“Gintama” Manga Series To Put In Brief Hiatus As Author Will Take Medical Break

For those who look forward to the next update on "Gintama" manga series, we regret that this article might be a bad news for you. The 45th issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine this year will announce on Monday that series creator Hideaki Sorachi's "Gintama" manga series will not appear on the magazine on the next due weeks as reported by Crunchyroll.

The "Gintama" manga series first appeared in Weekly Shonen Jump in Dec. 8, 2003, and its serialization continued every week since. Shueisha also published the first chapters of "Gintama" and on the official website of the manga anthology magazine. In 2006, Viz Media acquired licensing rights to publish the official English version in US. It is also compiled in tankobon volumes with the first volume published on Apr. 2, 2004 in Japan.

Shonen Jump confirmed that author Sorachi is currently recovering from a sudden illness, which made him put "Gintama" manga series into a sudden hiatus. "Gintama" is slated to return after two weeks in Weekly Shonen Jump's 47th issue on Oct. 19, but will depend on when the details are decided. The magazine confirmed that it will post more information regarding the series and its creator's recovery on its official website according to Anime News Network.

As for the anime series, new opening themes have been released lately: "Beautiful Days" by OKAMOTO'S and "Gloria Days" by Three Lights Down Kings. The upcoming episode also has a special guest robot designed by notable animator Masami Obari.

Currently, "Gintama" has 60 volumes released in Japan, with the latest one published on Aug. 4. It had sold 313,354 copies on its third week. Meanwhile, Viz Media published the first volume of the manga in US on July 3, 2007 and released a total of 23 volumes, with the last one published on Aug. 2, 2011. However, Viz Media ceased publication of succeeding volumes with no reasons stated.