10 Books/Manga Like Gintama
Gintama is a popular shonen manga with specializes in balancing humor, action, and deep storytelling. It was written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi. It’s set in a fictional iteration of Edo-period Japan and follows Gintoki and his friends battling weird individuals from samurai to aliens. This manga contains a plethora of pop culture references, gags, and jokes to keep you entertained. In addition to having phenomenal fights and drama, Gintama is a masterfully written story that promises to entertain folks.
If you’re in the mood for more action or comedic books/manga that offer a similar vibe, fear not! We’ve gathered together 10 books/manga to check out when you’ve caught up with Gintama. Of course, if you feel we’ve missed any of your favorites, do comment below and let us know!
Grand Blue Dreaming – Kenji Inoue
Similarities – Comedy
Despite taking place in a different setting, Grand Blue Dreaming shares many aspects in common with Gintama. Grand Blue Dreaming follows Iori, a college student who moves to a coastal town to attend university. He indulges himself in many activities and meets a group of eccentric characters who turn his life upside-down.
While both series primarily focus on humor, they seamlessly incorporate intense action scenes into their works to keep readers hooked. In Gintama, the main character, Gintoki, is a skilled swordsman who finds himself embroiled in battles against various adversaries. However, in Grand Blue Dreaming, Iori and his friends compete in intense swimming competitions.
Although one’s activity can get more brutal than the other, both tales create a solid balance between their comedic and serious scenes. Furthermore, both stories feature strong ensemble casts with dynamic relationships. Iori’s close relationship with his companions in the diving club mirrors the relationship between Gintoki, Shinpachi, and Kagura in Gintama.
Therefore, if you’re after a tale with great characters, comedy, and themes, check out Grand Blue Dreaming.
Sket Dance – Kento Shinohara
Similarities – Comedy & Drama
Sket Dance is a lighthearted comedy that’ll appeal to many Gintama fans. The story’s set in high school and follows a special club called the SKET Brigade. Its members consist of Kazuyoshi, Hime, and their leader Yuusuke. Each has a notable trait and role to play in the group. Despite being slackers, they vow to give their best when helping others in pleasant or amusing ways.
Like Sorachi, Shinohara uses humor to address serious and emotional subjects. For example, in Sket Dance, the club members navigate through various problems like bullying and family issues. They utilize their comedic talents to bring a lighter touch to these situations. This will remind readers how Sorachi likes using humor to provide commentary on politics and historical events.
Alongside its strong stance on character development and stance on forming connections, Sket Dance is a stellar manga for Gintama fans to read.
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. – Shuuichi Aso
Similarities – Comedy
What would happen if you woke up with incredible abilities? This is a question The Disastrous Life of Saiki K presents readers with its story. It’s not the most complex story out there, but it’s riddled with various forms of humor to keep folks’ entertained. The story follows Saiki, a boy who dreads having phenomenal supernatural abilities. Despite aiming for a better life, he attracts attention from oddballs.
We witness his everyday wacky adventures with the others in this story. Like Gintama, this manga employs a combination of absurdity, wit, and parody. It’s another manga that excels at turning mundane situations into hilarious scenarios and contains clever dialogue, gags, and absurd situations to keep folks hooked.
Both stories have splendid satirical elements and parodies. Where Gintama likes poking fun at Japanese society, culture, and the anime/manga industry, The Disastrous Life of Saiki K uses its cast to satirize high school life and societal norms. These satirical aspects add layers to both series’s comedy, providing fans with content that’ll leave a solid impression.
Sakamoto Days – Yuuto Suzuki
Similarities – Action & Comedy
Sakamoto Days is a modern action comedy manga from Shonen Jump with an assassin theme. Instead of focusing solely on action, this story incorporates many lighthearted segments into its storytelling to stand out. Like Gintama, this manga employs a unique approach to comedy, using witty dialogue, absurd situations, and parody to bring its tale to life.
The tale examines the life of a former hitman named Taro. He retired to live a cozy life with his wife and daughter. However, his past catches up with him and he is forced to return to the world of assassins once again.
Much like Gintama, fans will love getting to know this series’s excellent cast of characters and seeing how their differing quirks and personalities collide with each other. From Taor’s deadpan personality to his wife Momo’s over-the-top reactions, you’re in for a swell and amusing time. The action scenes in this series are just as compelling to sit through, providing readers with nonstop entertainment and captivating imagery.
As of this writing, the story’s ongoing, so it’s best to jump onto this one before it concludes.
Beelzebub – Ryuuhei Tamura
Similarities – Action & Comedy
Beelzebub is an enjoyable manga series with great characters, action, and humor. Like Gintama, this series boasts a memorable cast that enhances the series’s comedic aspects. In it, we follow Oga, Baby Beel, and other characters at Ishiyama High School.
Each character brings their own unique brand of humor through their personalities and interactions. Their chemistry mirrors that of Gintoki, Kagura, and Shinpachi, resulting in many glorious scenarios fans will adore. Secondly, both stories use comedy to drive their narratives forward. Oga and Beel get roped into many comical situations and thrilling battles throughout the series like Gintoki and his friends. Each situation strengthens their bond, making matters feel impactful.
If you’re after a story with a more supernatural angle though, Beelzebub’s worth checking out.
One Punch Man – ONE
Similarities – Action & Comedy
One Punch Man is a fabulous superhero-themed action manga. While it may seem different from Gintama at first glance, they share similarities in their satirical approach, blend of action and comedy, and their exploration of overarching themes. For instance, One Punch Man satirizes and parodies superheroes with its protagonist Saitama being a comically overpowered protagonist.
Similarly, Gintama uses its historical setting and blend of characters to satirize various aspects of Japanese society, culture, and the manga and anime industry. Both manga expertly critique these subjects, providing great criticisms and witty humor. Furthermore, Sorachi and ONE know how to seamlessly blend action and comedy, delivering exhilarating and amusing moments throughout their stories.
Nonetheless, if you’re okay with a manga that leans more into the superhero side of things, then check One Punch Man out.
Great Teacher Onizuka – Tohru Fujisawa
Similarities – Comedy & Characters
Great Teacher Onizuka is a hilarious school-themed comedy with an excellent cast and well-written narrative. The story follows Eikichi, a man who becomes a teacher at an educational facility because he wants to score a date with a girl. By the series’s conclusion, he’ll wind up achieving something more genuine.
Great Teacher Onizuka provides readers with similar humor as Gintama. Where Gintama satirizes aspects of Japanese society, Great Teacher Onizuka parodies the educational system. Fujisawa does so by having Eikichi utilize unconventional teaching methods to help his delinquent students learn. Not only will he get into fist fights for his students but he’ll engage in activities not suitable for people of his status.
Moreover, both stories explore themes like friendship, personal growth, and self-discovery. Great Teacher Onozxuka focuses on Eikichi’s path to maturity and becoming a beloved teacher. Similarly, Gintama examines Gintoki and his friends’ connections over time.
In conclusion, Gintama fans will likely appreciate the humor, wit, and writing displayed in Great Teacher Onizuka.
Mashle: Magic and Muscles – Hajime Koumoto
Similarities – Action & Comedy
Mashle: Magic and Muscles recently received a fun anime adaptation that gave fans a glimpse at the magical world its protagonist inhabits. Like Gintama, Mashle delivers an enjoyable story with a nice blend of action and comedy. It follows Mash, a boy born in a world full of magic and wonder. Where he lacks in magical prowess, he makes up for it with his incredible strength.
After getting into trouble with some people, Mash must work toward becoming his world’s next Divine Visionary for his father’s sake. Mashle and Gintama employ a similar comedic approach to storytelling. Where Mashle satirizes magic and fantasy with absurd humor and parody, Gintama uses similar techniques to tackle aspects of Japanese society, pop culture, and other matters.
Both stories feature well-drawn action sequences that’ll get viewers pumped. Whether it’s Gintoki and his friends battling various bandies or Mash delivering a haymaker to one of his school’s students, you’ll be enamored by the violence depicted in both works.
Alongside having fun supporting characters, Mashle: Magic and Muscles is worth checking out if you loved Gintama.
Hinamatsuri – Masao Ootake
Similarities – Comedy & Heartfelt Storytelling
Though set in different worlds with distinct premises, Hinamatsuri contains similar comedic and heartfelt storytelling aspects as Gintama. This story follows a yakuza member named Yoshifumi Nitta, who ends up caring for a telekinetic girl named Hina. Through their absurd and comedic interactions, the manga explores ideas like family, friendship, and personal growth.
In a similar vein, Gintama delves into themes of loyalty, friendship, and finding one’s purpose. Both manga skillfully balance wacky hijinks and moments of genuine warmth, creating stories that are entertaining and rich with emotion.
Both stories know how to lean their comedy back a tad to make way for serious subjects. Where Gintama tackles loss and responsibility, Hinamatsuri explores concepts like loneliness and human connection. Never once will you feel like the authors are shoehorning these ideas out of the blue.
Therefore, if you’re after another tale that has the remarkable ability to balance humor with emotional depth, check this one out.
Dandadan – Yukinobu Tatsu
Similarities – Comedy
Dandadan is a bizarre action series with immaculate artwork, wonderful characters, and a smidge of romance. Like Gintama, this series excels a blending comedy and action while developing its line-up of characters.
The story follows two acquaintances named Momo and Ken, who believe in different supernatural entities. To prove each other wrong, they visit different locations rumored to house the entities each believes. Things take a turn for the worse, leading to events that will change each character’s life.
Like Gintama, this story is filled with different forms of humor from exaggerated facial expressions to strange interactions that’ll leave you scratching your head. The characters act the way you’d expect nerdy teenagers to act, making their reactions to the events that occur in the work feel believable. The situations they find themselves can transition from feeling normal to downright absurd in a heartbeat.
If you’re after a story that feels like an amalgamation of many genres, this is definitely worth reading.
So there we have it, our 10 books/manga to read after you’re caught up with Gintama.
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!