Before Gachiakuta: Kei Urana’s OTHER Award Winning Manga

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Gachiakuta had a strong burst onto the scene, all thanks to mangaka Key Urana.

[00:00:06]But did you know she's worked on two other projects, both having won awards and being well, interesting to say the least. From the insanely metal god slaying manga Nokase to Shakito, the swordsman manga full of rage with an insane twist. Today, I wanted to go through both of these one shots and explain them as sadly it's just pretty hard to get your hands on them nowadays.

[00:00:30]But let's just get into it. Thank you for watching and I hope you enjoyed the video.

[00:00:37]The first work Key Urana ever published was a one shot known as Nokase, described with the line, "In a world ruled by a tyrannical god, a young man decides to take matters into his own hands and punish him." Sounds pretty crazy, the exact metal sounding story I expect from Urana. This one shot was published in 2018 to Kodansha's Weekly Shonen Magazine. Its purpose was to be an entry into a weekly contest held by this magazine. These competitions are mainly used for things like scouting new talent, and considering Gachiakuta is and at the time of making this one shot, but later be published in this magazine, well, this was a very important moment for Urana's career. As well, it won the competition. Yeah, first one shot ever published and it won [music] a competition, meaning Urana was off to a great start in the manga world. But hey, it's finally time to look through this one shot in detail. Urana swings open the story hard with a detailed tale about how humans worship a mighty god.

[00:01:46]Those who don't are imprisoned, shackled, and sealed, making them powerless to resistance. Nobody is yet to escape. Sounds like a pretty horrible god. Yet in this moment, the prison box explodes. Today marks the first time someone has escaped, and all he can say is he is the kind of man who can do it if he tries. We then cut to the mighty god. The one who escaped is named Jinma, and this leaves the mighty god frantic.

[00:02:15]This is the one person he cannot let go no matter what. Jinma was personally sealed by him, and if it broke, there would be no going back. The mighty god states he'll go dispose of Jinma himself. And right away, you can tell Urana really likes to write stories on people breaking free from their chains, literally and narratively. This also is something that funny enough happened right at the beginning of Gachiakuta.

[00:02:42]Ruto broke his chains to not only get his vital instrument, but to open the door to a new world for himself. Also serving as a message about how fractured the world is. Kind of like this moment right here. It's very fitting this idea started all the way back here. I also want to note that Urana has said she based Ruto off herself, meaning she must resonate a lot with characters like this. A hooded girl walks to the shoreline where they find Jinma, him later awakening in this girl's hideout.

[00:03:13]She reveals she brought him here. She's Tera. So Jinma, it's time to be grateful to her. Instead, he stands up instantly and grabs her. How does she know his name? Is she after him? And as the suspense ramps up, it's revealed it was just written on his earring the whole time.

[00:03:30]Jinma then explains why he escaped. He actually wants the mighty god to find him, or well, shitty god as he calls them. This sounds crazy, but he knows they'll come. When he was captured, the mighty god was terrified of him. And jeez, he had this dude strung up on a cross. Again, this guy doesn't seem like that great of a god. Tera then asks the question, "What is he going to do when he finds him?" As the name suggests, obviously this is a mighty god. Jinma sounds crazy. Going on, she asks, "Is he one of those sick dudes that act like they're in a manga?" Leading Jinma with the blankest face possible to say he's going to slap the mighty god to kingdom come. Yeah, Tera can't help it. She cries out laughing, a particularly gross sounding laugh. But Jinma is still set.

[00:04:19]As he said when he got out of the prison, he can do it if he tries. Jeez, this is a scene straight out of Gachiakuta in the best way possible.

[00:04:29]Awesome to see Urana's unique manga sense of humor hasn't changed one bit.

[00:04:34]From a quiet moment to just explosive humor, all with everything just being wild. She's really got these crazy facial expressions with insane angles mastered. It's then, in a strange twist, Tera explains how she wants to actually join Jinma, weirdly speaking from the perspective of someone who isn't human herself. As in her words, she's a god of death specialized in mighty gods. But she's got to be joking, right? She then begins to ask what he did the mighty god when he appears, stabbing Jinma straight through the stomach with his wing. As the room is covered in blood, the mighty god states Jinma defied his defined being. He also possesses a power that is an enigma. Standing over Jinma, Tera smiles. So, how did mighty god cultivate humankind?

[00:05:27]In response, he begins to scream out. He is above all absolute, and all who defy shall be purged. Yeah, gross. Yet his speech gave Jinma time to stand, and in anger he declares that attitude is exactly why he hates the gods so much.

[00:05:45]He jumps forward but is electrocuted.

[00:05:48]The shackle around his neck stops anyone who tries to defy mighty god. Of course, Jinma tries again and again. He can do it if he tries. But mighty god continuously strikes him [music] down.

[00:06:00]In the end, it looks like he won't be able to do anything at all.

[00:06:07]Jinma recalls a childhood moment. He speaks to a woman who appears to be his sister.

[00:06:13]>> [music] >> His father told him that he's good for nothing, and so his sister tells him to use his words to get payback. Show him that he can do it if he tries. Prove it to him. She goes on. His lack of confidence has put him in shackles. A person can do anything if they try, become confident, and break those shackles. That would be pretty cool, wouldn't it? No idea why his sister is so scary, but yeah, good message. Jinma reflects on this moment, this power. He can make it come true and show him. Show mighty god the weight of words. Jinma takes his hands and pulls apart the shackles. He's confident. He truly is the kind of man who can do anything if he tries. In a second, the mighty god's arm flies off. He freaks out as Jinma faces him. He can do anything if he tries, anything. Mighty god sums it all up to reality warping as Jinma reveals mighty god killed everyone, including his sister, to capture him. And so he declares he'll be slapping him to kingdom come. In anger, mighty god's true form leaks out, wings that now resemble insect wings. And as he dashes in, in one simple slap, he's thrown to the floor. It shakes and destroys the room. And all Jinma can think about is how his sister was right. It feels so good to be confident. This is a very good moment, and it honestly reminds me of a lot of scenes that happened in Gachiakuta. Most recently being Countis and his power to open people's souls, allowing him to heal them with words.

[00:07:53]Simple trope done pretty cool. Point I'm trying to present is that Urana's pretty good at writing around pretty normal simple tropes. This common speak it into existence, the power of words shown in trope thing here, actually feels very powerful. I think a lot of manga try and do this type of idea and it feels cheesy or kind of like, "Okay." But Urana did it first try here and I actually like it. It feels well written. In the aftermath, the mighty god, now being beaten to a bloody pulp, wakes up and approaches Jinma. He can go to hell. Yet he's then stopped by Tera, her saying a fake mighty god can't kill her. The moment goes silent as who we've been led to believe is mighty god grows fearful.

[00:08:41]In reality, Tera, the little girl, was a real mighty god. In the face of the real deal, the fake falls apart. What was done to humanity was brainwashing, not religion. Jinma's an ordinary human. He just broke through a false god's brainwashing. What the fake did was take humanity and ruin them. Therefore, he'll be put through punishment. A punishment I'm not going to say out loud. It's on screen. You can read it. With this, the real mighty god, Tera, laughs on and on as the fake is dragged to hell.

[00:09:17]Simply stating, "There's no future for those who do nothing but control."

[00:09:22]Leaving the fake dragged into hell and ending the one shot.

[00:09:31]Nokase is pretty good. It's a very, very fun read, and I can easily understand how it won a competition. Urana's art clearly still has some evolving to do before Gachiakuta, but even here, it's beautiful and unique for all the reasons Gachiakuta is loved today. It's wild, grungy, all while being incredibly fun.

[00:09:53]The story is also simple and sweet, appearing to be one big message about confidence.

[00:09:59]There are quote mighty beings who put people down, put them in shackles, all just to satisfy themselves. But in reality, there's a power in you.

[00:10:10]Everyone has it as humans, and if you gain the confidence to use it, well, you'll be able to do literally anything.

[00:10:17]Just a good simple message that can truly never get old, as no matter how far into the future, no matter when, past, present, there's always been someone who needed a pick-me-up from a story like this. Well, with Nokachi all wrapped up, let's get into our second one-shot.

[00:10:37]Kayurana's second one-shot ever is called Shikido, a one-shot I can only describe as a rival-fueled [music] swordsman story with a twist I can't show you just yet. This one-shot won the Weekly Shonen Magazine's Newcomer Award.

[00:10:53]>> [music] >> And the crazy part is, it was only 1 year since the last one-shot. Like I said before, Yurana's career is starting off with a bang. Second one-shot and she's already getting an award. Not everyone can say they've done that. But hey, let's just get into this one.

[00:11:10]There was once a peerless swordsman. He had beast-like eyes and was like a fierce god. He was called Shikijin. This came to be a title given to the strongest swordsman. And today, we look into a dojo full of boys aiming for that very title. Swords clash and battle cries are heard. A hot-headed swordsman, Homura, is in training to be Geen, a quiet swordsman he can't seem to be.

[00:11:38]Later that day, Homura is scolded for not only wrecking the dojo, but for just sucking. And of course, in response, the hot-headed kid can't help but reply that he'll beat them all. Then, they'll finally acknowledge him.

[00:11:52]He's scolded again, but then the door is blown open. A new swordsman has appeared looking for the dojo's Shikijin candidate, and he's willing to beat the whole dojo just to get there. The dark-haired boy is confident, introducing himself as Detsu, and saying he's going around beating everyone. And of course, hearing this, the hot-headed Homura steps up. He runs in like a beast, yet is tripped and falls flat.

[00:12:18]Not going to lie, I was expecting that.

[00:12:20]The teacher then calls for Geen, telling him to fight Detsu. And Geen leisurely gets up and walks towards him. Clearly, he doesn't want to do this. And when the fight begins, it's another one-shot.

[00:12:33]Though this time, Detsu falls. Detsu gets back up and makes some excuses, but Geen shuts him up. He flatters himself way too much. Just buzz off. As he walks off, Zetsu grows angry. All this as the teacher walks up and scolds him. For now, he'll be coming here to retrain.

[00:12:53]The situation is clear. Detsu has been beyond humiliated.

[00:12:58]Now, compared to the other one-shot, Shikido does not feel like the usual Yurana story at all. Though I will say the MC, Homura, definitely feels like a Yurana character. Funny how Rudo, Jinma, and now Homura all act the same. Though I will say, despite feeling different from the other things Yurana has wrote, this one-shot and the world specifically, everything we seem to see here, seems like it would actually fit really well into the Gachiakuta world.

[00:13:29]One part [music] of it specifically.

[00:13:31]That being the Hellguards. I won't say anything right now as it's part of the big twist, but I feel like this story could really apply to one character from Gachiakuta. You'll just have to wait and see. In the aftermath of the match, Homura approaches Geen, where Geen laments dealing with him. He seems to hate fighting despite his skills with the sword, a truth Detsu listens to and annoyed. The next day, Homura tries to spar with Geen again. He again doesn't want to, and so Homura gets some neighborhood kids to swarm Geen. They're his weakness, and so to get them to go away, he's just got to spar with him.

[00:14:09]Yet it's then a spike skeleton is dropped from the sky. Geen takes the full force of the impact, saving the kids instead of himself. Homura runs to get first aid as Geen looks up, watching a dark shadow slither away. Yeah, I bet we all know where this is going. Homura later realizes he forgot his sword as we watch Geen hold onto it for him. Yet then, a dark shadow appears from behind.

[00:14:36]And the second Homura arrives, we face a dark scene. It's Detsu, and he's bloodying Geen's face. His reason? Only a strong man can become a Shikijin, and Geen isn't worthy at all. He directs Homura to take a look, ripping away Geen's clothes to reveal that in reality, they are biologically a woman.

[00:14:58]Homura is shocked as Detsu goes on. At first, he wanted to crush them, but who let them think they could be better than a man? He then goes on to disgustingly degrade Geen before screaming at Homura not to move. Next, Geen won't be able to use their arm, revealing it was Detsu who dropped the spikes onto Geen before.

[00:15:20]In reality, it was actually meant to kill them. Detsu then tries to disgustingly appeal to Homura, trying to make him look down on Geen the same way he does. But then, Geen speaks up. A woman became strong. What's wrong with that? A woman learned to protect herself. What's wrong with that? They scream this out as we view images of a younger Geen being abused. Yet Detsu couldn't care, going on to degrade Geen more and even implying he's going to assault her. The disgusting man readies to strike her, but then he's stopped by Homura. Him having a whole new look and feel to him. Enraged, he throws Detsu back. He will be the one to beat Geen.

[00:16:04]But not just that. How dare he insult them, trample on their way of life? He won't forgive Detsu. With this, the match is on. Detsu takes the challenge head-on. Yet a disgusting being like him won't fight fair. deploys spikes, but to his horror, Homura dashes forward, walking all over the spikes with no fear in his face. Geen facing this recalls when they were young. When Homura snaps, he can't be held back. He leaves men like Zetsu struck with fear, all as he resembles a Shikijin. Now in his face, Homura faces him fair and square, one-shotting Detsu and sending him flying, leaving him knocked out cold.

[00:16:47]I was very surprised to see how well Yurana painted this uncomfortable picture, despite this one-shot being so short. From the beginning, its swordsmen, [music] our main characters, are all men, and I don't think there's a single woman ever drawn in the background. Then, there's small things like Geen being disinterested in the Shikijin, and then the fact it's implied this position can only be given to men.

[00:17:13]It all culminates when the twist happens. Geen is biologically a woman, and the Shikijin title doesn't matter one bit. The sword is a means of protection for them, not a symbol of strength. It's very tragic, yet very real, and it's all cleverly hidden in a Shonen Magazine format. From a Shonen short one-shot, you would never expect this kind of story, and that's why the twist and what the twist is trying to tell you works so well.

[00:17:42]Very smart to use your demographic and your writing type to your advantage.

[00:17:46]It's very good. Oh, and I think you probably know exactly who from Gachiakuta I'm talking about. Yeah, I mean, literally, I think a lot of it fits her.

[00:17:57]Nah, maybe it's just me though. Let me know what you think about it. All that's left is for Homura to face Geen, saying no matter what is said, he knows how much effort Geen puts in. This isn't going to hold them back one bit. Homura props Geen up. He needs Geen to stay strong, keep that fighting spirit, because he'll be the one to beat them.

[00:18:18]Geen faces him shocked before laughing.

[00:18:21]They lost this fight. Homura has been helping them for the longest. Thank you.

[00:18:27]Yet Homura can't take this win. It's not fair and square. Oh, and he finally addresses the gender thing. Homura forgot to be shocked, but he doesn't really care. He just wants to have another match. Our final page showing, even months later, Geen is still stronger as Homura flies from the dojo.

[00:18:46]This one-shot is way more powerful to me than the other one, and I can definitely understand why this one won an award.

[00:18:54]While Nokachi was great and had an uplifting message, to me at least, this one blows it out of the park.

[00:19:02]This one-shot isn't and was never about swords, rather gender, and how people put people down for no reason other than what gender they are.

[00:19:12]It's a very beautiful ending to see that Homura and Geen can just go back to being swordsmen with no issues. It's a big way to say it ultimately never mattered. Geen's gender doesn't change the fact that they can be Homura's rival with no issues, that no matter [music] what, Homura still can't beat them.

[00:19:31]Ultimately, this one-shot ends how it started because there was no real change that needed to happen. They are who they want, doing who they [music] want, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In conclusion, both of these one-shots are amazing, and their results spoke for this fact. Each outshining and winning their own accolades in their respective contests. Don't get it twisted, though. I don't want people to think Yūrana was simply a case of luck.

[00:20:00]I mean, two one-shots winning contests and awards before your first very successful serialization is exceedingly rare. Not many mangakas do this, but you can tell by looking at every one of Yūrana's other works that everything is purpose. These one-shots aren't just silly shonen stories thrown together.

[00:20:20]Each of them have plain messages, messages with real weight and meaning.

[00:20:25]They aren't presented in silly ways, either. Nokase did a good job of showcasing confidence and the power simply believing in yourself can have.

[00:20:34]Even if a false god, he was beaten by Jinma, a normal human with confidence.

[00:20:40]Shikito had a profound statement on gender using the shonen demographic as a way to propel forward with the great twist, one we honestly didn't really see coming. And therefore, it was presented in a way we can all feel for.

[00:20:55]These are stories that prove Yūrana was really all in. She had clearly been working towards this point, learning to write some amazing stories. And of course, you can't make a Yūrana video without mentioning, of course, the art.

[00:21:10]Yūrana's art has always been beautiful.

[00:21:13]You can go find her oldest drawings, the oldest thing she's published online, and see that she's had this distinct style reminiscent of the old Soul Eater manga, but with her own flair. It's just simply always a breath of fresh air. And here, seeing its humble beginnings compared to the God Shakita we all love and read every week, well, it's just very wild.

[00:21:37]Well, with this, this has been K Yūrana's other award-winning one-shots.

[00:21:41]And with God Shakita still being relatively new onto the scene and continuously blowing everything out of the park with every chapter, this really is clearly only the start for this mangaka. Thank you so much for watching.

[00:21:56]I hope you enjoyed the video, and well, bye.

[00:22:00]We live in >> [music] >> islands.

[00:22:02]IT WILL BE A LION THAT'S A PREDATOR.

[00:22:06]THIS IS A CHALLENGE.

[00:22:07]THIS IS A SAVAGE.

[00:22:08]PUSHING IN MY GUTS AND I WON'T BE A PREDATOR.

[00:22:12]THEY DON'T WANT TO TRY >> [music] >> THE WILD WILD WEST