“Souls dwell in things that are cherished”. This sums up what Gachiakuta is all about.
The story of Gachiakuta is set in a world where “normal people” easily discard their garbage, including other people, who are sent down to an abyss called the Pit. Those who live peacefully live within the walls but outside are the descendants of criminals called the Tribesfolk.
The protagonist, Rudo, was falsely accused of murdering his own foster father Regto and managed to do the impossible and survive falling down the Pit, which is actually the Ground, the surface world abandoned by those living above what is called “the Sphere”.
Protagonist
Rudo Surebrec is the protagonist and although he starts off fairly unpleasant socially, that plays into the themes well since he cares a lot about junk while everyone else willfully discards objects. Since he himself has been discarded by society, he treats objects and people with the dignity they deserve, even if he sucks at socializing with his creepy unhinged smiling.
Cast
We also meet a colorful cast: the cool mentor Enjin, the easily flustered lancer-type character and rival Zanka, and the unhinged girl, Riyo. Other characters include the cool yet slightly perverted receptionist Semiu, the boss and the antagonists we see so far, the Raiders, a group of bandits with a desire to invade the Sphere.
Power System
The Vital Instruments power system is quite unique, being similar in nature to Bleach’s Zanpakuto blades except the weapons are not an alternate persona but a product of the user’s care. This care is tied to the core theme of the manga, so we see diverse powers, from a . Rudo’s Gloves are unique as he can create temporary Vital Instruments with different purposes, making him versatile and somewhat breaks the rules of the systems. While most protagonists have a singular trick that helps the audience explore the system, Rudo’s one trick with his gloves gives him many random options that make Gachiakuta’s fights more visually creative.
Manga Artstyle
Kei Urana, the mangaka, has a gritty, “dirty” punk rock aesthetic that fits the steampunk genre of the manga and its alt-culture characters. This makes sense since the mangaka also works with a graffiti artist, Ando Hideyosh, to add flavor to the world’s decor and character designs.
Urana also happens to be the assistant of Soul Eater’s author, Atsushi Ohkubo, which explains the similarity in art style. However, Urana describes her style as being similar to Japanese “mixture rock” music genre as it combines her raw emotions with variety, allowing anyone to enjoy Gachiakuta and insert themselves into the work.
Animation Quality
The adaptation is handled by Bones, who have worked on Soul Eater, both adaptations of Fullmetal Alchemist and are currently wrapping up 8 seasons of My Hero Academia. While the artstyle is faithful to the manga, it does come from rough edges, such as decent to horrendous CGI for the Trash Beasts.
However, this flaw is overshadowed by the fast-paced animation and stunning visual presentation, particularly its flexibility in mixing media types, from directly copying the manga to implementing a blend of 2D and 3D animation. One of the best parts about the anime is its fidelity to the manga.
A recent example was from Episode 6, which only featured the incredibly animated fight between Rudo and the Raider Jabber Wonger but also a scene of Rudo flashing back to the traumatic loss of Regto, which copies the manga one-to-one with its rough, emotional sketch quality.
Final Word
Overall, Gachiakuta’s first six episodes are already exceeding fan expectations and it helps that the manga started out strong with some light yet efficient worldbuilding and expressive fight scenes.
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