Gachiakuta is a series that sounds like a throwaway concept (pun intended) until you actually sit down and watch it. A trash-filled world with people living in literal waste wielding weapons made out of junk. It sounded so generic that I almost skipped right over it.
I’m glad I didn’t. This series is great.
The anime follows Rudo, a kid from the slums who gets falsely accused of murder and literally thrown off the edge of society, a floating sphere simply called “the Sphere”, into a massive wasteland made of humanity’s garbage. On the ground, the trash isn’t just trash. It’s alive and it’s actively trying to kill you. The only way to survive in this trash-filled hellscape is by turning discarded objects into weapons. It’s basically a survival story mixed with revenge, with Rudo trying to figure out how to fight his way through this world made of trash and eventually make it back to the Sphere to take his revenge on the people who threw him away in the first place.
Of everything in Gachiakuta, the art stands out to me the most, especially the graffiti. As someone who grew up on the streets of Philly, I enjoy some good graffiti pieces. Gachiakuta is full of dope graffiti pieces that are more than just cool to look at. They brought on an actual graffiti artist (a guy named Hideyoshi Andou) to do the graffiti, and it shows. They give everything this gritty look that separates it from that stereotypical anime aesthetic. It looks like there’s actual intention behind it, not just “let’s make it look edgy.” It’s one of the few series where the scenery actively enhances the storytelling instead of just decorating it.
As far as the characters go, Gachiakuta doesn’t bring anything too unique that’s worth mentioning, but none of the characters are bad. There aren’t any annoying characters dragging things down with excessive comedic relief or annoying screaming (I’m looking directly at Zenitsu from Demon Slayer here), there’s no forced quirky nonsense, no overly-sexualized fan service characters, none of that. There’s jokes, of course. Every anime needs a few gags here and there. But it’s pretty balanced.
As far as MCs go, I like Rudo. They could have very easily made him another whiny, crying, “I don’t want to fight” wuss of a protagonist, but they didn’t. Rudo actually feels like someone who belongs in this world: he’s angry, driven, and ready to throw hands when shit goes down. He’s not just some pointlessly angry jerk, he’s driven by revenge. I’m not saying he’s perfect, but he doesn’t spend half the story having emotional breakdowns over things that should be obvious. It makes a huge difference. You can actually root for him without wanting to smack him upside the head every five minutes.
On the other side of things, you’ve got Jabber, who might be one of the most frustrating villains I’ve seen in a while.
I mean that in a good way.
This guy just refused to stay down. Every time it looked like he was finally finished, he’d get back up again like some kind of garbage-fueled Terminator. It got to the point where I was actually yelling at the screen like, “He survived that too?! Come on, man!” His durability was ridiculous. The guy survived more punishment than Stefano from Days of Our Lives.
But that’s what made him work. He wasn’t just strong, he was exhausting. You hated him, and the show wanted you to hate him. Every extra second he stuck around just made you want to see him get put down even more. That’s how you build a villain people actually care about seeing defeated, instead of just another obstacle with a cool design.
Underneath all of that, the story still holds up. The whole “world of trash” concept could’ve easily been a shallow aesthetic, but it actually ties into the themes pretty well. What gets thrown away, who gets discarded, who gets to live comfortably above it all. The series isn’t preachy, it doesn’t shove the message in your face, but it’s doing more than just setting up fights. It takes the classic “class warfare” trope and adds a nice little twist to it.
Speaking of fights, the pacing is solid. Gachiakuta knows when to build things up and when to let them explode. It’s not rushing from one big fight to the next, which is a good sign. Especially with the Apostles still looming in the background. You just know their time is coming, and when it does, it’s going to be ugly. Personally, I can’t wait to see Rudo open up a six-pack of whoop-ass on these smug marching band rejects:
The big looming question is: what happens when Rudo finally makes it back to the Sphere? There’s no way that’s going to end well. He’s got too much anger, too much betrayal, and too much of a broken system waiting for him up there. Depending on how the series handles that payoff, this could end up being one of those shows people keep bringing up years later.
This anime takes a trashy setting (pun intended… again) and turns it into something that’s definitely worth watching. This is a series that keeps on delivering. And if it keeps going the way it has so far, those Apostles should start getting nervous. Rudo is coming for them, and hell’s coming with him.
AJ’s rating: 9/10
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