All the Announcements from Anime Expo 2024

Studio Bones Brings Plenty of Passion to Gachiakuta Adaptation

ANN's coverage of Anime Expo 2024 sponsored by Yen Press and Ize Press!

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Studio Bones is one of the most established and highly respected animation studios in the industry. They are responsible for modern classics that still live rent-free in the minds of anime fans everywhere from Eureka Seven, to Soul Eater to Fullmetal Alchemist, to even more recently with My Hero Academia. Their new anime project announcement is a massive deal. So in a crowded hall of people, all of us waiting with bated breath, Kodansha, Bones, and Avex came together to announce what they had in store.

What we have to look forward to is an anime adaptation of the manga Gachiakuta, created by Kei Urana. I had never heard of this series and it didn't seem like I was alone in that, as noted by the panel host TheAnimeMan. Among fans, the series is known for its unique and distinct art style. The visuals are striking with their rough angles and hard shading, and they also stand out because a lot of the background work has additional visuals done by professional graffiti artist Hideyoshi Andou. Urana and Andou make an excellent tag team, as their art styles complement each other, and when the panel played a video featuring both of them, it became clear that that's not all. Everything from their similar fashion sense to their attitudes seems like a match made in heaven. You can tell there's a real passion behind this series; Urana explains that she practically dances as she draws and the animation staff want to do everything they can to translate that verve to the TV screen.

Some hurdles were brought up that the staff needed to be able to tackle, such as bringing the incredibly harsh world portrayed in the manga to life, as well as trying to find a way to emulate the show's style without sacrificing animation quality. Even TheAnimeMan noted that sometimes there are instances where a show will have to skimp out on details for the sake of animation fluidity. The panel didn't go into too much detail about what stylistic approach they would take. However, visitors got to see some behind-the-scenes footage showcasing the use of 3D environments and even some drawings from members of the animation staff. It's always hard to say how things will look when they're put in motion or how a lot of rough artwork will end up translating when the final product is done. But considering Bones' track record, the fact that there is a clear passion for this manga, and the uniqueness of the material,Gachiakuta will be in good hands.