The episodes of the Japanese anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 series Gintama were animated by Sunrise

Sunrise (company)

is a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise. It is a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings. Its former name was Nippon Sunrise, and prior to that, Sunrise Studios...

. The first 99 episodes were directed by Shinji Takamatsu. Episodes 100 to 105 were directed by Takamatsu and Yoichi Fujita, while following episodes only by Fujita. It premiered on TV Tokyo

TV Tokyo

is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...

 on April 4, 2006, and finished on March 25, 2010 with a total of 201 episodes. The anime is based on Hideaki Sorachi

Hideaki Sorachi

is a Japanese manga artist best known for his work Gin Tama.- Works :* Bankara One shot, 2010* Gintama Serialization, 2003* 13 One shot* Shirokuro One shot* Samuraider Discontinued at sketch phase...

's manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 of the same name. The story revolves around an eccentric samurai, Gintoki Sakata

Gintoki Sakata

is a fictional character in the manga and anime franchise Gin Tama created by Hideaki Sorachi. Gintoki is the main protagonist of the series and his name serves as the basis of the series' title. He is introduced as a former rebel samurai who lives in a fictionalized version of 1860s Japan after...

, his apprentice, Shinpachi Shimura, and a teenage alien girl named Kagura. All three are freelancer

Freelancer

A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labor and that of others to its clients with or without project management and...

s who search for work in order to pay the monthly rent, which usually goes unpaid anyway.

In Japan, Aniplex

Aniplex

, formerly known as Sony Pictures Entertainment Visual Works Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment Visual Works Inc., is a Japanese anime and music production and distribution enterprise owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan and established in January 1997...

 distributes the anime in DVD format. A total of thirteen volumes were released for the first season, between July 26, 2006 and June 26, 2007. The second season was released over another set of thirteen volumes between July 25, 2007 and July 23, 2008. Season 3 was released in thirteen volumes from August 27, 2008 to August 26, 2009. The fourth season was collected in thirteen DVD volumes from October 28, 2009 to October 27, 2010. Prior to the series' premier, an original video animation

Original video animation

, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...

 (OVA) of Gin Tama by Sunrise was showing at Jump Festa

Jump Festa

is an annual party or exposition in Japan, all about anime and manga, sponsored by Shueisha, creators of the various Jump anthologies. New movies, manga, games, and merchandise are introduced during this event...

 Anime Tour in 2005. A ten-minute long OVA named , set in the war between aliens and samurais, was shown in Jump Festa 2008. On September 30, 2009, it was published a DVD named Gintama Jump Anime Tour 2008 & 2005 which contains the 2005 and 2008 OVAs. While the series ended with the fourth season, a sequel titled Gintama started airing in Japan in April 2011.

On January 8, 2009, the streaming video site Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll is an American website and international online community focused on streaming East Asian media including anime, manga, drama, music, electronic entertainment, and auto racing content...

 began offering English subtitled episodes of the series. The episodes are available on Crunchyroll within hours of airing in Japan to paying members. The episodes can also be watched for free a week after release. The first available episode was episode 139. On the same day, Crunchyroll also began uploading episodes from the beginning of the series at a rate of two a week. The anime is licensed by Sentai Filmworks, with distribution from Section23 Films

Section23 Films

Section23 Films is an American home video distribution company specializing in anime and Japanese films. The company is one of five successors to ADV Films, as well as the distributor of titles from Sentai Filmworks and Switchblade Films. ADV had announced that it had sold its assets to a group of...

. Section23 Films' Chris Oarr commented that only the first two seasons were licensed, with an option on the rest. The first collection containing thirteen English-subtitled episodes was released on DVD, April 27, 2010.

Jump Festa Specials

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