Reviews for Gachiakuta

I'll just quickly lay out what I think is good about the show and what my criticisms are based on the first 4 episodes. What's promising? Premise and world The sanitized, wealthy Sphere contrasted with the impoverished, trash strewn Ground creates a powerful and instantly understandable dystopia. I'm praying the class conflict isn't just used as a hook and then discarded. If the show commits to this theme, I'm very excited to see where it goes. Power System The magic system, centered around giving life to cherished objects to create "Jinki," is a good starting point. It avoids many tired tropes by tying a character's power directly to theirpersonal history and values. This opens the door for creative and personalized fighting styles that are more meaningful than just generic energy blasts.

Character Design

This is the star of the show. The graffiti inspired art style is a breath of fresh air in a sea of homogenous designs. It's a style that's hard to dislike and gives the show a unique visual identity.

MC

The medium is rife with loud, angry shonen protagonists, and I'll admit I groaned when Rudo first showed up ticking all those boxes. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find there's more nuance to him. He has these moments of self reflection where he actually considers the consequences of his words and actions. This caught me off guard and showed a maturity I didn't expect. This hint of maturity gives me hope for his development as the story goes on.

What's disappointing?

Not enough "show" and too much "tell"

This is a persistent issue. Instead of letting us experience the world's rules and lore through Rudo's journey, the show often grinds to a halt for characters to deliver clunky exposition dumps. For a visual medium, it relies too heavily on telling you how things work instead of showing you, which slows the pace and kills the sense of discovery.

For instance: Our MC comes face to face with a trash beast, panics, and then remembers another cleaner he saw in battle staying calm - all conveyed through an internal monologue. It would have been far more effective to show us that earlier battle, allowing both Rudo and the audience to come to the same realization organically.

Humor

This is the worst offender for me. The show struggles with a massive tonal imbalance. One moment it’s trying to be a gritty, serious story about classism and survival, and the next, a character is pulling an exaggerated, silly face that feels completely out of place. The jokes often feel forced, awkward, and dated: what I can only define as "boomer humor." I know comedy is subjective, but here it actively undermines the tension the rest of the story is trying to build.

CGI

At first, I thought using 3D for the trash beasts might be a creative stylistic choice. Unfortunately, the execution is often jarring. The CGI models for the beasts lack weight and don't integrate well with the 2D character animation, creating a visual disconnect that makes the action scenes feel less impactful than they should.

Polish

This might be the most important one. With every new hype show, you see how much care and creative energy went into elevating the source material. That extra "oomph" is what often separates a good show from a great one. Gachiakuta feels somewhat lacking in that regard. Don't get me wrong, the production is good, but it doesn't quite go above and beyond. It lacks the refined direction, ambitious cinematography, and seamless animation you’d expect from a series with this much prerelease buzz, and that distinction keeps it from reaching the level of recent megahit successes.

Who this is for?

If you're new to anime and haven't watched a ton of battle shonen, this could be a good starting point.

If the opportunity cost of time investment doesn't bother then it ain't a bad watch. There are definitely worse ways to spend 24 episodes.

Luckily, there’s still plenty of room for the show to develop on my criticisms. I'd be glad to be proven wrong. BUT it was constantly praised as amongst the best "next gen shonens," so my expectations were fairly high coming in.

Trash anime about trash. A promising concept derailed by poor character writing. 70% of the dialogue is expositional world building. Even a character who’s in the process of dying will use his final breaths to comment about the mechanisms that define Rudo’s abilities. This show is full of characters ostensibly having conversations with each other (or internally to themselves), but in reality just bluntly explaining the magic system or setting for the sake of the audience. Have you ever read one of those “guide books” for a finished anime series? You know, the ones that have graphs showing character attributes and outlining character relationships and socialorganization? You could have the characters of Gatchiakuta quoting from one of those in place of dialogue and you wouldn’t notice the difference.

The attempts at humor in this show were also a miss for me. It’s the kind of frenetic, clashing personalities, over-the-top humor that reminds me of Blood Blockade Battlefront. So if you like that kind of humor this show might work for you.

What are the positives of this show? The character designs are stylish if unoriginal mixture of Tokyo Revengers and Soul Eater. There are quite a few gorgeously animated sequences, including a beautiful scene 6 or 7 eps in that utilizes emotionally resonant black and white sketch-like animation. The plot involves some interesting ideas about hierarchical societies and wastefulness, (ideas which haven’t yet been explored in a satisfying way, but that doesn’t preclude the potential for this in the future.)

In conclusion, Gatchiakuta is a series that falls short of the promise of its synopsis, failing to explore its more evocative and original concepts in a meaningful way.

Gachiakuta is literally trash and not just because of its theme, which tries to shock at all costs, but mainly due to its weak and poorly executed writing. The series fails to turn its ideas into something engaging or meaningful, resulting in a shallow story with no emotional impact and no truly memorable moments. Everything feels empty, as if the visual shock is only there to mask the lack of narrative substance. Another weak point is the humor: it’s clear that the author has no sense of comedic timing. The jokes appear at inappropriate moments, break the mood of scenes, and feel completely out of place.Instead of relieving tension or adding charm to the characters, they come off as unfunny, poorly timed, and disruptive to the flow of the story.

Gachiakuta is visually impressive in almost every obvious way. The animation is fluid, the aesthetics are striking, the character designs are memorable, the tone is strong, the fights are dynamic, and the power system is engaging and easy to follow. On a purely technical and artistic level, the show delivers. If someone is watching primarily for stylish action and strong presentation, it succeeds quite comfortably. The problems begin once the show has to rely on anything beyond visuals. One major issue is the sound. The constant screaming from many characters makes entire scenes feel like a competition to see who can shout the loudest. This is amplifiedby very poor audio mixing. Action scenes and shouting become extremely loud, then normal conversations suddenly drop to a much lower volume, forcing constant manual adjustments. This wasn’t a file quality issue, even high bitrate versions had the same problem. It’s simply inconsistent audio design that makes watching the show more tiring than it should be.

The writing also has a recurring "telling instead of showing" problem, and sometimes manages to do both unnecessarily. There are scenes where something is clearly visualized, then the characters immediately explain exactly what we just saw. For example, a character gets hit, the show explicitly depicts a rib breaking, and then the character proceeds to announce that they got hit and their rib was broken. It treats the audience as if they cannot interpret basic visuals.

Character writing is another weak area. Most of the cast feels like familiar shonen archetypes without much originality. This is not automatically terrible, but it is undeniably generic. In some cases it goes further than that, with characters that feel almost duplicated. Jabber Wongar and Stilza August come across as essentially the same personality assigned to opposite sides. Other designs, such as Fu, feel less like thoughtfully written characters and more like someone’s personal sexual fantasies inserted directly into the story.

The supporter system is also questionable from a narrative and tactical perspective. Supporters accompany Givers into extremely dangerous combat situations despite being clearly weaker and often unable to contribute meaningfully. There are multiple examples where Givers fight effectively without supporters, such as Enjine and Rudo’s early battle and later major fights, with no acknowledgment that supporters are even necessary. Their presence mainly seems designed to place a fragile, likable character in danger to provoke emotional responses from the audience. A “Nanami type character”, because who doesn't like a Nanami type character, is endangered not because it makes sense tactically, but because it reliably generates reactions. Meanwhile, someone actually useful in combat like Eishia, who can heal, is not the one taken into these situations, which underlines how artificial this setup is.

Pacing overall is acceptable, but the weaknesses of the writing become obvious when the action stops. Episode 16 is a clear example. It contains little to no action and relies almost entirely on dialogue and character interaction. Because the characters are not particularly compelling and the dialogue lacks impact, the episode feels far longer than it actually is. It drags not because it is slow, but because there is not enough substance to support a dialogue-focused episode.

What is most revealing is the reception. Despite these issues, the show holds a rating over 8, which suggests how strongly presentation outweighs writing quality in current anime culture. Exceptional animation, striking aesthetics, and cool fights seem to compensate for generic characters, weak dialogue, and shallow thematic handling.

Gachiakuta is not a terrible series, it is entertaining and often impressive to look at. But it is also a work where style carries most of the weight, and where the absence of action exposes how thin the character writing and dialogue really are.

In short, Gachiakuta excels visually and technically, but struggles in storytelling, character depth, and audio design. It is enjoyable as spectacle, but much weaker as a complete narrative experience.

Halfway through its first season, Gachiakuta has already proven itself to be one of the most exciting and refreshing new shonen anime in years. Kei Urana gives us a masterpiece that dives headfirst into a grimy, chaotic world where the line between “trash” and “treasure” is blurred. Visually, this show is a knockout. The art style is gritty, bold, and unapologetically unique, a rare thing in today’s animation, where so many shows tend to blend together visually. Every frame feels alive with texture and personality, fusing graffiti-inspired aesthetics with fluid animation and kinetic fight choreography. The result is a world that feels both filthy and beautiful,perfectly matching the tone of its story. It’s Fire Force meets Deadman Wonderland with a splash of punk energy: raw, loud, and full of attitude :}

The worldbuilding is one of the shows strongest elements. The world feels lived-in, brutal, and imaginative, filled with social commentary about worth, class, and what it means to be “useful.” The “Ground/Pit” isn’t just a setting; it’s a metaphor for how easily people are thrown away when they no longer serve a purpose. By episode 13, the mysteries of this world are only getting deeper and we have barely even learnt that much!

Where this anime truly shines, though, is in its vast cast of unique and wacky characters. Our MC, Rudo is shown to be your typical edgy revenge-driven protagonist. Yet as you watch on you realise that Rudo’s heart is big, his anger feels justified, and his determination gets you cheering for him. His bond with his “father figure” Regto gives his story emotional weight, and the lessons he is learning from the Cleaners, especially Enjin, show how much room he has to grow. He’s not overpowered or perfect, he’s learning to survive, to trust, and to get revenge. It’s a shonen protagonist archetype we have seen before, yet it feels refreshing to me.

The concept of Vital Instruments, weapons created from one’s emotional attachment to cherished objects adds a clever layer to both the battles and the storytelling. It ties each power directly to a character’s past and personality, making fights feel personal instead of just flashy.

Speaking of fights, Gachiakuta brings back that classic shonen hype we’ve been missing. The action is fast, weighty, and beautifully choreographed, with plenty of creative visuals that make every battle feel intense. The show nails the pacing between quiet moments and explosive fights, building tension before letting loose in spectacular fashion. It’s been a long time since a new shonen has felt this energetic and unpredictable.

So at the halfway point, Gachiakuta is shaping up to be a standout of the year. It's stylish, thematically rich and overflowing with energy. I hope it can keep this momentum going for the rest of the season.

I say it's a must watch :}

Eventually they stop telling us how the world works and introducing new characters and some sort of interesting plot happens, right? Because this isn't a bad show by any means, but nothing happens. There's been one interesting fight, we've been given about 20 different lengthy tutorials about the world and the power system, been introduced to at least a dozen characters, many of whom haven't really had a chance to do anything interesting, and still it feels like the story hasn't started yet. A 24 episode run and a seemingly well regarded manga give me hope that all this table setting will start paying off soon, butthis has been something of a slog so far.

A slog with a really good opening theme, though.

The biggest annoyance of Gachiakuta is how unrealized its uniqueness is. An original setting with great style, only to house a fairly generic shonen story with weird pacing. It will give a great backstory to a character who doesn’t have any screen time. It will fake out a generic powerup for a hero in trouble only to save him in the nick of time anyway. You will see an antagonist defeated in a surprising and interesting way only to have her return to lose in a traditional way. Story tries to say something interesting but heads towards a super wacky, big, generic and slow confrontation.Anime does a lot of cool stuff and some of it is left but most ends up eventually undermined.

It really is a fun visual experience. Art style is one thing but when you see ‘graffiti designer’ as one of the top credits in the op you know this will be a different looking shonen. Allocation of the resources here is good. Overall this isn’t a marvel of great animation but show does a lot of things well to make it punch above its weight. Style I already mentioned, what contributes a lot is the music. They made a very fitting and well done soundtrack for this anime. The other point are well dispersed animation highlights. Those highlights range from a very well animated fight to an emotion driven sequence with changed art style. Character designs are important to mention. They look really cool and are interesting but suffer from wonky anatomy. Some of it is intentional sure but it isn’t very pretty and occasionally body proportions for characters are completely broken.

The direction this story took is quite disappointing. Except the rushed and simplistic parts of the first episode it all seemed very interesting. Protagonist suffers a massive injustice and is thrown into a super hostile environment. Themes surrounding waste that extend to societal issues are interesting. Unfortunately on his way down, the author placed giant tracks in his path that lead to a more generic story. Rudo immediately finds a mentor who was just on his morning stroll through the death lands and we are welcomed by another shonen organization that will give the hero community and purpose. Structure of this season is also quite sad. After the introduction, we go through a series of events connected by very slow episodes of the group simply wandering around. Said events? A mixed bag. Some are just ok, few I didn’t like, there is the Amo arc that has interesting developments but feels pretty slow as well and except Rudo does the most for a person that won’t be here for the rest of the season. And at the end there is a massive shonen fight that I will talk about later. Those smaller, more minor events and the journeys between them all make this anime slower than one would expect.

Characters here are an interesting bunch. They all are ‘cool’ but interesting development is limited and except Rudo, Amo and Zanka no one has anything engaging going on. Rudo is a typical shonen protagonist at his heart but he is pretty well done. I like his struggle with revenge. Zanka has an interesting struggle of a normal anime strong guy as a teacher among super strong anime people. And Amo is somewhere as well. They aren’t very unique but are good enough. This may all sound nice but without Amo this is just half of the core cast and outside of the core there is a lot of characters. As I said they all are somewhat cool but anime doesn’t manage to make most of them interesting even when it tries to juggle the additional cast by having some of them outside of certain big events. We get an interesting glimpse into Riyou but direction for her isn’t yet established. Enjin is a cool mentor who does less than you would expect and that is that. Now that you know about this struggle with managing the flood of people and failing attempts to make everyone in the group interesting it should be obvious why having a tournament like final fight with a big group of villains isn't ideal. Let’s skip the fact that setting up this fight with a cartoon trash slide to separate everyone into 1v1 fights is a crazy decision. This fight is long and not that interesting except for few good moments. While serving as a climax to this season in reality it is basically just the introduction to the big antagonist who nicely mirrors Rudo with his motivations. Again there are signs of competency but Gachiakuta can’t escape being a standard shonen at its heart.

Show failed to prioritize what it wanted to say, it has a lot of potential and maybe in the future will do something great but for now this is very typical. Floods of characters that dilute the main cast. Despite the fakeouts there are still constant rescues of people who lost. Plot sometimes will have pretty well done backstory and sometimes it will just be the usual stuff. Pacing is occasionally pretty bad with a certain episode that I would just cut. The climactic final arc is too big for the little build this show had, which is sad considering the slow pace before.

Big setup which failed to do anything very well.

Gachiakuta is one of the most unique new gen battle shonen. It takes a little bit to get going, but man once it does, this is such a fun ride. Unique combat mechanics, great cast with amazing chemistry, a very likeable MC and an extremely interesting post apocalyptic setting. There’s a lot to like about this one. It managed to separate itself from other generic battle shonen this season *cough cough* Tougen Anki, and feel like a breath of fresh air. Coming from Urana Kei, a former Ohkubo Atsushi assistant who he once called his successor, it definitely has a lot of that magic FireForce had at the beginning when we were trying to learn the secret behind spontaneous human combustion. The characters have a similar charm, the fights are great and even the setting and combat mechanics feel similar, so if you’re like me and a massive Fire Force fan, I think you’ll get hooked on this very easily. Even newcomers will find a lot to be happy about here, though. It’s a genuinely well written and thought out shonen that doesn’t rely on traditional battle shonen tropes or cheesy cliches. It’s got all the makings of an all time great jump series and this was a very good start.

To be honest, I really didn’t get into this show until about 6-7 episodes in. The first episode is an absolute banger and ends on one of the wildest twists you’ll see, but after that, I just felt it was kinda meh. Had a few cool fights, but I didn’t really connect with the story or characters until that first big mission where Rudo and Zanka get ambushed by Jabber. Once that happened and we started getting some lore and fleshing out the characters, I was hooked. Then we got into the Amo tower arc and that’s when this just completely sucked me in. I did not expect a jump series to cover such a dark tactic with so much nuance and complexity. While one of the most uncomfortable episodes I’ve ever watched, it was sadly extremely realistic and treated with the utmost care. That’s an example of how well thought out this series is. It’s not just a bunch of cliches cobbled together with good animation like SOME popular Jump series as of late have been. I really like how Gachiakuta prioritizes world building and creating likable characters. Again, something it has in common with Fire Force. Even the antagonists in this show are likable. The raiders just struck me as an alternate universe version of the cleaners where they just ended up on the wrong side of the tracks, but they’re equally as loyal to one another and their cause and are willing to go to any length to accomplish that. One of the marks of a good battle shonen is when you end up liking the bad guys, not because of some last minute generic sob story, but because they’re actually principled and decent people who are just ideologically opposed to the leads. Noerde, we will never forget you, queen. Not to mention just how damn interesting these trash beast, sphere, ground and vital instrument concepts are! You have a great mystery that constantly keeps you on the edge of your seat and awesome characters.

Gachiakuta has one of those casts that genuinely feel like a family and make you feel apart of the story because you feel like you’ve known them your entire life. It’s the ideal atmosphere that every battle shonen aims for and only a few get right. If you go online and look at any discussion about this series, you’ll see a ton of people talking about ships, friendship dynamics or just making jokes about the character interactions. I actually didn’t know this series had as much motion as it does until a few weeks into its run and I quickly understood why! The cast are so fun. The way everyone rallied around Rudo and accepted him as one of their own, supported him in his personal goals and seeing how he comes to view them as his own family just really resonated with me. My boy has been through so much, so he deserves this more than anyone else!

The production values also started off a little slow before kicking into overdrive in the second half. Studio Bones had no business going as hard as they did on this. Some of the best fights of the year, great sound design, direction and the climax of Ano’s arc with her backstory is in the running for the best episode of anime this year, period. It’s always nice when a show gets an adaptation that does the manga art justice and even improves upon things like this first season. The voice acting is also amazing in this. Noerde and Ano’s seiyuu put in some truly great performances as does Jabber’s.

I really thought this would end up being mid background noise for those first few episodes and then I was completely blown away by where it went from there. It was such a take for me to hold off on reading the manga while this was airing, but I’m glad I did so I could experience all the twists of this first season on screen in all of studio Bones’ glory. Rudo is one of my fave new gen shonen leads, Ryou is one of the most badass female characters in jump right now and the cleaners have one of my favorite dynamics among newer shonen titles. Not to mention all the crazy lore in this series. It’s a must watch for anyone who likes WSJ series or those who just want a mix of mystery and action. The hype is justified for Gachiakuta, it’s got “classic”written all over it. I hope the rest of the story keeps it up, because this was great.

Gachiakuta gets 9 gloves out of 10

Here’s my preliminary review on Gachiakuta: Gachiakuta is a somewhat interesting anime that combines the writing style of your typical shounen anime, uses the art inspired by soul eater and the boondocks, and uses an interesting focal point for its storytelling. Initial thoughts: When I watched the first three episodes, I was somewhat excited at the premise of a new type of shounen anime, but as more time went on, I started getting more and more exhausted with it's ridiculously slow pace. Almost every episode force feeds the reader with exposition dumps and long and boring monologues. The comedy is quite jarring for me, and I think I knowwhy. The show spends countless episodes and monologues getting the audience immersed in the tension only to break it with something nonsensical. Normally, I would've praised the show for doing this, but for something as new as this, continuously killing the tension sends mixed signals to the audience and makes them question if anything is serious.

Conclusion:

I don't know what to say about this anime. It's not boring enough to drop, but it's not interesting enough to be immersed. It's quite literally the definition of lukewarm.

I doubt the remaining episodes will be able to change my overall review, but who knows?

Art: 8

Characters: 5

Story: 5

Overall: 6

This show is the definition of mid. It has an intriguing world and power system. A vast land of garbage where objects are given power via peoples attachment to them.. could have some interesting insights on consumerism and endless growth. But no it doesn't engage with any of that. after an interesting start where he gets framed and thrown in the garbage pit we instantly get the "show them the ropes character" oh and then you meet a group of guys that do missions fighting trash beasts, idunno i zoned out. The characterisation is the worst i've seen in a looong time.. its both generic andinconsistent at the same time. I still don't quite get the main characters vibe but then when he meets the guy with the staff whos just so over the place going from antagonistic to flippant to chill and back. are these people schizophrenic??

I'm dropping the show at ep 5. the fight with edgy sadistic edward scissorhands sucks.. the animation is acceptable.. but aren't we supposed to be focusing on the objects that can be manipulated and their meaning... suddenly MC just has this random Eye and is able to dodge well but oh no the enemy is unconscious and has no intent..

Nah i'm done.. this is just so shallow and generic.. like what a 12yo thinks is cool level of stupid and any interesting ideas the setting and power system could provide don't seem to be utilized.

I'm putting the score as average cause they're is alot more worse trash out there(lol), But you can do better before you get this desperate.

I started watching Gachiakuta on 20th of the 10th, of the lords great year of 2025. By the second episode, the interest that the show had inititally attracted, seemed already far fetched in terms of the animes production quality. About 5 minutes in, the main character, Ruda, fought against a gigantic trash monster. Using a pipe, he was able to get the advantage in the fight. a moment later, he was flung away, and a second regular person appeared. this frightened off the monster, which despite its size, was afraid of two regular humans. Terrible, 1 out of 10, no one in my blood line willever watch this show again.

Edit, I have learned that The animes name translates into little trash, and that is my new opinion. 2 out of 10

Great concept, horrible execution. This is a world made of garbage literally garbage. In this setting, if you take care of an object with your heart and love, even something as small as a needle, it can transform into a powerful, terrifying weapon. Think of it like how a chef treats their knife with enough care and respect, it becomes an extension of their soul. That’s a genuinely cool power system. But what stops Gachiakuta from actually being good are the characters. This is a world of garbage where everything is polluted the soil, the air, the water. Even growing basic vegetables is a monumental task. Yet theanime/manga doesn’t take itself seriously. The characters don’t act like they’re trapped in a vast, hellish desert of trash. In a world where every resource should be precious, you’d expect people to look at each other with suspicion, to think carefully before making any move. But no Instead, after just two episodes, it slips into the same old average shonen formula.

I’m not saying characters can’t be carefree, cheerful or even goofy at times. But in a world this brutal, you’d expect that behavior to be balanced out with caution and survival instincts. Here, it isn’t.

Take episode 5, for example. The protagonist’s group gets a call to rescue someone abducted by a monster made of trash. Fine, They go to save him. But then the creepy guy who called them shows up and tells them to enter a suspicious looking building. And what do they do? They just walk in without a second thought. On top of that, this shady guy physically drags them deeper inside, and they let him. Like seriously? You live in a world where people would kill for a bottle of water, and you’re letting some random stranger push you around? And of course it turns out to be a trap. Predictable.

Then in episode 10, the stupidity repeats. The group is on an expedition with the protagonist in a poisonous desert made of trash. It’s a deadly wasteland where monsters roam, the air is toxic, and survival is nearly impossible. They’re wearing masks to protect themselves from poisonous particles that can kill you in minutes. Suddenly, they see a half naked girl walking toward them no mask, no protection completely fine.

Now, what would your first thought be if you weren’t thinking with your D? She’s dangerous right? Especially in a world where even the smallest objecta needle can become a lethal weapon.

Personally, if I were in their place, I would rather not take the risk. I would rather not die in a poisonous trash wasteland like a dog. My approach would be simple actions first, questions later. For safety, I would break her hand immediately, then strip her down to make sure she didn’t have any hidden weapons, tie up both her hands and legs, and take her to a secure location for questioning.

First, I would ask her directly, why were you there? Why are you unaffected by the gas? What are you planning to do? Do you have any information about the substance I’m searching for? I would also make it clear: if you cooperate, I will heal your hand and let you go free. But if she refused or didn’t give proper answers, then she would get the Feitan style treatment from Hunter x Hunter torture until the truth comes out.

But no. What does our group decide to do instead? They just go along with her to some random suspicious location. And while they’re at it, they even remove their masks the only thing protecting them from the poisonous gas. And, of course just as anyone would expect, it turns out to be a trap. The level of stupidity in this writing is unbelievable.

That’s the core problem with Gachiakuta. It wants to be a typical shonen, but its world isn’t built for that. This isn’t One Piece’s happy go lucky adventure island. This is supposed to be a terrifying, unforgiving wasteland. Yet the characters act like they’re in a lighthearted Saturday morning cartoon. The disconnect is so jarring it makes them look brainless.

It’s like watching a lion sipping wine in the middle of the jungle while eating chicken with a fork and spoon. Completely out of place.

Episode 12 Review

Meh.

With each episode, this show is only getting worse. Remember when they followed that half naked girl to some random location? Yeah, of course it was a trap. Something, something happened she ends up mind controlling everyone with some kind of smell-based magic, because these below IQ morons weren’t even wearing their protective masks. Things went from bad to worse real quick they almost killed each other, and one guy even got stabbed with an iron rod. But naturally, shonen magic power swoops in and saves them obviously.

Now, after all of this, you’d think these below IQ morons would finally take things seriously, treat this girl as a real threat, and act accordingly. But nah, Instead they’re like, ''Girl let’s talk it out like gentlemen'', Everyone’s acting like they just walked out of some school function.

What the hell, man? What kind of setting is this supposed to be? They want to “talk it out”? If it weren’t for shonen plot armor, they all would’ve died like dogs right there. Is this really supposed to be an unforgiving wasteland where day to day survival is a miracle? A world where every single day is a struggle just to live?

And then there’s our main character, who has an IQ slightly below room temperature. He actually goes up and punches her 5 or 6 times (personally, if I were there, I’d have done way worse). But instead of backing him up, everyone in his group is in disbelief. They’re like, How could you do this? Especially when she’s just a girl! This is wrong! You shouldn’t treat a defenseless person like that. And then to top it off, the protagonist himself suddenly feels guilty, realizing he shouldn’t have hit a girl.

The characters and the world feel so disconnected from each other that it makes zero sense.

In a world of nothingness a world full of poison, misery, and trash she would have received such horrible treatment that death would have been mercy for her. In such a world, morality wouldn’t even exist, let alone gender bias. The only things that should exist are selfishness, desire, and survival instinct. But the author doesn’t have the balls to stick to his own premise. Honestly, he should’ve just made a modern day high school drama with this magic system it would’ve been way more consistent and made a lot more sense.

I am dropping this, I can't take it anymore.

This show starts off strong, with an interesting setting ripe for all manner of interesting themes and characters. Unfortunately, the content and execution struggle to live up to that potential, and I lost interest rather quickly. The pacing faces struggles with exposition dumps more jarring than hitting speed bumps on a highway, a whole lot more telling than showing, and the insertion of humor that breaks the flow while rarely eliciting a laugh. The action and animation are overall fine, but the CG stands out in a bad way. I will emphasize that this show isn't necessarily bad in comparisonto many others out there, but it feels rather average and aimed at a decidedly younger demographic than the previews, art, and first two episodes might imply--ie there comes to be way too much runtime dedicated to over the top toilet humor, a fair dosage of "baby's first lesson in empathy" exchanges that you would expect from something like Bluey, etc.

Suffice it to say, after 3 episodes I don't think I'm the target audience and there isn't enough else there to make me want to watch more.

This review is mainly subjective and contains no major spoilers. I spent a long time thinking about if i even wanted to write a review for Gachiakuta. This show made me feel dissapointed, but i also wanted more of it. I’m not a fan, rather a hater of action-heavy shonens in general. The only action shonen I actually like are those that lean heavily into dark, complex storytelling, such as Attack on Titan. I started watching Gachiakuta during the summer season, but after nine episodes, I dropped it. It simply wasnt as interesting as i expected, and the season itself was overloaded with better shows. I onlycame back to finish it recently in January.

That said, second chance didnt really change my overall impression of the show.

Story and Action – 5/10

Gachiakuta positions itself as an action shonen with dark and mysterious tones in the background. Those themes are present, but it is clear that the series tries to be rather action-focused.

The problem is that the action, which is supposed to be the strongest aspect of the show, is easily its weakest.

When I started Gachiakuta, I expected enjoyable, dynamic fights with cool characters doing cool things, paired with a somehow working story. What I witnessed instead is the opposite, the action is underwhelming, often really boring, and frequently interrupted by dialogue. Dialogue was also a major issue for me. A lot of conversations felt extremely pointless and dull. Characters try to sound deep and philosophical through niche words and metaphors, but most of the time their sentences lack actual meaning, dont lead anywhere and often dont even make sense. The only character whose dialogue actually felt intelligent was Zodyl, which only made the difference with the rest of the cast more frustrating. Many action sequences feel less like fights and more like extended yapping sessions with occasional movement.

The only character whose action sequences felt actually enjoyable was Jabber. His fights were energetic, with a crazy good choreography and tension. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast, despite having interesting vital instruments and abilities rarely delivered satisfying performance. The potential these characters had was replaced by yapping.

For me, Gachiakuta perfectly represents a major issue in shonen storytelling. To develop shonen narrative and themes, action must be sacrificed. The result is a series that doesnt excel in either. Unlike something like Demon Slayer, which prioritizes action way more over depth and complexity, Gachiakuta tries to balance both and ends up failing in both. Which left me with mixed feelings.

The story does better than action, but is still mediocre. Dark themes and mysteries surrounding the world of Gachiakuta are explored well, but its not what i expect from an action focused shonen. More to why the story is better aspect than action will be mentioned in worldbuilding section.

Characters – 6/10

To be fair, characters in Gachiakuta are not badly written. They have distinct personalities, unique motivations, and actual good backstories.

The issue is that many of them simply are not compelling enough to make me care. I didnt dislike the characters, I just felt no connection with them. Some had interesting concepts, but not enough depth to leave a stronger impression.

They exist, they function, but few of them truly stand strong.

Worldbuilding – 8/10

This is where Gachiakuta shines the most.

The mysteries surrounding the world and its rules were easily the most engaging parts of the series for me. The worldbuilding is strong, complex and full of unanswered questions. It clearly has a huge potential for later parts of the story.

The setting feels oppressive and unpredictable. Despite it having defined rules, the world still leaves room for countless possibilities. For example, moments tied to the Watchman, genuinely gave me chills.

If Gachiakuta had leaned harder into its mystery and worldbuilding rather than forcing itself into being an action slop, my overall impression would be much better.

Atmo-SPHERE – 7/10

Gachiakuta’s atmosphere works well when it leans into its darker, unsettling elements. But, the constant return to the mediocre action often breaks the immersion. The tone wants to be dark and intense, but the execution doesnt always let that work.

Art & Sound – 7/10

The character design is excellent. Every character has a distinct, unique look and undeniable drip. The Vital Instruments are creative and well thought out, fitting the characters and their backstories and the world design is easily the coolest aspect of the series.

That said, I DESPISE the extremely thick outline used on the characters. It makes them feel cut out from the background and the world around them, instead of coexisting with them. This issue is exclusive to the anime adaptation and significantly hurts visuals. The use of CGI is not overwhelming, but it doesnt work with the thick outline i mentioned.

The soundtrack is solid, and while the openings and endings are not really my style, they fit the tone of the series flawlessly.

Overall – 6/10

Gachiakuta is a series full of good ideas and potential, but it fails to excel where it matters most for an action shonen. I would call Gachiakuta the bridge between action shonens and dark tone seinens, this however is rather an issue, because trying to be both, leads to mediocrity.

While the world and its mysteries kept me interested enough to finish the show, the overall experience left me feeling more disappointed than satisfied.

I would recommend Gachiakuta to viewers who value worldbuilding and action, just be ready to find some action sequences rather boring. If you’re looking for engaging fights or consistent story with depth, this series will definitely let you down.

Gachiakuta isn’t bad, but it’s a clear example of a show that could have been much better. For me, the disappointment outweighs the enjoyment. Best definition for this show would be just MID.

Favourite characters: Zodyl, Jabber, Tamsy

Favourite episode: Episode 22

After reaching the most recent episode (15) I find the world building even more interesting. A nice confrontation with the raiders happens as well but I won’t spoil anything- and it seems like they’re about to lay out more plot from here on out and really build up the story, it finally turned around to that, a story with leaving you with questions, wondering what’s actually going on and who’s actually that person that is capable of crossing the border? (a certain secret person) along with character development. Oh and the last two episodes kind of gave us more plot theories as well. Pretty entertaining showif you ask me and easy to digest. It’s not too hard to put the 2 and 2 together. From here on out you should figured what’s sort of going on in a way and who’s actually evil but again. I don’t want to spoil!

I also really like the setting, the whole underground setting, in a futuristic-ish wasteland, greatly animated on top of that. It’s unique. I don’t really know how to explain or if there’s a certain name for this style but it looks p dope, a wasteland of trash with some cyberpunk feel to it with certain cities. The towns spread across the world of this show are all interesting.

Many characters have interesing abilities to fight with which makes the battles fun to watch. The art style is really nice due its thick black outlines being used, making it look a bit different and unique to most other anime.

And there’s some silly jokes and humor too. Who doesn’t enjoy that?

A show that’s easy to digest but still very entertaining.

Give it a go if you’ve nothing else to watch!

I totally understand why it's so popular with the PG-13 crowd, but as an older person like myself, I see it as one of those overrated series, especially in this day and age. The story is full of boring Shonen tropes. For example, the loud-mouthed protagonist who, even after 12 episodes, is still stuck with the same problems and refuses to grow. (If you compare him to an old Shonen like Naruto, even though he was loud, he grew and learned much faster.) The battle designs are also repetitive and dull—I’m not talking about the choreography, that’s a different matter. Having half a squad gang upon a single low-level minion and still fail to win makes me worried about the future power scaling. It feels like Bleach, where they had to give Ichigo’s companions irrational power boosts at the end because they were so weak early on that they struggled to kill an ant, then suddenly became powerful for no reason just to fix the scaling issues.

It’s not like there aren't any good points—there are several—but I’m too lazy to mention them. Since this is an opinion on 'why I don't recommend it,' I’ll leave my review at that

I don't always drop an anime, but when I do, it really shows that it's been an uphill battle to fight through an episodic slog of boredom. Too many typical shonen cliches, glaring enough to the point that everything is incredibly predictable, which isn't a good sign when the risky premise requires a strong execution to hold viewer interest. I respect it for trying something new, taking the concept of "one man's trash is another man's treasure" as the key to the protagonist's worldview and motive for continuing the struggle, cool character designs, but the mediocrity of dialogue and plot alone overpower that, and it'snot like the animation is anything mind-blowing either usually. This is probably one of those cases of "trust me bro read the manga," but if this is all the exposition there is to look forward to, then no, I'll respectfully pass on that.

Just not worth your time.

Rating: 10/10 Title: A Masterpiece in the Making Gachiakuta is hands down one of the most refreshing and unique series I’ve come across in years. The world it builds is dark, dirty, and full of life, yet there’s so much beauty in the chaos. The art is absolutely insane—every panel feels alive, detailed, and full of emotion. Rudo is such a compelling protagonist, and his growth feels natural and earned. The themes of justice, corruption, and redemption are woven in so well without ever being preachy. The pacing is tight, the characters are memorable, and the story constantly keeps you on edge. Every chapter feels like it matters.You can tell this series was made with passion and care. I genuinely believe Gachiakuta has the potential to become the next big thing

I saw a funny comment a few months ago briefly detailing how Gachiakuta was Viz’s first attempt at an Industry plant, and even now I can somewhat see where they’re coming from. For the manga’s case it was because the series was licensed to North America very shortly following the first volume or two, and when it was, there were these big cardboard cutouts promoting the release and everything, almost unheard of for a series from a new mangaka. When it came to the anime there was also a notable marketing push from every party involved, and it just made logical sense from the perspectiveof a savvy oversees licensor. Gachiakuta is a grungy shonen battle manga with an incredibly intense aesthetic style by a freshman mangaka who’s been designated the successor of Atsushi Ohkubo, the creator of Soul Eater and Fire Force, respectively. It begins with a split society-type story structure with heavy class elements, and literally dives into a post-apocalyptic monster hunting agency narrative. If I’m to be honest, you’d have to be kind of a moron to pass that up.

Now, I don’t know what Ohkubo’s motivation was for ordaining Kei Urana like he did, it’s honestly unprecedented for a mangaka to do so, but that part is also somewhat clear to me. Both Urana and Ohkubo have styles fiercely inspired by various youth, western, and alternative subcultures that act as the aesthetic spine of their work, crafting worlds and narratives around their sensibilities. It so happened for Ohkubo, he could create a narrative work like Soul Eater with impressively strong characterization and appetizing world building that allowed him to tap dance all over concepts like “tonal consistency.” It was charmingly juvenile and quirky, but still had enough level headiness and sensitivity to not completely abandon its cast for mere visual spectacle. Fire Force is more of a mixed bag, where the vibes overshadowed much of the other elements that made a work like Soul Eater so beloved. Even so, once the anime concludes next year, I’m sure people will talk about Fire Force relatively positively for the foreseeable future. And Ohkubo himself has taken his success in stride, retiring at 42 to be one of the most successful mangaka of his generation, with two internationally successful manga and three anime adaptations under his belt.

In this light, Kei Urana had big shoes to fill. Gachiakuta is something of an elaborate and expensive test to see if she can fill those shoes. The question is, does she?

In terms of financials, I’m sure it’s been working out fairly well. Gachiakuta has been the number one show on Crunchyroll since like episode 12 and has been loitering in the top 10 since it started airing. Even if the show were somehow a complete financial disaster in Japan, the international streaming contracts could probably pay off the cost of production on their own. More importantly, how has Urana carried on Ohkubo’s legacy from a in terms of quality?

Well, just like her mentor, Gachiakuta has an ever-present visual aesthetic along with very strong character designs, you truly are up to your eyeballs in vibes. Technically, Gachiakuta is a manga really headed by two people, the other of which being Ando Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi is a graffiti artist who teamed up Urana, and while he officially only designs the graffiti proliferated throughout the manga’s many backgrounds, his role and influence is seemingly much more ambiguous in practice. The anime conveys Hideyoshi’s work fairly well, Gachiakuta never leaves its seedy atmosphere for even a second, and its endless graffiti is a constant reminder of that. However, when it comes to everything else in Gachiakuta, it becomes much messier to talk about.

To keep it simple, Gachiakuta is a series where much of the enjoyment is found in its aesthetics. It’s unfortunate because the show doesn’t have the exceptional animation of a typical Bones production. And conversely, the writing is loosely structured on a broader level, and its characterization disjointed. People will complain about the tone, and I think that’s fair, but my main complaint is that it feels like the actual arc of its main character was an afterthought, and the characterization of the rest of the cast wasn’t even considered until recently. Gachiakuta keeps introducing ornate design after ornate design only to provide most of them with surface level characterization. After a 24 episode season, I can’t say if I truly “care” about any of them, and that’s with some characters being VERY hit or miss, like that binky kid, hate him.

I originally had more to say about Gachiakuta, but I don’t think the series is interesting enough to warrant that. Rudo, the main character, is okay. They lean more into the psychological disorder angle with the kid, but ultimately it’ll be healed by the power of nakama because shonen, so it’s whatever. I think pathology is always fun to explore in these stories, and this series has a bunch of that, but it’s not the whole thing, there has to be a bunch of fighting.

And I guess that’s the problem with Gachiakuta, given that it literally switches setting in the first episode, the series never has the time to properly lead you into the setting, and thus do the early leg work necessary to characterize at least SOMEONE enough to get me to care. I decided to check out Gachiakuta originally when I had like 15 shows to try out, and frankly I’ve never been terribly impressed. I think there’s enough here that if there is more in the future, I may well check it out, but I won’t perish if we never get Gachiakuta ever again. But I don’t think I’m unique in this take, the response to Gachiakuta has largely been lukewarm by the anime community if both irl friends and these aggregate sites are any indication. I always like supporting young creators, so I hope Rei Urana further refines her style in the near future and is able to elevate Gachiakuta to something exceptional. Otherwise, until then, people will largely keep saying “It was alright.”

Have a nice day.

In 24 episodes, I don't believe I was moved even once. In many ways, I think it's a perfectly crafted "shonen that hits all the right beats," but lacks an indivituality and personality to make it stand out among every other shonen crafted to be a hit with shonen readers. The concept of a tsukumogami-based power system itself is interesting, but not executed in a satisfying way. Rudo loving trash in general and thus having the power to have any power falls a bit flat when his starting level is already like that, and his "upgrade" is putting all his energy into having one weaponinstead of a three-spread. Not to mention how it goes from A to B without any transitioning or showing how he developed that. He uses his power differently, and other characters tell us that they found out how his power works better some point in the past. And even the naming of his skill, which was said was something important to make it even more beloved, happened in the past and we're told it's been named after the fact. For a series about loving the small things, it brushes over the small things again and again to be flashier and more appealing.

In this setting, the more sensible, if not more logical, approach to characters would be showing who they are, and the identity of their weapon/tsukumogami. They're all emotionally tied to them, but we, as viewers, don't get a glimpse of their love for their weapon. Even Rudo's gloves are in a gray-ish zone, as there is his bond to his uncle caring for him in them, but once you make these gloves to have been holy ancient weapons anyway, it's almost like how Naruto wasn't an underdog dunce who grew through hard work, but actually the descendant of every powerful being and person in the world + best friends with a supplier of infinite amount of chakra. Out of the main cast, only Zanka got a proper past and link to his gear, while Enjin and Riyo are mostly setpieces that do what the plot needs them to 90% of the time. Zanka loses a fight and gets a flashback to show who he is. Riyo pulls a gun and tries not to kill someone, and the story just goes on without addressing it or showing who she is.

At the end of the season, the most fleshed out characters aside from Rudo were, in this order, Zanka, the gardener guy and the villain. Everyone else either doesn't move from where they've been established to be when introduced, or walks a single step forward to show you they're there.

Which leads to another issue: The world is full of mysteries, but they're not really cared for or addressed for most of the runtime. The characters all need to have a past in order to exist today with their gear, but none of that is shown or told for most of the runtime. There is no relevant worldbuilding and no relevant character building, things just keep happening to start fights, which will mostly be talking while exchanging pointless hits, or talking while looking at each other.

Why are they pointless hits? Because nobody can die. Fatal damage doesn't kill the weakest of jobbers, and then we're introduced to magic symbols that save you from lethal damage once per expedition. Anything can happen in a fight, and it never feels like anyone is at risk because nobody is hitting to kill, and when they do, there's magic that stops it. Fans of wrestling probably would enjoy Gachiakuta and vice-versa, there is no tension or stakes in fights, just style and flashiness provided by cool weapons (and a safety net in Rudo never fighting the same way twice, arguably a cheap Sakamoto Days, since it doesn't require real creativity with real mundane objects. Any object can be a huge sword a gun or a big fist if you try just a little to abstract it and turn it into a massive weapon.)

Another issue that adds to how unserious everything feels, is how the comedic timing is so awful, and the jokes so cheap, that it becomes impossible to actually care for the fights going on. I consider the bits to be the Japanese equivalent of "erm, well that just happened" in being ironic, irreverent and beaten in how many times you've seen it before since the 2000s. Serious events get the same tsukkomi as the dumbest jokes, so it almost feel as if there is an equalizer filter active, that makes so it's never too goofy nor ever too serious. (The best joke is when they just let the scene happen i.e. the car scene in episode 23). The funny faces are pretty good, though they disappear for some 20 episodes. I must say, it is not deprived of good things entirely, there are episodes I like in both the action department and character interaction department, but there are loooooooong lulls between something good happening. The only sequence of two good episodes was near the end, with the one-two of Zanka's past and Riyo's mask slipping, but then it slides a slice of slowdown so we don't get too spoiled.)

The pacing is a nightmare, it takes five episodes to feel one thing has happened, or that a single event went through its start-mid-finish. And to make matters worse, it rarely ever even has a payoff that's surprising to make the dilly-dallying worth it, it really just takes its sweet time walking the royal road. This issue I wish to believe is an anime adaptation problem, perhaps the manga actually advances in a timely manner and is pleasant, but as this is about the anime, it must be said.

Overall:

Characters: Eh

World: Eh

Animation: Alright

Artstyle: Style is pretty much all it got. I imagine eyecandy is its selling point, considering how lacking it is in everything else.

Story: Between Eh and Bad

Love for the small things: None

A perfect example of the modern shonen formula and what shonen audiences want in how vapid it is. Style 9:1 Substance.