year of the release of Gintama coincided with the airing of Shinsengumi!, during which the manga consisted mostly of shorter stories to establish the characters and the world they were situated in, as Sorachi wanted to minimise the potential overlap of the two texts. However, following the first year of serialisation, Sorachi stated that he grew more comfortable with extending the storyline of the manga to include more serious themes and dramatic moments, whilst keeping his uniquely comedic and fantastical characterisation of modern Japan. Sorachi’s inspiration for the initial characterisation of the shinsengumi in Gintama was Ryotaro Shiba’s Moeyo Ken. This characterisation was then further developed and adapted through the audience reception of Gintama, by mail, weekly surveys, and sales data. The character Hijikata Tōshirō in Gintama is considered to be Sorachi’s rendition of the popular protagonist Hijikata Toshizō in Moeyo Ken. Critics consider Tōshirō’s character to be the “embodiment of [Shinsengumi] values and virtues” within the manga, and is a major supporting character. Sorachi stated that he initially wanted to make Hijikata the main character, but instead decided to create Gintoki Sakata as a “strong main character . . . who’s not part of an organisation” to make the series more memorable. In an interview with QuickJapan, Sorachi details the romantic appeal of the shinsengumi as characters and in Japanese pop culture: “As for historical periods that see great changes, like Bakumatsu or Sengoku, you witness humanity under extreme conditions, and it brings out the good and the bad of humanity. I like that.” Sorachi’s characterisation of women has been considered by academic reviewers as a subversion of stereotypical female archetypes in fiction, particularly through the rejection of conventional behaviours of women in manga. He mentioned that he dislikes the trope of typical mangas with “unnaturally” cute female leads, and therefore created the character of Kagura in Gintama with the intention of portraying a “female lead who could throw up but still make people think she’s adorable”. However, Sorachi later realised that such characters were also unrealistic, though considered her character as a creative “challenge”. Appearances on Gintama Sorachi has appeared on Gintama, both the manga and the anime, in a short comedy segment, often on the subject of writing and working as a manga artist. His character is drawn as a humanoid gorilla wearing a yellow shirt with the Japanese kanji 俺 (I, me). Sorachi voices this character