Summer 2025’s Best Anime Revealed by Crunchyroll, Pointing to Industry & Trend Changes
The summer 2025 anime season has wrapped up, and one series clearly stole the spotlight. While fans were eagerly waiting for the second seasons of Dandadan and Kaiju No. 8, it was actually the new shonen anime Gachiakuta that emerged as the season’s top performer on Crunchyroll.
According to the official Gachiakuta anime account on X (formerly Twitter), the show dominated viewing numbers from the very first episode and quickly became a favorite across more than 200 countries.
Gachiakuta, also known as Legit Trash, is a manga created by Kei Urana that started in Kodansha’s Weekly Shōnen Magazine in February 2022.
By September 2025, the manga had been collected into 16 volumes. The anime adaptation, produced by Bones Film, premiered in July 2025 and has been drawing attention for its strong visuals, story, and music.
The anime is directed by Fumihiko Suganuma, with Hiroshi Seko writing the scripts, Satoshi Ishino serving as chief animation director and character designer, and music composed by Taku Iwasaki.
It airs on the Agaru Anime programming block on JNN affiliates like CBC and TBS and is planned to run for two consecutive cours. Before the TV premiere, Gachiakuta: World Takeover was screened in over 15 countries, including a world premiere at Shinjuku Piccadilly on July 4. Crunchyroll has been streaming the series as it airs, while Medialink has licensed it for Southeast Asia, making it available on Ani-One Asia’s YouTube channel.
For the first cour, the opening theme is Hugs by Paledusk, and the ending theme is Tomoshibi by Dustcell. Gachiakuta’s strong performance this summer shows that even new series can make a global impact quickly, signaling potential shifts in what kinds of anime viewers are drawn to.
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
Gachiakuta’s rise highlights the growing importance of international streaming platforms in shaping anime success. A series doesn’t need decades of history or a big franchise to dominate if it captures viewers’ attention early. Fans clearly responded to its story, animation, and music.
What do you think about Gachiakuta topping the summer 2025 anime charts? Do you think this kind of success signals a bigger change for the industry? Share your thoughts in the comments.