Crunchyroll‘s newest and darkest shonen anime in years has been an outstanding installment since its debut in the summer of 2025, and in its latest arc, it has created an opportunity to present its protagonist in a light never before seen in any shonen series. Shonen protagonists have always been portrayed as characters with driven goals, yet their heroism and care for the people closest to them consistently overshadow the path they choose to achieve those goals. This notion becomes especially clear when shonen heroes reject turning to the dark side or aligning with villains to reach their objectives early.
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In contrast, this theme is often explored through the deuteragonist, as seen with Sasuke Uchiha in Naruto. However, Crunchyroll’s darkest new shonen anime, Gachiakuta, has created the perfect opportunity to explore this narrative through its main hero, Rudo. Ever since the series began, Gachiakuta has stood out, especially through its protagonist. A hero driven by revenge is unusual for a shonen lead, and with Rudo, the series has been breaking the conventional shonen mold. With the latest opportunity bringing Rudo closer to his dream by siding with the villain, Gachiakuta may ultimately feature its main hero actually joining the villain’s side.
Crunchyroll’s Gachiakuta Has an Opportunity to Bring a Shonen Hero Into a Different Light
With a revenge-driven goal, Rudo of Gachiakuta already stands in a different light from other shonen protagonists. However, with the series increasingly highlighting Rudo’s darker side, even showing him going as far as beating an unarmed girl, it becomes clear that he is a very different kind of main hero. His darkness suggests that he is unafraid to take whatever steps he believes are right, which could extend to siding with the Raiders, as they share the same goal. The protagonist’s main objective has always been to take revenge on the people living on the Sphere.
With the Raiders’ boss revealing that their goals align and that they already have a plan to reach the Sphere, there may be no better opportunity for Rudo to get closer to his main objective and find answers. The timing is perfect, and now that the Cleaners have realized they are inside the trash beast and are preparing to take it down, Rudo could fully solidify his potential turn to the dark side by stopping his comrades.
The current arc in Gachiakuta has created the ideal moment to portray a shonen hero embracing a truly dark path, driven more by rage than anything else. If Crunchyroll’s Gachiakuta follows through, the series will genuinely break away from the traditional shonen formula and bring a freshness to the genre that few series have achieved in years.
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