Gintama Review: The Funniest Manga Ever Made?
A review of Gintama by Hideaki Sorachi - a chaotic parody comedy that quietly became one of the most emotionally satisfying shonen epics ever completed.
By Web Admin
Try explaining Gintama to someone and you will sound insane. It is a comedy manga set in an alternate Edo-period Japan that has been invaded by aliens, starring a silver-haired samurai with a sweet tooth who runs an odd-jobs business and breaks the fourth wall roughly once a page. It is also, somehow, one of the most emotionally devastating shonen epics ever written. Created by Hideaki Sorachi, Gintama ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 2004, spanned 77 volumes and more than 700 chapters, and finally wrapped its story in 2019. This is our full review – and our attempt to convince you that the weirdest pitch in manga hides one of its best books.
Published in English by Viz Media, Gintama is a series that rewards patience like almost nothing else. Here is what you are actually signing up for.
What is Gintama?
Gintama follows Gintoki Sakata, a lazy, deadpan former samurai living in an Edo where an alien race called the Amanto has conquered Japan and banned swords. To pay his rent (which he never actually pays), Gintoki runs Yorozuya – a “we do anything” freelance business – alongside the earnest teenager Shinpachi and the superhumanly strong alien girl Kagura. What starts as episodic comedy gradually reveals a huge cast, a rich alternate history, and a genuine, sweeping plot about the end of the samurai age.
The genius of the setup is its flexibility. One chapter is a toilet-humor gag; the next is a meditation on loyalty and loss. Sorachi can pivot from parody to tragedy without the whiplash ever feeling cheap. That range is unusual even among long-running shonen, and it is the reason the series inspires such fierce devotion once it clicks.
It helps that the alternate history is genuinely clever. The Amanto invasion is a thinly veiled riff on the forced opening of Japan in the nineteenth century, with the samurai standing in for a way of life being swept aside by imported technology and power. That real historical undertow gives even the silliest chapters an unexpected melancholy, and it pays off enormously when the serious arcs finally reckon with what the characters have lost.
Hideaki Sorachi and the Jump years
Sorachi is famous for his self-deprecating author notes and for constantly poking fun at Shonen Jump, his editors, and the manga industry itself. That meta streak defines the series’ comedy. Gintama became one of the most beloved titles of its era in the magazine, and it stands tall among the best of its home – see our best Shonen Jump manga guide for its peers. It is also a rare long-runner that got to end on its own terms, which puts it firmly on our best completed manga list.
The comedy: parody without mercy
At its core, Gintama is a gag manga, and its humor is broad, fast, and shameless. It parodies everything – other Jump titles, samurai films, anime tropes, real-world pop culture – and breaks the fourth wall constantly. The jokes range from clever satire to gleeful low-brow nonsense. Not every gag lands, and the series knows it; part of the fun is the characters commenting on their own bad jokes. If you like your comedy dense, referential, and self-aware, few manga do it better. Fans of the genre should also see our best comedy manga roundup.
The secret weapon: the dramatic arcs
Here is the twist that turns Gintama from a good comedy into a great manga. Periodically, Sorachi drops the jokes almost entirely and delivers long, serious story arcs – the Benizakura arc, the Shogun Assassination arc, the Farewell Shinsengumi arc, and the final battles. These arcs are packed with jaw-dropping action, emotional payoffs years in the making, and character deaths that genuinely hurt. Because you have spent hundreds of chapters laughing with these people, the drama hits with the force of a much heavier series. It earns a spot on our best action manga guide on the strength of those arcs alone.
The cast: a huge, lovable ensemble
- Gintoki Sakata – the lazy, sugar-addicted, secretly principled hero.
- Shinpachi Shimura – the straight-man teenager and the reader’s anchor.
- Kagura – the ravenous, ridiculously strong alien girl.
- The Shinsengumi – the police force whose members become fan favorites.
- Katsura and Takasugi – Gintoki’s old war comrades, now on very different paths.
Content notes
Be aware that Gintama is a shonen title with an edge. Expect crude and sexual humor, comedic violence that turns genuinely brutal in the serious arcs, and plenty of references that assume some familiarity with Japanese and anime culture. Nothing is graphic in an adult-comic sense, but the low-brow gags and the darker themes of war and death make it best suited to teens and up rather than young children.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Consistently, genuinely hilarious over hundreds of chapters
- Dramatic arcs deliver top-tier action and emotion
- A huge, memorable cast you grow to love
- A complete story with a satisfying ending
Cons
- Slow, episodic start that takes time to hook
- Humor is very referential and culturally specific
- 77 volumes is an enormous commitment
Where should you start, and which edition?
Viz Media publishes Gintama in English in standard paperback volumes at roughly US$9.99 each, with some three-in-one omnibus editions also available. The honest advice: the first dozen or so chapters are the weakest, so give it a good 20 or 30 before deciding. Here is how the buying options stack up.
| Edition | Collects | Approx. price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single volume | One volume | ~US$10 | Testing the waters |
| Three-in-one omnibus | Three volumes | ~US$18 | Best value binge |
| Digital volumes | Any volume | ~US$7 | Reading on the go |
Is Gintama worth the commitment?
Seventy-seven volumes is a lot to ask, and we will be straight with you: Gintama is not for everyone. If the early gag chapters do not click, it may never fully win you over. But for readers who sync with its rhythm, the payoff is one of the most complete and satisfying journeys in shonen. It sits comfortably among the best shonen manga, and if you want a very different but equally foundational read next, our Astro Boy review covers the classic that helped start it all. You can also browse the full manga hub.
The verdict
Gintama is a magic trick: it spends hundreds of pages making you laugh so that, when it finally decides to break your heart, you never see it coming. It is chaotic, uneven, and occasionally juvenile – and it is also one of the funniest and most emotionally rewarding manga ever completed. Stick with it, and it becomes unforgettable.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to watch the anime first?
Not at all. The manga is the original source and stands on its own. The anime is an excellent adaptation, but reading the manga first (or instead) works perfectly.
Is Gintama finished?
Yes. Hideaki Sorachi concluded the main story in 2019 after 77 volumes and more than 700 chapters, with a few follow-up specials and films rounding it out.
Does Gintama get better after the slow start?
Dramatically. The early episodic chapters are the weakest part; the series deepens enormously once its serious arcs and long-running plots take hold. Most fans say to give it at least 20 to 30 chapters.
Is Gintama appropriate for kids?
It is aimed at teens and up. There is crude and sexual humor plus violence that becomes genuinely intense in the dramatic arcs, so it is not ideal for younger children.
Next, see how it ranks against the field in our best shonen manga guide, or find your next binge in our best completed manga list.
