‘Gintama’ Anime Confirms Upcoming Hiatus, Return Date

Gintama is one of those titles anime fans tend to have strong feelings about. The action-comedy title has been around for years, and its whacky parodic style has become famous. After a long run, the series is set to end this year as both its manga and anime wrap, but the latter will last a bit longer than fans thought.

Recently, new reports from Japan regarding Gintama‘s anime went live. Translators confirmed the anime is set to go on a hiatus this month. The series will then return in July to wrap up the second-half of the ‘Silver Soul arc, the final installment of the Gintama manga.

Right now, it seems like the decision was probably made to keep filler episodes to a bare minimum while the manga gets further along. Shueisha let fans know the manga’s final arc was reaching its climax in February, but the series is still winding down. There is no set end date for Gintama‘s manga at this point, but fans expect it may wrap before the anime returns and finishes adapting the ‘Silver Soul’ arc.

If you have not kept up with Gintama‘s final arc, you do have a bit to catch up on. The ‘Silver Soul’ arc began in July 2016 at chapter 596. The arc, which follows the ‘Rakuyou Decisive Battle’ arc, sees Utsuro reveal his final plan. The immortal baddie wants to spark a universal war that will end with Earth’s destruction. Gintoki must team up with his current and former allies to take down Utsuro and raze his amassing army.

Gintama is one of the most popular manga series in Japan with 50 million copies printed since it began in 2004. It has gained fame among fans online with its balance of humor, drama, and action while still jokingly referencing other popular Shonen Jump series like Dragon Ball. The series has seen different forms since its initial anime run from 2006 to 2010, with a second series airing from 2011 to 2013 with sporadic hiatuses in-between, a third series running from 2015 to 2016, two feature-length animated films, a few OVAs, and even a live action film releasing in Japan last July.

Are you sad to see Gintama end?Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!