The Other Creator of Gachiakuta Who Doesn't Receive His Flowers by People Overseas

Senior Journalist -

This guy right here, Hideyoshi Andou, doesn't get much credit for his part in the weekly Shonen manga series Gachiakuta... And here's why.

The creators of Gachiakuta are Kei Urana and Hideyoshi Andou. And yes, we know that Kei Urana is the intial creator of the series as far as writier and illustrator, but Andou contributes significantly to background concepts, front cover art, and many of the graffiti designs that Urana says she doesn’t quite understand. They both says they don’t always agree, but they would rather work together as a duo than with anyone else. And if you think they’re only disagreeing about graffiti placement, you’re wrong.

Hediyoshi Andou and Kei Urana

Most kaigai no kojin, especially Westerners, do not give him any credit because, first, they believe the original creator is always the true creator, and second—and this may be an unpopular take, which is what we do here—we live in a bizarre time where we practice an unspoken degree of “gynocentrism” and “female chauvinism,” to the point that both men and women become tunnel‑focused on the fact that Urana is a female mangaka, claiming that female manga creators make shounen (manga for young men) better than men.

Putting sex on how great something will be for a predominately male audience is doesn't especially them being female doesn't always translate well. For example, in Rumiko Takahashi's Inuyasha, Miroku’s constant groping and sexual harassment of Sango was originally framed as a comedic perversion, but many modern viewers see these scenes as uncomfortable rather than charming. Contemporary criticism often groups this behavior with broader patterns of sexualized “jokes” in older anime that do not sit well with newer audiences, hyper-focused on consent.

Deadman Wonderland by Jinsei Kataoka stood out in a shonen magazine for its level of gore, torture, and on‑page brutality. Critics described it as one of the most violent and twisted series to run in a shonen slot during its era, which generated both acclaim and discomfort. Chihiro Yuzuki’s “With You, Our Love Will Make It Through,” which has been discussed for its animalistic or bestial themes, and Kei Sasuga’s Domestic Girlfriend, which centers on a boy who marries one stepsister and has a child with the other, push romantic and sexual taboos in ways that many readers find provocative or morally unsettling. Western fans often react to successful women in male‑dominated spaces with a mix of genuine support and exaggerated hype that can slide into tokenism. Research on tokenism and women in male‑dominated careers shows that when a minority is highly visible, their successes are treated as symbolic victories for the whole group rather than just solid work by an individual professional. In industries historically “built by men for men,” like shonen manga, women are frequently treated as special exceptions instead of simply “another creator,” which encourages fans and media to frame every success story as a milestone moment. Western discourse around female mangaka often emphasizes their gender first—“this amazing series was made by a woman!”—which can unintentionally reduce them to symbols rather than letting their work stand on its own merits. Token dynamics mean that women in male‑dominated fields face heightened scrutiny and pressure to “represent” their whole gender, which can be stressful and limiting. In fandom spaces, this can show up as constant ranking and polling of “best shonen by female mangaka” or debates about whether women “write better characters,” which keeps reinforcing gendered boxes even while praising them

This is how Hideyoshi Andou get ignored in his contribiutes to the series and Urana illustratively, mentally and emotionally. She gives him a great deal of credit and says that working as a team is the most fun she has illustrating the series. That is why you always see them together in every interview.

Hediyoshi Andou and Kei Urana at the Anime Expo 2025

Japan is lucky in that it tends not to stress gender identity in creative contexts as much as Western audiences do, allowing artists to be appreciated first and foremost for their talent and collaboration rather than the categories they fit into, giving Hideyoshi Andou his flowers.

The Gachiakuta manga Is primarily the work of a small core creative team, not just two people in isolation. No one ever works alone.

#ShansTake #gachiakutamanga #GachiakutaEdit #Gachiakuta #anime #HideyoshiAndou #KeiUrana #manga #teamwork