Gachiakuta Fans Take the Crown, Toppling JJK and MHA as Anime's Most Toxic Fandom

Gachiakuta just had one of those episodes that sends the fandom into a spiral. Episode 19 landed, people compared it to the manga, and the takes started flying. Some fans still dug it (IMDb says the score isn't bad), but a loud chunk of the internet says the animation just isn't cutting it.

So, what went wrong with Episode 19?

The flashpoint is Enjin's big reaction moment. On the page, it's a razor-specific sequence. In the anime, Bones didn't mirror it shot-for-shot, and a lot of viewers felt the punch got dulled. Over November 16–17, 2025, X was basically an Enjin autopsy: clips, side-by-sides, frame grabs, the works.

"what the hell am I looking at"

That vibe was everywhere. You had people saying the angles on Enjin's face were off, others calling him "ugly this episode," and plenty complaining the show looks like it has a smoothing/bloom filter that flattens the emotion. It's not the first time Gachiakuta fans have gone after Bones for "ruining" the experience, either, and the tone of the discourse has gotten nasty enough that some are now calling this one of the most toxic anime fanbases out there. Whether that's fair or not, it's messy, and it could snowball into a real problem for the series.

• Early episodes got love for their style and overall polish, but as the season went on, fans started flagging uneven animation, especially in faces.
• Enjin and Zanka became lightning rods: the show, according to critics, isn't nailing their expressions the way the manga does.
• Episode 19 didn't adapt Enjin's reaction frame-by-frame, which many say blunted the scene's impact.
• Even with a decent IMDb score, the prevailing complaint is that the animation quality just isn't there week to week.
• Common knocks: "wrong angles" on Enjin, a soft "bloom" look, and a general loss of emotional texture.

The bigger picture

There's a genuine split here: one side thinks the show is slipping; the other thinks expectations are sprinting past what any adaptation can deliver. If you step back, the gripe is less "this is bad" and more "this isn't the manga I've got in my head," which is always a tough fight for any studio.

Is Bones still the right studio for Gachiakuta?

Short answer: yeah, they're a fit. Bones Inc. has a track record with visually aggressive manga and expressive action: My Hero Academia, Fullmetal Alchemist, Soul Eater. Kei Urana's art (with Hideyoshi Andou's graffiti-inflected touches) is gritty, elastic, and full of emotion, and you want a team that can swing between wild action and those smaller, character-driven beats without losing the raw energy. That's very much in Bones' wheelhouse.

And while wanting a 1:1, frame-accurate adaptation is understandable, that's not usually how anime works. Tweaks in pacing, staging, and style are part of making the episode flow. Those changes don't automatically mean the source is being betrayed. Personally, I get why Enjin diehards are nitpicking that scene — it's a delicate one — but declaring the whole show "ruined" feels premature. Let the arc breathe.

If you want to see what the fuss is about, Gachiakuta is streaming on Crunchyroll.