Gintama

, the anime series was introduced in the Jump Festa Anime Tour 2005, after which it debuted on the 「火曜いージャン!!」 kayou i-jan!! segment, a Tuesday 1900~2000 hours time slot together with the 'Bleach' anime series on TV Tokyo channel on 2006-04-04 in Japan. It was subsequently moved to every Thursday 1800~1830 hours, outside the 'golden time' hours from October onwards in the same year in Japan. The series ended its run after Season 4 on 25 Mar 2010, at Episode 201. TV Tokyo announced a series of repeat telecasts called 「よりぬき銀魂さん」 aka 'The Best of Gin-san' to be shown every Monday from 1800~1830 hours starting 5 April 2010.

This anime series is mostly based on the manga by 空知 英秋 Sorachi Hideaki, first serialized in Weekly Shounen Jump, interspersed with the occasional episode created by the anime creators themselves, as a result of which some characters are original anime characters not found in the original manga. As of 4 Jan 2010, 32 volumes of the manga tankoubon have been published by Jump Comics. The series is helmed by renowned director 高松 信司 Takamatsu Shinji, well-known for directing other comedic anime including 「スクールランブル」 'School Rumble' and 'Kochikame' (full title is 「こちら葛飾区亀有公園前派出所」 kochira katsushikaku kameari kouen mae wa shutsujo). For more info on the manga series, refer to w:c:gintama:Merchandise.

In accordance to the manga's original premise, the series is part-period drama, part-science fiction and 100% comedy, with elements of space monsters and aliens mixed with historical samurai and ninjas. Its episodic nature meant that there is no main plot, but there are a few long chapter that spanned a number of episodes, the longest thus far being the 'The Blaze of Yoshiwara First Chapter 吉原炎上篇' standing at 8 episodes. Some episodes are made up of 2 different stories, comprising Part A and Part B.

Plot Summary
The story revolves around the adventures of an odd-job merchant which goes by the name of 'Yorozuya 万事屋' ...

Near the end of the Edo period in the Gintama world, a extra-terrestrial foreign species collectively termed Amanto (天人) forcefully descended upon Earth, and not long thereafter, Earth inhabitants waged what was to become an approximately 20-year war with the Amantos, broadly called the  Joui War (攘夷戦争). Many samurais and Joui patriots joined in this fight to expel the foreigners. However, the Amantos' overwhelming military might, coupled with the weak Bakufu government, led to the meek submission of the ruling Shogunate, thereby allowing the Amantos to overrun the Earth with ease. The Bakufu government in effect became the Amantos' puppet government, and from then on, they were able to swagger down the streets of Edo with total disregard for anyone. On the other hand, the Joui rebels who fought against the Amantos became the target of the Bakufu government's crack-down operations. As part of the suppression campaign, a ban on carrying swords in public was effected, and the heretofore valiant samurais lost their fighting spirit.

Fast forward 20 years after the Amantos' arrival, a teenager by the name of Shimura Shinpachi 志村 新八 is seen working in a cafeteria much against his will. He inherited a dojo from his deceased father but has very limited sword training, and so is unable to resuscitate the school of sword skills. Though a young boy, he still believes in the age-old spirit of the samurai. At this point, a remarkable character appeared before him, a character who still embodies the age-old samurai spirit, and whose name is Sakata Gintoki 坂田 銀時. Attracted by the sense of chivalry exuded by this character, Shimura Shinpachi decided to work for him at his outfit called Yorozuya 万事屋 in order to learn the samurai spirit. Not long after that, an Amanto of the Yato tribe by the name of  and an Inugami in the form of a huge dog, latterly named  Sadaharu 定春 by Kagura, joined the company.

And thus, Yorozuya, which gets involved with literally every odd-job in Edo, which is responsible for the law and order in the city, and Sakata Gintoki's past comrades, come into contact with all kinds of people and Amantos as their many adventures unfold.