What do you think Episode 18 of
gachiakuta ? Community rating: 4.0
© Kei Urana, Hideyoshi Ando, Kodansha/”GACHIAKUTA” Production Committee
As that classic song goes: “All the children of the marauders are full of life/You’d better run, run better, run faster than Riyo’s gun.” I never understood the chorus before, but now I totally get it. Man, it’s crazy that Foster’s the People proposes such a specific story development in a Japanese shonen manga that wouldn’t even happen in fifteen years.
I can’t stress enough how crazy it is that I’m not tired of it yet gachiakutaExtended the Cleaners vs. Raiders storyline because I’m usually ready to finish all the endless battles in two or three episodes. Maybe it’s because the show really found its voice and momentum in the second half of season one, or maybe it’s because this storyline does a great job of pacing the battles and providing fresh scenes for every character pairing we’ve seen so far. Regardless, I’m still having fun – though, certainly not as much as Riyo has been this week (pun very much intended).
From a thematic standpoint, pitting Riyo against this Nordic girl is already a great showdown – the bad girl has weird hair powers, and Riyo has a giant pair of scissors as a weapon. This makes sense. Visually, the ladies’ character designs and neon style also give their scraps in the trash-filled pits a visual flair that other battles lack, which helps prevent proceedings from feeling too samey.
And don’t think Bones is resting on its laurels after the impressive edit of recent episodes. Riyo and Noerde’s fight is fast, fluid, beautiful, and brutal; it’s easily my favorite fight scene to date and one of the best extended action scenes we’ve ever seen gachiakutathe entire operation process. I also love the poppy scream that sounds victorious in battle. The more any anime resembles an early 2000s punk AMV that I can proudly post on my Edgelord MySpace profile, the happier I am.
Of course, the biggest twist of the episode comes when Riyo pulls out a gun and shoots the woman twice directly in the chest, interrupting her big climactic moment with Noerde. It’s not just a matter of the moment, a darkly fun, Indiana Jones-esque twist on the usual combat formula. The show makes it clear that Ridoe is no stranger to murder. This weapon isn’t some important magically modified instrument that shoots shockwaves or something. It’s just a gun. When Riyo fully ventilates Noerde and Jabber, it’s not clear whether they both die outright, but we get to see the empty, casual way Riyo views his own violence, and it’s creepy stuff.
Even though Riyo is bound by Enjin’s “no kill” rule, this climax puts Riyo’s entire character in a completely different and more dangerous state, which I absolutely loved. it is gachiakutaThe ability to surprise by elevating otherwise standard story beats and characters is what makes this season such a joy. I’d definitely love to have a slightly crazy hitman on the team, even if I know it might make Ludo’s life even more chaotic.
grade:
James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop culture, which can also be found in blue sky, his blogand his podcast.
gachiakuta Currently live broadcast
Crunchy roll.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Anime News Network, its employees, owners, or sponsors.
