Gachiakuta: Season 1 Episode 1 – Recap and Review
Gachiakuta begins in a way that can feel all too familiar as an underdog, the bottom of even the lowest established part of society, is betrayed in a notable way, and swears revenge.
Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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Episode 1 “The Sphere” Details
- Available On: Crunchyroll
- Public Release Date: July 6, 2025
- Director(s): Ikurō Satō
- Writer(s): Hiroshi Seko
Episode 1 “The Sphere” Recap (With Spoilers)
The Haves And The Have Nots: Rudo
In this world floating about the surface, there are two types of people. There are the wealthy, who are always in pristine white clothes, wanting for nothing, and wasteful as can be, and then there are the tribe folk. They live outside the high walls of high society in a sprawling shantytown like Rudo.
He is someone who was abandoned as a child, via his father being thrown into the “Pit,” which is the surface world. But, to help make ends meet, he steals from the trash of the rich, leading to the label of “Trash Raider,” which is a crime. However, with the type of items the rich throw out being of good quality, just needing repairs, Rudo is willing to risk being thrown off the platform for the luxury goods he can fix and sell.
The Silver Lining: Chiwa, Regto, Rudo
But, while Rudo is poor, of a low social class, and even ostracized amongst his fellow tribes folk due to his dad being considered a homicidal maniac, he has Regto and Chiwa. Regto became his parental figure when his biological father was thrown into the Pit, and Rudo had no one else. Chiwa is a girl Rudo likes, and there might be reciprocal feelings there, which lights up his day.
Mind you, Chiwa’s mother is against this, but Regto, being the positive presence he is in Rudo’s life, encourages him to pursue Chiwa, live life, and not be a trash raider, for it attracts the wrong kind of attention, especially from soldiers known as “The Apostles.”
The Fall From Grace: Rudo, Regto, Chiwa
Alas, some mysterious being ends up killing Regto, and it happens to be on the best day of Rudo’s life. Chiwa accidentally confessed she loved Rudo; he gave her a token of affection, and he was skipping like the child he appears to be to tell Regto, if not brag a bit.
Sadly, as soon as he is home, he sees Regto stabbed in his abdomen, within his final moments of life, and no sooner than Regto is telling Rudo to run, Apostles appear, accuse Rudo of murder, and prep him to be thrown into the Pit. This is a big event, as when anyone is thrown into the Pit, but what hurts Rudo is Chiwa turning her back on him, and with being thrown into the Pit, losing his father figure, the girl he liked, maybe loved, turning her back on him, his heart grows dark and after he lands in the trash on the surface, he vows vengeance.
New Cast and Characters
Rudo (Ao Ichikawa)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Rudo, with significant burns on his hands, a father who is a known homicidal maniac, and being born within the area of the tribesfolk, was given a bad deal when born. However, thanks to Regto, he was raised to be loving, curious, and generally kind. This isn’t to say he isn’t capable of being his father’s son, but nurture often triumphed over nature.
Chiwa (Miku Ito)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Chiwa is a member of the tribe folk who takes to Rudo despite his background and reputation. She even likes him before an accusation quickly changes her opinion of him.
Regto (Tomoyuki Morikawa)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: When Rudo was abandoned as a baby and their father was sent to the Pit, Regto stepped up. He is a repairman who teaches Rudo everything he knows and treats him somewhere between being a paternal figure, if not an uncle, or a big brother who loves to tease Rudo, mainly in jest. But there is no denying he loves Rudo, and that is why, when tragedy strikes, it hits Rudo hard.
Links
- Check out our page for this series, featuring more recaps, reviews, and articles.
- Visit our main page TV Shows we’ve covered.
Review and Commentary
On The Fence
Feeling Like This Is The Kind Of Show Which Could Go On Forever [74/100]
The entire setup for the first episode felt way too familiar. From the quick background story, setting up the death of a character you’d easily invest in, the betrayal of another who you see the lead loved, and then the lead being put in a situation where he had nothing, it felt so familiar that it was borderline generic.
But what doesn’t help is that it all felt so rushed. We got to see one trash raid, less than 24 hours of Rudo’s life, before it all went to hell. It made the loss of his parental figure feel almost meaningless, and his potential childhood crush. It sidestepped getting a sense of how talented a repairman or engineer Rudo was, and even really establishing the upper world in a meaningful way.
Now, this isn’t to say future episodes can’t backtrack and fill in the blanks, but it does feel like the foundation of Gachiakuta was hastily made to move on, and as cracks and other issues become apparent, they’ll fix them down the line. Which, in a landscape where there is a huge amount of anime flooding the market, and only a handful of platforms now, it especially feels short-sighted to not create a real notable hook early on vs. hoping what was shown in the trailer will keep people around, as they await this or that moment to happen.
Overall
Our Overall Rating [74/100]
The first episode of Gachiakuta doesn’t do much to convince you to return for episode two. More so, the trailer has to be revisited to remind you why you had this on your watchlist in the first place, and you are left hoping that, by the time we reach episode 3, it earns the potential you thought it had and gives you a legitimate reason to keep watching.
Check Out Our Past Coverage Of This Series
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