Censorship is a contentious topic in anime. While the lower scrutiny of manga often allows it to get away with graphic and sexual material, their anime adaptations often have stricter requirements about what is and isn’t allowed. This is especially true for anime that air on TV in Japan.
This is why it’s no surprise that the current king of Crunchyroll is facing a bit of controversy regarding changes to the source material.
Fans of Gachiakuta‘s manga noticed some discrepancies between episode 20 of the anime and the manga chapter it was adapting. Specifically, Gachiakuta chapter #71 features an iconic and memorable scene where series protagonist Rudo flips off an antagonist who was talking down to him. Episode 20 of the anime, however, depicts the same scene with Rudo giving a thumbs down.
Gachiakuta’s Censorship Was Probably Inevitable
The difference was noticed by Gachiakuta fans on X, such as @scissoreaper, who lamented “sighhhh we lost”. Which seems to reflect the broad sentiment of manga fans who were disappointed to see the anime water down such an iconic and powerful moment. X user @jackyvstheworld responded to the thread with their take on why the change was made
age rating and time slot censorship so literally yes gachiakuta couldn’t show it same way they couldn’t show the cockroach eating moment. if the age rating were higher or time slot were better or other factors like if it’s streaming or live then they coulda shown it
While this is just one fan’s explanation for why this iconic Gachiakuta scene was changed, their explanation makes sense. Gachiakuta airs at 8:00 PM on Sundays in Japan, meaning it is entirely possible that children and families would be viewing it.
Given this, combined with the often crude nature of Kei Urana’s manga source material, it is unfortunate that this kind of censorship was inevitable.
Why Manga Fans Are So Upset About Gachiakuta’s Latest Bit of Censorship
Gachiakuta is Crunchyroll’s biggest anime at the moment, and is going toe-to-toe with Solo Leveling season 2 for the title of Crunchyroll’s biggest anime of 2025. Given this, a certain level of scrutiny has fallen on the latest shonen mega-hit.
While fans of the manga have generally been very receptive to Bones’ anime adaptation, it is difficult to deny that certain scenes have been lost in translation.
The scene from chapter #71 is iconic and a perfect symbol of everything that makes Rudo and Gachiakuta work so well. The defiant energy, the rebellion against authority, the raw anger boiling over and exploding out, all of it is what makes Gachiakuta the new standard for anime.
Rudo giving a thumbs down doesn’t have half the anti-authoritarian energy that him giving the middle finger does. Though fans can hope that the scene will be adjusted in a future Blu-ray release, where the creators have a bit more freedom, that may not come for a while and may not be cost-effective to reanimate.
Unfortunately, censorship is quite common in anime, and this probably isn’t the last example fans of Gachiakuta will see.
Gachiakuta may Crunchyroll’s #1 anime at the moment, but its latest censorship controversy is great proof that there is no substitute for Kei Urana’s original punk rock masterpiece.
- Release Date
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July 6, 2025
- Network
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TBS, MBS, CBC, Tulip Television, BSN, tys, NBC, HBC, RKK, i-Television, SBS, IBC, BSS, MRO, OBS, TUF, RSK, TUY, tbc, RKB, SBC, KUTV, RBC, UTY, RCC, MRT, atv, MBC
- Directors
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Satoshi Nakagawa
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Aoi Ichikawa
Rudo (voice)
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Katsuyuki Konishi
Enjin (voice)
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
