‘Gintama’s Fake Finale Gave This Fan A Hilarious Viral Tattoo

Reports have been swirling around the Internet for some time that Hideaki Sorachi’s Gintama would be coming to an end, and fans had been finding ways to deal with the loss of one of the longest running, most popular series in Shonen Jump.

The hilarious bit, however, is that the series is only ending its run in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump and will continue on in another magazine. Meaning that one fan’s attempt to immortalize the series’ ending with a tattoo got themselves into a particularly sticky situation.

Twitter user @VASTASSA shared the imagine of their tattoo of the logo to Sakata Gintoki’s odd-job service shop, Yorozuya, on September 6 when it was believed that the series was going to be coming to an end. The reported ending was tough news to accept, but given the series had reached its final arc many fans were already making preparations to say goodbye (such as with this tattoo).

@VASTASSA felt strongly enough about the series to get a tattoo, but was understandably a bit peeved to find out that the series was, in fact, not ending at all and was just caught in a hilarious series of misunderstandings (not unlike Sorachi’s manga). Just six days later, they updated their tweet with frustration and that they’re “owed” money for the tattoo for the mental anguish.

Luckily @VASTASSA, like many Gintama fans, is taking the non-cancellation with hilarious stride and now has a pretty cool tattoo that they didn’t have before. Good thing it wasn’t some elaborate mural of the characters or anything that could lead to a bigger regret later down the line.

Gintama’s fake-ending was a result of series creator Sorachi wanting more time to finish the story, and the manga will instead continue on the irregular release schedule of Shueisha’s Jump GIGA magazine. Fans (and Sorachi) were hoping to see the series end in Jump, but fans are definitely happy to know there will be more Gintama stories to come.

Hideaki Sorachi’s 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. Its largely episodic nature has been a hit with fans, especially when it dives into longer story arcs like the final “Silver Soul” arc.