Gachiakuta

Episode 17

It was only a matter of time before Gachiakuta pulled the ol' “Flashback to a main character's critical backstory lore right in the middle of a fight, and just when things were getting really good” trick. It's a tale as old as time - or at least, as old as the modern style of shonen manga that has taken this classic trope and flogged it into the dirt. What I liked about Amo's storyline is that it saved the revelatory flashback episode for after the big battle. Not only did it allow the fight against Amo to play out with maximum intensity, but it also trusted the audience to use their brains and apply this new context to their memories of the episodes they watched just a week or two ago. This is, nine times out of ten, my preferred method of pacing out a Big Anime Fight-Chunk. That goes doubly so for a Big, Complicated Anime Fight-Chunk with Several Different Groups of Good Guys and Bad Guys Duking it Out in Different Places and in Different Ways.

That said, I'm willing to forgive Gachiakuta for indulging in this weary old shtick for two reasons. First of all, I mentioned already that I don't love the location of this big team battle, on a cinematic level. Even with all of Studio Bones' mastery of lighting, shading, moody coloring, and plain badass animation, there's only so much you can do to make an endless series of anonymous dirt tunnels look or feel interesting. So, I was glad that Zanka's flashback took us back out into the wonderful world of sunshine and exterior shots. Secondly, the story at least seeded this flashback last week with Zanka's intriguing monologue about being forced to suffer the “exceptional” people of the world. That means that this flashback doesn't just feel like a lazy excuse to explain a special move or shove a bunch of random pathos into the story right before a character dies. When Zanka expressed those clearly deep-rooted frustrations last week, I wanted to know more. Gachiakuta is giving me exactly what I asked for, even if I would have been perfectly willing to wait a couple more weeks for a more convenient time to pause the narrative and deliver that information.

The episode is titled “Memories of a Mediocrity,” so it's no big surprise to learn that Zanka's anger comes from being shown up something fierce by the Hell Guard Academy's top student back in the day. Zanka was used to being the number one pick of the litter, destined for a seat on the Academy's literal Golden Throne, until Hyo arrived from her lowly life in the slums to kick everyone's asses six ways to Sunday without even trying. The downward spiral that Zanka falls into culminates in the origin story of his Vital Instrument: On the day when every student ceremonially selected their signature weapon from the provided assortment, Zanka wanted to make a statement and prove that he was the “real deal” by picking the most obviously useless item on the table. Little did he know that the stick got put there by complete accident, and the embarrassment of the incident nearly sent Zanka off the deep end for good.

What really works about this episode isn't the basic backstory detail that any old monologue or simple cutaway could have explained. Once again, Gachiakuta is actually saying something very interesting about rage, especially the impotent male variety that is often borne from a toxic mixture of privilege, entitlement, and genuinely unfortunate circumstances. The moody music and excellent storyboarding are especially prominent in a scene like the one where Zanka tries to brush off Hyo's obvious superiority, only to go to the back of the training grounds and throw a pity-party temper tantrum that ends with him biting his lip so hard that his blood flows into the water drain. He isn't mad that he lost; he's mad that, after busting his ass for years to prove that he's the best of the best, and this little slum-rat came along and dethroned him in their first sparring session ever. Hyo is just really, really gifted at pretend-killing people with a wooden knife, and that is enough to completely shatter Zanka's ego. I do not think it is a coincidence that Hyo is a girl, either. I wonder how often an artist as skilled as Kei Urana has pissed off the less talented men in her field simply by existing?

Florence + the Machine put out an incredible new album this Halloween called Everybody Scream, and there's a line in the song “One of the Greats” that probably would have sent little Zanka straight to his grave: “It must be nice to be a man/ And make boring music just because you can.” All his life, Zanka was allowed to believe that his good-but-not-especially-great level of skill would carry him all the way to the top, and that dream was destroyed the minute Hyo walked into the room. It isn't until Zanka finally meets Enjin that all of that pitiable and impotent anger finally has a purpose. Instead of literally throwing himself into a well and crying about being slightly less good at fighting than an exceptionally talented young woman, maybe Zanka could use all that energy to get better? It's a mind-blowing concept, I know, but it's the same point that I'm sure a bunch of harumphing Man-o-Sphere influencers will intentionally miss when they hear Florence's song. Just because men can and do get away with being proudly mediocre doesn't mean we have to.

Granted, I'm sure Zanka would be more than happy to prove that point if he weren't currently paralyzed and locked into a hallucinatory nightmare thanks to Jabber's poison. Thankfully, getting dragged off as an offering to the hungry Trash Beasts is the kind of development that almost certainly means Zanka isn't about to get axed for real, since it gives our heroes plenty of time to catch up and save the day. They'd better get to it, too. I need Zanka to get one last opportunity to cave in the rest of Jabber's ribs with that stick of his.

Rating:

Gachiakuta is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on BlueSky, his blog, and his podcast.