Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in their capabilities to reach their goals. Self-efficacy is a major point of expectancy - the second half of the Expectancy-Value Theory of Motivation. The more self-efficacy an individual has concerning the task in question, the higher the expectancy of a good outcome, the more motivated they are towards completing that goal.
Succinctly put, if an individual believes they can do something, they are likely to do it.
As is the case with most good heroes, Gintoki doesn’t expect to win every fight.
In fact, I’d argue that Gintoki’s worst fear isn’t the potential of losing a fight, dying, and damning his family in the process. I’d argue that he’s afraid of not cushioning his family enough in advance so that when he does lose they’ll be in the same amount of danger they were in before. That his sacrifice to save them will ultimately be meaningless and even in giving his life he couldn’t protect them.
As such, Gintoki doesn’t make a habit of entering fights he thinks he’ll lose. And if he’s forced into situations beyond his capabilities, he finds a way to either bring his opponent down to his level or increase his own odds, no matter how slight.
Gintoki, as a protagonist in a Shonen series, distinctly represents hope and determination and all of that fun stuff. While he differs from others in the weight and content of his flaws, he stands on equal ground with the best in terms of his persistence and dedication to protecting what matters to him. And that persistence comes not only from how strongly he feels about protecting his family, but also how attached he is to the hope that what he does will make a difference.
In the four devas arc, Otose is hurt. Otose, the first person Gintoki learned to care for after the events of the Joui War, after killing his father-figure in front of the other two students he practically grew up with, is injured because he wasn’t able to reach her in time. Upon finding her leaning against the gravestone of her late husband (the same place where he first met her), he falls into a rage and attempts to kill the man who attacked her, Jirochou. Jirochou decisively and brutally defeats Gintoki in this fight, because Gintoki is too wild-eyed and vengeful to make smart decisions.
And, afterwards, when Gintoki is still injured and Jirochou’s group (he’s kind of a yakuza leader, trying to defeat the other 3 major leaders in the Kabukicho District, although there’s a lot more backstabbing and plot twists than that) is actively waging war in Gintoki’s hometown, he still goes to find Jirochou. After the two of them handily defeat the real enemy that manipulated all sides of the conflict, they turn their swords on each other. Gintoki decides not to kill Jirochou, but he could have.
But the question remains: why did Gintoki return to the fight at all if he had just been beaten by Jirochou?
The answer lies in his hope, stemming from his values, stemming from the people he holds most dear.
Gintoki is injured, and he watches the entire Kabukicho District rally around him and defend his home - their home - and believes in his abilities to give them the help they need. Not necessarily to win, but to ensure that they succeed in their fight.
This is why he lies to Kagura and Shinpachi about what he’s doing, where he’s going, because he can’t have them leaving their fight behind to get involved in his far more dangerous one. Because he is trying to save them, not drag them down with him if he fails. His bushido goes beyond helplessness and forces him to make decisions that align with his beliefs and goals, especially in the face of great trial.
Being trapped in a scenario beyond your capabilities doesn’t inherently mean you don’t believe you can succeed. And maybe, in the traditional definition of success, you can’t. But sometimes being trapped reveals a part of you that hopes, that some part of you believes you can do something, no matter how small.
Even after four devas, Gintoki does this often in the serious arcs. The fight is always something beyond him alone, and either he figures out how to make it something he can do, gets help from the people he cares about, or locks onto the part of himself that believes what he’s doing will make a difference and keep his family safe.
Hope, in this way, fuels Gintoki’s sense of self-efficacy. Because even if he’s stuck in a dire situation, he will find a way to help his loved ones, even at the risk of his own life.
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And, to end, I will leave you with two Gintoki quotes that I feel demonstrate all of this well.
“People need to live their life with a clear conscience. When you want to walk on a straight path, somehow you get yourself stained with mud. However, as long as we never give up, one day the mud on you will dry up and fall off.”
“No matter how colossal a power you obtain, no matter how gigantic an army you bring with you, I ain’t scared. While you’ve abandoned a hundred, I’ve connected with a thousand. While you’ve destroyed a thousand, I’ve been helped by ten thousand. So what’s an army of a few thousand?”
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