Sakata Gintoki is a rare breed of shonen protagonist and it’s his birthday I’m gonna ramble about him for a bit.

What Gintoki (and by extension Gintama writ large) brings to the table may not necessarily be wholly unique in fiction more broadly, but he’s an incredibly important character because (imo) there aren’t a lot of modern shonen leads like him.

Your typical shonen protagonist is a young boy aspiring to a grand ambition, has very little life experience, and is an easy template for a reader to project on. This is great, don’t get me wrong, we always have had and always will need those sorts of leads.

Gintoki is... not that. Not least of which because he’s older, but he has an actual history. Mostly of screwups and failures, losses and broken potential.

Again, not unique in and of itself. But what sets Gintoki apart is what Sorachi decides to do with that history of failure.

A shonen lead with a dark past usually results in a grim, edgy protagonist.

Sakata Gintoki isn’t a broody edgelord, he’s not a monster who hurts people because he was hurt, he’s not burning with revenge.

Gintoki is just coasting.

In the year of our Lord 2019, he’s perhaps the most relatable protagonist of all. He had promise and potential, lost what was precious to him, fought the good fight for what he believed in, and... failed.

So he becomes a booger-picking slacker who cracks jokes and eats poorly.

Gintoki is a great lead because he’s a MESS. He’s strong enough to take care of himself but constantly finds himself vulnerable to hos own screwups. He tries to push others away and fails. He tried to keep people close and fails. He is blunt with others but nrver himself.

He refuses to make good choices and would never elect to be a role model, but ends up a surrogate father figure to the next generation. He tells himself he’s given up on everything but he can’t give up on people: especially the wierdos, the outcasts, the folks on the fringe.

Being an adult lead who has a definite past but still has room for growth - in Shonen Jump - is rare. And all that in a comedy/gag manga. He’s not necessarily a character whose story you can relate to blow for blow, but he is a case study in the fallout of failure.

It’s important to explore that failure isn’t just the pain of the Big Moment itself - but the long time (often years) of pain in the aftermath. The uncertainty and ennui. The struggle to make new bonds when old ones have been permanently, irrevocably shattered.

So Happy Birthday Gintoki, and thank you Sorachi for putting this doofus on the page for us.