Gintama began as a manga by Hideaki Sorachi, first serialised in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2003, before the anime adaptation by Sunrise premiered in 2006. Set in an Edo taken over by aliens, it follows samurai Gintoki Sakata and his odd-jobs crew through stories that swing between action and relentless parody of other anime. Clips from the show spread widely online because its gags are self-contained and reaction-friendly, making short audio excerpts easy to reuse as meme sounds far beyond the original episodes and fanbase.