Claim: Sunrise created an anime.

, also styled as Gintama , is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi and serialized , beginning on December 8 , 2003 , in Shueisha 's Weekly Shōnen Jump . Set in Edo which has been conquered by aliens named Amanto , the plot follows life from the point of view of samurai Gintoki Sakata , who works as a freelancer alongside his friends Shinpachi Shimura and Kagura in order to pay the monthly rent . Sorachi added the science fiction setting to develop characters to his liking after his editor suggested doing a historical series .   The series has been adapted into an original video animation -LRB- OVA -RRB- by Sunrise and was featured at Jump Festa 2006 Anime Tour in 2005 . This was followed by a full anime series , which debuted on April 4 , 2006 , on TV Tokyo and finished on March 25 , 2010 . A sequel titled Gintama first premiered in Japan on April 4 , 2011 and ended on March 26 , 2012 , before returning once again for a brief run from October 4 , 2012 to March 28 , 2013 . A continuation of the TV anime series titled Gintama ° began airing on April 8 , 2015 , and ended on March 30 , 2016 . Two animated films have also been produced . Besides the anime series , there have been various light novels and video games based on Gin Tama . A live action film adaptation of the same name is scheduled for release in Japan in 2017 . A new anime series continuing after the events in the Gintama ° anime series , named Gintama . premiered on January 9 , 2017 .   The manga has been licensed by Viz Media in North America . In addition to publishing the individual volumes of the series , Viz serialized its first chapters in their Shonen Jump manga anthology . It debuted in the January 2007 issue , and was serialized at a rate of one chapter a month . Sentai Filmworks initially licensed the series . The website Crunchyroll purchased the anime 's streaming rights and home video rights .   In Japan , the Gin Tama manga has been popular , selling over 50 million copies . The anime and its DVDs have been featured , at various time , in Top Ten of their respective media , while TV Tokyo has announced that the first Gin Tama anime was responsible for high sales overseas along with the anime adaptation from Naruto . Publications for manga , anime and others have commented on the Gin Tama '' manga . Positive response have focused on the comedy and characters from the series , while negative responses concern the manga 's artwork .