Gintama tells us that family isn’t always about genetics. More often, it is a product of chance meetings, shared laughter, and battles fought side-by-side. It is about falling under one roof, and it doesn’t matter if you’re an alien from the farthest end of the galaxy or the madao next door, family is family.
If family isn’t always a matter of genes, what makes a mother, then? Sometimes it means picking up every difficult stray that comes your way and showing that love isn’t about favors earned or deserved. It’s about being the center of gravity to a hard-luck town and protecting it at any cost. Tough job for any lady, then again, Otose’s survived a war and a half.
On this special day, we’d like to dedicate this post to the one and only Terada Ayano-friend, guardian, landlady, smokers of a thousand cigarettes and the living legend of Kabuki-cho. Happy Mother’s Day!
I love otae <3
There’s more to strength than physical feats, but in the realm of shonen fiction where fists and swords form the loudest argument, it’s all too easy to overlook steel in subtle forms. The strength to overcome loss and grief and invite new people - broken strays and strangers - into your home. The strength to forgive, shelter and heal the person most responsible for your loss. The strength to endure a lifetime’s worth of tyranny with dignity. And the strength to be your little brother’s entire world. These ladies may not carry spears or guns. Nevertheless, they sustain and topple empires and without them, the story of Gintama wouldn’t be the same. So on today’s Gintaladies segment, we’d like to raise our ichigogyunyuu cartons to the mothers, sisters, and spiritual compasses of this series.
