voice acting!!!)