Suprising Anime Tops Summer 2025 Anime Charts, Signaling Big Shifts in the Industry
The summer 2025 anime season has wrapped up, and Crunchyroll has revealed which series came out on top.
While fans were eagerly watching the second seasons of Dandadan and Kaiju No. 8, the surprise hit of the season turned out to be the new shonen anime Gachiakuta.
According to the official Gachiakuta anime account on X, the series dominated Crunchyroll’s viewing rankings for the July season, consistently drawing the highest audience numbers across more than 200 countries.
Gachiakuta, which translates roughly to “Legit Trash,” is based on the manga by Kei Urana. The series first appeared in Kodansha’s Weekly Shōnen Magazine in February 2022, and as of September, 16 volumes of the manga have been released.
The anime adaptation, produced by Bones Film, premiered on July 6. Fumihiko Suganuma directed the show, Hiroshi Seko handled the scriptwriting, Satoshi Ishino served as chief animation director and character designer, and Taku Iwasaki composed the music.
Before its TV debut, Gachiakuta received early screenings in over 15 countries, starting with a world premiere event at Shinjuku Piccadilly in Japan on July 4. The series airs on the Agaru Anime programming block on JNN affiliates, including CBC and TBS, and Crunchyroll streams it as episodes are released.
The enemies are conformity, authority and discrimination! Crawl back from the abyss of Hell to change this lousy world!!!
— Gachiakuta Anime EN (@GACHIAKUTA_O_EN) June 6, 2025
Gachiakuta premieres July 6, only on @Crunchyroll. pic.twitter.com/6S3XVqHvzN
For the first cours, the opening theme is Hugs by Paledusk, while the ending theme is Tomoshibi by Dustcell. Medialink holds the Southeast Asian streaming rights through the Ani-One Asia YouTube channel.
The strong performance of Gachiakuta marks a notable moment for the anime industry. Its ability to attract viewers worldwide, despite competition from returning favorites, signals a shift in audience interest and highlights the global reach of shonen series. The success also emphasizes the power of original stories and solid production values in capturing fan attention.
What do you think about Gachiakuta’s record-breaking season? Are you surprised it outperformed returning hits like Dandadan and Kaiju No. 8? Share your thoughts in the comments.
