Gachiakuta returns after a one-week hiatus. And to touch on that just briefly – I think most people know, but for the record the break was a result of coverage of the Japanese election for the upper house of the Diet. Nothing to do with production issues, in other words – and I did hear a few speculations to that effect. Bones is not totally immune from production snags here and there but as a rule, they’re one of the sanest production houses in the industry when it comes to staffing and scheduling. Their reputation as one of the elites in anime didn’t come by accident.

As for Gachiakuta itself we – like Rudo – are still very much in the get-to-know-you phase. The first ep was pure prequel, the second survival and basic world-building. Now things slow down for people to actually talk to each other, and for Rudo to get his bearings. First off Enjin takes him to see a doctor (of sorts). He assumes it’s an old man, but it turns out to be an old woman. She makes it perfectly clear to Rudo that he’d be a dead man (just the miasma would have been enough) if it hadn’t been for Enjin’s intervention, and that perhaps he ought to show a little more gratitude.

Fortunately Enjin doesn’t seem like the type to be affronted by such things. But he does make it clear to the boy that he has no chance here on his own – that he comes from a group universally despised by the locals. Rudo is rather surprised that there’s more to this world than the barren hellscape he imagined. There are restaurants, neon signs, even cars. Enjin gives Rudo a quick lesson in the lay of the land, and even if it is technically exposition by explanation it’s pretty natural – some explanation would be in order here. The gist of it concerns anima – the gathered emotions which form the heart of the trash beasts. And also the Jinki – the “Vital Instruments” like Rudo’s gloves (and Enjin’s umbrella).

That makes Rudo a “Giver” – someone who can draw out power of one of these vital instruments. Enjin is a Giver too of course – and in more than one sense, as he gives Rudo an old-school sack o’ money and tells him to wait, as he’s off to talk with his trainer. Of course this is money he got from selling Rudo’s Sphereite clothes… And it’s money soon stolen by a thieving cat, which Rudo immediately gives chase to. Along the way he grabs the staff of a fellow in an alley, using it to trap the feline and retrieve his coinage. But the fellow is none too pleased about how it all went down.

The interaction between Rudo and Zanka (Matsuoka Yoshitsugu) is interesting on multiple levels. Rudo has already made it clear that he’s aware of the debt he owes Enjin, and takes it seriously. But he struggles to express himself, either verbally or non-verbally. It’s obvious that Zanka (you’re welcome) is going to turn out to be the trainer, that’s just a given. But Rudo’s instincts are at war here. He does understand the right thing to do – and that’s because Regto made sure his son heard it from him. But knowing it and expressing it are two different things.

It’s something of a personal triumph for Rudo to have been able to communicate sincerely with Zanka, even if his awkward visage made it short-lived. It’s crystal clear from this exchange the a Giver’s Jinki is a matter of great importance, something Rudo hasn’t developed an appreciation for yet. Inevitably Zanka decides he has to teach the kid a lesson – but in the process, he realizes why Enjin called Rudo a “natural”. He can pass along power to any object, not just his own. That still doesn’t give him equal footing against the experienced Zanka, though. Not until he unwittingly chooses the ultimate vital instrument, and in the process sends Zanka into a flight of abject panic.

We meet one more Giver here, a young woman named Riyo (Hanamori Yumiri). She finds Rudo’s hair fascinating (which he finds terrifying), but we don’t learn much more about her just yet. Again, we’re still in the introductory phase here – along with way getting not just some explanation of the rules, but a glimpse of Gachiakuta’s unique yet timeless aesthetic (the graffiti we get our first look at here is an integral part of that aesthetic). The anime is getting that part just right, but I’d never expect anything else from Bones.