Gachiakutais one of the most hyped anime of summer 2025, and it’s easy to see why. Between its fun characters, engaging story, and incredible action, the series has always had a lot going for it, and so far, the anime has done a great job of finally bringing those strengths and more to a wider audience.
Gachiakutahas been a great watch so far, and that’s been taken even further with episode #4. Not only was episode #4 the best-looking and best-written episode to date, but it also introduced an idea that most other anime are seemingly too scared to tackle, and seeing it show up here was nothing but great.
Gachiakuta Is Pulling Off Representation In Ways Other Anime Can Only Dream Of
Gachiakuta’s Positive Representation Explained
Gachiakutaepisode #4 was the formal introduction of Semiu, a black woman who, based on her flipping through a magazine of scantily-clad women, is also a lesbian. Marketing fortheGachiakutaanimemade it clear that Semiu will be a major character going forward, meaning thatGachiakutajust casually introduced a queer POC character as part of its main cast.
Having an anime character being explicitly LGBTQ+ is one thing, but even now, it’s rare for anime to have black characters in any major roles, and it’s especially rare for them not to have exaggerated and occasionally racist designs, so seeing Semiu being given such an attractive and respectful design right down to her voice is great to see.
Much of that makes sense when looking atGachiakuta’s creator, Kei Urana. Urana was an assistant to Atsushi Ohkubo ofSoul EaterandFire Forcefame, and he created characters like Kilik and Ogun because he wanted to see moreblack characters in anime, so it makes sense that that philosophy would be carried over by Urana inGachiakuta.
Why Gachiakuta’s Positive Representation Is So Important
Why More Anime Need To Be Like Gachiakuta
No matter the medium, it’s always important for a story to have some sort of positive representation to both keep the world from feeling small and so that people of all races and identities can feel seen, and with how rare that is in anime, characters like Semiu are always great to see.
Granted, it’s harder in anime when the vast majority of stories are set in Japan or Japanese settings, but that doesn’t mean anime shouldn’t try to make it happen whenever there’s an opportunity;Gachiakuta’s positive representation of black and LGBTQ+ characters shows how much anime is evolving in that field, and hopefully, it won’t be the last to do so.
Gachiakuta
Cast
Gachiakuta follows Rudo, a resident of a floating town’s slums, who is wrongfully accused of murder and exiled to a perilous abyss teeming with waste and monsters. Seeking truth and vengeance, he joins the Cleaners, a group dedicated to combating the dangerous creatures in this dystopian landscape.
