Shinpachi Shimura

Shinpachi Shimura (志村 新八, Shimura Shinpachi) is the co-owner of the Shimura Dōjō along with his sister, Tae Shimura. He is also the Samurai apprentice of Gintoki Sakata and works for him at his Odd Jobs business.

Appearance
Shinpachi is an average height boy with short black hair. He wears glasses and an ordinary Japanese ' with ' on his feet. After joining up with Gintoki, he begins wearing a tee-shirt with two stripes running down the sleeves. He also now wears long pants that flare out on the bottom.

Personality
Shinpachi is an energetic young man. He seems to be very concerned with the well-being of his family, having taken over his family dōjō along with his sister, Tae, after their father died. After joining up with Gintoki, he even sends portions of his pay back to Tae to help her maintain the dōjō.

History
Tae and Shinpachi helped their father, who was a samurai, maintain his dojo. Upon his death, they took over the dojo in his stead.

Introduction arc
Shimura Shinpachi first appears in a store, where an older man is scolding him for not working the cash register properly. Shinpachi apologizes, trying to explain that he has only worked with swords before, only to earn him a punch to the face by the older man, who proceeds to say that he is "still working with swords". The old man explains that swords and samurai are all gone and that Shinpachi should stop pretending to be a samurai.

He is then told to stop by a feline-like Amanto, who then promptly tells Shinpachi to fetch him some milk. When Shinpachi returns with the milk, the Amanto trips him, causing him to fall into the table of a nearby patron. Shinpachi rises, angered by the Amanto's actions, and demanding he apologize. The shop owner goes to physically scold him once again, but is stopped by the silver-haired patron whose table Shinpachi had fallen into.

The man then promptly defeats the shop owner with a wood sword, prompting the three Amanto to call him a samurai. After the samurai defeats the Amanto, Shinpachi notes that the man is "too crazy" to be a samurai as he watches him leave.

A mob of angry citizens then appear to chase the samurai, before noticing that one of the Amanto he defeated was a Chatoransei ambassador, and that his defeat would cause an international incident. Noticing a bloodstained wooden sword on Shinpachi, the crowd blames him for the Amanto's defeat before attempting to arrest him. Shinpachi escapes and manages to chase down the samurai, who had escaped with his moped, telling him it was his fault that everything was a mess.

In the ensuing argument, the samurai asks why Shinpachi is making such a fuss. Shinpachi replies that no one hires samurai these days, so he has no way of making a living; drawing a shocked expression from the samurai's face. The samurai pulls to a halt and the two continue arguing until they are interrupted by a newcomer, Shinpachi's older sister Tae Shimura, who asks why he is not at work. She then physically reprimands him for not being at his job. Shinpachi tries to explain that his situation is the samurai's fault, but before either can react, the samurai prepares to leave, stating he has a drama to catch later that night.

Tae, however, reaches him before he can do so. The scene switches to the inside of a house, where it is apparent that Tae had beaten the samurai up with his own wooden sword. The samurai apologizes for his actions, but Tae explains that if it were that easy, there would be no such thing as seppuku, before unsheathing a knife. She explains that thanks to him, their dojo may not make it.

She launches into an explanation about the Amanto and the disappearance of the samurai, saying that their dojo has also suffered since the Amanto banned swords, causing most of the students to quit. She goes to attack him, only to be restrained by Shinpachi. The samurai comically states that Tae must've been raised by gorillas before handing her his card, which has his name on it; "Sakata Gintoki". She questions its meaning, to which Gintoki explains that in this era, one cannot chose their jobs; that is why he, the freelancer, will do anything they need help with.

The two then demand Gintoki help them find new jobs, but Gintoki says he cannot do such a thing. Shinpachi solemnly tells his sister that it was hopeless trying to run a dojo, since swords weren't coming back. She retorts that it isn't hopeless trying to protect what their father once loved. As they argue, three men barge into the dojo, demanding payment. One of the men threatens to sell the dojo should the money not be payed. Tae punches him, causing one of the other men to restrain her. He goes to attack her, only to have his punch caught by Gintoki.

The man backs off, only to tell Tae that he will make her work off her debt at his adult-entertainment business. He then gives her an ultimatum; sell the dojo, or sell her body. She shocks Shinpachi when she joins the man, stating that Shinpachi was right, but she simply did not want to suffer losing the dojo. She then leaves with the men in their vehicle.

As Shinpachi complains, he notices that Gintoki is still there, and that he is cooking. Gintoki asks if Shinpachi should go after his sister, to which he says he won't since she went on her own will. Soon after, however, Shinpachi begins to cry over the inflexibility that comes with protecting the dojo. Gintoki replies that a samurai doesn't need a good reason to act before asking if Shinpachi cared about his sister. Shinpachi gives a tearful nod, and the two take off on Gintoki's moped.

As they go, they are encountered by a policeman, who states that Gintoki is breaking the law for not wearing a helmet. He tells the policeman that it's okay because his head is hard before headbutting the policeman, causing him to lose control of his vehicle. The two arrive at the ship where Shinpachi's sister was taken, only to notice its too high up. Just as they do, the policeman returns, still pursuing them. Meanwhile, on the ship, Tae is presenting herself to one of the men who took her. She hesitates and he attempts to force her out of frustration, reminding her that she is doing this for her dojo. He is stopped when a flying car crashes into the room he is currently in.

The other men in the building scramble when they realize it is a police car, but upon stepping out of the smoke, Gintoki tells them to calm down, as it is just a "rental car". Shinpachi also steps out, declaring that he is there for his sister. Gintoki says that he'll keep them busy, telling both Otae and Shinpachi to run away and specifically telling Shinpachi to protect his sister. One of the men pulls out a gun, causing Gintoki to draw his sword which he uses to decimate the men in the room.

As they run, Shinpachi notices that Gintoki is now running from the remaining men, berating him for lasting for such a short time. The three become trapped in the ship's power generator, and have their escape route blocked by the men who kidnapped Otae in the first place. The man berates Gintoki for being a samurai who can't even protect one girl; stating that everything belongs to the Amanto now. Gintoki admits that he has failed many times to protect what he wants to.

The man goes to shoot Gintoki, but stops when he realizes the ship's core is behind him, and shooting the core would cause the ship to be destroyed. The men then notice Gintoki climbing one of the pipes leading to the core. He declares what is important to the customer is important to him before smashing the core, causing the ship to fall into the ocean below.

Afterwords, the men are arrested by the police, and Gintoki argues with the policeman whose car he hijacked. As he does, Shinpachi attempts to tell his sister something, however, she cuts him off, saying that he should go with Gintoki and find his "sword". She continues to say that she will go her own way and find her own "sword". He then smiles and runs after Gintoki.

Half a month later, Gintoki is arguing with his landlady over the five months worth of back rent money. Shinpachi arrives with groceries, noting that "they are at it again". As Shinpachi rounds the corner, the landlady hurls Gintoki down the stairs. Later on that day, Shinpachi asks Gintoki what he is going to do since he owes so much money. He goes on to say that he expects to get payed that much and that he is counting on Gintoki, as the money situation is hard on his family. Gintoki comically replies that money doesn't come to people who work hard, before turning on the television. Shinpachi continues his rant, stating that his sister, Tae, is now working for the "Snack"; the restaurant he was working at a half month prior.

He is interrupted by the reporter on the television breaking in with reports of an alien attack in the Shinjuku area of Edo. Gintoki notes that there have been a lot lately. The two then hear a knock on the door, causing Gintoki to kick the door down, thinking his landlord was the culprit, and screamed that he didn't have the rent. It turns out that the culprit was actually a member of the Shinsengumi. The man, who is ranked a captain, pulls a gun on Gintoki and asked if he was a freelancer. Gintoki retorts that his mother told him never to follow strange people as he continued to walk away. Gintoki asks the captain if he is from the Shinsengumi, to which the captain replies that he is from the Immigration Division of the Shinsengumi and that he has a job for Gintoki.

In the Shinsengumi's car on their way to the job location, the man introduces himself as Taizō Hasegawa from Immigration; a division of the Shinsengumi that controls the entry sites of aliens. Gintoki asks what he wanted. Taizō informs him that the Shogun is having problems trading with the outside world, and that there is a problem that could throw the country into chaos. He then explains that the Prince had come, but he too was having problems. Upon arriving, the prince explains that his pet Pesu is gone, asking Gintoki and Shinpachi to go get it for him. The two try to leave without replying before being stopped by Taizō, who says that because they are free lancers, they should do anything. Gintoki bluntly retorts that he should shut up.

Taizō pulls Gintoki aside, explaining that the Shogun borrows a lot of money from the prince's country. Gintoki responds that it was Taizō's problem and that if a country falls over a pet, to let it crumble. He then turns to the prince and tells him to find it himself, calling him a dumbass, much to Taizō's distress. Shinpachi asks why they can't do something so simple themselves. Before Taizō can explain, a nearby building is crushed, and Pesu makes its appearance. The prince explains that Pesu is an unknown alien he caught on the planet Hikyō. Gintoki then draws his sword and prepares to attack the creature. Taizō stops Gintoki by tripping him, saying he is to catch it unharmed, but soon after, Shinpachi is ensnared by one of the creature's tentacles. Gintoki prepares to go to his rescue, causing Taizō to draw his gun. He tells Gintoki to let Shinpachi be a sacrifice to the beast, to which Gintoki replies that they are rotten for suggesting that. Taizō explains that even if it's rotten, he will save the country in his own way, causing Gintoki to smirk. He kicks the gun out of Taizō's hand and says that in the same manner, he shall do things his way. He attacks Pesu, rescuing Shinpachi by cutting the creature's throat open with his wooden sword. The prince flies into a rage over the condition of his pet, stating that it will be Edo's problem now. He then tells Taizō that he will report to his father, causing Taizō to punch him and yell for him to shut up.

Gintoki mocks Taizō, asking if it is really okay to do that. Taizō smiles and says that it's "Samurai country" and that he should do what he wants. He explains that he Amanto will sever ties with them.

Quotes

 * "Amanto'...foreigners that came to Edo twenty years ago. Because of them samurai have become weaker and weaker. Our land and our swords were taken. We threw it all away, our pride and all."