Gintama Creator References Evangelion in Comment for Anime’s Final Movie

Gintama‘s creator hilariously referenced Neon Genesis Evangelion in a special comment for the anime’s final movie! Gintama will be bringing the massive anime franchise to an end with a final theatrical outing that will be adapting the final moments of the original manga with new material for the film. Series creator Hideaki Sorachi has been promoting the film with his trademark quirky humor, even going as far as to offer sketches of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba‘s characters for the film’s release. This continues with the creator’s official statement for the film that includes another shout out to another anime film in theaters at the same time!

In a special message shared with fans (as translated by @Kewl0210 on Twitter), Sorachi not only bid goodbye to Gintama‘s anime franchise but gave a shout out to Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0′s release in theaters in Japan later this month. Sorachi begins his statement as such, “So the day is finally here, huh? This anime that had repeated fake-out endings is now finally going to really reach it’s true conclusion.”

Continuing further, the statement reads, “Are your hearts ready? Feel free to laugh or cry as you say goodbye for the last time. I think everyone should enjoy this final meeting with all our friends in their own way. Huh? What about me? Yeah, I’ll probably cry my eyes out. Even knowing this day would arrive someday, I’ve felt like I’d be okay if it never did.” Hilariously, Sorachi then gets serious with a reference to Evangelion:

“But I think I’ll wipe away the tears, and say something like this,” Sorachi started, “Goodbye, Shinji, Rei, Asuka. Farewell, all of Evangelion. Let’s all be sure to check out the Shin Evangelion movie, in theaters January 23rd! Huh? Wrong one? Not the one made by Hideaki Anno, the one made by Hideaki the idiot? Uh, but both Hideakis have been doing fake-out endings…sorry.”

Sorachi ended his statement with an emotional farewell, “I don’t really have much to say about that one. It’s probably full of friends of that idiot Hideaki working on it. So, we don’t really need to say goodbye to Gintama. I’m sure somewhere, someday, we’ll meet again. Thank you-corn poop.”

Did you catch these connections between Gintama and Evangelion before Sorachi’s statement? Can you believe both of these massive franchises are ending at the same time? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or you can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!