The new TV anime Gintama: Class 3-Z Ginpachi-sensei premiered on TV Tokyo, and right from the opening scene, the chaos was pure Gintama. Episode 1 exploded with Dragon Ball jokes and tributes to the late Akira Toriyama, prompting the hashtag #銀八先生 (“#GinpachiSensei”) to trend on X. Fans were delighted and shocked by how openly the episode showcased creator Hideaki Sorachi’s admiration for Toriyama’s work.

The anime opens by jokingly questioning why Gintama, a series that had supposedly ended, is suddenly back on air. Through a flurry of meta-humour and tongue-in-cheek dialogue, characters like Gintoki and Ginpachi-sensei themselves comment on the absurdity of it all. Ginpachi quips that “there’s no need to drag me back into this,” while another retorts that the show “still hasn’t made peace with Dragon....” The banter escalates until someone finally shouts, “The old Gintama episodes already owe Toriyama-sensei an apology,” setting the tone for the episode’s blend of comedy and homage.

As they speak, the characters’ facial expressions morph into familiar “Toriyama-style” designs, mimicking Dragon Ball characters with uncanny precision. Viewers quickly took to social media to share their astonishment. “They’re really doing this after Toriyama-sensei’s passing?” one user wrote, while another commented, “Only Gintama could parody Dragon Ball Evolution and apologize to Toriyama in the same breath. This is peak Sorachi.” Others added, “Opening with a ‘Sorry, Toriyama-sensei’ gag? Too bold, even for Gintama,” capturing the collective mix of laughter and disbelief online.

The abundance of Dragon Ball references is far from random. When Akira Toriyama passed away in March 2024, Sorachi published a deeply emotional message expressing how much the legendary creator had influenced him. He recalled that “Dragon Ball, Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger—every world I abandoned my homework for and lost sleep over came from Toriyama-sensei’s pen.” He described his younger self as someone who tried and failed to replicate that magic, joking that “out of all the eraser shavings that piled up, a kneaded-eraser mangaka like me was born.”

Sorachi continued his tribute with his characteristic humour and sincerity, saying, “Thank you, Toriyama-sensei, for showing me so many worlds and for teaching me what manga could be. Thanks to you, I’ve somehow become this strange guy who lives off Dragon Ball even more than you or Toyotarou-sensei.”

He concluded with a line that resonated with fans around the world: “The hole in my heart won’t close even with a Senzu Bean. But I’ll carry one of your Spirit Bombs within me as I continue to chase after you, Toriyama-sensei, a real-life Goku, with my hands covered in eraser dust. Thank you so much. I’ll always love you.”

This blend of irreverent humour and heartfelt sincerity is what defines Gintama. Episode 1 of Class 3-Z Ginpachi-sensei doesn’t just parody Dragon Ball; it celebrates it, serving as both a laugh-out-loud comedy and a touching farewell to the man who inspired generations of manga artists, Sorachi included.

Source : ORICON NEWS