Anybody else watch the latest season of Gintama? I just saw episodes 253 and 254. I have not kept up with this show, or even viewed its first episode, before. I have see a few bits of prior episodes here and there, but found the show to be simply too weird to really get into.
But holy cow did that change with those episodes! The comedy was perfectly balanced this time around - not only does it have just the right amount of strangeness and absurdity while not going completely overboard, it also has the right about of comedy versus serious drama and story, which at least where I'm at is pretty good - There were times when I felt genuinely moved, especially in episode 254. I'm also not entirely lost, despite not knowing everything that's happened up until now. The characters are the usual tropes so it's easy to understand them, despite not knowing who they are. The in-jokes don't seem that plentiful and when they're there, they're funny just for being absurd. Really, this might be a good place to start if you haven't already. Maybe. It's possible those bits I saw got me familiar enough with the series, but still, I'd say it's at least worth a try.
For those who have kept up with the series, how do these episodes compare with the rest of the series? I'm really thinking of trying to get into this series.
@Kevuda - I intend to give Maoyu a shot in a week or two, but I'm not too confident they'll pull it off for some reason. It's just a gut feeling, but I've learned to trust my gut feeling more than anything else.