"Kaiju No. 8" Talkback Thread *spoilers*

[Space Cadet]

This whole time, Kafka has been in control of his Kaiji but we get to see what happens when it's reversed, especially when he's about to be sent to Kingdom Come.

 

[Yojimbo]

So moving that everyone in the Third wants Kafka back and the heart-to-heart between Mina and Kafka at last. She'll always wait. Dah... Even the stoic Aoi is calling all his contacts for help.

No. 2 was a total Godzilla nod down to the score.

Sure, Shinomiya' dad is the strongest soldier in the history of the Defense Force. Why not.

Rut-ro, this is Naruto and Nine Tails all over again. So the reverse can happen on this show...

So again wonder if we'll learn anything about this bug Kaiju's reasons for merging with Kafka soon. I bet Kafka will figure some way to regain control then do something goofy to convince the Director General he's not a Kaiju that only a macho bruiser like him can understand. Hmm. Break the 002 gauntlets as a show of strength? Punch himself in the face? Rip his own arm off instead of running?

 

[PicardMan]

There is a dub delay after every previous episode being a same day dub, .

 

[PicardMan]

Episode 12
"Kafka Hibino" May 18, 2024

 

[Space Cadet]

Was this the season finale? If so, this was a good way to go out on. Kafka trying to control his kaiju kinda reminded me of how Gohan was able to control the Oozaru during the battle with Vegeta. Overall, I have enjoyed this season and I'm looking forward to season two.

 

[Yojimbo]

Phew. But y'know, we all knew he'd be sparred.

But then some officers like Reno won't be Third Division anymore. Wonder how they will address that or will they simply be off the show until they come back later on or joint missions with other divisions because Third is still rebuilding?

That First Division captain. Being "First" division, wonder if that implies he's the best of the best.

Was this the season finale?

Yes, it's the season finale and season 2 is already in production.

 

[PicardMan]

Just got to see the final two episodes in preparation for the July 10th review . The finale was great too and very emotional as we had a very tense battle between Kafka and Kikoru's dad. The shonen sappiness of Kafka's comrades rooting for him was a good kind of sappiness. This was probably the best traditional battle shonen of the year, although Frieren is probably the best shonen manga adaptation overall of 2024. Man 2024 has been a great year for anime.

 

[wonderfly]

The News Team's PicardMan has a new review on the front page of AnimeSuperhero.com:

"Review: “Kaiju No. 8:” Best Battle Shonen of the Year?"​

"The battle shonen genre is often known for recycling the same plot conventions and character archetypes as previous entries, but their is often one way that titles attempt to stand out from the crowd. Many entries have specific themes that set them apart, such as Naruto being the ninja battle shonen, One Piece being the pirate battle shonen, Fairy Tail being the wizard battle shonen, and Black Clover being the other wizard battle shonen. Surprisingly, there hasn’t yet been a kaiju themed entry in this genre, despite kaiju being a ubiquitous facet of Japanese pop culture. That is until this entry has come out.

Kaiju No. 8 is the story of Kafka Hibino, who is not at all an action hero. While the Kaiju Defense Force gets to blow up kaiju with laser guns, the disposal team does the nasty work and has to dissect the creatures and their disgusting innards. It is interesting that this protagonist is substantially different from most shonen protagonists of late in being much older and out of shape, being thirty-two years old. Being that the character is my age, I am able to relate to him better than the standard teen protagonist of this genre. This is a battle shonen, and we know somehow he gets superpowers. He ends up swallowing a giant bug that allows him to transform into a Kaiju. Granted, main character gets the power to transform into a monster cliché has been done before in Chainsaw Man and Attack on Titan, so how does this series stand out?

Thankfully, the characters and world are able to make this show not feel like a retread of those two aforementioned series. For one, it is substantially lighter than those very dark series. The series is able to homage tokusatsu titles like Godzilla very well. I will say that I found this series’ cast more likable than Attack on Titan‘s. As one expects from the conventions of this genre, Kafka decides to join the Kaiju Defense Force despite being underpowered in his human form and his desire to keep his ability to transform into a kaiju a secret."

Read the full review here.

 

[Yojimbo]

Season 2 comes out next year.

The studio is working on a new original episode "Hoshina's Day Off" and a compilation movie of the first season Both will be screened together in theaters in Japan in 2025.