Gintama

Gintama (銀魂; lit. 'Silver Soul') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi. It was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 2003 to September 2018, later in Jump Giga from December 2018 to February 2019, and concluded on the Gintama app, where it ran from May to June 2019. Its chapters were collected in 77 tankōbon volumes. Set in Japan during the Edo period, which has been conquered by aliens named Amanto, the plot follows samurai Gintoki Sakata, who works as a freelancer in his self-established store, "Yorozuya", alongside his friends Shinpachi Shimura and Kagura, offering a wide range of services to handle various tasks and odd jobs. After his editor suggested doing a historical series, Sorachi incorporated a science fiction setting to develop characters to his liking.

The series was adapted into an original video animation (OVA) by Sunrise, which was featured at the Jump Festa 2006 Anime Tour in 2005. This was followed by a full 367-episode anime television series, which aired on TV Tokyo from April 2006 to October 2018. The storyline of the series was concluded in the film Gintama: The Very Final, which was released in January 2021. Two other films were released in April 2010 and July 2013, respectively. Besides the anime series, there have been various light novels and video games based on Gintama. A live-action film adaptation was released in July 2017 in Japan by Warner Bros. Pictures.

The manga has been licensed by Viz Media in North America. In addition to publishing the individual volumes of the series, Viz Media serialized its first chapters in its Shonen Jump manga anthology from the January to the May 2007 issues. Viz Media ceased the English-language localization in 2011, with 23 volumes released.

In Japan, the Gintama manga has been popular, with over 73 million copies in circulation by November 2024, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. Gintama has been well received by critics and audiences alike, with praise for its comedy and characters, as well as its overarching plot and action choreography.