Once again, Gintama and One Piece are the intellectual property of Sorachi Hideaki and Eiichiro Oda.
Beta-read by Pure Red Crane and Izzu
Please Teach Us, Ginpachi-sensei!
Extra Lesson 10.5: In the Theater of Life, Even the Best Scenes Might Get Cut in Editing
The combined student body of Class 3Z-1P chattered with excitement as the students filed into the classroom. Ginpachi-sensei leaned back in his chair, lazily flipping through a Jump magazine, his feet perched on his desk. In stark contrast, Robin-sensei dutifully organized her notes with her characteristic calm demeanor. The blackboard behind them was filled with doodles and notes about the Wano arc sprawled across it in a colorful mess. As the bell rang and everyone took their seats, Ginpachi closed the magazine as he stood up to address the class.
"Alright, everyone, settle down. We've got a lot of nonsense to cover today." The silver-haired teacher clapped his hands to catch the attention of the students.
"I think you mean 'important plot points,' Sakata-sensei." Robin smiled gently as she corrected her co-teacher.
"Yeah, yeah! Let's talk about our big adventure-aru!" Kagura bounced up, her energy seemingly boundless. Her eyes sparkled with the thrill of recounting their exploits. Beside her, Chopper mirrored her enthusiasm, the two exchanging excited glances.
"A lot certainly did happen. The original first act of the Wano arc was pretty dense to begin with. After the rest of us joined in, that only made it more so." Shinpachi said.
"Like you can say anything. You weren't even there for most of it. You finally showed up after lesson 7 after being a no-show for most of the story." Okita pointed out.
Shinpachi quickly turned to protest. "That's not my fault! Blame that on the author!"
Otae turned to defend her brother. "That's right, please take it easy on Shin-chan. Since his only defining character trait is his glasses, it's easy for the author to forget about him!"
"Sis, I appreciate the defense, but could you avoid making it sound like another insult?!"
"Hey, at least you got your own chapter. Some of us here haven't even shown up since lesson 2!" Ussop complained.
Franky brought his arms together into his signature pose. "AOW! We were SUPER busy getting stuff ready for the big raid. But at least we weren't dumb enough to get arrested like Zoro."
The green-haired student turned to glare at a certain brunette. "I still owe you for that, you bastard."
Okita, unphased, retorted with a challenging smirk, "I'm right here. Don't think I've forgotten about how you sliced up my shoulder."
The two continued to stare each other down, a simmering rivalry that promised more clashes in the future if they had anything to say about it. Ginpachi, sensing the escalating tension, interjected. "Oi, save it for later, you two."
"Hopefully, the Shinsengumi will get more of a chance to shine in Act 2," Hijikata spoke up.
Kondo just laughed heartily. "I just know we will!"
"It was pretty fun, though, beating up jerks like Balldeboo." Luffy grinned, reminiscing how he pummeled the jerk who hurt his friend.
"I really got to show my stuff-aru!" Kagura boasted proudly.
"Well, at least until this recent chapter, after you both got your asses handed to you." Okita's teasing voice cut through the air sharply.
"You wanna go?! Once I get back at my stupid brother, you're next, you brat!" the exchange student flared up in response to the jab.
"Now, now, please settle down, everyone." Robin assuaged the two rivals before starting a new topic. "Much certainly has happened, in and outside of this story. As we transition from this year to the next, it's worth pausing to reflect on our journey so far. The Wano arc has wrapped up in the anime, and we also witnessed the debut of our first live-action series earlier this year."
Ginpachi leaned back into his chair, his tone laced with mild annoyance. "Plenty's been happening for you all in the Once Piece community, but for those of us in the Gintama community, we can't expect squat until 2025."
"I'm simply pointing out facts as they are, Sakata-sensei."
"Sure, rub it in our faces, why don't ya?" Ginpachi grumbled.
Nami smiled in self-satisfaction. "I am pretty happy with how the live-action came out. I'm glad they managed to find someone cute enough to play me."
"Only the best for my Nami-swan!" Sanji swooned.
"I thought the guy who played me and the ero-cook did pretty well. They managed to capture my intensity and his stupidity perfectly." Zoro added with a gruff chuckle.
"You wanna repeat that you damn Moss-head?!"
"It's a bit of a shame they couldn't get my nose right. Other than that, I thought the actor who played me did a pretty great job." Ussop reflected.
Luffy just sat hunched over, his arms crossed and brow furrowed. "I didn't like it! That guy went on and on about wanting to become King of the Pirates! But that's my dream! If he wants to be Pirate King, he's gotta go through me first!"
"Luffy, that guy was you." Nami deadpanned.
"What do you mean? I'm right here." Luffy asked, even more confused.
"No, as in he was an actor pretending to be you." The class treasurer tried explaining again.
Luffy's confusion quickly turned to outrage. "What?! He's going around pretending to be me?! It's just like Sabaody all over again! I'll kick his ass!"
"No, Luffy, I mean — oh, never mind." Nami sighed in exasperation, deciding it was easier to just give up than try to explain things to her thick-skulled class representative.
Ussop turned towards the bespectacled teen. "Hey, Shinpachi-san, didn't you guys have a couple of live-action adaptations, too?"
Shinpachi smiled. "Yes, two movies. We're proud to say both did fantastically well at the box office."
Ginpachi grinned. "Hat's off to Oguri for getting me right, at least."
Katsura nodded in agreement. "They did an excellent job of capturing the grace of my Elizabeth."
"The hell are you talking about? He was equally creepy in 3D as he was in 2D." Kagura retorted.
"I thought they could've done a better job of capturing the romance between me and Otae-san!" Kondo declared.
Otae simply smiled as she cupped her face. "My personal favorite part of the first movie was getting to see Kondo-san fall to his death from the airship. It's just a shame that part didn't stick."
"Oh, Otae-san, you kidder you." Kondo laughed it off, a hint of tears forming in his eyes.
Shinpachi scratched his cheek in mild embarrassment, still addressing Ussop. "Though compared to yours, we weren't met with the same global acclaim."
"Well, it does make sense. The fact is our series appeals more widely to Japanese audiences than others, considering the style of humor." Hijikata stated with a thoughtful frown.
Okita turned to his desk neighbor. "Don't put yourself down like that, Hijikata-san. I'm sure you have plenty of people all around the world laughing behind your back every day."
"That's not what I meant, you shithead!" Hijikata snapped back.
Sanji leaned against the back of his seat. "Still, I'm glad our series got as good a reception as it did. The fact is, live-action adaptations tend to get a pretty bad rap."
The dark-haired scholar nodded in understanding. "True, there is a certain degree of stigma surrounding them, usually caused by budget issues, time constraints, and a lack of understanding of the source material. Adapting an anime to live-action is a challenge as it needs to cater to critics, dedicated fans, and neutral audiences, all of which can be subjective at best. This often leads to modifications in the source material, sometimes causing the adaptation to lose its original message. The 2017 Death Note adaptation and Ghost in the Shell are notable examples of these issues."
"Well, we know they can't do any worse than 'The Movie That Shall Not Be Named' back in '09," Ginpachi stated flatly as a collective shiver ran down the spine of every class member and teacher, uniting them in a moment of shared cinematic trauma.
Sanji spoke up again. "Still, it does the job it's supposed to do. People who usually wouldn't touch an anime before are now honestly interested in our story."
"That's true. Let's face it: some people would never have watched One Piece before this year. live-action versions at least get them interested." Otae agreed.
Ginpachi nodded in agreement. "True, like it or not, these adaptations bring in new fans. But nothing beats the charm of the original, right?"
"But the soul of the story gets lost sometimes. Like they take our adventures and turn them into... something else." Ussop countered with a hint of melancholy.
"It's not just about effects or the story. It's about capturing the heart of the original. Some get it, some don't." Kondo chimed in.
"And don't get me started on the commercial aspect," Catherine interjected, her tone laced with a hint of cynicism. "Sometimes, it feels like they only try to cash in on our popularity. They should at least cut us in on it!
"Great, like having one money-grubbing witch wasn't bad enough." Zoro scoffed dryly.
"How are we anything alike?!" Nami and Catherine protested in unison.
"You both share a talent for emptying wallets," Ginpachi muttered, earning glares from both.
"I'm nothing like this tramp!" The cat-eared student declared, her nose turned up.
"Excuse me?!" Nami roared in indignation.
Katsura, ignoring the scene behind him, continued. "Let's face it, some aspects of anime simply don't translate to the real world. How would you realistically depict someone executing an over-the-top move or facial expression?"
"Well, there are special effects now…" Ginpachi added.
Katsura replied with an air of nostalgia. "Ah, indeed. As time marches on, humanity consistently seeks progress in every area. I think something called CGI started becoming more prominent around the same time as the last Super Famicom..."
"What era are you living in?! No one calls it that anymore!" Sanij retorted.
Katsura, unfazed, answered, "In my time, we respected the classics. Unlike some of these modern trends…"
"Yeah, but seeing real people doing what we do is cool! Like stretching their arms out super far... wait, they can do that, right?" Luffy wondered.
Franky chuckled. "It's all special effects, Luffy."
Bringing the conversation back to a heartwarming note, Kondo concluded, "In the end, whether it's live-action or anime, it's about the story, right? And how it makes the audience feel."
Robin smiled. "Precisely. Regardless of the medium, the heart of the story is what truly matters."
The room fell silent momentarily as everyone let the conversation sink in before Ginpachi brought everyone back to reality.
"Alright, seeing as how we've wasted most of class on this, we might as well close the chapter by addressing a couple of comments and questions we got from some of the readers. We made sure to clean up the grammar for these as well. Here's one from Kikyotheshintopriestess5555. Man, talk about a mouthful. Anyways, they ask, 'Hi! Want to be friends? I love One Piece!' Well, Kikyo, I'll leave that up to Robin-sensei to decide."
"I don't mind at all," Robin responded with a smile, touched by the comment.
Ginpachi shrugged. "Well, there you have it. But remember, we're here too. This is a crossover, after all. Don't forget to show those of us in the Gintama cast some of that love, too. Here's a barrage of questions from TaitanoRules555: 'What made you want to write a Gintama fic in the first place? Also, I'm curious: do you like Fairy Tail? Do you have a Discord? Who are your favorite Bleach characters?'"
"Let's take these one at a time. First off, our writer has always had a soft spot for our series. The reasons? Who knows, but it's his choice of pastime. Guess he preferred this over picking up some mainstream hobby."
"For the next question, our author does enjoy Fairy Tail, though he hasn't started 100 Years Quest yet. The strong bonds of friendship exhibited aren't too different from our series, after all." Robin answered. "He even has some ideas for his own Fairy Tail stories, though those are a long way off. For now, he's choosing to focus his time on this story."
Ginpachi took over again. "Next up, I don't know what 'dis-chord' is. Some new type of music? I'll pass. Lastly, 'favorite Bleach character.' I'd have to go with Urahara. Ichigo's alright, but Urahara's the kind of guy you'd have a drink with as an adult, not like those brats."
"Sensei, I don't think this is the kind of thing you should be admitting out loud in front of your students." Nami deadpanned.
Ginpachi ignored her, moving on to the next question. "Here's another one from a Guest reader, with a question from the latest chapter, 'Where's Tokugawa Shige Shige? If Orochi is the Shogun, then he must be a Daimyo. Is he already dead, or is he in prison? Because Gintoki looks like he knows someone inside it.'
"I'm sorry to say, dear Guest, but our favorite Shogun likely won't appear in the story. The author thought long and hard about how he could incorporate him in, but unfortunately, given Wano's current political climate, any method he could've gone with always ended up rather grim." The class turns somber momentarily as a few students mutter promises that Orochi won't be shogun much longer.
"Here's one from a while ago, but it's actually an interesting one, from Trueopulence: 'The recent One Piece chapter about the Buccaneer race had me thinking about the lore of the Yato tribe in this story. Buccaneers have giant blood, and the Yato tribe also has giant blood, so maybe there was a split-off at some point where Yato became weak to sunlight, while Buccaneers are not weak to sunlight.'
"Well, Truepolence, the fact is…we don't know." The silverette admitted frankly. "Oda-sensei hasn't graced us with any more information regarding the Buccaneers besides their obscure connection to giants. So, our beloved Gibbon writer is a bit handcuffed here. The Yato's giant ancestry in his writing was a stroke of luck, predating the Buccaneers' introduction in chapter 1095. It was sheer coincidence. Once we get more info, he may decide to include something about them in the story, but until then, it's best not to think too hard about it."
"Last but not least, we have a comment from BrightToilet: 'I can't stop grinning. This is what I've always wanted. Same as you, Gintama and One Piece have always been my two favorite series. For a beginner, your work has been pretty good so far, so keep it up, man. Looking forward to the next one.'"
The comment brings a rare smile to Ginpachi's face, as does the rest of the class. "Thanks for the support. The same goes for the rest of you who posted your questions and comments. This adventure of ours is only just beginning, and we promise to bring more ridiculousness in future chapters. We hope you'll continue sticking with us to the end." The air of the class was light and breezy before Ginpachi began to frown again.
"However, that still does not excuse bad grammar. So, BrightToilet, Kikyo, Taitano, Trupolence, and Guest, go stand out in the hallway and reflect on this."
"Don't just kill the pleasant mood like that!" Shinpachi retorted.
So yeah, we got a fun little omake-style chapter, short and sweet. What did you guys think of the live-action movies and series if you've seen them? What do you think of live-action in general? I'd love to hear all of your thoughts on them :).
I have a lot to figure out with Act 2, so it may be a while before the next chapter, so I'll see you all soon. Have a great day, everyone!