The Door Is Open Wide

So this week eglantiere was wondering something about a particular bit of Gintama backstory and I may, completely accidentally, have written her an essay in response. Which may or may not have gotten her more confused than she originally was WHOOPS.

But this made me realize that I have a LOT of random bits of Gintama floating around that I've never tried to organize into anything coherent. (It's hard for me to be coherent at the best of times, let alone when Gintama is involved. Gintama is many, many things, but 'coherent' may not be one of them.)

I could either try to do a super elaborate master post of absolutely everything I want to say - thus guaranteeing I'll work on it forever and end up never posting it - or post random bits and bobs. Which is going to be random as heck - but isn't that just perfect for Gintama? (Yes. Yes it is.)

Okay, with the disclaimer that this will be random and incoherent and may not be accurate - here we go!

Sorachi Hideaki - 空知 英秋
Names in Gintama matter. Sorachi's name is no exception: it's a pen name. Sorachi elusive even for a mangaka - he's never appeared on stage or tape for his fans, unlike many other creators. He has shown up for the filming of both the anime and the live action, and has recorded a few lines of dialogue. But even under the most extreme bouts of marketing new Gintama stuff (the anime when it first came out, the movies) he only appears with his face digitally obscured - or behind a gorilla mask, because of course.

Sorachi is a subprefecture in Hokkaido, which is our Gorilla's home prefecture.
空, sora: sky; empty
知, chi: wisdom

Hideaki is his real name (unless he's lied about that when answering fans!)
英, hide: outstanding; hero
秋, aki: autumn

For more Sorachi Facts, here's a long Q&A someone translated.

A bit more on names, but putting a cut in for length.

( Also very vague spoilers for ep 253? )