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Gintama's Spinoff TV Anime 3-Nen Z-Gumi Ginpachi-Sensei Unveils, Visual, Cast, Staff, October 2025 Debut
posted on by Joanna Cayanan & Alex Mateo
The "Gintama Channel 4-Shuu-nen Kinen & Sakata Gintoki Bakutan Kinen 2024" (Gintama Channel 4th Year Anniversary & Gintoki Sakata Sudden Emergence Anniversary 2024) livestream on Thursday revealed that the anime adaptation of 3-Nen Z-Gumi Ginpachi-Sensei (Class 3-Z's Teacher Ginpachi), Tomohito Ōsaki's spinoff novel series of Hideaki Sorachi's Gintama manga, will air on TV Tokyo in October 2025. An official website opened to unveil a visual, staff, cast, and a super teaser promotional video. Aside from some work in progress, the trailer did not have any footage and explained that the actual trailer will debut at Jump Festa 2025 on December 21 at 3:40 p.m. JST.
The visual shows the new anime's protagonist Ginpachi as well as the original Gintama series' main character Gintoki:
Natsumi Higashida is directing the anime at BN Pictures. Makoto Moriwaki (Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun) is the general director. Kazuyuki Fudeyasu (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime) and Mitei Mark II are in charge of series composition. Shinji Takeuchi (Gintama) is the chief animation director. Audio Highs (Gintama, Bakuman.) is composing for the music.
Returning cast members from the original Gintama anime include:
- Tomokazu Sugita as Ginpachi Sakata
- Daisuke Sakaguchi as Shinpachi Shimura
- Rie Kugimiya as Kagura
- Satsuki Yukino as Tae Shimura
- Susumu Chiba as Isao Kondo
- Kazuya Nakai as Toshiro Hijikata
- Kenichi Suzumura as Sogo Okita
- Tetsuharu Ohta as Sagaru Yamazaki
- Yū Kobayashi as Ayame Sarutobi
- Akira Ishida as Kotaro Katsura
- Takehito Koyasu as Shinsuke Takasugi
- Satoshi Hino as Kamui
The 3-Nen Z-Gumi Ginpachi-Sensei concept was previously animated as a short at the end of several Gintama anime series episodes.
Sorachi's original "science-fiction period-drama comedy" manga began in 2003 and ended in June 2019 with over 55 million copies in circulation. The manga has inspired several television anime series with 367 total episodes, as well as three previous anime films. The latest anime series premiered in July 2018. The manga has also inspired various original video anime (OVA), event anime, two live-action films, and two live-action net spinoffs. Viz Media published the manga's first 23 volumes in English.
Gintama THE VERY FINAL (Gintama: The Final), the third and last anime film based on the finale of the original manga, combined with new story elements, opened in Japan in January 2021.
Eleven Arts screened the film in Japanese with English subtitles and with an English dub in North American theaters in November 2021. Eleven Arts and Shout! Factory released the film digitally in January 2022, and on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in February 2022.
The manga also inspired a net anime special titled Gintama The Semi-Final with a story that served as a two-episode prequel to the film. The net anime premiered exclusively in Japan on the online dTV service in January 2021.
A series of new Gintama on Theater 2D compilations started screening in Japan in 2023. The first of the new Gintama on Theater 2D compilations, Gintama on Theater 2D: Baragaki-hen (Thorny Arc), opened a three-week limited engagement in Japanese theaters in November 2023. The second compilation, Gintama on Theater 2D: Ikkoku Keisei-hen, opened its three-week run on June 21. The third compilation, Gintama on Theater 2D: Kintama-hen, will have a three-week limited screening in Japan starting on November 22.
The compilations are part of the Gintama franchise's 20th anniversary celebration, with 2023 being the 20th anniversary of Hideaki Sorachi's Gintama manga debuting, and 2026 being the 20th anniversary of the television anime's premiere. The Yorinuki Gintama-san rerun of the television anime also spawned two "on Theater 2D" compilations in 2012 and 2013.
Sources: Gintama Channel 4 Shuu-nen Kinen & Sakata Gintoki Bakutan Kinen 2024 livestream, 3-Nen Z-Gumi Ginpachi-Sensei anime's website
