Gacha Gacha (referred to as Gachax2 in the series every now and then) is a comedy Ecchi Manga series by the creator of Boys Be... that has two story arcs; Capsule and Secret (Also known as "New Revolution"). The manga was serialized in Magazine Special from 2002 to 2007.
Capsule follows the life of Kouhei and Clara, childhood friends. When Clara starts acting strangely, displaying a totally new personality one moment, then changing back with no memory. It's up to Kouhei to protect Clara from her other personas.
Secret picks up at an undisclosed time after Capsule's finale and stars Hatsushiba Akira, a hapless young man whose fallen for Sakuraba Yurika. When a freak accident causes Hatsushiba to become a girl whenever he sneezes, he uses this as a means of getting close to Yurika, and soons developes a relationship as "Akira-chan" and his real self.
Despite being obviously perverted, with plenty of pantyshots, upskirts, and other forms of fanservice, both feature fairly fleshed out stories and likeable characters. Both feature hapless fellows as they struggle to win the hearts of their respective Love Interest, with both being tied by the titular virtual reality machine, Gachax2.
The series features the following tropes
- Anti-Climax: Both Capsule and Secret
- Capsule takes the cake when the final chapter involves Kouhei facing off with "01" or the first AI to be made for the Gacha Gacha program. 01 taunts Kouhei's bravery and even deletes the other personalities, and even tries to wipe out Clara's. When all seems hopeless, Kouhei wakes up to discover that 01 has herself been deleted instead.
- Beware the Nice Ones: In chapter 24 of Secret, a boy named Taike Hiro sets his sights on Yurika. At first he comes off as a sauve and likeable guy, much to Akira's annoyance but his suspicions are justified when Hiro is revealed to be a shallow heartless bastard who only seeks to use Yurika as a cheap one-night stand.
- Cat Girl: "Meow" is the fourth (and last of the first set) personality that Clara becomes during the initial half of Capsule.
- Does This Remind You of Anything??: Let's just say Capsule makes a not too subtle reference to Neon Genesis Evangelion a few times.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Both Kouhei and Hatsushiba; They usually mean well, but are often punished or humiliated for their actions in some way or the other.
- "Double, Double" Title: Gacha Gacha.
- Fanservice: And how, from giant boobs to plenty of pantyflashing, Gacha Gacha fulfills this trope and then some.
- Gender Bender: The Secret arc centers around the hero turning into a girl whenever he sneezes and forming a close relationship with the girl he likes.
- Here We Go Again!: Both series more or less end the way things started.
- Capsule concludes with Kouhei and Clara hooking up after purging the Big Bad AI 01 from Clara's mind, only for Kouhei to be shown with the kitten personality. It's played for laughs of course, with Clara and Reona chasing the transformed Kouhei in the final panel.
- Secret's ending is more of a letdown, after coming out of coma, Hatsushiba's little tale ends with himself changing forms just as the girls begin chasing him to beat him up for peeking at their panties, and dragging "Akira-chan" along with them in their hunt.
- Split Personality: Capsule's heroine, Clara starts out with one personality, a promiscuous girl. Then about half a dozen more turn up, ranging from a schoolgirl who ask very 'personal' questions, to a badass martial artist, a Cat Girl, a ninja, and many more.
- Too Dumb to Live: Often at times one has to wonder how none of the supporting cast in Secret realize they've never seen Hatsuhiba or Akira-chan at the same time. Honestly, no one ever notices that Akira-chan will enter the scene in the same clothes as Hatsushiba (which barely fit 'her' smaller frame) or vice-versa.
- However, Ran is able to deduce these facts quite quickly and even gives a fair warning to the male Akira that his deception may land him in trouble one day.
- Seems she's right on the money; in the second to last chapter, Anju, Yurika's little sister who happens to have feelings for Hatsushiba, discovers his secret. Of course, her reaction is totally the opposite of what one would have expected.
