Listen, in light of the newest Gintama spoilers, I have to say a few things about the kind of character that our Zura is. To sum up:
he’s a main part of Gintama’s comic relief because sometimes often he can act stupidly
he’s actually a terrorist
he’s got the weirdest pet/right hand man ever
Zurako makes for the perfect okama
But the best part is what the summary is actually hiding about who he really is:
As a fellow student of Shoyo, he never held anything against Gintoki for his choice to protect Shoyo’s legacy (his students) over Shoyo’s life
He even went as far as to tell Gintoki that he wouldn’t let him shoulder the burden of killing their teacher a second time, because he knew how harsh the first time was on his friend
He fell in love with a widow who lost her husband because of men like him (Jouishishi terrorists) but, instead of trying to convey his feelings to her, he’s just happy to spend time eating her ramen soba and looking out for her without asking for anything in exchange.
Despite being anti-bakufu, he admitted that he and the Shogun may still have common goals and decided to fulfill their mutual promise after Shigeshige’s death
Also despite being enemies for most of the series, he helped the Shinsengumi at their darkest hour because he recognized that they were necessary to his goal of saving the country
He has many nicknames, like the Noble Youth of Madness or Runaway Kotarou, but to quote Sakamoto: “in order to carry on his family line and to protect his comrades, he fought on and on as a coward. But […] if there was an enemy he had that he couldn’t beat unless he put everything on the line, then you might learn the true name of that man once he sheds his coward skin”
kinda random point but he’s damn wild when he fights seriously
in the current arc post time skip, he took on the burden of becoming Prime Minister (”Donald Zurump”), making tons of enemies and experiencing many assassination attempts, still in order to achieve his goal of saving his country
as a terrorist, he’s actually acknowledged to be even more dangerous than Takasugi
and finally
according to the newest spoilers, he’s confirmed to be the one who went as far as to disband the Shinsengumi SO THAT THEY WOULD WORK ON REUNITING THE YOROZUYA
So the new anime and rereading the manga has reminded me how much I love this precious half-demon. Now I’m sharing it with you.
From the very first chapter, it establishes how nice Rin is.
Seriously, throughout the entire series we see that Rin is nicer than most of the humans he comes across.
Makes you wonder who the real monsters are. (Always a good theme to explore.)
He likes helping people.
Most of the times he gets in trouble it’s because he’s trying to help someone.
It’s unfortunate that his dad and brother never took the time to explore why he was getting into fights.
Anyway, his greatest desire is to help others, whether human, animal, or, nowadays, even demon.
I seriously love this which is why I’ve mentioned it like three times.
His kindness is his most attractive feature.
I love his stubbornness and his determination.
Trying to get him to change his mind is like trying to move a brick wall when you don’t have super strength.
How many times have we seen him say he’ll do something, people say he can’t do it, and then he does it anyway and it freaking works?
When he says something he freaking does it.
Rin keeps his promises.
Even with the situation with Shima, technically everything worked out like he said it would.
Promises are important to him.
He doesn’t really seem to hate other people. I mean, he clearly dislikes several people *cough* Amaimon *cough*, but truly hate? I think Satan’s the closest recipient of that.
Rin loves with everything he has.
It’s amazing to see how much he loves.
He loves his dad Shiro, his brother Yukio, his friends, Shiemi, Shura.
He gives these people everything he has and more.
Rin cares for people and wants to protect them all.
I love his relationship with Kuro. They’re a good match for friends and training partners.
I also love his relationship with Shura. She’s like the big sister he never had.
Though it’s complicated, and definitely needs improvement, I also like how he acts with Yukio.
He clearly admires Yukio without feeling jealous.
I’m jealous of how he doesn’t get jealous.
I love his optimism. Given what he’s been through, he has every right to be down, but he generally doesn’t let it.
Rin does get thoughtful and down though. Remember when he was imprisoned in the Kyoto Arc?
Actually it’s times like that where I worry about his mental state. He’s been through a lot of crap, and no one is really paying attention to protecting him emotionally/mentally.
Give him more hugs.
Actually, his self-sacrificing nature is a double-edge sword.
How many times has he straight up told people that he’s fine with them attacking or killing him if it made them feel better?
Get a self-preservation instinct, Rin.
I love how he still remembers to try to have fun.
I like how Rin takes pride in his cooking and is so awesome at it.
Rin also doesn’t seem to mind when he had to dress like a girl.
Seriously, he was pretty chill about the whole thing.
He’s seriously cute. Always.
He’s actually the mature one of the Okumura Twins.
Rin is really good at handling emotions. Both his own and others.
He can connect with people by equating his experiences with others’.
He’s also good at accepting how others feel. I made a post already about how he just accepted it when he thought his friends hated him and he also accepted Shiemi’s rejection and handled it really well.
He made it clear that he was fine with just being friends.
He tries hard not to let others’ make the same mistakes he did. That’s one of the things that pisses him off.
He’s strong physically and mentally.
He believes in the best of people.
Rin is one of the biggest sweethearts ever.
I love him. There’s probably more, but I cannot articulate it fully right now. Just give my precious half-demon hugs and don’t kill him.
Anime: Has Banba purchase a balloon and pop it with his own hands to create a fake gunshot sound.
Clever.
Light Novel and Manga: Has Banba retrieve a balloon a child let go of before promptly stomping on it.
Savage.
He did give the kid a fair amount of money though, if it’s any consultation.
Fun fact: Lizzie’s dad’s first name is hyphenated and is actually Alexis-Leon and not just Alexis. No, “Leon” is not a second first name (like “Ethel, Cordelia” for Lizzie in the anime), it’s a part of his first name, just like only “Edward” is his son’s first name.
Thanks for your attention, you can now go back to address him as simply Alexis if you wish to. :))
midnight-in-town 