Gintama: Shinyaku Benizakura-hen

This special retells the Benizakura arc, in which a cursed sword capable of devouring its wielder surfaces in Edo and pulls the Yorozuya into a confrontation with the Kiheitai and Gintoki's former comrade Shinsuke Takasugi. Katsura goes missing, Kagura and Shinpachi are forced to hold their own without Gintoki, and the story drops the series' usual comedy almost entirely in favor of sustained, brutal action. It's Gintama in its serious register, revisiting a defining arc with substantially upgraded production values. Every fight here carries real consequence for characters the series usually plays for laughs. The stakes stay high throughout.