Gachiakuta is one of the most anticipated anime to release this season and, so far, it’s living up to those expectations. However, nobody could have predicted how perfect the English dub would be at casting the voice of Semiu.
Episode 4, titled “Cleaner HQ” and released on Aug. 3, officially introduced Semiu (voiced by Kenneisha Thompson), a receptionist at Janitor Headquarters who also serves as a Sponsor Giver, evaluating each potential recruit before they can officially join. Givers wield instruments powered by a mysterious energy found in the toxic surface world to fight Trash Beasts and eliminate criminal civilians that live there. Efficient, confident, and highly professional, Semiu is a fan-favorite character in the manga who prefers to get straight to the point. She’s dedicated to her role — always at the Cleaners’ desk by dawn and quick to answer calls.
Characters with dark skin are usually passed off as tan in the world of anime, but Semiu is unmistakably Black, and the delivery by her voice actress confirms it. Black characters in anime and even games are typically depicted as either overly stereotypical or whitewashed to the point of being completely devoid of any cultural influence. Characters like Usopp in One Piece started with darker skin tones that lightened over time, while more famous tanned characters like Yoruichi in Bleach leans into feline traits rather than distinctly Black features. However, Thompson delivers a Black anime character who actually acts and sounds like a Black person. The authenticity is in the cadence of her voice and how she decides to pronounce certain words. It also doesn’t hurt that Thompson perfectly conveys the sultry tones fans hoped Semiu would have.
“Just remember Gachiakuta has a canon lesbian who’s Black and she’s also the coolest character in the series,” one fan posted on social media.
“Kenneisha Thompson’s (@/KenneishaT) VA performance of Semiu in the Gachiakuta english dub is PHENOMENAL,” another wrote. “She deserves all the flowers for both bringing the character to life, and making the line delivery feel so natural. I’m gonna have to watch this series in both dubs now…”
The inside of her palms are even colored correctly, a detail many animators don’t highlight when creating Black characters.
“Anime rarely ever gets black/darker skinned characteristics right,” a third fan confirmed. “And a lot of the time end up doing pretty racist and annoying stereotypes. They’re also saying here that her design is good. Which it is, Semiu is the GOAT.”
The response to Semiu’s anime debut has been so positive that Thompson even weighed in with a post on X, writing, “WOOOOWWW!! Y’all really know how to make a Sistah feel special. Thanks for all of the love. ”
The praise got so loud the official Crunchyroll account even acknowledged it with a Semiu appreciation post.
The anime series is adapted from the manga Gachiakuta by Kei Urana, which has been serialized in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine since 2022. It marks Urana’s first full series following her earlier one-shots, Nokase (2018) and Shikido (2019). This year, the story gets the anime treatment from Bones Films, the studio behind Vigilante: My Hero Academia ILLEGALS. The series is still early in its season, making it a great time to jump in and give it a chance.
Gachiakuta releases every Sunday in both sub and dub on Crunchyroll.
