Kaiju are giant monsters that often resemble dinosaurs and generally destroy massive cities, specifically Tokyo. There origins are usually unknown or some far off island or even space. Kaiju can be “forces of nature,” “non-malicious monster,” or an “Eldritch Abomination.” The most notable and famous example of a Kaiju is Godzilla. The king of monsters shows up from time to time to either destroy Tokyo or save it. Godzilla is a destructive force regardless of his intentions.
Kaiju No. 8 is a manga series by Naoya Matsumoto, set in Japan, Kaiju rampage through the city often. In response, Japan has created the Japan Anti-Kaiju Defense Force that wear Powered Armor and are armed with weapons to battle the massive beasts. Along with the armored crew there’s the Professional Kaiju Cleaning Company (Monster Sweeper Inc.) which our main character, Hibino Kafka, finds himself to be a member of. They specialize in cleaning the remains of a Kaiju corpses.
One day, a new team member, Leno Ishikawa, joins. And things begin to change for Kafka.
Is Mina the new Mikasa
In the background is Mina Ashiro. She’s the Captain of the Third Division of the Defense Force. Mina is Kafka’s childhood friend. She instantly reminded me of Misaka from Attack on Titan. An exceptional fighter, Mina has killed “hundreds of Kaiju.” In the episode, the defense forces riddle the Kaiju with bullets. Mina is armed with a special gun that fires a green beam the punctures a hole in the gut of Kaiju and killing it. It’s early but so far the fighting doesn’t seem to difficult. What does appear to be difficult is the clean up.
The Monster Sweeper company use heavy machinery to move parts of the corpse. The cleaners have to use chainsaw to cut away parts of kaiju for removal. It’s a bloody and generally unpleasant task. Kafka is given a more unpleasant job, intestine duty. He and the other members have to deal with feces and vile odor. The following morning, Kafka is introduced to the previously mentioned Leno Ishikawa. Their first interaction is icy but after bonding over intestine duty they encounter another Kaiju. Kafka rescues Leno and orders him to call in the Kaiju, while he distracts the monster.
Kafka undergoes a shocking transformation
The spiderlike Kaiju gives chase and Kafka stumbles his way through the city. Kafka is overmatched. The Kaiju eventually catches up with him and break his legs. When it’s about to come in for the kill, Leno intervenes. Before it can harm them, Mina and her tiger arrive and rescue them. She doesn’t seem to notice Kafka or have any reaction to his injures. I wonder if they had a falling out or she was so traumatized by the Kaiju she can no longer emote? Obviously, we’ll find out.
The most surprising part of the episode is the last few minutes. While in the hospital bed Leno encourages Kafka to join the Defense Force. Suddenly, a small Kaiju flies into Kafka’s mouth and mental tells Kafka that he “found,” Kafka. Obviously, this means that someone or something was searching for Kafka. But why? After forcing itself into Kafka’s mouth, Kafka changes into a human Kaiju hybrid. All this will be answered later. It’s early, but I like what I’m seeing so far. Personally, I love Kaiju and look forward to watching this series. The animation hasn’t had much to do yet, so far the animation is good but not great.
Disturbing thought number one: if this flying thing that forced its way in was able to turn him into a kaiju instantaneously, is this where all the kaiju come from? People who were infested with these things and lost their human sanity along the way?
Disturbing thought number two: did it really turn him into a monster that fast, or did it just drop an illusion? Has he always been a monster and forgot about it, like maybe it ate the boy and became him, and that’s why this flying thing was looking specifically for him?
Oo, those are some very interesting thoughts! I never considered that it could be his human form that wasn’t real and Kafka might have been a mini kaiju all along! I did kind of wonder why that little flying monster might have been looking for Kafka, I thought maybe it recognized him from the scene of the most recent Kaiju death and was looking for him to get revenge.
It’s possible all the Kaiju are connected and are aware that other Kaiju have been killed. I just wonder why they would change them into Kaiju instead of sending one to kill him.
Interesting. I think the first one might be more likely. I possible that there’s some kind of genetic marker they follow to target humans to transform. I would imagine that at some point another human/kaiju will be creative and the Defense Force will have a more difficult enemy.
I read the manga back when it came out- around chapter 5. Been reading it on and off for a while now. And I was really looking forward to the anime. I won’t say anything up to current events; I’ll leave it at “I’m Excited to see how this early material is adapted.” Because I remember liking all of it. This series has a nice art style, with some interesting and memorable characters. I hope this anime lives up to the hype!
I’m excited to see the variety of Kaiju they introduce and wonder why the Kaiju targeted the main character.