Gachiakuta

Episode 6

I do not believe that every action-focused anime needs a Capital-B “Bad Guy” on whom our hero will target all of his growing powers and fighting spirit. Gachiakuta itself already has plenty of systemic and natural conflict for Rudo and the Raiders to square off against, whether we're talking about the oppression coming from the elite on the Sphere or the more imminent threat of the Trash Beasts. Still, a shonen battle series like this one is basically the animated equivalent of professional wrestling, where crazy clashes between larger-than-life personalities are the entire reason most folks show up to cheer from the sidelines. In that sense, I'm very happy that Jabber has officially arrived on the scene to whoop our heroes' asses.

Obviously, Rudo and Co. are not quite so jazzed to make Jabber's acquaintance, what with him being a deranged Raider lunatic who breakdances and Freddy-Krueger-claws his way through any Cleaners unfortunate enough to cross his path. It's a stark reminder that this gig Rudo has fallen into isn't going to be so easy as taking out a rampaging trash monster here and there. Those things are dangerous, sure, but they're wild animals (except, you know, for being abominable garbage homunculi that should not exist). The raiders are human enemies, meaning they chose to be psychotic subterranean goons who rob and murder for a living. On top of having the intelligence and the powers to be more dangerous than the Trash Beasts in many ways, this makes them much scarier for a kid like Rudo to face.

Wisely, “One Good Strike!!” pairs this new threat with some more flashbacks to Rudo's childhood with Regto, contrasting this miserable and dangerous battle with memories of the life that Rudo lost to even bere down here. It's simple but effective storytelling, especially in how it highlights how Rudo has always empathized with the perfectly good objects that “upstanding citizens” have been throwing away without thinking for years and years.

It's the sort of basic storytelling fundamental that a lot of modern fantasy and sci-fi anime seem to have forgotten about, which makes for good cheesy popcorn entertainment. It's not enough to have a main character that merely kicks a lot of ass with their super special hero powers. The thing that made classic protagonists like Goku, Naruto, and Luffy so strong was also the fact that their true advantages came from seeing the world differently from their peers. I'm not saying that Rudo is at all in that class of character, but he does at least stand for more than simply Being Really, Really Strong. The kid's got heart, even if it's been busted up and broken into pieces as of late. The fact that his special Giver ability is to wield the flaws of castoff trash and amplify them into incredible strength is pretty neat.

That said, no matter how much ass Rudo gets to kick this week, we know it can't be so easy as to take Jabber out on the first go. For one, that would make for a pretty crappy Anime Nemesis Type, and we all know how these things work by now. Plus, Jabber is the kind of drooling sadist that wandered in straight from the set of the latest Danganronpa game. The more Rudo wails on him, the more Jabber seems to be having the time of his freaky-ass little life. Now that's solid nemesis material, I'll tell you what.

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.