Gintama

Creation

Sorachi originally planned to do a real manga series based around the exploits of the Shinsengumi with the encouragement of his editor. However, he had trouble keeping any passion for the project until he started adding elements of science fiction and incorporating more fictional elements into his story. After a long process of trial-and-error, Gintama was born.

Synopsis

In Gintama, Japan has been conquered by aliens from outer space called the Amanto. The city of Edo (Tokyo, before 1868) has been transformed into a weird mish-mash of traditional Japanese culture intermixing with futuristic alien technology as the country appears to have mostly accepted the rules of the Amanto. Several samurai rallied to fight them off in a brief rebellion, but in the end they were unsuccessful, and the Amanto ended up banning all swords in public.

Gintama focuses mostly on the "Yorozuya" (the Odd Jobs Trio), consisting largely of the silver-haired ronin Gintoki Sakata, glasses-wearing Shinpachi Shimura, the incredibly strong alien Kagura and her giant pet dog Sadaharu. In this version of Edo, they simply live paycheck to paycheck doing everything from fighting villains to dressing up in costumes, even though some folks occasionally try to use them to rekindle the great war against the Amanto.

However, the story rarely focuses on this, and instead is often filled with one-shot gags and tons of references to other media or Japanese history.

Theme Songs

Opening Themes

"Tōgenkyō Alien" by Serial TV Drama (Ep. __ -227)

"Dilemma (ジレンマ)" by Ecosystem (Ep. 228- )

Closing Themes

"Sayonara no Sora" by Qwai (Ep. _-227)

Anagura (アナグラ)" by Kuroneko Chelsea (Ep. 228-)