Hideaki Sorachi, the author of Gintama manga, was one of the 33 manga artists who drew a special illustration to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Rumiko Takahashi’s iconic Urusei Yatsura manga. However, Sorachi, being the eccentric author he is, did not stop at simply drawing an illustration; instead he took the opportunity to ‘apologize’ for being a ‘petty plagiarizing’ author.

The comment referred to how he was inspired by Rumiko Takahashi’s series of short manga stories – Rumic World. Sorachi said that he has been earning money in other magazines while trying to emulate it and that he had now come to receive his punishment.

“While influenced by Rumic World, I, a petty plagiarizing author earned pocket change in other magazines. I have come to Sunday to receive my punishment. Not just 45 years like Rum-chan, but for another 50 years, 100 years, please continue to punish us worthless Atarus all across Japan,” Sorachi said in his comment.

The Sunday in his comment refers to Weekly Shonen Sunday because the special illustrations were published in issue #39 of the magazine.

Sorachi’s special illustration featured Gintama character Elizabeth holding a sign that said “Sorry for plagiarizing” and the ‘Ranma 1/2’ character Genma Saotome apologizing, along with the Lum, who was the main focus.

The comment is not surprising considering that Sorachi created the series Gintama, which is known for his parody and deadpan humor among others.

Gintama is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi. It was serialized in Shueisha’s shonen manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump from December 2003 to September 2018, later in Jump Giga from December 2018 to February 2019. Its chapters were collected in 77 tankobon volumes.

The series has been adapted into an original video animation (OVA) by Sunrise and was featured at Jump Festa 2006 Anime Tour in 2005. This was followed by a full 367-episode anime television series, which debuted in April 2006 on TV Tokyo, and finished in October 2018.

Three animated films have also been produced. The first film premiered in April 2010. The second film premiered in July 2013. The third and final film premiered in January 2021.

Source: Oricon