Kinda sad that Gachiakuta has better dancing than Wandance.
Opinions can certainly vary on flashback episodes in the middle of a fight. But whatever one feels about them they’re a staple of battle shounen. And Gachiakuta, whatever else it is, is definitely a classic battle shounen. It more or less follows the trail that was blazed by giants who came before it, as the greats of the genre generally do. Zanka’s origin story plays differently than Amo’s for obvious reasons, but it absolutely makes sense in the context of the plot. We saw what he saw, thanks to Jabber Wonger.
There were certainly hints about this – the complex that Zanka wears as comfortably as an old sweater. Turns out he was in training with something called the Hell Guard in what looks like the Ground’s recreation of old Japan. Judging by their manta that humans are the greatest threat on the Ground – and that’s a high bar – it seems safe to assume they’re enforcers of some kind. Zanka is the ace of his class, admired and resented by his peers, son of a bigwig and seemingly destined to sit atop the “Golden Throne” reserved for the Hell Guard’s top student.
That all changes when Hyo (when you’re Bones you can just call Nazuka Kaori to fill a bit part) arrives on the scene. She’s a child of the slums but so talented that she’s accepted into the program and immediately exalted as a savior. She makes short work of all her classmates in single combat, leaving a telltale wound on every neck. That includes Zanka, who – it’s safe to say – doesn’t take his defeat well. Hyo is one of those “naturals” that Cleaner Zanka loves to rail against. Something he clearly thought himself to be before Hyo showed up and shattered his illusions.
Zanka takes his shame so badly, in fact, that he crawls down a well and stays there for three days. This comes after the final humiliation, when during a weapons selection test he chooses a stick that was left on the table by mistake, trying to be contrarian. Eventually two travelers come along and talk to him. Only one of them talks but it’s immediately clear from the voice that it’s Enjin (and eventually – from the hair – that the other is Riyo). Did he come specifically to recruit the boy, or was this a fated chance meeting? In any event Enjin – who’s way better with kids than he would have you believe – inspires Zanka to climb out of the well and face the music that is his life.
We – and he – see all this courtesy the aforementioned sociopath. One of Jabber’s toxins de jour is a hallucinogenic, which brings visions so real the victim can’t tell the difference. I loved the little dance scene Jabber does in praise of his various pricks – a great example of how an anime can bring extra spice to a static moment from the page. Jabber seems to have genuine affection for Zanka in his fruit loops way, just as he did with Rudo. But the party can’t last forever – there’s a trash beast to be fed, and Jabber praises himself for a job well done as he drags Zanka off to meet it.
This is beast that Bundus mentioned to the Santa boys last week, of course. But Zanka isn’t destined to be the first to meet it – that would be Guita, the third member of Team Child and the only Cleaner who wasn’t paired off with a Raider. All she had for company was gokiburi-chan (thankfully her appetites don’t overlap with Zodyl’s). But he flies off, and in following him Guita runs smack dab into the aforementioned beast. And the evidence suggests that other unfortunates have encountered it already.
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