Does Gachiakuta have romance?

Gachiakuta, by Kei Urana, is one of the most beloved shonen manga of the new generation. The series follows Rudo, a boy who is framed for the murder of his foster father and thrown into a wasteland known as the Pit. Hungry for revenge, Rudo explores his new surroundings filled with trash and joins a crew known as the Cleaners to gain clues on returning home.

Gachiakuta’s fanbase has recently seen a rapid expansion due to the popular anime by Bones Film, which is airing in the Summer 2025 anime season. Given that shonen series generally have a tendency to include romantic subplots surrounding the protagonist, fans may wonder if they can expect the same from this.

No, Gachiakuta does not have any romance, with only minimal hints of love and crushes. Rather, the story focuses more on emotional bonding and codependency built on shared experiences, resulting in much more touching and supportive relationships.

Gachiakuta chooses platonic relationships over traditional romance

Over the course of Rudo’s journey in Gachiakuta, both in the Sphere and the Pit, he shares a close dynamic with several characters. However, as of the latest chapter of the manga, there have been no signs that the author plans on evolving these into romantic bonds, instead choosing to maintain them as warm and wholesome relationships built on trust.

The closest that Gachiakuta has gotten to romance is during Rudo’s time in Sphere at the very start of the series, where he had an innocent crush on Chiwa, one of the few people who didn’t discriminate against him. Chiwa did not fear Rudo like the other children and even revealed that she loved him.

Unfortunately, after Rudo was judged guilty of killing Regto, she immediately lost faith in him and threw away the toy that he had gifted her. Therefore, a potential romantic avenue was snuffed out in the very first episode of Gachiakuta, with the author using the relationship to highlight the distrustful nature of the Sphere.

However, once Rudo is thrown into the Pit, he forms much more positive and warm dynamics with those around him. While none of these ever go far enough to be described as love, two particular girls show him more interest than others: Riyo and Amo.

Riyo is one of Rudo’s closest friends in the Cleaners, as well as the person who took him out on his very first mission. She constantly teases and plays around with Rudo, but the two of them are highly dependent on each other. While Riyo was considered to be a sibling-like figure to Rudo for a long time, she showed signs of jealousy after seeing Rudo’s relationship with Amo.

Amo Empool is a fan-favorite character who is initially an antagonist and greatly harms the Cleaners. However, after her tragic past and the manipulation she endured are revealed, Rudo and the rest of the cast save her and recruit her into the ranks.

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Since Amo and Rudo go through a tumultuous relationship, starting with intense hatred and evolving into a bond between kindred spirits, the two grow to be extremely close. Due to her cute naivety, Amo constantly makes comments about wanting to be more likable to Rudo and getting closer to him. Due to this, some fans believe that the two may eventually have romantic developments in the future.

However, given that Kei Urana’s story has consistently emphasized natural platonic relationships and deep, bright friendships in a place of darkness, it is unlikely that Rudo will go on to fall in love with Riyo, Amo, or any other character in the series.

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