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.
Here is where he meets the lively and memorable Kikoru. She is a
very arrogant new recruit who believes she is the “best there is”. She does end up kicking plenty of butt in this show’s amazingly animated fight scenes, but deep down, her apparent arrogance is actually there to mask her insecurities and fear of disappointing her father. Eventually, she is given an axe to fight kaiju with, and the spectacle of a young lady fighting one hundred foot monsters with a giant ax is just as cool as it sounds. Hoshina, another member of the Kaiju Defense Force, is also a character with insecurities. He has been told that swordsmen are useless in fighting kaiju, but he wants to prove the world wrong. If a giant axe can kill kaiju, logically a sword should too, if one is awesome enough. The final character with a memorable gimmick is Kafka’s crush Mina, who has a giant laser gun and an attack tiger. What more needs to be said other than these characters have awesome goofy gimmicks and their goals of proving their worth to society is an engaging plot point.
Because of Kafka’s experience on the disposal force, he has special knowledge of kaiju anatomy that is useful in combat, even if he is dead weight in his human form. A few times, he is forced to transform and kick kaiju butt despite the risk of being discovered and becoming a science experiment for the Kaiju Defense Force. The whole secret identify plot feels pretty superhero-esque and a fun plot.
Production I.G. created a gorgeous title that rivals its contemporaries in an era when battle shonen are at their best visually. This series can stand toe to toe with Demon Slayer or Jujutsu Kaisen, in my opinion. The kaiju look awesome and the Kaiju Defense Force wear snazzy uniforms.
Having said all of that, there is an age old problem the kaiju genre has of having mindless monster protagonists. It seems like many battle shonen series have a tendency to phase out monsters in favor of humanoid villains with personalities, as Hollows quickly lost relevance in Bleach, and perhaps the same could happen here. We do have humanoid smaller kaiju appear alongside traditional kaiju, so perhaps the traditional kaiju will stay relevant. The point of kaiju is that they are a force of nature that can’t be reasoned with, and they have been popular enemies despite not having complex personalities. Besides, Godzilla’s nemesis Mothra is more compelling as an antagonist than the entire Demon Slayer rogues’ gallery.
In conclusion, this show rocks. The cast of lovable underdogs
fighting skyscraper sized monsters makes for great television. The battle shonen genre is reaching new heights in terms of spectacle while keeping its heart, and although some people may tire of the power of friendship, I don’t. Seeing these characters bond was a blast. In a current world of divisiveness and hatred, seeing characters who really care for each other feels so comforting. This was 2024’s best traditional battle shonen. Although Frieren probably takes the cake in terms of best adaptation of a shonen manga, that was more of a drama series with great action scenes than the traditional battle shonen. Kaiju No. 8 was another great series in a great year for anime.
