Kaijuu 8-gou

After the destruction of their hometown, childhood friends Kafka Hibino and Mina Ashiro make a pact to become officers in the Defense Force—a militarized organization tasked with protecting Japan from colossal monsters known as "kaijuu." Decades later, the 32-year-old Kafka has all but given up on his dreams of heroism. Instead, he cleans up the remains of the slaughtered kaijuu after they are defeated by valiant soldiers—including Mina, who has successfully achieved their shared goal.

Upon meeting his new coworker, Reno Ichikawa, Kafka faces a mirror of his past self: an ambitious young man whose one desire is to fight as a member of the Defense Force. Unfortunately, the two are soon involved in a freak encounter with a rogue kaijuu. Though Kafka demonstrates his innate heroic nature and rescues Reno from certain doom, he is left gravely injured.

While both men recover in a hospital, Kafka is seemingly attacked by another one of the beasts. As a result, he gains the ability to transform into a humanoid kaijuu with the strength and powers of the massive monsters menacing Japan. Dubbed "Kaijuu No. 8" by the military, Kafka resolves to use his newfound gifts for the greater good. Tied together by mutual respect, Kafka and Reno set out to join warriors like Mina at the forefront of the Defense Force.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Hoshina, Soushirou Main

Kawanishi, Kengo Japanese

Hibino, Kafka Main

Fukunishi, Masaya Japanese

Shinomiya, Kikoru Main

Fairouz Ai Japanese

Ichikawa, Reno Main

Katou, Wataru Japanese

Ashiro, Mina Supporting

Seto, Asami Japanese

Narumi, Gen Supporting

Uchiyama, Kouki Japanese

Okonogi, Konomi Supporting

Senbongi, Sayaka Japanese

Furuhashi, Iharu Supporting

Shin, Yuuki Japanese

Kaijuu No. 9 Supporting

Yoshino, Hiroyuki Japanese

Shinomiya, Isao Supporting

Genda, Tesshou Japanese

Morihiro, Fumi Producer

Takei, Katsuhiro Producer, Planning

Hashimoto, Ryuu Producer

Hayashi, Tatsurou Producer, Planning

Reviews

Apr 6, 2025

Zaphodb2002

Recommended

Kaiju No. 8 delivers a great balance of comedy, action, and character development. It's incredibly watchable and relationships feel earned between the characters. Action sequences, especially later in the season, are very engaging, and they do a good job using them to further story development. However, the show is a little predictable and it takes a bit to really get going. I recommend sticking with it to episode 4 at least. Also I don't really like the OP or ED, lol.

Hibino Kafka is damn likeable as a protagonist. He's the underdog with secret superpowers and a heart of gold. ... It's hard not to see superhero parallels here, and making him an affable but weak goofball is more Spider-Man than Batman or Superman, which is nice. All of his teammates are unique and memorable. Even though we mostly focus on Reno, Kikoru, and Vice-Captain Hoshina, time is given to 3rd (Aoi and Izumo) and even 4th tier characters (Minase and Nakanoshima) get a surprising amount of time, and they're all pretty memorable both in personality and design, even if we don't get a TON of backstory explicitly for most characters.

The animation and direction is fantastic throughout the show. The fights are very readable and often crazy intense. The Japanese laws about flashing lights really getting put to the test on this one, you can tell that they often had to mute some of the more intense scenes. There's a lot of thought put into how these Kaiju work and how they can be defeated. Strategy is pushed instead of just "getting stronger", and Kafka contributes to the cause in non-combat roles often because of his knowledge about the kaiju.

There's some good tension in the show, and while the action does feel a little sanitized regarding, say, combat losses or collateral damage that MUST be happening, I found myself worrying about the characters and the stakes felt pretty high. It does, however, stick pretty closely to what you would expect from this kind of story. It does it well, though, and I think season 2 will have more opportunities to play in the space now that everything is set up.

Ultimately, a great fun watch with a lot going for it. The action is fun but the characters are really why this show shines. I think if the second season takes more risks narratively and keeps the same quality otherwise, it could be a 9/10 show.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jan 9, 2025

denkisoda

Mixed Feelings

Kaiju No.8 is a meticulously crafted anime that knows its target audience well. Production IG demonstrates their expertise through grand battle sequences, passionate character personalities, and music (including theme songs) that perfectly complements the plot. After watching the first three episodes, it's clear the studio is in their comfort zone.

However, this polished production comes with a sense of homogeneity. Much like a "decent enough" Hollywood blockbuster, the plot progression feels predictable and doesn't leave a particularly lasting impression. That said, watching Kaiju No. 8 is thoroughly enjoyable, sprinkled with deliberately placed moments of humor throughout.

On the surface, Kaiju No.8 attempts to differentiate itself from typical ... shonen manga. Episode 1 delves into realistic elements (like the detailed handling of kaiju corpses - something rarely explored in monster anime), and the main character has long passed his youth (being over 30). Yet, strip away these settings, and you'll find a quintessential shonen formula at its core. Kafka's age, despite being a unique character trait, bears little significance to the story's development, and the narrative barely touches on workplace dynamics.

So far, Kaiju No.8 shapes up to be an anime that excels in combat scenes while keeping its plot straightforward. While its story might not linger long in memory, it promises to deliver an exhilarating viewing experience.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Sep 8, 2024

robertino129

Not Recommended

Funny

As an adult cast military themed anime this deservers a 1.

This is mostly inspired from gacha games, where each character has a combat power which even affects the strength of the bullets they fire. Every character portrayed, commanders included, show a severe lack of tactics or strategy. The only tactics that ever work are those that use brute force. And for some reason nobody in the cast has bothered to research their enemies or their weaknesses. Apparently that is the only way the MC can be shown to not be completely useless, because it's truly hard for everyone to remember that the abdomen or the ... back are the weaknesses of certain types of monsters. Maybe they all have a side job of being games journalists.

Another such example is with a side character which for some reason is the only one that ever uses freeze rounds. All other squads are portrayed using mostly ineffective bullets, probably because they wouldn't be able to win at rock paper scissors if their opponent played his hand first.

Overall it's the typical shounen aimed at 14 year olds where the only way one character can be shown to be of higher intelligence than everyone else is by dumbing the others down SEVERELY. As such, there are no real adults in the cast at all, nor does it contain any sort of military formations or tactics, which is why the show deserves a 1.

Next time use the appropriate themes, MAL. If none of them fit, don't add any, it's better than using the wrong ones.

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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