Ep 66. Episode 66 - "Dango Over Flowers"

Gintama Season 1 Episode 66: "Dango Over Flowers".

This episode of Gintama is full of humor and laughter as the series continues its eccentric and unorthodox tone. This episode revolves around a game show hosted by Jirocho to save his daughter from being forced into a marriage. The contestants are Gintoki, Hasegawa, Kondo, and Miyamoto Musashi.

The episode begins with Gintoki and Hasegawa in a panic, as they discover that Jirocho's daughter has been abducted by her fiancée's yakuza family. They manage to rescue her by improvising the situation as a daring escape. While the daughter and Gintoki discuss the situation, Jirocho reveals that he hosted a game show, in which the competition can win a significant prize money to help save the daughter from the arranged wedding. The game show that follows is hilarious, full of mishaps and misfortune, highlight the comical aspects of the series.

The game show is divided into four rounds, with each round challenging contestants to complete different tasks. In the first round, the contestants have to gather flowers from an open field and place them in a vase without getting caught by security guards. The task sounds easy, but the flowers are surrounded by mud and various obstacles. Hasegawa's clumsiness is exploited to the fullest in this round, and hilariously, he ends up being the only contestant to complete the task.

In the second round, the participants have to make a sweet dumpling called Dango. The catch is they have to use the Dango maker attached to their foreheads. The game's dynamics shift to comedy, with the characters trying to move their heads in coordination to make the Dango. This scenario provokes laughter from the audience and the characters, as they struggle to get their sweet dough onto the plate. Gintoki and Kondo fall victim to this task, as their uncoordinated movements escalate the humor quotient.

In the third round, Miyamoto Musashi is introduced as a contestant, adding curiosity and excitement as to how his participation will affect the game's outcome. The third round requires the contestants to jump high on a trampoline and grab their favorite item from a spinning platform while blindfolded. Miyamoto Musashi excels in this round, where he tries to obtain some snacks, but eventually wins a trophy instead, resulting in hilarious unanticipated results.

The final round of the game show involves a race against time. The contestants have to cross a maze and reach the other side. The maze is filled with traps, pits, and dead ends, making it almost impossible to complete in the given time limit. This round is more intense, with the contestants going all-out, trying to win the significant prize money for Jirocho's daughter.

Overall, the episode is entertaining and has plenty of comedic moments. It offers a refreshing take to the storyline, and the creativity and the unpredictability in the show add more life to the characters. The episode contributes well to the series' storyline, adding new dimensions to the characters and the universe. The witty jokes, the hilarious situations, and sudden plot twists make it worth watching, complementing the show's overall theme of humor and satire.