In this highly-anticipated new action manga, a young boy is framed for murder and cast off the edge of a floating city into the abyss, where he grapples with the monsters that the elite high above would rather forget. The more the rich glitter, the higher the price paid by the poor…
With a premise that recalls Battle Angel Alita and kinetic battles reminiscent of Attack on Titan, Gachiakuta is a must-read for fans of dark, dystopian fantasies like Deadman Wonderland!
Rudo lives in the slums of a floating town, where the poor scrape by under the shadow of the rich who live a sumptuous life, simply casting their garbage off the side, into the abyss. Then one day, he’s falsely accused of murder, and his wrongful conviction leads to an unimaginable punishment–exile off the edge, with the rest of the trash. Down on the surface, the cast-off waste of humanity has bred vicious monsters, and if Rudo wants to have any hope of discovering the truth and seeking vengeance against those who cast him into Hell, he will have to master a new power and join a group known as the Cleaners who battle the hulking trash beasts of the Pit!
Format: Paperback
Pages: 192
Imprint: Kodansha US/Japan
Publication date: 16/01/2024
Series: Gachiakuta
Gachiakuta
By Kei Urana
Review by Mida
This manga is SO MUCH FUN. A rip-roaring adventure through a punk world haphazardly constructed out of junk and slathered in graffiti, every landscape is completely unique. Mountainous piles of trash stretch across the horizon while tiny spots of civilization dot the landscape like islands in an oceanic landfill. In lesser hands, it could come out feeling a bit samey – but Urana’s excellent art brings this dynamic world to life. The character designs are insanely cool, with drapey clothes, bizarre weapons and wacky hair. Copy-paste characters, these are not.
But my favourite part of the series is the whole power system that enables some EXCELLENT action. The whole basis of this manga is the idea that if you care for something enough, it gets a kind of soul – a stark contrast to the people above the Pit. Each character has an item that they treasure so much that it manifests into powers – my favourite is Zanka, who just has a really good staff. This leads to fights with very distinct choreography where the weapons aren’t traditional swords or guns, but a pair of scissors, a hammer or an umbrella.
This series more than deserves the hype. If you are a fan of battle manga like Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man or Dogs: Bullets and Carnage, Gachiakuta is your next favourite read.
