"Gintama Will Be the Only One, Before or After" – Voice Actor Kenjiro Tsuda Fully Supports a Film He "Doesn't Appear In," Surreal Illustration Draws Reactions

The official X account for the anime "Gintama" has published an image and reported that a message of support for the film has arrived from voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda, and its surreal content and background story have become a major topic of conversation.

The origin of this incident dates back to an event at "Jump Festa 2026," which was held last December. During the traditional letter corner from the original author Hideaki Sorachi at the event, Sorachi reported that he had suffered from kidney stones. He shared an episode in which, within the flashbacks he saw amid the intense pain, "Kenjiro Tsuda wandering outside while still wearing a paper apron from a soba restaurant" appeared for some reason.

It has long been known among fans that Sorachi has been a fan of Tsuda, but this unique fantasy episode greatly entertained the venue. It is believed that Tsuda's "soba restaurant apron" appearance was based on content that Tsuda himself posted on X on December 10 of the same year. In that post, he described a melancholy episode in which he realized he was still wearing the paper apron after walking for about five minutes after leaving a soba restaurant, and looked up at the cloudy winter sky.

The image released this time appears to recreate that episode. Next to a gorilla character (representing Sorachi) wearing a T-shirt with "Me" written on it, an illustration of a man (Tsuda) wearing a paper apron with "Soba Shop" written on it is depicted. The illustration includes a handwritten message stating "Shin-Gekijōban Gintama: Yoshiwara Daienjō – Please be sure to watch it in theaters (though I don't appear in it even one bit)," and in an exceptional turn of events, the official post text also includes a renewed notice stating "*Mr. Tsuda does not appear in this film."

"Gintama" is a popular anime series based on a manga by Sorachi. Set in Edo, which is ruled by aliens called Amanto, it depicts the lives of Gintoki Sakata (CV: Tomokazu Sugita), a samurai who runs an odd-jobs business called Yorozuya, and his companions. It is an entertainment work that unfolds everything from hilarious gags to touching human dramas and intense battle action within a world that fuses science fiction and period drama. The latest installment of this work, "Shin-Gekijōban Gintama: Yoshiwara Daienjō," will be released on Friday, February 13.

In response to this post, many reactions have been received from fans on social media. There were voices rejoicing at the callback to the Jump Festa joke, such as "That paper apron from back then lol" and "It's so exciting to get a support message from TsudaKen," as well as many voices enjoying the uniquely "Gintama" development of being featured in promotional material for a work he doesn't appear in, with comments like "I laughed at 'he does not appear,'" "Gintama will be the only one, before or after," and "It's a genuinely weird story, but that's exactly what makes it so Gintama."