rating: 8.5/10

I've ditched watching seasonal anime for the most part in favor of catching up on my watchlist, focusing mostly on Gundam series, and mainly consuming pre-digital and early digital series. However, there was one series that caught my eye in the Summer 2025 lineup. Of course, that was Gachiakuta. I've seen it heavily advertised on the SJ app for months, but I never picked it up. So when I heard it was getting an adaptation, I wasn't terribly interested. But as the first few weeks of episodes released, I found it impossible to avoid discussions about it. So I added it to my rotation of shows I watch while I'm on break. And I can say with absolute confidence that I would have hit myself over the head if I decided to put it on my watchlist and abandon it for months.

Story:8/10

The concept of imbuing powers into an object that is dear to you is quite simple, and the theme of "one man's trash is another man's treasure" could be seen as juvenile, Gachiakuta elevates both premises to a much higher level. With an in-your-face struggle between the literal higher class (the Sphere) and lower class (the Ground), Gachiakuta also sparks discussions about overconsumption, pollution, discrimination, and abuse. Despite these themes, it also doesn't let the unfortunate situation of those living on the Ground keep them down (pun intended). We still see vibrant city centers with the mesmerizing graffiti designs by Ando Hideyoshi and creatives that keep the Cleaners dripped out. Our protagonist, Rudo, hails from the Sphere, an opulent land with a segregated area for its poorer residents, in which Rudo lives with his adoptive father, Regto. Rudo passes his time by stealing the trash of the rich Spherites and giving it new life, a really optimistic trait for an MC who otherwise doesn't fit the bill of having such a lovely hobby. After Rudo is framed for Regto's murder, he is tossed down The Pit where all the trash of the Sphere goes and was assumably a mass grave. However, upon waking up, Rudo finds himself on the Ground, a land populated by trash and sentient Trash Beasts. Rudo ends up in the care of the Cleaners, an organization dedicated to taking out the Trash Beasts, after discovering the gloves Regto had given him years ago allowed him to imbue power into them and, consequentially, any trash he touches, making him a Giver. It's an incredibly interesting concept, taking ideas as old as time (Rudo's gloves are eventually named 3Rs like the recycling slogan) and giving them a fresh take. It all comes back out in a neat way. The main plot is a run of the mill battle shonen with introductory Trash Beasts, before meeting the conflicting group of Raiders, Givers who use their powers for, generally, crime and villanry. Throughout the first season, we see Rudo shift from solely wanting revenge against Regto's killer and returning to the Sphere to caring about his team and others he meets on the Ground. The power of friendship always prevails! But even still, it's cliche backbones are expanded and built on enough that I don't feel like I'm watching a repeat. It also has some pretty cliche gag and silly moments, which again tie back to theme of allowing yourself joy, even in the worst of situations.

Characters: 9/10

Gachiakuta absolutely shines in it's character designs. There is so much visual variety in their outfits and weapons that I don't forsee any of them feeling stale down the line or having to compete with a character with overlapping abilities.

I do have to complain a little bit. While the male cast gets a wider range of body types and visual appeal, all the female characters generally share the same body type. This is always going to be a pet peeve of mine. There's little same-face syndrome, and their respective designs are all different and still visually interesting, but it will always tilt me that you can have a full range of body types for male characters while only adjusting the height on the female characters. I will give credit where credit is due though in having two dark-skinned black characters (Semiu and Corvus) and Jabber being lighter-skinned, where all three of them are undeniably black. You do not get that... like... ever. Especially in a super popular SJ series and also not having any of the characters get the Hakari treatment, as I will be calling it.

Pacing: 8/10

I don't have any frame of reference with the manga, but to me, everything felt like it was reasonably paced. According to what I can find, it ends on chapter 87, so that's about 3-4 chapters per episode, which is a pretty natural pace. Seeing as it was likely promised a second season from the get-go, I would have been disappointed if they tried to rush anything. The fights never felt too short or too drawn out. Once noticable issue with pacing, or at least placement, was Zanka's backstory. Something about it felt odd to me, but I can't exactly place what. I guess it felt too slow, like it was padded to take up time while he was knocked the fuck out. I don't know. I think that's my one glaring complaint with it.

Visuals: 9/10

As I've touched on in other sections, Gachiakuta has an incredble atmosphere. Kei Urana and Ando Hideyoshi have absolutely nailed the vibes. Never would have thought you could make a trash-ridden world look sick. Post-apocalyptic and wasteland settings have to strike a delicate balance of aesthetics that don't take away from the dire living conditions of the worlds' residents. As mentioned previously, you still have bustling cities in the protected dome areas, like Canvas Town, but they are still constructed entirely of junk, never fully removing you from the trash ridden landscape of the Ground and reminding you of the dangers and challenges they've had to overcome. They never face the challenge of looking chopped though either.

The fight sequences in Gachiakuta are also engaging and impressive. Rudo's powers in particular (I mean, he is the MC afterall) are so sick and I barely noticed any inconsistencies in animation with them. There is some CGI used with the Trash Beasts in particular and it's just fine. We can't all be Studio Orange.

Final Thoughts

Gachiakuta is a breath of fresh air in the Shonen genre. I've felt disenfranchised with it for some time now (maybe because I'm not a teenage boy anymore) with cookie cutter plots, atmospheres, and characters. There is no substitute for what you get with Gachiakuta, you will not find another modern show with the same grit and unqiueness. I'm absolutely going to tune into season 2, and maybe, if the wait is too long, I'll pick up the manga to tide me over.

Gachiakuta receives the vorepride stamp of approval.