Daniel thought for a moment, realizing that Hijikata's decision might have been a form of compromise.
There was no doubt that Hijikata Toushirou truly loved Mitsuba Sougo. Just look at how furious he became when he found out Mitsuba's fiancé disregarded her well-being. He stormed the arms deal alone, fully determined.
If Hijikata didn't love her, he wouldn't have been so angry or upset.
But this situation arose because Hijikata wasn't a perfect person.
He had a strong sense of responsibility but lacked confidence in himself.
Though Gintama had many funny moments, the story's background was actually quite harsh.
It was a chaotic time — the fact that people openly trafficked weapons proved that.
As a member of the Shinsengumi, Hijikata had made many enemies. Although he was strong enough to narrowly escape their revenge, what about Mitsuba?
Could Mitsuba avoid becoming a target?
And as a Shinsengumi officer, Hijikata was often away, unable to stay by Mitsuba's side like a normal husband.
Reality can be cruel sometimes. Two people deeply in love might only get to express their feelings in fleeting moments.
Daniel internally justified Hijikata's actions, but then…
"Bang!"
Daniel slammed his hand down on the table. "I still can't forgive him!"
No matter how much he tried to explain Hijikata's choices, Daniel couldn't bring himself to forgive the guy.
Honestly, Daniel had really liked Hijikata before. But after reading this arc, he just couldn't.
Hijikata had forced his idea of happiness onto Mitsuba.
Did he ever ask what Mitsuba truly wanted?
Did he ever consider that if Mitsuba married someone else, she might not be as happy as he thought?
In Mitsuba's eyes, being with Hijikata — even if their life together was far from perfect — would have been happiness enough!
That whole "I just want the woman I love to be happy" thing? That was just Hijikata lying to himself.
Hijikata only considered the superficial, material idea of happiness, without considering Mitsuba's true feelings.
And what about Mitsuba? She was thoughtful and kind, and she probably already understood what Hijikata was thinking.
That's likely why she agreed to marry that terrible fiancé — not just to give her brother peace of mind, but also to give Hijikata peace of mind.
When you think about it like that, Mitsuba was truly an amazing woman.
Because she loved Hijikata, she couldn't have genuinely wanted to marry that fiancé.
That was just a lie — a lie told by a woman who didn't want the people she loved to worry about her. She didn't want anyone to pity her, nor did she want to hold Hijikata back. Most importantly, she didn't want Hijikata to feel guilty or ruin his future.
Mitsuba put on a brave face, showing everyone a happy version of herself. Whether it was true or not didn't matter. For the people she loved, she was willing to sacrifice anything.
Especially since Mitsuba already knew she didn't have much time left. She didn't want her death to leave Hijikata drowning in guilt or sadness.
So even if it meant marrying someone she didn't love, she would go through with it.
In the final scene, Hijikata sat alone on the rooftop, eating spicy senbei, his back to the viewer. He wiped away his tears, insisting, "It's just too spicy… it's making me cry."
Seeing that, Daniel's anger toward Hijikata faded slightly.
He started to feel sorry for Hijikata.
This guy couldn't even express his true feelings to the woman he loved before she died.
"Sigh… this is Gintama for you," Daniel muttered to himself.
It wasn't just full of funny moments. Often, there were moments that could make you cry, hidden behind the laughs.
Daniel hoped that in future chapters, Hijikata wouldn't find another girlfriend.
If he stayed single, readers might still like him as a character.
But if Hijikata moved on too easily, it wouldn't just be Daniel who disliked him. Many readers who still admired Hijikata after this arc would likely find him annoying, too.
After the Mitsuba arc ended, those two chapters caused a massive stir among Gintama fans.
"At first, I really liked Hijikata, but now? This? He's just what, self-satisfied? Selfish? Is he just doing this to feel better about himself?"
"Exactly! He's way too selfish! He's so full of himself! Does he really think Mitsuba cared about the stuff he was worried about? She loved him, that's all!"
"And that whole 'I just want the woman I love to be happy' line? Does he think Mitsuba would be happy marrying someone she didn't love? Ugh, this whole thing just made me so mad!"
"I know! And the fact that Mitsuba didn't even get to see Hijikata before she died… it just made him seem even worse."
"I may have a low threshold for tears, but when Mitsuba died, I couldn't hold back. I cried my eyes out."
"Same here."
"+10086!"
But not everyone disliked Hijikata. Naturally, there were some fans who defended him.
As more anti-Hijikata comments popped up online, his supporters started speaking up, too.
"Calling it self-satisfaction or male chauvinism just shows you didn't understand Gintama."
"Exactly! Reality is cruel. Instead of dragging things out and causing even more pain in the long run, sometimes it's better to end things before they get worse."
"Sigh… the final scene really made me tear up. Hijikata sitting there alone on the rooftop, eating Mitsuba's favorite spicy senbei, using it as an excuse for his tears… it really got to me."
"What can you do? He suppressed his feelings for so long, but in the end, he couldn't fool his own heart."
And so, the readers began to argue back and forth.
Both sides had their points, and neither was willing to back down.
The debate about Hijikata and Mitsuba's relationship even trended into the top three on the hot search.
This led a lot of people who weren't familiar with the characters to wonder, Who are Hijikata and Mitsuba?
Once they learned they were from a manga, some curious folks decided to buy the latest issue, and soon, they too joined in the debate.
Eventually, someone chimed in with a new perspective:
"Wait a minute... isn't this all the Porter's fault? He's the one who wrote such a tragic love story!"
That comment hit like a bombshell, and suddenly, everyone turned their attention to Ren.
Right! This was all the Porter's fault! Why did he have to write such a bittersweet and realistic love story?
Before long, Ren's Weibo was flooded with comments.
"...What did I do to deserve this?" Ren was completely dumbfounded.
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