‘Mr. Ginpachi’s Zany Class’ is a ‘Gintama’-Style Multiverse School Anime That’s Exciting Fans

By Yayoi Kawatoko / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

11:00 JST, November 7, 2025

“Gintama – Mr. Ginpachi’s Zany Class,” the anime series based on a spin-off novel series of the popular manga “Gintama,” airs at midnight on Mondays on the TV Tokyo network.

In this series, the familiar characters are now high school students enjoying their youth.

The original “Gintama” manga series by Hideaki Sorachi has sold more than 73 million copies in book form and became an anime series of the same title that began broadcasting in 2006. The story is set in a fictitious version of Edo, which is the former name of Tokyo, and features characters with strong personalities — with odd-job workers Gintoki Sakata, Shinpachi Shimura and Kagura at the center — who run wild.

“Gintama” features moving stories, from tear-jerking tales of humanity to thrilling battles as well as stories that touch on a wide variety of topics, including controversial accounts of current affairs, parodies and even dirty jokes, making the world depicted in it extremely popular with fans. The manga’s final installment was released in 2019, and the TV anime concluded with a film shown in theaters in 2021.

Set in a multiverse version of “Gintama,” the new anime’s story unfolds at Gintama High School and indicates that the worlds of “Gintama” and the high school coexist simultaneously. When news broke that the novel would be adapted into an anime, fans expressed their excitement on social media.

The Yomiuri Shimbun interviewed Tomokazu Sugita, who voiced Gintoki in the original series and now voices high school teacher Ginpachi Sakata in the new one.

Ginpachi teaches Japanese and appears unmotivated. He also acts irresponsibly such as recommending students to cheat on exams. Nevertheless, he garners respect from his students.

Ginpachi looks like Gintoki from “Gintama,” but they are characters from two different worlds.

“I think he [Ginpachi] never forsakes anyone, no matter how much of a misfit they are. He’s the kind of teacher who can act that way naturally,” Sugita said.

More compelling relationships

Familiar characters from “Gintama” appear as students at Gintama High School. The story depicts the everyday school life of the teacher and his students.

“In the original manga, [Gintoki] can’t help but avert his eyes from a certain character because he knows their past. It’s interesting that [Ginpachi] has no choice but to look at them once they become his student,” Sugita said. “I think some of the relationships between the characters have become more compelling than in the original in some respects.”

What does he think about the relationship between teachers and their students?

“I guess the important thing is to avoid getting overly invested in each individual because what troubles or motivates someone varies from person to person. It’s important to consider how to interact with each person and how much distance to keep,” he said.

He applies the same attitude to all the characters he has played so far, even Gintoki, his signature role.

“There’s no difference between all the characters I play. I try not to treat any of them differently. I never put extra pressure on myself or play with more love and care even when I play a lead role. It’s always the same,” he said.

Learning for life

If Sugita were to say something to the students, what would it be?

“I don’t want to impose my views on people with dreams for the future. I don’t want to be an adult who speaks to children from a high horse,” he prefaced before going on to speak from his experience. “Among people who have dreams and goals, those who can imagine what happens when they cannot achieve them will make their dreams and goals stronger. I was like that. People who can think, ‘There’s also such and such way,’ if they cannot achieve them have better growth potential.

“If someone says, ‘I made such and such a mess and flopped, so don’t do the same,’ that person is more credible than those who boast about their success stories. I haven’t accepted any offers to teach or give a lecture at a voice actors’ workshop or a vocational school because I see myself as someone who is learning for life.”

The new anime is set in a high school and depicts characters enjoying themselves in their classes and a school festival. The comical scenes have been amped up too.

“Please enjoy it lightheartedly,” Sugita said.