Gintama (Seasons 1–11)

Gintama (銀魂, 2006) is a Japanese anime series blending sci-fi action and parody comedy — watch it online on iFILM. The setup: aliens called the Amanto have occupied Edo-era Japan, sword-carrying is now illegal, and the samurai era is officially over. Gintoki Sakata, voiced by Tomokazu Sugita, missed the memo. He wanders around with a wooden sword, a sweet tooth, and zero ambition beyond getting paid.

His crew includes Shinpachi, a glasses-wearing apprentice who mostly functions as the straight man, and Kagura, a girl from the most physically powerful alien clan in the universe who happens to keep a dog the size of a small building. Together they run odd jobs — find a lost cat, deal with gangsters, survive a pageant. The comedy runs from slapstick to sharp parody of other anime. But Gintama has a habit of suddenly dropping into genuine dramatic arcs about loyalty, lost wars, and what it means to carry on after your era has ended.

Based on Hideaki Sorachi's manga, the series ran from 2006 to 2018 and built one of the most loyal fanbases in shonen anime. The tonal whiplash is the point: you laugh for three episodes, then the show sucker-punches you with something real. Stream every episode of Gintama online on iFILM.