Because Hideaki Sorachi's popular revisionist history comedy is so very wacky, it's easy to forget that Gintama has an overarching plot. With the vast majority of the series devoted to ham-fisted parody, sophomoric gross-out humor and general zaniness, the “bigger picture” receives very little focus.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing—tickling the audience's funny bone has always been Sorachi's primary concern, and the incorporation of more serious elements often seems like an afterthought. Still, there is a cohesive story buried beneath all those layers of silly. However, given how infrequently this story is addressed, keeping all the pertinent details fresh in mind from one important arc to the next can be a tall order.

With the anime adaptation of the ominous-sounding Shogun Assassination Arc beginning on December 2nd, 2015, now seems as good a time as any to review the story thus far and bring fans up to speed.