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Gachiakuta (ガチアクタ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kei Urana. It began serialization in Kodansha‘s Weekly Shōnen Magazine in February 2022. As of February 2023, the series’ individual chapters have been collected into five volumes.

Plot

Living in the slums of a wealthy society are a population of “tribefolk,” who are descended from criminals exiled from society. Living amongst the tribefolk is a young boy named Rudo, who detests the upper class’s wastefulness. They often dump anything deemed trash, including criminals, into a massive dump site below the town known as the Abyss. Rudo was told by his foster father that his biological father was dumped into the Abyss for a crime before he was born. One day, after rummaging through a dump site, Rudo returns home to find his foster father Regto killed. Apprehended at the scene, Rudo is immediately charged with murder despite his innocence, due to his status as a tribefolk. Unable to escape his fate, Rudo swears revenge upon the people of the city, and is dumped into the Abyss.

After being dumped into the Abyss, Rudo awakens to find himself disoriented in a foul-smelling, endless landscape of trash. Rudo is then attacked by large beasts made of trash, and fends them off until he is rescued by a man named Engine. Engine explains to Rudo that he is in fact not underground, but has fallen to the surface from “Heaven.” After testing him and awakening his power as a “Giver,” Engine invites Rudo to join him as a “Janitor.” Engine explains that the Janitors are an organization of Givers who use the power of unique weapons known as “Jinki” to hunt the beasts which attacked him. Rudo reluctantly accepts Engine’s offer to join the Janitors, so long as it helps accomplish his goal of returning to Heaven and enacting revenge on those who dumped him into the Abyss.

Characters

Rudo (ルド, Rudo): A former resident of the Slums as well as Regto’s adopted son whose false convictions led to him being sentenced to the abyss. After being saved from a group of monsters, he joins the Janitors’ group to assist them in dealing with their affairs. His own realization as a Giver all stems from the fact that his gloves are part of the Jinki, which allows Givers to utilize its “thoughts” for combat.
Engine (エンジン, Enjin): A fellow member of the janitors’ group who saves Rudo from a horde of monsters. He carries a Jinki called the Unbreaker, which takes the form of an umbrella.
Zanka Nijik (ザンカ・ニジク, Zanka Nijiku): A warrior Janitor and master combatant, of whom Engine proclaims as the youngest member of the organization. His Jinki is a staff-like weapon named the Love Stick.

Publication

Written and illustrated by Kei Urana, the series began serialization in Kodansha‘s Weekly Shōnen Magazine on February 16, 2022. As of February 2023, the series’ individual chapters have been collected into five tankōbon volumes.

An “overseas version” is in production.

Volume list

No.	Japanese release date	Japanese ISBN
1	May 17, 2022	978-4-06-527922-9
2	July 15, 2022	978-4-06-528430-8
3	September 16, 2022	978-4-06-529138-2
4	November 17, 2022	978-4-06-529777-3
5	February 17, 2023	978-4-06-530527-0
6	April 17, 2023	978-4-06-531344-2

Reception

The columnist for Real Sound liked the world building, action, and dark fantasy elements of the story, as well as the main protagonist. Masaki Endo from Tsutaya News liked the artwork and the main protagonist of the series. Atsushi Ohkubo recommended the series.

In the 2022 Next Manga Award, the series ranked thirteenth in the print manga category. It was also the most popular choice among English voters, even though the series has not been released in English. The series ranked fourteenth in the Nationwide Bookstore Employees’ Recommended Comics of 2023.

ガチアクタ
Gachiakuta
*First tankōbon* volume cover**
Genre	Action, dark fantasy
Manga
Written by	Kei Urana
Published by	Kodansha
Imprint	Shōnen Magazine Comics
Magazine	*Weekly Shōnen Magazine*
Demographic	*Shōnen*
Original run	February 16, 2022 – present
Volumes	5 (List of volumes)