Gintama
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| Gintama | |
| File:Gintama 1.jpg Volume 1 (North American version) | |
| Genre | Parody, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Action, Comedy |
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| Written by | Hideaki Sorachi |
| Illustrated by | Hideaki Sorachi |
| Published by |  Shueisha |
| English publisher |   VIZ Media |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Jump Shonen Jump (Ended) C-Kids |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | December 8, 2003 – ongoing |
| Volumes | 25 |
| Anime | |
| Directed by | Shinji Takamatsu |
| Studio | Sunrise |
| Released | April 4, 2006 – ongoing |
Gintama (銀魂, Gintama, lit. Silver Soul) is a comedic manga created by Hideaki Sorachi. The original manga began in December 8 2003 and is currently being published by Shueisha under Weekly Shōnen Jump. The manga has sold over 20 million copies in Japan.[1] In March 2007, Shueisha announced that sales of the first volume had passed one million copies.[2]
The manga has been licensed by VIZ Media in North America under the Shonen Jump label, under the title "Gin Tama".[3] It debuted in the January 2007 issue, and was serialized at a rate of one chapter a month (as opposed to the two or three chapters of the other serialized manga). The magazine serialized the entire first volume, and currently releases the other volumes bimonthly under the Shonen Jump Advance imprint; it is rated for "T+" for "Older Teen" (ages 16+).
An OVA of Gintama appeared at Jump Festa 2006 Anime Tour in 2005. Animated by Sunrise, it preluded the announcement of the Gintama anime. The Gintama anime series debuted on April 4 2006 TV Tokyo after Bleach. The anime has yet to be licensed for a North American release; it is broadcast in Italy by MTV starting December 4 2007.
The subtitle for the Gintama anime could be loosely translated as "The starting point is the utmost importance for anything, so trying to outdo oneself is just about right."[4]
Development
In 2003, Hideaki Sorachi was an up-and-coming mangaka who had already created two one-shots for the Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine. Although he was preparing himself to create his first serialized series, his editor suggested that he would create a manga series based on the Shinsengumi, mostly inspired by an upcoming TV-drama about the 1860s troupe as depicted by idol actors. Sorachi attempted to create this series since he admitted to liking the Shinsengumi, but ultimately failed to get anything off the ground. But instead of abandoning the idea completely, the mangaka remained in the historical Japanese era but began to create his own story, adding in elements of science fiction and fictionalizing many of the figures from the era to create a story more to his own liking.[5] The original title of the series was meant to be Yorozuya Gin-san, but it didn't have any impact on Sorachi. After great debate, he decided to go with the name Gintama after discussing it with his family, deciding to go with a name that sounded close to the edge without being completely off it.[6]
The series Gintama premiered in issue 2, 2004 of the Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine, where it quickly caught success due to Sorachi's own perspective of the world and its combination of action, comedy and sci-fi. Although appearing outlandish, Sorachi does attempt to keep certain historical attributes connected to the period with twists: for example, while history speaks of the foreigners from the United States and Europe invading Japan after being forced to open their doors, this series replaces international foreigners with extraterrestrial ones, yet keeps various ideas and perspectives between those who wish to keep the invaders and their ideas around and those who wish to completely free Japan from its grip. The usage of science fiction also frees Sorachi from merely sticking with the era of depiction, allowing him to introduce more modern aspects of society in today's Japan and use them as part of his commentary of both the modern and past eras.
During the first year of the series, Sorachi believed that the source of the popularity connected to Gintama was partially connected to the Shinsengumi drama. While the drama ran during the first year of the series, when the manga was mostly shorter stories that established the characters and the world, he felt sick of riding on the coattails of something else's success.[7] By the second year and beyond, he became more daring in his stories and concepts, creating longer storylines that included more drama while keeping his bizarre sense of humor and satirization of modern Japan by way of his fictionalized past.
Story
The story takes place in Edo (known today as Tokyo because of the name change in 1868), Japan, which has been taken over by aliens called Amanto since the late Edo period. The samurai of Japan have fallen, and the Amanto placed a ban on carrying swords in public. The story focuses on an eccentric samurai, Gintoki Sakata, his (partial) apprentice Shinpachi Shimura, and a teenage alien girl: Kagura. All three are "free-lancers" who search for work in order to pay the monthly rent, which usually goes unpaid anyway.
Characters
- Gintoki Sakata (坂田 銀時, Sakata Gintoki) Seiyū - Tomokazu Sugita
- Gintoki Sakata is the main character of the story. He has naturally permed hair, which he blames for his lacking love-life. He rides a motor scooter and wields a bokuto, which has "Lake Toya" (洞爺湖, Tōya-ko) inscribed onto it. His job, as is written on his business card, is a "free-lancer", meaning he'll take any job for nearly any price. He enjoys reading Shōnen Jump comics and he has a sweet tooth and will go into crazed combat if he does not have his sweets (he has glycosuria).
- In the past, he was a Joi (someone who attempted to overthrow Amanto to protect the government). The reason Gintoki does not join Kotaro Katsura again to fight the aliens is that he does not like to fight alongside "gloomy terrorists".
- Shinpachi Shimura (志村 新八, Shimura Shinpachi) Seiyū - Daisuke Sakaguchi
- Shinpachi works under Gintoki to learn the ways of the samurai. However it seems more like he is just trying to help Gintoki pay the rent than to learn. Shinpachi is the captain of the "Otsu Imperial Guard," a pop-singer's fan club.
- Shinpachi first met Gintoki after he was tripped by an alien ambassador. Gintoki beats up the ambassador and his guards to get revenge for his spilled parfait. Soon after, Gintoki framed Shinpachi for the crime, which somehow led to him saving Shimura Tae (Otae), Shinpachi's sister, from being added to a brothel.
- Kagura (神楽) Seiyū - Rie Kugimiya
- Kagura is an alien from the "Yato Clan," one of the strongest races in existence. Despite her alien heritage, she looks like a normal human and talks with a Chinese accent. She can stop Gintoki's motor scooter single-handedly and has an umbrella that is bullet-proof and can fire bullets from the tip. Her stomach knows no bounds and she apparently loves to eat sukonbu.
- She originally came to Earth to earn money to help her parents' financial situation. Because of her immense strength, she took to fighting for a gang. After she was told to kill a few people, she tried to escape from the gang and was almost run over by Gintoki's motor scooter. He liberated her, and she forced him to let her join his free-lancer business. She sleeps in the closet of Gintoki's home. Kagura has a giant dog-like creature called Sadaharu as a pet, which she had found. Sadaharu has a habit of often biting most characters, with the exception of Kagura.
Media
Manga
The Gintama manga series debuted in December, 2003 (issues marked as 2004) in the manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump. As of this time, 24 volumes have been released with many chapters currently unreleased with continued serialization.
Anime
The Gintama anime series, created by Hideaki Sorachi, debuted on TV Tokyo on April 4 2006 after Bleach.
Music themes
| # | Transcription/Translation | Performed by | Episodes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pray | Tommy heavenly6 | 1 - 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Tōi Nioi (遠い匂い, Faraway Scent) | YO-KING | 25 - 49 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Gin Iro no Sora (銀色の空, Silver Sky) | redballoon | 50 - 75 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Kasanaru Kage (かさなる影, Overlapping Shadow) | Hearts Grow | 76 - 99 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Donten (曇天, Cloudy Weather) | DOES | 100 - 125 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Anata Magic (アナタMAGIC) | Monobright | 126 -
Video gamesIn Japan, a PlayStation 2 Gintama game, Gintama: Together with Gin! My Kabuki District Journal (銀魂 銀さんと一緒!ボクのかぶき町日記, Gintama Gin-san to Issho! Boku no Kabuki-cho Nikki), was released on August 30 2007, and a Wii game, Gintama: General Store Tube: Tsukkomi-able Cartoon (銀魂 万事屋ちゅ〜ぶ ツッコマブル動画, Gintama Yorozuya Chūbu Tsukkomaburu Dōga), was released on October 25 2007. A game for the Nintendo DS called Gintama: Silver Ball Quest: Gin's Job-Change to Save the World (銀魂 銀玉くえすと 銀さんが転職したり世界を救ったり, Gintama Gintama Kuesuto Gin-san ga Tenshoku-shitari Sekai o Sukuttari) was released on December 6 2007. None of these games are slated for international release for the time being. Also, there have been four Nintendo DS games featuring Gintama characters so far: two games based on the anime: Gintama Dee-Ess: Odd Jobs Grand Riot! (銀魂でぃ〜えす・万事屋大騒動!, Gintama Dīesu Yorozuya Daisōdō!) and Gintama: Gintoki vs. Hijikata!? The Huge Fight Over Silver Balls in the Kabuki District!! (銀魂 銀時vs土方!? かぶき町銀玉大争奪戦!!, Gintama Gintoki vs Hijikata!? Kabuki-cho Gitama Daisōdatsusen!!), the Shōnen Jump crossover Jump Superstars and its sequel, Jump Ultimate Stars. Light novelsA series of light novels featuring the Gintama characters transposed to a school setting is running in Jump Square under the title 3-Nen Z-Gumi GinPachi-sensei. The novel is based of his Akamaru Jump entry. References
External links Wikiquote has quotations related to Gintama.
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