Gachiakuta

Episode 5

“Raiders” more or less sticks to the formula that last week's episode of Gachiakuta established for this opening arc of its overall storyline, where Rudo goes out on another mission with the Cleaners and is introduced to another element of conflict that will inevitably complicate his mission for revenge. Last time, Rudo saw firsthand the danger represented by the Trash Beasts, especially ones that have vital instruments stuck inside their cores. Here, we meet the titular raiders, who serve as human antagonists that our heroes will probably be dealing with for the foreseeable future.

If that sounds like an awfully simple and mercenary way to summarize the events of an entire half-hour episode of television, it's because Gachiakuta is committing to its slow-and-steady approach of laying out the tracks of its story in simple, straightforward steps. In my review for “Cleaner HQ,” I wrote that the episode boiled down to, “[Seeing] Riyo in action and learning a bit more about the Cleaners' routine… No more, and no less.” You could honestly take that exact description and replace the “learning about the Cleaners' routine” with “learning a bit about the Raiders that the Cleaners fight,” and it would be just as effective a conclusion for this week's review. So far as major plot developments go, that's it.

I should probably mention that the scary Dreadlocks Guy from last week is back again to chew the scenery, but we don't get much more of a read on his whole shtick beyond the fact that he's crazy and he's gunning for Rudo. This is also one of those episodes that doesn't so much tell a single story as it does provide the conclusion to last week's chapter for the first third of the runtime before giving us half of the next chapter's story in the last two-thirds. It's a common quirk of anime that are adapting weekly serialized comic-book plots, so I'm not really surprised or even that frustrated by it, though it does make for an episode that doesn't stand on its own all that well.

That said, I don't want to give the impression that this was a bad episode of Gachiakuta. It was, in fact, quite watchable. I liked seeing Rudo, Enjin, Zanka, and Riyo bond more during Rudo's welcoming party and this latest mission, and the show's grimy aesthetic and solid production values ensure that the action-heavy scenes involving the raiders are entertaining enough. So far, Gachiakuta is settling into a routine that is maybe less instantly impressive than I found its first couple of episodes to be, but probably more sustainable for an adaptation of a Shonen Jump with a chapter count that has already hit triple digits. As a critic, I certainly hope that Rudo's adventures give me a little more to work with so far as analysis is concerned, but anyone who is simply tuning in each week for twenty minutes of solid action-adventure entertainment will likely continue to have a good time.

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.