‘Gintama’ Drops Surprising New Anime Footage

Hideaki Sorachi’s Gintama shocked fans earlier this year when it seemed like the series would be ending for good, only to shock fans once again by clarifying it was just moving from Weekly Shonen Jump to another magazine.

Promoting the start of Gintama in Jump GIGA, the series released a surprising anime promo for the manga during Jump Festa 2019. You can check it out in the video below.

Beginning December 28 in Jump GIGA magazine, the anime promo features an intense look at several of the characters. This is a good surprise for anime fans after the series ended its run (in a fittingly hilariously way) earlier this October, so this is the first bit of new anime footage since then.

When Gintama announced it was moving over to Jump GIGA rather than ending altogether, Sorachi had a pretty hilarious response, “For everyone out there who read Gintama for these long 14 years, thank you so much. And I’m so very sorry. So, uh, with this week, Gintama will no longer be running in Jump, but it’s not actually ending at all. For just a little bit, we’ll be doing it in a different place. I honestly would’ve preferred to bring you the story all the way to the end of Jump, so I really have to apologize for screwing that whole thing up. This is goodbye to all of those that just skim through Gintama chapters in Jump, but even if I’m gone, I hope you continue to enjoy yourselves reading Jump.”

Fans may be a bit saddened to see weekly chapters from the series to come to an end, but considering the alternative, the fact Gintama is continuing in some capacity is much better than not continuing at all.

Gintama was originally created by Hideaki Sorachi for Weekly Shonen Jump in 2003. The series is set in an Edo period Japan that’s been invaded by aliens known as Amanto. After the shogun surrenders, humans then are forced to live alongside these invaders. The series follows a samurai Gintoki Sakata, who picks up odd jobs with his friends Shinpachi and Kagura to pay the rent for their Yorozuya home base. After ending its run in Weekly Shonen Jump (and had fans thinking the series would end forever), the series will be continuing in Jump GIGA magazine.

Gintama is one of the most popular manga series in Japan with over 50 million copies printed since it began. It’s 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.