In the world of Gachiakuta, trash is seen as worthless to most. However, a select few see its worth, and wield its power to survive in their harsh reality. Born on a floating city called the Sphere, Rudo steals trash from the higher class to save it from being dumped out of the city. But when he gets framed for his father figure’s murder, he is quickly sentenced to death without trial and dropped into the Pit below. Here he must learn how to wield his newly awakened power and fight with his new allies to survive against massive trash beasts and some fatally stinky air pollution. 

The title of Gachiakuta comes from the japanese words Gachi, which translates to “literal”, and Akuta, which means “trash”. The manga was written and illustrated by Kei Urana as her first major work. Starting publication in February of 2022, the series has 140 chapters so far. The series is still ongoing with no sign of stopping soon. An anime adaptation was later announced, and began airing weekly on July 6, 2025. With 10 episodes out to date, the first season is set to have 24 episodes, airing continuously. The studio behind the stunning animation is Studio Bones, who also blessed us with shows like Fullmetal Alchemist, My Hero Academia, and Soul Eater. 

I’ll start gushing about how amazing this show is soon, but first some background on the author. 

Before creating her masterpiece Gachiakuta, she worked on the popular manga Fire Force as an assistant under Atsushi Ohkuta, who is also the author of the series Soul Eater. When comparing these series side by side, you can definitely see some similarities, specifically in the character design. It’s clear she took a lot of inspiration from his work, channeling that into her own creation.

Although the character design is similar, Kei Urana took it a step further and made it her own. Every character in Gachiakuta is extremely stylish, dripped out and accessorised. You can really see the detail she put into creating each character’s image. With how visually appealing they are, it's easy to love the characters before they say a word. This is one of the many things that make this show so fantastic.

Another similarity to Atsushi Ohkuta’s works is the weapons. The character's powers transform their weapon into something bigger and better just like in Soul Eater, but with a unique twist. Oftentimes,  the weapons in Gachiakuta aren’t traditionally fit for violence. For example, the main character Rudo rocks his pair of  gloves, while Enjin kicks ass with an umbrella. However, other characters do have items more suited for combat such as Zanka’s staff or Riyo’s scissors. The other difference is the way the weapons transform. Rather than using their soul, the characters in Gachiakuta transform their items with the care they feel for the object. This fits into the themes of the show perfectly, but I’ll dive into the reasons why later on. 

What makes this show so amazing? 

Well, I’ll tell you. Aside from the aforementioned character designs, there is so much more. From the dialogue to the animation, not to mention the genius worldbuilding, this show has a lot to fall in love with. 

Aligning perfectly with the trash theme, the dialogue is extremely vulgar. In a similar fashion to Rick and Morty (another show I love), the dialogue is full of curse words and obscene language. Not only does this make the show very funny, it makes it real. The trashy dialogue sets the scene for how harsh the reality of living in a dangerous world of garbage can be. It creates a tone of unyielding cruelty, tying in well with the overarching themes of the story.

The main theme of the story surrounds the value of possessions. On The Sphere, the floating city where the main character is from, society treats possessions as worthless as soon as they become slightly damaged. As soon as an item isn’t perfect, they throw it away, and eventually everything gets dumped out of the city, into The Pit below. A secondary theme can be seen in the treatment of people, with strong hints of classism and oppression. There are two sections of society on The Sphere: One inside the city walls that is clean and posh, and one outside the walls, living in somewhat of a stepping stone for the trash before it gets dumped. The people inside the city treat the other part of society much like they treat their possessions, seeing them as worthless and below them. This is despite the two groups having no inherent differences.

With the context of the world of Gachiakuta in tow, I can take a deeper dive into the weapons, or more specifically the power system. Remember the peculiar items they use as weapons I mentioned earlier? They’re called vital instruments, an object full of sentiment from being taken care of for a while. People who possess the power to transform their items into a vital instrument are known as givers. Each character’s vital instrument is, naturally, something tied to their personality. This adds an extra layer to their already amazing character design. Moreover, due to the varied weapons, everybody’s unique fighting style makes the action sequences endlessly entertaining. All of this to say, Gachiakuta has a very interesting twist on supernatural powers that is unlike anything else I’ve seen.

In classic shonen anime fashion, the main character Rudo has a unique, powerful ability. His vital instrument is his pair of gloves, given to him by his father figure. However, his gloves don’t transform into a weapon. Instead, his gloves give him the power to turn any item into a vital instrument. This is because of his strong feelings towards trash as a whole. While the majority of the world sees trash as worthless, Rudo believes all items deserve care. Tying into the themes perfectly, this leads into Rudo’s motivations and goals.

Ever since he was thrust out of The Sphere at the beginning of the story, Rudo’s ultimate goal is to take down the corrupted society living there. He believes so strongly that everything has worth, and will do anything to get revenge for their treatment of trash. Rudo wants nothing more than to see all trash treated as valuable.