Gintama: Jump Festa 2008 Special

This Gintama special is a roughly ten-minute short titled Shiroyasha Koutan, which was originally screened at the Jump Super Anime Tour 2008. Rather than an ordinary episode, it is presented as the trailer for an imaginary Gintama movie, played with the series' typical mix of serious drama and self-aware parody.

The title refers to Shiroyasha, the White Demon, the legendary name that Gintoki Sakata earned as a fearsome swordsman during the Joui War, when samurai fought against the alien Amanto who invaded Edo-period Japan. Long before he became the lazy, sweets-loving odd-jobber of the Yorozuya, Gintoki fought on the battlefield alongside comrades such as Katsura and Takasugi, and that past is the backdrop for this mock movie trailer.

The release also includes the Gintama OVA that was shown at the Jump Anime Tour in 2005, an early animated short made before the television series, making the package a collection of rare event-exclusive Gintama animation.