Is Hideaki Sorachi's Gintama over? Status of the manga explored

Hideaki Sorachi's well-known manga series Gintama, which was published in December 2003, follows Sakata Gintoki and his companions as they struggle to survive an extraterrestrial invasion in feudal Japan's Edo period. The manga quickly gained popularity among anime and manga fans because it offered quirky humor, fantastic action, and an infinite number of pop culture references.

Several anime and video game adaptations later, the manga became a global phenomenon. However, Hideaki Sorachi's beloved manga series Gintama has ended its serialization.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Gintama series.

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With over 700 chapters, Gintama manga finished its seralization back in 2019

After a memorable journey of 704 chapters, new fans of the series will be saddened to learn that their beloved series has sung its final song. From 2003 to 2018, it was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, and on June 20, 2019, the last chapter was released.

Gintama manga has 77 volumes in total, with the last issue arriving on October 4, 2019. The manga series came to a fitting finish with its last arc, which was a compelling and emotional journey. The 17-chapter Silver Soul arc began four years after the conclusion of the prior Rokoyou Decisive Battle arc.

The Odd Jobs team was engaged in combat with Neo-Amanto at the start of the narrative. However, they immediately realized that the threat was considerably greater than they had initially believed, which set off a dramatic series of events.

Characters in the last arc confronted their pasts and considered their futures, which was an emotionally charged plot point. The events of the arc had a particular impact on Gintoki as they pushed him to face his demons and make challenging choices. As Neo-Amanto took over Edo, the Yorozuya fought valiantly to save their home and the people they cherish.

Additionally, there were several crucial moments in the heated battle against the invaders that had fans on the edge of their seats. The final manga came to an emotional close with a farewell to its admirers. Overall, the narrative was a satisfying conclusion with a heartbreaking farewell to the characters that viewers had grown to like.

After the main series concluded, various spin-off manga and light novel adaptations were subsequently published. Gintama: Monster Strike-hen, one of these spin-off comics, was released in 2017 and placed the characters in the setting of the mobile game called Monster Strike.

Meanwhile, Gintama: Bakumatsucho also took place in the Bakumatsu era and had the same ensemble of characters. Written by Hideaki Sorachi, this manga searialized from 2018 to 2019.

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What's next for Gintama?

Despite the conclusion of the original manga, the series is still far from finished. An anime spin-off is now in development, the news of which was announced on March 19, 2023. The announcement was made at the Ato No Matsuri celebration, which marked the season finale, and was held at the Ryogoku Kokugikan National Sumo Arena.

Although the manga is finished, fans may still enjoy the anime, which contains more than 300 episodes and three movies that share the same mix of humor, action, and sentimentality. Hence, for viewers who are looking forward to trying this series or for fans who want to revisit the nostalgia, this might be the perfect time to go back to Gintama anime before the spin-off arrives.