Overthinking Gachiakuta Part 4: Zanka
This is pretty self contained story, you do not have to read the other parts to understand this.
As always: this could have spoilers, and there is a TLDR a the end.
Zanka's role
This might be nothing, but the more I look at the Nijiku family, the more it feels like there is a very intentional (Buddhist) theme going on. And I think this will give good insight into Zanka specifically.
So lets start with Zanka's family.
The Nijiku family
Without kanji, I can't be sure; however, Nijiku can be read as something like second (ni) lineage/axis (jiku). Which is already kind of interesting, because they are the current ruling guards. Does that imply there was a previous guard line before them?
I mostly take the manga as my base for theories, not the anime, but I did notice that the anime mentions during the Arkha-Kyouka discussion that the Nijiku family was the second generation guard, which… is a very specific thing to say when, as far as I know, that has not been mentioned in the manga at all.
The Oni masks behind Papa Nijiku
Another detail that keeps bothering me is the oni masks depicted behind Zanka's father in chapter 58. I’m not fully sure what they represent yet, as they could be a reference to the 4 friends of Macaca Icol, with the vaguely goat/monkey-shaped face behind it being Macaca Icol themselves (macaca meaning macaque in Portuguese). However, with Buddhism on my mind, and the masks being shown while Zanka's father is talking about “the way the Nijiku uphold their beliefs,” I thought about the Four Noble Truths:
There is suffering Suffering comes from attachment Attachment can be released And the way to release it is the Eightfold Path
I don’t know if that’s actually what it’s referencing, but it fits neatly with the themes around the Hell Guard and Zanka’s whole character and direction. More on that later.
Anyway, the thing that really caught my attention was the first names.
All of them end in -ka, which can mean things like fire/fruit, depending on the reading. That already feels very fitting for a family ruling the Hell Guard, but it also made me notice the symbol they use looks a lot like an orchid. Orchids are very exotic and expensive, especially considering that their fruit is the only source of vanilla, a resource over which wars have been fought.
Also, orchids/vanilla are not native to Japan, which is another point towards the “there was an original ruler who is now gone” vibe they have going on. It could also be a reference to the fact that Kamuatari district is very insular and unique on the Ground, as the only town that is entirely sealed off with vents, just like orchids are often put in very controlled situations to prevent them from dying.
And then there are the given names given in this family.
Kyoka
So this one is interesting because kyo can be linked to the kyo used in things like Tokyo, meaning something like ten billion/uncountable/a lot. Kyoka’s name also reminds me a lot of Kyoka Suigetsu, the Buddhist phrase meaning basically mirror flower, water moon — things you can see but can’t touch. Illusions, beauty, dreams, that kind of thing. There’s also kyokan jigoku, the screaming hell. So her name kind of sits in this space of illusion + hell imagery + huge scale, which feels very on brand, honestly.
Goka
This one feels the most obvious numerically, because go = five. But it also connects to a lot of Buddhist number symbolism, like:
Gokai (the five precepts),
goka-no-hosho (five proclamations of Buddha),
goka-no-gohyaku-sai (five periods of 500 years).
Zanka
And as one of the main characters, his name has, of course, meaning as well. Because san/zan could be read as a lower number (san = three), but the word zanka itself can mean something like the last flower remaining in bloom. This seems important, in a family whose symbol is a flower.
There’s also the possibility that zan could connect to Sangha (followers of the Buddha) or Buddhist “three” symbolism, like the three refuges or three wise Buddhas. Not saying that’s definitely the intended reading, but the pattern is suspicious enough that I can’t really ignore it.
So, a clear connection to numbers and Buddhism. While the number could indicate some kind of internal hierarchy, Buddhism seems to me to indicate some kind of overarching ideal that haunts the Nijiku's, especially Zanka, as the narratively most important one in this family.
And this is where the current stuff going on in the manga becomes really interesting to me.
Buddhism connection in the story
Because Mymo wants a peaceful world, but he’s trying to reach that by basically evolving into a god. Some Buddhists even tried to use the teachings to end up being reborn as a god. Heck, the name of the district the Hell Guard is located in, Kamuatari, could be translated as divinity/god's power (kamui) and “to hit a target” (atari), suggesting that the Hell Guard also wish to achieve something like godhood. This is only reinforced by their “golden throne,” which is strived after as an ultimate goal. In Buddhism, thrones are often depicted as being sat on by gods. Sakka's throne, often depicted as a golden throne, is a symbol of the king of the gods' authority. The Hell Guard seems to literally promise enlightenment for those whom it deems worthy.
And in Buddhism, achieving godhood is actually… not the goal.
Being a god is comfortable, pleasurable, powerful — but that’s exactly the problem. Gods are too comfortable. They get attached. They become spiritually lazy. They don’t reach nirvana just by being above everyone else. Only humans really have the right balance of suffering and awareness to actually break the cycle.
Zanka's character journey
Which brings me back to Zanka.
Zanka has one of the most “human struggles” in the series right now.
Rudo is fighting so called gods, Enjin seems to be connected to cults, Riyo's family is one big mysterious mess, and Zanka... needs to find himself.
He is extremely restrained, extremely rule-driven, always trying to act logically and properly, even when that goes directly against what he actually feels. He’s basically living according to structures that he believes he has to follow.
That’s why I don’t think his arc is going to end with him becoming stronger or taking the throne or anything like that. Even his Lovely Assistick kind of hints at that already — it’s not about killing or dominating, it’s literally a non-lethal subduing weapon (sasumata). Fighting ability isn’t the core of who he is.
I honestly think his endgame is going to be a kind of self-realization moment. Not power. Insight.
And this is also why I think Jabber Wocker was put opposite him specifically.
Zanka's foils
Because Jabber Wonger is obviously referencing Jabberwocky, which is basically a nonsense poem. Lewis Carroll even said that a lot of the words didn’t have fixed meaning when he wrote them. But people keep trying to assign meaning to it anyway to make it make sense.
That is literally what Zanka does with the world.
He wants everything to have a reason, a rule, a structure that explains it. But Jabber doesn’t work like that. Jabber is chaotic, hedonistic, and impulsive. Zanka tries to analyze him, but there isn’t really a logical framework there that satisfies him.
Sometimes things just… are.
No deeper order. No system. No moral logic that lines up neatly.
Then our second foil: Hyo, whose name has associations like ice/freeze, which I think is interesting because it’s basically the opposite vibe from the fiery Hell Guard/Zanka side of things. And considering all the Buddhist hell imagery floating around this series, the contrast could even echo hot vs cold Narakas. However, this does not have to be just a contrast.
Hot hell is meant for those whose sins were committed because of too much attachment/desire, and the cold hell for those who committed sins through their detachment. So perhaps the way to go is in the middle — a balance.
And I think Zanka is eventually going to have to confront that.
Not that nothing matters, but that the rules he built in his head about how the world and people should work are artificial. Letting those go, accepting himself as he actually is instead of the version molded by duty and expectation — that feels like the direction his character is heading.
Which loops back to the Buddhism angle again.
Conclusion
Zanka seems to be connected to Buddhism, which is about insight into yourself and the nature of reality.
Right now Zanka doesn’t really have that. He has discipline and repression and logic.
But I think he will get there eventually.
Mymo is trying to reach peace by becoming something beyond human.
The Hell Guard is interpreting their beliefs in the same wrong direction, just like some Buddhists do when trying to attain godhood.
But Zanka. Zanka has already stepped away from the false path. He has already left behind Kamuatari and the Hell Guard. Zanka is the last flower in bloom who holds on to the right beliefs, a true follower of Buddha's teachings. Zanka might reach nirvana by being entirely, completely himself. An ordinary human in story about gods and cults, yet not lesser through it. Being human is special enough.
TLDR: Zanka seems to be on the path to learn that he, as an ordinary human, is more than enough.
