Gintama Creator Recreates Gintoki’s Debut With Special Sketch

Gintama is now celebrating its 20th anniversary, and the original creator has gone all the way back to the beginning to recreate Gintoki Sakata’s very first appearance with special new art. Gintama kicked off the 20th anniversary of its manga back in 2023, and it’s planning to celebrate this milestone through the next few years to also wrap up with the 20th anniversary of the anime adaptation in 2026. This means that although both the manga and anime have ended quite some time ago, it’s been the perfect time to celebrate the franchise’s best and biggest moments overall. 

As part of this long celebration for Gintama’s 20th anniversary, original series creator Hideaki Sorachi has recreated Gintoki’s very first appearance in the series with a new sketch updating its style. It’s a total blast from the past from the creator who hasn’t originally illustrated this page for a long, long time. But it’s clear that the creator has not lost his touch and still has the same impact he did all those years ago (maybe even more at this point). Check out the special sketch of Gintoki below.

How to Catch Up With Gintama

If you wanted to catch the original TV anime for yourself, you can now find all four seasons of Gintama now streaming with Crunchyroll. They tease the Gintama anime as such, “In a world where aliens have invaded Edo Period Japan, skyscrapers, trains and motor bikes have replaced the simple life of Earth inhabitants. One man however, still carries the soul of a samurai, Gintoki Sakata, otherwise known as Yorozuya Gin-san. As reckless as he is, Gintoki carries his own resolve and is ready to take on any challenge with his fellow companions.” Its many movies are available on DVD and Blu-ray as well. 

With Gintama celebrating the 20th anniversary of both the manga and anime over the next few years, this is likely far from the only way we’ll see the franchise return with fun new projects. This special sketch could only be the start of Gintoki’s return overall, and theaters in Japan have seen the franchise release new compilation films taking on some of the anime’s biggest arcs. So we’ll get to see many more celebrations in the years to come as fans and Shueisha commemorate the action franchise’s run with Shonen Jump.