Rampant consumerism is encouraged in a particular floating town, and affluent citizens discard valuable items instead of repairing them. Rudo lives in the slums and sees use in what gets thrown away. Exiled into the Pit when he is wrongly accused and convicted of murder, Rudo finds more than garbage in this eerie wasteland. The careless wastefulness of the townspeople has created literal monsters that the Cleaners battle. Rudo must join them to discover the truth and fight for freedom.

Kei Urana’s dystopian world-building is impressive, painting a vivid picture of a society that values trash more than people. Hideyoshi Andou’s design brings this world to life; from the towering megacities to the barren wastelands below, every aspect of the world feels meticulously crafted and brimming with detail, inviting readers to lose themselves in the bold art style that captures the kinetic energy of the multiple conflicts. Beyond its immersive world-building, this story tackles weighty themes with intelligence and nuance. Questions of ethics, morality, and the nature of humanity weave into a compelling narrative.Fans of Chainsaw Man will see Rudo as a similarly flawed hero who must fight a rigged system to free himself from subjugation. Urana’s dynamic battle scenes will delight readers of Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama. Readers can find similar stories and themes in Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro and Chris Gooch’s Under-Earth. Volume 2 will be released on April 30, 2024.

I don't read a lot of manga. I struggle with the format and the tropes. But this manga was spectacular, even for non-manga readers. I did struggle with some of the art but I seriously loved it. Realized the next day it reminded me a bit of Mad Max Fury Road which is always a good thing.

I really loved this book and it was sad too i would recommend it to my friends who loce graphic novels and sad books

I can only describe this as a textbook introduction to a shonen manga series. You can take that as you will, because I don't mean it in a necessarily positive or negative way. If you're a long time fan of the shonen theme and are looking to sink into something comfortable, this should definitely be on your list of reads.

It seemed to have gotten a lot of influence from Soul Eater & Fire Force in terms of style and character design. Not sure if I'll be continuing with the series but I enjoyed this first volume.

A promising start to a series! Urana’s artwork is a stand out here for sure! The action sequences really worked for me. Cant wait for more!

I really liked the premise of this world and the characters were well introduced without it feeling confusing or overwhelming. The art was hit and miss for me though. I liked some of the art, while others got a bit messy in parts and made it unclear what exactly was happening.

All in all I had fun and definitely want to read more from this series!

Fascinating visual storytelling with a gripping style. It’s unique and enjoyable work from a talented creative team.

Down on the surface, the cast-off waste of humanity has bred vicious monsters, and if Rudo wants to have any hope of discovering the truth and seeking vengeance against those who cast him into Hell, he will have to master a new power and join a group known as the Cleaners who battle the hulking trash beasts of the Pit!

Really fun manga! I will definitely read more!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advance copy of this book.

I love unique art styles in manga, in which this does not disappoint. It has an interesting build up as well, and fully establishes the world in which the protagonist lives in. I appreciate the commentary about societal norms in this world as well; I was hooked from the beginning. I look forward to continuing this series!

I really enjoyed this art style. It was easy to follow the storyline, too! I am definitely interested to check out the next one!

I really enjoyed the first volume of this series. The art style is refreshingly different and lends itself well to the action displayed in the manga. I can definitely recommend this to anyone who likes to read action mangas set in a dystopian world.

Really enjoyed this one.

Loved the art work.

I also love the front cover to this.

Hope to get a physical copy one day.

From the outset, Gachiakuta's heavily graffiti-inspired art is striking – with deceptively simple and immediately cool-looking character designs depicted with clean, thick line-work contrasting with a grimy, lived-in world. The opening chapter, in particular, plays with perspective and warped proportions to instantly draw the reader into a kinetic, breathless action sequence. Although instantly recognizable as manga, creator Kei Urana imbues their art with such unusual characters and personalities that they make reading through troubled protagonist Rudo's story a pleasure.

I had a lot of fun with this manga, especially with the unusual, very cool art style. Gachiakuta's world seems interesting, and author Urana leaves multiple plot hooks to be explored in the future. It's a series I'll keep an eye on in the future since it fulfills that persistent Mad Max-esque itch in the depths of my soul. Similarly-minded fans of post-apocalyptic and eat-the-rich chaos should check this one out.

I got this book for free via NetGalley for a review.

Billed as a dark, dystopian fantasy it immediately appealed to me. Add to that the comparison to Battle Angel Alita and Attack on Titan and I was sold. I had to give this one a go. The rich discard their trash into an abyss. Rudo is falsely accused of murder and thrown into the abyss too. There he needs to master his new powers to defeat trash beasts.

The world building is really interesting. I have so many questions about how the world developed in this way that I hope will be answered in future volumes.

The characters are all well written. Although I may not overly like Rudo I am already fairly invested in his story and routing for him to succeed.

The plot had me hooked pretty quickly. It moved at a good pace and set up enough questions that I want to keep reading to discover more.

The art style reminds me of Soul Eater. While it's not my favourite, I think that it works really well and in a way suits this story.

Overall this was an enjoyable read and I would be keen to continue with the series.

I really enjoyed this manga by Kei Urana!

It was fast-paced and showed the character really well for the short book, if youre a fan of fantasy and adventure then this is a great book for you!
For me this was a 4.5 star read :)
I can't wait to continue this series and see what happens next.

THIS WAS SO GOOD! I love the art so much it’s so good! The plot is amazing and I love the characters. I can’t wait to read more!

An original manga story, but the artwork was not to my taste. The storyline was different but unique. Fun to read but hard to follow the plot at some points. The cliffhanger did leave me looking forward to seeing how it was resolved in the next one. Artwork 3, Story 3.5

Gachiakuta takes place in a trash apocalyptic world, which centers its hierarchy around both material and human value. The environment is separated into three bubbles: the rich who live in a more managed part of town, the slums who are descendants of criminals (referred to as tribes' folk), and “the pit” where both trash and deviant people go to never be heard from again.

Volume 1 of this series takes place over 4 chapters, 165 pages. We follow the life of Rudo, known as the “trash raider” who believes that if material items are well taken care of, they have the chance to form a soul. This also introduces a unique magic system.

Although this is an uncommon concept, the magic system unfortunately was not as well explained or delivered in a way that was intriguing. There may be future potential to build a want to root for the main character, but there was not enough information or backstory given within the first volume to make that decision. The story is fast paced and more focused on Rudo’s internal monologue compared to dialogue. However, this should not discourage readers to give it a chance, as this story may fit into the category of having to read more than one volume in order to be satisfactory.

Netgalley Review

Rating: ★★★★★

I really enjoyed this one. Can't wait for the next one to see how it plays out.

My favorite part was the thought provoking concepts of the manga. It makes some interesting parallels to our real world without being obnoxiously blatant about it. The story is interesting and those parallels just add a depth to the story, they don't take over the story themselves. (That makes sense in my head, I hope in makes sense in text form also.) We'll see how future volumes are, but so far so good.

Set in a post-apocalyptic setting. Poor is segregated. If you are deemed guilty of crime, you are thrown into the garbage abyss. Rudo is bullied because of the crimes of his father. He is taught that if you take care of your belongings, they can earn a soul and will take care of you. This power is helpful when he faces more evil in the abyss.
Beautiful lines. Minimal dialogue. I want to know more about his relationships.