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「守護の力」 (Shugo no Chikara)
“The Power of Protection”
For all that, I have to give full credit to Urana Kei too. The manga is also timeless, an absolute throwback to a different era in shounen (which may, interestingly, be a reason why it’s merely a hit rather than a kaijuu). This whole “Raiders Trap” arc has probably been the best in the series so far, epic and intimate in turn. Spare a thought for those left behind by Zodyl – Fu (who’s joined by an altar-ego named Hii, though it’s not clear whether they’re two aspects of the same person). And poor Noerde, who – if we’re honest – won her fight with Riyo fair and square. But you know what they say – never bring a comb to a gunfight.
For her part Noerde doesn’t seen bitter at this turn of events – she expresses willingness to be a pawn in Zodyl’s hand. To that end she takes off her limiter and goes full follicle, unleashing a static electricity attack which will destroy her precious hair. Zodyl bugs out with Cthoni and Bundus – and indeed, this is the difference between he and Enjin, whose only focus is “leave no one behind”. The Cleaners are paralyzed by her outburst – all but one of them anyway. Rudo, somehow, is still able to crawl towards the trash beast’s core, albeit slowly (as “crawl” implies).
Noerde’s attack also has the impact of further weakening the wall that Rudo damaged with his failed attack on the core. And when that blows out, the resulting hole tries to suck everyone out into the trash storm. The Cleaners hang on – she can’t. It’s not entirely clear what she witnesses out there, in our first look at the Border. It appears to be some sort of giant humanoid creature, though we don’t see a head. Things get dark for spells. Noerde seems quite sure of what she’s seeing – the Watchman. But she won’t keep her promise to tell Zodyl all about it, as the record of no one passing through the Border alive (as far as we know) remains intact.
For Enjin and the others, the problem is simple survival and avoiding Noerde’s fate. But the answer comes with the answer as to what Guita’s Jinki is. And why she wears that dino cosplay. That onesie is in fact her vital instrument, and it allows her to expand greatly in size. Just how limitless this power is we don’t know, as Guita takes her cue from Bro to only “go up to three”. But that’s pretty much kaijuu status – enough of one to use her butt to plug the hole. That in turn allows Rudo, Enjin, and Riyo to finally take out the trash beast’s core. That takes care of the border problem, but exchanges it for another – trash beasts fall apart when you destroy their core, and the ground is a long way down.
Fortunately Guita is nice and plushy in addition to having a giant ass, and the Cleaners scramble onto her back as they crash to the ground. Soon the rescue crew is upon them – including Gris and his Supporter crew. He seems especially relieved to find Rudo safe – and Rudo rewards this by calling him “Aniki” before passing out from exhaustion. That’s kind of out of the blue, but one could see it as a confirmation of Rudo finally accepting that this is his family now. And it’s a family that won’t leave him behind, even in a pinch as bad as this one was.
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「強くなる男」 (Tsuyoku Naru Otoko)
“The Man Who Will Be Stronger”
The big news with Gachiakuta this week, of course, is that a second season has been greenlit. That does not come as a surprise. The kaijuu thing aside, this series is certainly a commercial success – and a critical one too. We don’t know the timing yet, but after next week’s finale this season will have used 85 chapters give or take, and the manga is currently sitting at about 160. So there’d be enough material by spring, pretty much, though we can probably assume the production committee will want to give the manga a chance to build up a bigger stockpile of material. Unless that second season is one cour, of course.
I’m heartily glad of it. This adaptation has both served as a refresher of just how good Gachiakuta is and of how good Bones is. They have an opening for a signature battle shounen adaptation last I checked – and while this one surely won’t quite hit the same Himalayan heights, it offers a chance for Bones to really strut their stuff in a franchise perfectly suited to their aesthetic. You could hardly ask for a protagonist more different from Deku than Rudo, but that’s not a bad thing. There are many ways to tell a story in battle shounen, and many kinds of characters to anchor it.
One thing I’ve noticed with Gachiakuta is that Urana Kei tends to adopt a technique Yukinobu Tatsu does with Dandadan. That is, when a big battle (and “Trash Storm” was the biggest to date) ends, she likes to show us the characters unwinding and letting off steam. Often with food. It’s a device I quite like, and it works with both series. Rudo’s first thought on landing, in fact, is that he wants to eat some sweets. But his deeper reflection is that he wants to ponder the newfound safety he’s found in the company of Enjin and the Cleaners. For a kid like Rudo, who only briefly ever felt like he belonged anywhere (and with only one person) that’s a pretty big deal.
Another thing Rudo wants to do is bring flowers to Zanka, who’s recovering from his ass-whupping at the hands (talons) of Zanka. That’s a thing they do in the Sphere – though none of the Cleaners has ever heard of it. Delmon gently (well, for him) explains that flowers are extremely rare and expensive on the Ground – but he does note that he knows of an excellent plastic flower maker, and suggests the pair of them go shopping (Enjin tags along).
Rudo is sensitive to how tough this all is for Zanka – he fared worse than anybody in this affair. As it turns out there was an extenuating circumstance. Remlin – who the mayor of Canvas Town has dragged over to apologize – pulled a fast one on him. As a lark, instead of the standard “damage reduction” spell they drew something different on Zanka – and to say it has no practical merit is no leap. Zanka refuses to blame them – he always defaults to blaming himself, as we’ve learned. But when you think about it that was an incredibly irresponsible thing for Remlin to do. Yeah, they’re a kid and were in the process of grieving their mentor, but even if Zanka isn’t going to be pissed, somebody higher up should be on his behalf.
Rudo cracks a genuine smile, just for a split second – then the usual terrifying rictus replaces it. Enjin and Zanka have some bonding time, and Zanka notes (not realizing that Enjin has fallen asleep) that Rudo is “forgetting something” and it’s his job to teach him. The Raiders are also decompressing after the big events, and Zodyl seems not at all bothered by the seeming setbacks Bundus points out to him. The main thrust of the experiment was achieved – it is apparently possible to cross the Boundary and survive. He also gives Bundus a curio of some sort as reward for making the first string, which the latter seems thrilled to received. And somehow Noerde, or at least her body, seems to have survived – and it’s a familiar face who’s discovered it<.
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「遠足」 (Ensoku)
“Field Trip”
That would definitely have been one hell of a kick in the nuts ending (even more than it already was) if we hadn’t gotten a S2 announcement last week. Or at least a leak – the official word came with the season finale. We also got word of a video game adaptation and a stage play, so it’s safe to say Gachiakuta has had a very good week. It’s still too early to assert that the series is developing into the major hit I was expecting, but it could just be a slow builder that way. Franchises don’t get games and plays and the mountains of merchandising this one has unless they’re very profitable.
What we got, then, was a transition episode. It had the feel of a slice-of-life, wind-down sort of affair – heavy on comedy and cuteness. But along the way some humongous bombs were dropped, so it would be a good week to pay attention. We start off back at base, with Rudo starting furtively down at a depressed Remlin sitting in the quad. Zanka, who’s the closest thing this show has to a tsundere, steps up to fulfill his mentor duties with his usual aplomb (and complaints). He directs Rudo to offer some cheer to Remlin – in practice, he says, for helping Amo later. He also pledges to go with and help when the time comes.
At this point Gachiakuta delivers what is without question it’s cutest sequence so far. It starts off with the kiddie corps – Rudo, Remlin, Guita, and Dear – drawing together in the lounge. It’s kind of heartwarming to see Rudo this way, not gonna lie – he’s very much still a child himself, as these moments remind us, and it’s nice to see him carefree for once. Not that he can ever relax, this kid – his lack of drawing skills stress him out. Remlin may be a Spellcaster but they’re no teacher, that’s for sure.
From here we almost go into an episode of “Old Enough”. Corvus tells the kids to go on a field trip to Canvas Town, where Remlin longs to add their mark to the legendary Spellcasters’ mural. He also tells Rudo that as the oldest, it’s his responsibility to protect the others. Now, we’ve just seen the three junior Cleaners kick serious ass in the flying trash beast (as Enjin reassures a panicking Bro Santa) – it’s not like they especially need to worry about petty thieves and getting lost. But Rudo takes his responsibility very seriously indeed. And Enjin and Bro tag along covertly to make sure everyone is safe, just like the doting parents they may as well be.
Corvus, as it happens, has an ulterior motive here. He’s gotten wind that the Hell Guard – the primary enforcers of the law on The Ground – are on the way. And while their captain, Kyouka (Sawashiro Miyuki) makes noises about collateral damage from the Raiders incident going unreported, Corvus knows that’s not why she’s there. She wants the Spherite – his memories, his DNA, every scrap of information he can provide – and Corvus isn’t going to let that happen. He seems to have the law – to the extent it exists – on his side here. But I suspect it wouldn’t matter to him even if he didn’t.
The field trip is highly amusing, with Rudo going berserker over sweets and the gaggle of grommets being accosted by a sexual predator who literally offers them candy to go with him. I don’t feel sorry for anyone like him, but it’s fair to say Dear does (and that he got what he deserved). Eventually Remlin leads them to Canvas Town – they’re exhausted by the 16 KM walk but the Cleaners are unfazed. And it turns out the legendary mural is on the ceiling (mostly). It was begun by the first Spellcaster, Macaca Icol. And runs right through to Remlin’s mentor, Gob.
Here’s where the first big bombshell hits, though. Enjin and Bro reveal themselves (I thought Rudo might be insulted but he doesn’t seem put out) and the group stares at the mural in awe (and neck pain) for a while. Then Enjin and Rudo notice the same thing at the same time – one of the paintings is the same symbol that’s on the Watchmen Series vital instruments. Remlin informs them that was painted by one Canis Surebrec – a friend of Macaca Icol’s knows as “Undertaker”. Rudo is doubly astonished, and informs the others that his birth name is Rudo Surebrec (which, I’m almost certain, is the first time that’s been revealed in the series).
There are other familiar faces popping up – like Fu, the hapless Raider who was left behind by Zodyl. It seems his alter ego Hii is some kind of doll, and their plan is to latch on to Enjin and get him to start issuing the order Fu so badly craves (if he can ever muster the courage to speak to him). And then, at the very end, Amo – chained to a wall, imprisoned in some kind of underground cell. And who should it be looking in on her and smirking? No, not Rudo, who she calls out to – it’s none other than Tamsy of the Cleaners. What could this mean?
Obviously I’m hugely glad Gachiakuta is getting more anime. Not surprised, but relieved – I would have put the chances at about 90% but that’s not a sure thing. I hope the series really does go on to become the monster battle shounen hit it deserves to be – I really think it’s about the best one running now that HeroAca has ended. Stylish, smart, cool, funny, great power system, peopled with fascinating oddballs – Gachiakuta checks all the kaijuu boxes even if it isn’t a kaijuu (yet). And as usual Bones has delivered a pretty much impeccable adaptation that gets everything right. I still think this franchise’s best days are ahead of it, and I look forward to seeing just how big it can become.
