At the end of the first episode of Kaiju No. 8, Kafka Hibino is infected by an unnamed kaiju and is transformed into Kaiju No. 8. He quickly alarms an elderly man who calls the Defense Force. Easily in the episode, we get a flashback from Kafka and Mina Ashiro. In the present, she prepares to lead the force to take out Kafka. At the hospital, Kafka accidentally show off his now massive strength. Escaping the hospital is a clever way to display Kafka new abilities. He rips the window open and then high jumps to escape. Kafka’s abilities take a turn towards the creepy when he begins to show a number of grotesque skills. He eats a bird alive with a tentacle like togue. While running with Leno Ichikawa, Kafka has the urge to pee. Which he does through his nipples’.
Kaiju No. 8 manages to seamlessly weave together humor and grossness. The series adds tragedy to the mix. Suddenly, another Kaiju appears. Kafka and Leno decide to take the opportunity to escape. The Defense Force priorities the new Kaiju over Kafka and changes course. Somewhere in the city, a ceiling collapses on a mother. Her young daughter sadly tries to save her life but has no strength to do so. A similar kaiju from the one previous episode appears and tries to eat the girl and her mother.
Kafka steps in
Kafka appears a with one punch sends the kaiju flying across town. Leno rescues the family as Kafka fights the Kaiju. He powers up with an electric punch that devastates the kaiju and it explodes, raining blood. The little girl that’s him. He’s reminded of Mina as he transforms back into a human. Mina and the other Defense Forces appear and only see the remains of the battle. Mina tells the little girl that she’ll “kill all the Kaiju herself.” She seems happy to her it until she realizes that this includes Kafka.
She begs Mina not to kill the “good,” Kaiju, shocking Mina. The next day, the defense force is continuing to search for Kafka. At the job, both Kafka and Leno pass the first stage of the Defense Force test. Kafka still can’t maintain his human form completely. They both decide to take the next step as rivals. 10 days they later they arrive at the testing site. They see several new characters like, Iharu Furuhashi, Haruichi Izumo, but one makes a scene. Kikoru Shinomiya.
Enter Kikoru Shinomiya
She demands Kafka move his car because it’s in her “spot,” that has her lucky number 55. She reveals a suit that vibrates read granting her strength. Kikoru lifts his car with one hand and moves it herself. She gets in Kafka’s face and asks if “he knows that he smells like a Kaiju?” This episode did a lot. It introduced Kafka’s new abilities, provided two allies for him now that he’s a kaiju, the little girl (temporarily) and Leno, and introduced another character Kikoru Shinomiya.
On first glace, she reminds me of Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion. She’s cocky, rude, and I’m assuming competent. So far Kaiju No.8 has built it’s story in a well paced manner. I’m looking forward to seeing how Kafka manages to use his abilities without getting caught. I think eventually he will get discovered but at what cost.
Hm. That scene with Mina and the little girl seems to be an Anime original scene. Welcomed. I think that scene will gain new context for her later.
As for Kikoru: I have seen Neon Genesis ONCE in my entire life. Did. NOT. Enjoy it……….. Content Wise. Visually and musically, it was a very well done series, but………… I don’t know if I’m just not smart enough to see what people were so “in love” with, or if Netflix cuts some content. All I can say is that It both bored and infuriated me.
And Asuka was a big part of that. I actually had to look up her character profile to learn what was up with her, and learning about what happened in one of those Movies and her feelings, I was like “…………… Where the h#ll was that?”
So hearing you compare her to Asuka, I’m definitely going to be keeping my eyes on her from now on. Personally, she reminds me of Noelle Silva from “Black Clover.” Have you read it? IT’S FRE@KIN AWESOME.
I’ll admit that my comparison with Asuka is shallow. It’s mostly her abrasive personality. Evangelion isn’t for everyone it can be too complicated and convoluted. However, Askua’s personality was a mask for her insecurity. I don’t know if Kikoru is dealing with similar issues. I’m anime only so I assumed everything was in the manga. That said, the little girl adds to the advocates for Kafka. Black Clover is a series that should appeal to me more. I love magic in anime, and the art style. I have read a few volumes of the series and it’s good. However, I’m behind in like 20 manga series (LOL). I have too catch up.