It has been announced that the "20th Anniversary Gintama Exhibition - Gathering of 20 Years," an exhibition commemorating the 20th anniversary of the serialization of Hideaki Sorachi's popular manga "Gintama," will be held from December 14th to January 17th, 2025 at Exhibition Hall A on the 4th floor of Sunshine City World Import Mart Building (Toshima-ku, Tokyo). Following the Tokyo venue, it will be held at the Osaka venue, Namba Parks Museum (Naniwa-ku, Osaka City), from March 1st, 2025, and it has also been announced that it will travel to Okayama, Fukuoka, Aichi, and other places.
A new teaser visual drawn by Sorachi was also released. Sorachi remade the memorable scene where the main character, Gintoki Sakata, first appeared in the first lesson after about 20 years.
The top 20 characters were also announced in the character popularity poll "Gintama 20th Anniversary All-Character Popularity Poll" held in preparation for the Gintama Exhibition. The top 20 are Shimura Shinpachi, Sakata Gintoki, Shimura Tae, Kagura, Katsura Kotaro, Hijikata Toshiro, Yamazaki Tai, Okita Sougo, Kondo Isami, Sakamoto Tatsuma, Mutsu, Takasugi Shinsuke, Sarutobi Ayame, Yoshida Shoyo, Yagyu Kyubei, Ito Kamotaro, Tsukuyo, Abuto, Kamui, and Imai Nobume (in order of appearance in the work). Illustrations of the top 20 characters drawn by Sorachi will be released on the official website and elsewhere on October 7th. The rankings below 21st place will be announced at the Gintama Exhibition. The popularity poll was open from December 17, 2023 to January 31, 2024, and received a total of approximately 1 million votes.
The main theme of the "Gintama Exhibition" is "An exhibition created together with all the fans who support Gintama," and the results of fan polls that have been conducted several times, including the "All-Character Popularity Poll," will be reflected throughout the exhibition. In addition to the original drawings of the top 50 characters from the "All-Character Popularity Poll," Sorachi's handwritten manuscripts will also be on display. The "Most moving 'XX chapter,'" "Funniest chapter,'" and "Best 'tsukkomi,'" chosen in the fan voting project "Let's Make and Play Gintamaten" will also be on display at the venue.
Over 100 original goods will also be on sale. The lineup will include the "Guchiriya Tokkuri Set" (estimated price 4,180 yen), which was voted in first place by fans for the "item they want to see commercialized" in the "Tsukutte Aso Bogin Tamaten" voting project, the "Hijikata Toshiro (Tosshi) Blanket in Cushion" (estimated price 7,700 yen), the "Okita Sougo Sadistic Blanket in Cushion" (estimated price 7,700 yen), the "Sakata Gintoki's Aloha Shirt (with pin badge)" (estimated price 11,000 yen), and the "Sadaharu's Shaking Mascot" (estimated price 3,520 yen), which came in fourth place.
As a special gift for visitors, pocket tissues with "Otona no Oshie" stickers featuring the characters' lines will be presented. There are 9 types in total, chosen randomly.
"Gintama" is an action drama set in a fictional Edo. In a world ruled by aliens called Amanto, the sweet-toothed and reckless samurai Sakata Gintoki solves various cases brought to Yorozuya with his friends Shinpachi and Kagura. The series began serialization in December 2003 in "Weekly Shonen Jump" (Shueisha). It was also talked about that the final episode was not reached in "Weekly Shonen Jump" and "Jump GIGA" (Shueisha). After that, "The Other Side of the Final Episode (Continuation)" was distributed on the "Gintama Official App". The final lesson, "Lesson 704: No Good People with Natural Curls," was distributed on June 20, 2019, and the third time was a charm to finally conclude the series. The total number of copies of the comics published is over 55 million.
The first season of the TV anime aired from 2006 to 2010, the second from 2011 to 2013, the third from 2015 to 2016, and the fourth from 2017 to 2018. The animated film "Gintama: The Movie - The New Benizakura Arc" was released in 2010, and "Gintama: The Movie: The Final Chapter - Be Forever Yorozuya" was released in 2013. The film "Gintama: The Final" was released in 2021. There is also buzz about the "Gintama" spin-off "3-nen Z-gumi Ginpachi Sensei" being made into an anime.