Kei Urana's Gachiakuta is on an open-ended hiatus while she conducts research, with Kodansha saying it will announce the return once decided. The anime's second season is in production and teased the Information Broker arc in a first look video, but no release window has been confirmed.
Kei Urana's standing as a creator rests on Gachiakuta, the series she writes and draws with graffiti art by Hideyoshi Andou. The manga won the Shonen category at the 50th Kodansha Manga Awards on May 11, 2026, beating finalists Ichi the Witch, The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity, and Utsuranain desu. The prize includes two million yen, a certificate, and a bronze statue. Urana posted that she never expected the honor and would keep working at full speed.
The award arrived during a period of visible commercial momentum. Gachiakuta volume 1 debuted at fourth on the NPD BookScan Top 20 adult graphic novels for April 2026. Days after the award period, however, Urana and Andou deactivated their X accounts following a wave of online harassment. Urana faced backlash for sharing a fan parody video, and Andou was targeted after defending her. A Studio Bones animator publicly condemned the toxicity.
The anime side moved forward separately. The first season, directed by Fumihiko Suganuma at BONES FILM, aired in 2025 for 24 episodes and won Best New Series at the 10th Crunchyroll Anime Awards. A first look video for the second season, shown earlier at Anime Expo 2026 and the 25th Taipei International Comics & Animation Festival, teased the Information Broker arc and showed new and returning characters. A release window has not been confirmed.
The manga itself is paused. Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine said on September 8 that it will announce the return once decided; the last new chapter ran in the combined 36th and 37th issue shipped August 5, and issue pages since have cited research. The 19th collected volume was published July 16.
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Kei Urana said Thursday on X that Gachiakuta will resume on November 11. Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine had said on September 8 that it would announce a return date once one was set. The magazine's last new chapter ran in the combined 36th and 37th issue that shipped on August 5, and its site has since listed the series as on hiatus for Urana's research.
Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine addressed the ongoing Gachiakuta hiatus on September 8, stating it will announce the manga's return once decided. The magazine's last new chapter ran in the combined 36th and 37th issue shipped August 5. Issue pages since have said the break is for creator Kei Urana to conduct research. Kodansha published the 19th collected volume on July 16, and the anime adaptation premiered in July 2025.
The official website for the television anime of Kei Urana's Gachiakuta manga streamed a new first look promotional video for the second season on Wednesday. The video, which was initially shown at Anime Expo 2026 and the 25th Taipei International Comics & Animation Festival earlier this month, is now available to audiences outside those events for the first time. It features new scenes from the upcoming season, including the first footage of new and returning characters, and teases the Information Broker arc from the manga. Alongside the trailer, the website released illustrations of Enjin and Zanka, which were distributed as limited-edition postcards at the two events. The first season, directed by Fumihiko Suganuma at BONES FILM, aired in 2025 and ran for 24 episodes. It won Best New Series at the 10th Crunchyroll Anime Awards. A release window for the second season has not been confirmed. In addition to the second season, a survival action RPG titled Gachiakuta The Game (tentative) and a stage adaptation were also announced.
Kei Urana, creator of Gachiakuta, and graffiti designer Hideyoshi Andou have deactivated their X accounts after a wave of online harassment. Urana faced backlash for sharing a fan parody video, and Andou was targeted after defending her. A Studio Bones animator publicly condemned the toxicity.
The NPD BookScan Top 20 adult graphic novels for April 2026 has 16 manga volumes, led by Jujutsu Kaisen volume 29. Gachiakuta volume 1 debuts at fourth. Five manga titles also appear on the New York Times Best Sellers list for May 2026.
Kodansha named the winners of its 50th Manga Awards on May 11, 2026. Gachiakuta, written and drawn by Kei Urana with graffiti art by Hideyoshi Andou, took the Shonen category. The series beat fellow finalists Ichi the Witch, The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity, and Utsuranain desu. Urana posted on X that she never expected the honor and would keep working at full speed. The prize includes two million yen, a certificate, and a bronze statue. In the Shojo category, Gin Shirakawa's Re-Living My Life with a Boyfriend Who Doesn't Remember Me won. The manga adapts Eiko Mutsuhana's light novel Return from Death, with original illustrations by Yugiri Aika. Shun Umezawa's The Darwin Incident won the General category after being a finalist in two previous years. The series follows Charlie, a half-human half-chimpanzee raised by human parents, who is pulled into an eco-terrorist plot. Judges for the 50th awards included Hiro Mashima, Hikaru Nakamura, and Natsumi Ando.