It is probably an understatement to say that the Summer 2025 anime season is stacked, especially with the likes of fan-favourites Dandadan and My Dress-Up Darling returning for their second season. So you’ll have to be pretty special to garner people’s attention amidst the crowd—but I think that Gachiakuta has the potential to become a top show just like the two mentioned above.
Gachiakuta is a new show by Bones Film (also known as Studio Bones), who are adapting the manga of the same name by Kei Urana. If the style seems familiar, it is because she has worked as an assistant to Atsushi Ohkubo, the author and artist of Fire Force and Soul Eater. But she has forged her own path with her debut manga series, placing as high as 13th in the Next Manga Award’s print manga category.
I’ve not had the chance to read up the Gachiakuta manga myself, but it has piqued my interest – largely because its uniquely punk and edgy art style. And having had the chance to watch the first two episodes of the new anime adaptation, I know why there is a fuss about it.
Conceptually, the world of Gachiakuta is inherently interesting. You’ve got a floating city with two sides of a population separated by a wall – one a wealthy and pristine society, and the other—known as tribesfolk—resides in a slum-like environment. Social segregation isn’t a new idea in anime, but having trash be a focal point in the story does add some sense of uniqueness to the show.
Meanwhile, the show starts off at a rather standard pace. We are introduced to the main character Rudo, a boy who obsesses over saving trash items and repairing them so that they can get another life. In the first episode, we learn more about him alongside the other characters of the floating city; slowly building up the world for us to understand. At this point, it is a breezy introduction, but it isn’t until Rudo gets framed for murder that the show turns on its head.
This is where Gachiakuta then shines. As Rudo is sentenced to be thrown into the Pit, a seemingly bottomless space where the city discards its waste, the show begins to truly show its metal style. It’s a lot darker than what it presented itself as in the beginning, but it’s also somewhat refreshing to see an MC swearing revenge rather than being an all-good hero. Some may say that this makes him too edgy as a character, but I feel that the anime toes the line, at least for now.
While Episode 1 is all about setting up the world, Episode 2 is where the action takes place. We all know what Studio Bones is capable of with action – I still get chills from seeing fight scenes from Mob Psycho 100 and My Hero Academia – and I’m happy to report that they have similarly not disappointed here.
With Rudo somehow surviving the drop and now facing giant, mutated trash monsters in the Pit, it gives us the opportunity to see a new character, Enjin, show off what he can do as a member of the Cleaners. If you thought the show’s art design and aesthetics went hard, so does the action. The same bombastic aesthetic is reflected in the fights. It’s flashy, backed by an energetic soundtrack, and shows off some pretty cool powers in the world of Gachiakuta. Most of all, it gives us an exciting sense of what we can expect from the rest of the series.
Verdict
Gachiakuta’s first two episodes are an interesting and fun introduction to the anime, with Episode 2 ending with an exciting cliffhanger that teases what else the world has to offer. It’s got me wanting more.
It remains to be seen whether the rest of the series has the same level of intrigue and pulsating action as the beginning, but if what people are saying about the manga is true, we are looking at an awfully fun ride to come this Summer 2025 anime season.
Gachiakuta begins streaming on 6 July 2025, and can be watched on Crunchyroll, with dubs available in English, Bahasa Indonesia, and Thai alongside the original Japanese.
Visuals courtesy of Crunchyroll.
