“They say that when an object is well loved it is eventually imbued with a soul, then what about the garbage, the trash that gets thrown away? What is that imbued with?”
— Narrator, Chapter 1, Gachiakuta
Gachiakuta (meaning ‘legit trash’ or ‘real garbage’) is an ongoing manga written and illustrated by Kei Urana, featuring graffiti designs by Andō Hideyoshi. It began its serialization in Weekly Shōnen Magazine in February 2022. Kei Urana first came to the public’s attention as a mangaka when her special one-shot manga Shikido won first prize in the 103rd Newcomer Manga Award organised by Shonen Magazine. When she was younger, she was a big fan of Atsushi Ohkubo’s Soul Eater and later worked as an art assistant under him during the creation of Fire Force. Which is probably why you can noticeably see that her style of illustration is influenced by both of Ohkubo’s works. Since creating Gachiakuta, Ohkubo was impressed enough with her work to consider her his successor, which is a massive compliment.
Gachiakuta is set in a dystopian world called the Sphere. It is made up of different levels and areas: the upper level is where the Spherites live. One part of this upper level is where the rich and upper class live where they have anything they could ever want and need, however they are protected by a heavily guarded wall, and outside of that wall is where people live in poverty and are heavily policed. If a lower class Spherite is deemed a criminal they are then sent to the ‘pit’, which is below the Sphere and thought to be uninhabitable for all forms of life. However, unknown to the Spherites, beyond the ‘pit’ lies another level, the Ground. The Ground is a lawless place, full of toxic materials and waste that have been thrown down from the Spherites. It is heavily polluted and full of Trash Beasts, yes there are colossal beasts made from the trash. However, despite all the pollution and danger, people have managed to survive and created their own civilisations.
The story of Gachiakuta follows a character named Rudo who finds himself removed from the slums of the Sphere and sent into the ‘pit’. When he awakens, he finds himself surrounded by endless trash, nauseating smells and harmful chemicals. He also finds himself face to face with one of the hideous Trash Beasts! What a lovely way to wake up! Luckily, he is rescued by a man named Enjin. Enjin manages to awaken Rudo’s hidden power and reveals that he is a ‘Giver’ and that he has a ‘Vital Instrument’ which has a hidden power within. With this power Rudo can battle the Trash Beasts himself, and by doing so, increase his understanding of his powers and his ‘Vital Instrument’. After seeing Rudo’s powers Enjin invites ‘The Cleaners’ a group of Givers who use the power of their own unique ‘Vital Instruments’ to battle the Trash Beasts and other beings. Rudo agrees to temporarily join them until he manages to find his way back to the Sphere where he can get revenge on those who sent him down the ‘pit’.
For any anime fan, if you haven’t heard of Gachiakuta during 2025 you must’ve been living under a rock. Gachiakuta has taken the anime world by storm since its release in July and has been awarded the title of best anime of 2025 by several different web polls and I’m sure it will be nominated for several of the Crunchy Roll awards too! I’ve already bought the manga and going to get stuck into it when it arrives! The second season has also just been announced.
I would love to include a load more information about Gachiakuta, but I don’t want to include too many spoilers! Instead, I will just say that if you like shonen anime then you need to watch this show! Each character is interesting in their own way and throughout the series the connection with their ‘Vital Instrument’ is revealed – one of them even has a pacifier/dummy as their ‘Vital Instrument’! The fight scenes are awesome, not just with the Trash Beasts but with the other human ‘bad guys’. The introduction sequence is awesome and the colours, graphics and graffiti work in the series are amazing too. The only flaw in my opinion is that the anime series has created the Trash Beasts in CGI, which sometimes looked a bit out of place, but I can understand why they were produced like that – animating a creature made out of layers and layers of trash is an animator’s nightmare. I’m glad they focused on the characters’ animation instead, which is amazing!
Lexémon’s star rating
Currently you are able to watch Gachiakuta streaming on Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel or buy it as download on Apple TV.
Things You Should Know:
Gachiakuta is age rated 15 in the UK.
This is because of the following content according to the IMDB:
Sex & Nudity: Mild
Violence & Gore: Moderate
Profanity: Moderate
Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking: Mild
Frightening & Intense Scenes: Moderate