Gachiakuta is one of Crunchyroll's best new-gen anime, and in an exclusive interview with the director, we've learned just what makes it so great.
Published Jul 12, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT
Joshua Edward Ryan Fox is a freelance writer for Screen Rant with a passion for pop culture. Joshua grew up in Connecticut where he developed an appreciation for writing and entertainment and has earned a Master's degree in professional writing and technical writing. His writing has been quoted by both the anime streaming site Crunchyroll and the anime YouTuber Gigguk.
Of all the new-gen shonen anime to come to Crunchyroll, few are more iconic than 2025’s Gachiakuta. Between its fun cast of heroes and villains and the great writing associated with them, the story’s perfect sense of mystery and worldbuilding, and an engaging power system that lends itself to great action and animation at every turn, Gachiakuta was easily one of the best anime to come out last year, and after a single season, it’s more than deserving of the massive push to make it the next big thing.
Between its great production values and the enduring popularity of the original manga, Gachiakuta had everything lined up for it to become a hit, even without the massive push for the anime to become the next big thing, and it’s never failed to live up to that. According to series director Fumihiko Suganuma, though, there might be another reason behind Gachiakuta’s success, and it’s big to the point that it breaks one of the unspoken rules about modern anime.
Gachiakuta Broke Modern Anime’s Biggest Rule To Tell Its Best Story
In our exclusive interview with Gachiakuta director Fumihiko Suganuma at Anime Expo 2026, we asked Suganuma if anything went into the decision to give Gachiakuta 24 episodes for its first season, as something like that has become increasingly uncommon in recent years. According to Suganuma, the original plan actually was to stop at 13 episodes, but upon realizing that Amo’s arc wouldn’t be a good stopping point, season 1 was extended to run for 24 episodes and end with the Raiders arc.
I believe 24 episodes was a really good point. They were initially thinking about a 13-episode season, but considering where that season would end, it would just leave a really bad taste in everyone's mouth at the end of the season. So they were like, "Okay, we need to find a better ending point just to introduce Gachiakuta to the world. That's why we added the Raiders arc to go a full 24 episodes." As for season two, there will-- we-- they are-- they're going to be starting work to work on the informant's arc.
Fumihiko Suganuma, director of Gachiakuta season 1
That, of course, was the best decision Gachiakuta could have made. Just like Suganuma said, ending things on the massive cliffhanger of Amo being kidnapped would have left a bad taste in people’s mouths, especially if it took a while for season 2 to come out. By including the Raiders arc, though, season 1 could end on a high note with great action and explosive character growth for Rudo, and that likely played a big part in season 1 being so beloved.
While it used to be common for shonen anime to have seasons running for 24-26 episodes, in recent years, many studios have settled for shorter seasons of 12-13 episodes to maintain consistent quality, and even the One Piece anime has somewhat adopted that model by limiting itself to 26 episodes a year. It makes sense for studios to do that, but the result is many anime not lasting long enough to leave an impact and taking years to deliver their best content, so it’s great that Gachiakuta avoided that while still maintaining a healthy and all-around great production.
Gachiakuta Is The Best New-Gen Anime, Bar None
If there’s anything to take away from the interview with Fumihiko Suganuma, it’s that Gachiakuta is easily the best new-gen anime around. Many times, anime adaptations will simply adapt their stories without putting much thought into how the audience will react to them, but it’s clear that the staff behind Gachiakuta is always thinking about what will work best for fans, to the point that they’ll even make the show longer for a better ending. That’s something rarely seen with new-gen anime, and sure enough, it’s a big part of what made Gachiakuta feel so special.
It’s one thing for Gachiakuta to have great writing and animation, but now it’s clear that every part of its production has been geared towards delivering the best new-gen anime a person could ask for, and after just one season, it’s succeeding in every regard. Gachiakuta remains one of the best anime to have come to Crunchyroll in 2025, and hopefully, season 2 will do wonders to live up to that when it finally premieres.
Release Date July 6, 2025
Directors Satoshi Nakagawa
Writers Ikuro Sato
-
Aoi Ichikawa
Rudo (voice)
-
Katsuyuki Konishi
Enjin (voice)
English (US) ·