The Summer 2025 anime season is seeing the return of highly anticipated hits like Dandadan Season 2 and My Dress-Up Darling. Yet amid these big names, a newcomer has suddenly risen, expected to become the next major phenomenon in the shonen genre. This isn’t just hype, one of the earliest reviews of the series confirms it!
The anime adaptation of Gachiakuta by Studio Bones, based on the relatively new manga by Kei Urana, officially premiered its first episode last weekend. Fans of the original manga are extremely excited, and that enthusiasm seems well-founded. Just before the first season launched on Crunchyroll, early reviews were published, and it looks like Gachiakuta is living up to all the buzz.
Gachiakuta: From Breakout Manga to New Anime Sensation
Kei Urana’s Gachiakuta first began serialization in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine in February 2022. The series quickly made an impression and has been compiled into 15 volumes in Japanese. The English translation of the first volume was released by Kodansha in January 2024, with six volumes currently available and the seventh expected later this month. Though still a relatively young series, Gachiakuta has already made waves in the manga world, and its anime adaptation is predicted to do the same.
For those unfamiliar with this popular series, Gachiakuta follows Rudo, a young man wrongfully accused of murder and exiled to Pit, a wasteland teeming with vicious monsters. There, he discovers a latent power and is forced to join the Cleaners, a group of outcasts with superhuman abilities, to fight monsters and seek a way out of this hellish land.
What Are Critics Saying About Gachiakuta?
Before Gachiakuta officially premiered on Sunday, July 6, early reviews flooded online. Some lucky critics had the chance to watch the first episodes at this year’s Anime Expo in Los Angeles. According to these reviews, Gachiakuta could become a serious contender for the shonen throne alongside Solo Leveling, Demon Slayer, and Jujutsu Kaisen.
FandomWire even stated, “The first two episodes of Gachiakuta show promise as the next major shonen hit, with Bones Film perfecting every aspect from music to animation.” Gizmodo shared a similar view, calling Gachiakuta “the next big thing.” Their review emphasized the series’ role in the evolving shonen landscape: “It not only fills the gap left by Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia but pushes that space further to create something bold, gritty, and hopefully unforgettable.”
Source: Comicbook