How to watch Gintama in order? Complete watching guide explained

Gintama is a weird anime to watch, mostly because of the random and wacky adventures of Gintoki Sakata which parodies several other animes. Despite all its randomness, there is an actual order to things when it comes to what to watch and when.

With three movies and four OVAs, the series hosts a surprisingly small filler list of only 22 episodes out of 367 episodes. This is much better than other shows like Dragon Ball and Naruto, which have much higher filler percentages regarding their overall series.

This likewise means questions like whether or not the movies and OVAs can be skipped, have been raised multiple times before. As a result, fans and anime enthusiasts have often created guides to help everyone from casual viewers to hardcore fans to watch the series or recommend it to others.

Gintama watch order guide with the complete list, filler and movies

Gintama fans and readers need to be forewarned that the movies are all canon. Therefore, they will be included in the final watch list. Likewise, OVA 1 and 2 are canons as well.

The names of the series represent the different seasons.

“Year-1,” Episodes 1-49
Episodes 50-99
Episodes 100-150
Episodes 151-201
Movie 1: “Gintama: The Movie”
Gintama’, episodes 202-252
Enchōsen, episodes 253-265
Movie 2: “Gintama: The Movie: The Final Chapter: Be Forever Yorozuya”)
Gintama°, Episodes 266-316
OVA 1-2: Love Incense Arc”/Smoke Rises in Places Without Love
An Everlasting Flower
Gintama. Episodes 317-328
Porori-hen, Episodes 1-13 or 329-341
Shirogane no Tamashii-hen, Episodes 1-26 or 342-367)
OVA 3-4: “The Semi-Final”
Movie 3: “The Very Final”

The canon order without fillers

This section concerns the canon order of the series without any filler at all. In essence, if someone wishes to view the anime without distractions, they'd use this list. Movies and OVAs are counted, as these are the canonical material insofar as the anime goes.

Gintama: episode 3-201
Movie 1: Benizakura (the Benizakura arc in eps 58-61).
Episodes 202-252
Enchousen: Episodes 253-265
Movie 2: Be Forever Yorozuya
Episodes 266-316
OVA 1 and 2: Smoke Rises in Places Without Love and An Everlasting Flower
Episodes 317-328
"Porori": Episodes 329-342
Silver Soul Arc: Episodes 343-355
Silver Soul Arc Part 2: Episodes 356-370
The Very Final movie.

Manga canon episodes list

This part of the list concerns episodes that are canon to the manga. This means episodes that only cover what happens in the manga. As such, this helps to quicken the viewing experience by skipping unnecessary episodes, including those that mix manga, anime, and movies.

This is how the manga goes when it comes to its version of events as adapted by the anime. These episodes are recommended for those who only want the quickest way through the series.

Season 1 “Year-1,” Episodes 3-49
Episodes 51-56
Episodes 58-74
Episodes 76-81
Episodes 83-99
Episodes 100-105
Episodes 107-110
Episodes 112-113
Episodes 115-119
Episodes 121-123
Episodes 126-134
Episode 136
Episodes 138-149
Episodes 151-154
Episodes 156-163
Episode 165
Episodes 167-170
Episode 172
Episode 175
Episodes 177-184
Episodes 186-201
Episodes 202-208
Episodes 210-251
Enchōsen, Episodes 253-265
Episodes 266-316
Episodes 317-328
Porori-hen, Episodes 329-341
Shirogane no Tamashii-hen, Episodes 342-366
OVA 3-4: “The Semi-Final”

Mixed canon episodes list

This section contains only the mixed canon episodes of the show. Mixed canon episodes are basically episodes that mix elements of the manga, with more dialog, action, or other events to help bridge the gap between the manga and anime.

Some have stated that it is completely fine to skip mixed canon episodes when viewing an anime. Whether or not this is truly the case is up to the audience.

Episode 82: “You Don’t Stand In Line For The Ramen, You Stand In Line For The Self Satisfaction”
Episode 111: “Definitely Do Not Let Your Girlfriend See The Things You Use For Cross-Dressing”
Episode 120: “Japanese Restaurants Abroad Taste Pretty Much Like School Cafeteria Lunches”
Episode 367: “There Are Lines Even Villains Can’t Cross”

Filler episodes list

As much as many anime fans may dread the very idea of filler episodes, the section will identify said episodes in case one wishes to watch them. Sometimes people like episodes that are made in the vein of giving the manga time to catch up.

If anyone wants to view episodes that have no real bearing on the main story and can be viewed at leisure, this section is for them.

Arguments made in favor of the filler are the humor factor involved, with the parodies involved, as they tend to be funnier than some in the main plot.

Episode 1: “You Guys!! Do You Even Have A Gintama? (Part 1)”
Episode 2: “You Guys!! Do You Even Have A Gintama? (Part 2)”
Episode 50: “Pending Means Pending, It’s Not Final”
Episode 57: “When Looking For Things You’ve Lost, Remember What You Were Doing On The Day You Lost It”
Episode 75: “Don’t Complain About Your Job At Home, Do It Somewhere Else”
Episode 106: “Love Often Played Out In Sudden Death”
Episode 114: “They Say Soy Sauce On Pudding Tastes Like Sea Urchin, But Soy Sauce On Pudding Only Tastes Like Pudding And Soy Sauce”
Episode 124: “When Nagging Goes Too Far It Becomes Intimidating”
Episode 125: “Entering The Final Chapter!”
Episode 135: “Before Worrying About The Earth, Think About The Even More Endangered Future Of ‘Gintaman’”
Episode 137: “99% Of Men Aren’t Confident In Confessing Their Love”
Episode 150: “If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them”
Episode 155: “The Other Side Of The Other Side Of The Other Side Would Be The Other Side”
Episode 164: “That Matsutake Soup Stuff Tastes Better Than The Real Deal”
Episode 166: “Two Is Better Than One. Two People Are Better Than One”
Episode 171: “You’ll Get Sued If All You Do Is Copy Others”
Episode 173: “It’s What’s On The Inside That Counts”
Episode 174: “Are There Still People Who Go To The Ocean And Yell Out ‘Bakayaro’?”
Episode 176: “Countdown Begins”
Episode 185: “Hometowns And Chests Are Best Thought From Afar”
Episode 209: “Nothing Lasts Forever, including Parents, Money, Youth, Your Room, Dress Shirts, Me, You, and the Gintama Anime”
Episode 252: “We’re Sorry”

OVA list

This section is self-explanatory. It contains a short list of OVAs. The two that are most concerned with when it comes to canons are 1 and 2, aka the Love Potion Arc. The Semi-Final OVAs were contained in the final movie, but aren't entirely relevant to the overall story.

Smoke Rises in Places Without Love
An Everlasting Flower
Gintama: The Semi-Final: Don't Spread the Wrapping Cloth Without Thinking Ahead

Movie list

All three movies are canon. Refer back to the prior viewing order for their place in the show's timeline. The first movie is a retelling of one of the anime's arcs, the final movie serves as a conclusion to the series overall.

A New Retelling Benizakura Arc
The Movie: The Final Chapter: Be Forever Yorozuya
Gintama: The Very Final

Gintama plot synopsis

Gintama revolves around an alternate timeline during the Edo period of Japan, which has been invaded and conquered by aliens named Amanto. The series focuses on the freelance samurai Gintoki Sakata who, alongside his friends Shinpachi Shimura and Kagura, is simply trying to make rent payments.

This wacky trio is also accompanied by several other wacky characters from the Shinsengumi police force and some of Gintoki's old samurai friends and allies. Together, they began their fight against the Amanto while also trying to make their rent payments and parody every shonen anime in existence at the time.

The original anime aired on April 4, 2006, and officially ended on January 8, 2021, with the release of the Very Final movie. On March 19, 2023, at a festive post-anime event titled Gintama Ato no Matsuri 2023, a new spinoff anime was announced as being in development and coming in 2026.

Thus concludes the Gintama watch order guide. This guide will hopefully get people into the series before the upcoming spinoff. Gintama is available to stream on Hulu, and the entire series is on Crunchyroll, including the final movie.

Edited by Madhur Dave