Well, here it is, the very first Harada work I ever read (on another platform). This is Harada at her most terrifying, and it's a moment where the in-universe rules work so that it's a "happy ending" but it's really a lose-lose for everyone involved. Not being a Gintama watcher myself, I can't comment on how in character anyone is, but Harada has never really been about approximating reality. She's more an exercise in emotional and psychological sadism, in the best way. I can't help but be reminded of the (actually, lighter) Messiah series when I revisited this doujinshi, which, combined with the rest of Harada's oeuvre (Kyoushitsu no Yugami, Yajirushi) demonstrates without a doubt that the Stockholm syndrome is one of Harada's favorite motifs.
(In this way, it makes Yatamomo and Sumomo much more fascinating works of storytelling, because it's Harada subverting herself, but that's a comment to leave on those works and not here.)
The sex here is brutal and degrading, and the facial distortions are Sunrise/Gundam worthy, but I think the best parts of this are Harada's "sakuga" moments, which show off Harada's deftness with paneling and silence. The end of day 30, when Gintoki tells Hijikata that there's a beautiful moon, and, blindfolded, Hijikata agrees with him, even though he doesn't see a single thing. The 80+ day sequence, which is followed by Hijikata's completely dialogue-less "rescue," the most cinematic and, to me, most poignant sequence in the story. The double-page spread of a chain, crumbling into darkness. It's weird to enjoy the artistry of something clearly meant to be disgusting and offputting, but, of course, Harada means for us to find it intriguing as well, and boy does she succeed. It's not a must-read by any means, if only because the content might as well be stitched out of trigger warnings, but if you like or can even stomach this kind of thing, this is it, done right.
Gintama dj - Mienai Kusari