Shonen’s Best New-Gen Manga Gave Its Hero A Massive Upgrade, And It’s Perfect

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Gachiakuta has always been great to read, and it’s reached a new level of excellence in its latest chapter, as the series has finally given Rudo a massive upgrade that not only looks great from a visual standpoint but is also great for the narrative importance given to it, as well, making it a perfect addition to Gachiakuta’s story.

Why Rudo’s New Form In Gachiakuta Is An Amazing Upgrade

In Gachiakuta chapter #158, to defeat Mymo after his transformation into a powerful, angel-like being, Rudo planned to use his Vital Instrument on himself to obtain a similarly powerful form at the cost of his own life, although Gountess got Rudo to use his hat as a Kamen Rider-esque transformation tool, instead, for the same result.

Sure enough, Rudo’s new form made him strong enough to easily tear through Mymo, but in addition to its immense power, the design of Rudo’s new werewolf-like form perfectly embodies his violent nature while looking incredibly stylish, and the added reference to Cerebus, from which Rudo’s last name is derived, sells that even better.

What truly sells Rudo’s new form, however, is the narrative weight behind it. While Rudo was more than willing to sacrifice himself to defeat Mymo, Gountess convincing Rudo to weaponize his hat highlights Gachiakuta’s underlying theme of how it’s okay to embrace anger so long as it’s done healthily, thus giving it far more narrative weight than a mere transformation.

Gountess’ part in everything is especially important; Rudo became as powerful as he did thanks in large part to Gountess boosting his power by transforming his words of encouragement into energy, and that not only ties into Gountess’ arc of learning to fight for himself, but it highlights the story’s other theme of connecting with others, as well.

Add in the catharsis of seeing Mymo finally be taken down a peg, and everything involving Rudo’s new form is brilliant from both a visual and narrative standpoint down to the smallest detail, all of which is great to see.

Did Gachiakuta Give Its Hero A Permanent Upgrade?

Rudo’s new form in Kei Urana’s Gachiakuta is great, and that begs the question of whether it will be permanent. As is always the case, anything empowered by Rudo’s Vital Instrument will be destroyed after a certain amount of time, so once the battle with Mymo is over, Rudo’s hat, which was used for the transformation, will inevitably be destroyed.

However, Rudo’s new form explicitly comes from how his hat was weaponized, so if Gachiakuta ever wanted to reuse Rudo’s new form, then he could simply turn something else into the same sort of transformation tool, and the overall look of it could even change depending on what Rudo empowers with his Vital Instrument.

Whatever the case, Rudo’s new form in Gachiakuta is a perfectly executed one when it comes to power, visuals, and narrative importance, and even if it never reappears, its debut, alone, is a phenomenal addition to Gachiakuta’s story, and it will be great to see what, if anything, can be done to top it.