Kaiju No. 8
Entry updated 29 July 2024. Tagged: TV.
Japanese animated tv series (2024; original title Kaijū 8-gō). Production I.G.. Based on the Manga by Naoya Matsumoto. Directed by Shigeyuki Miya and Tomomi Kamiya. Written by Ichirō Ōkouchi. Voice cast includes Fairouz Ai, Masaya Fukunishi, Tesshō Genda, Wataru Katoh, Asami Seto and Hiroyuki Yoshino. Twelve 24-minute episodes. Colour.
As children, friends Kafka Hibino (Fukunishi) and Mina Ashiro (Seto) declare they will stand together as members of the Defence Force, the body that kills the Kaiju which regularly attack Japan (see Invasion). Years later, at 27, Mina is the celebrated captain of the Defense Force's Third Division, the youngest person to hold that rank. Kafka – having failed the exams – is now a member of a clean-up crew responsible for removing the massive corpses of the killed Kaiju, a very messy business. New crew member Reno Ichikawa (Katoh) sees the job as a step to joining the Defence Force and he persuades Kafka to re-apply. At one point they are both injured, and whilst hospitalized a small Kaiju appears, says "Found you," and flies into bedridden Kafka's mouth, whereupon he transforms into a Kaiju. Though not particularly big, he is exceptionally powerful and manages to kill another that threatens a mother and child; Kafka finds he can revert to human form, but needs to stay focused. Because the Defence Force cannot locate him he gets a code name: Kaiju No. 8.
He and Reno – who knows his secret – begin the examination, meeting other applicants, most notably the prodigy Kikoru Shinomiya (Ai): her father Isao (Genda) is the Defence Force's Director General, her late mother a noted Kaiju killer. One test includes combating some minor Kaiju in a partially controlled environment; after years of clean-up experience Kafka knows many species' weak points, though it is Kikoru who destroys most of them. However, a humanoid Kaiju appears and brings one back to life, which nearly kills Kikoru – Kafka saves her in his Kaiju form, begging her not to tell anyone: she agrees. The new Kaiju can take human form by devouring someone (thereby also acquiring their memories), is Intelligent, sardonic and working to a plan – none of which has precedent; it is given the name Kaiju No. 9 (Yoshino). An all-out Kaiju assault on the Third Division's HQ follows, led by another intelligent humanoid Kaiju, though this one has a more aggressive temperament; despite this and its immense power, the combined efforts of the Third Division bring it down, but Kafka needs to transform in front of witnesses to stop its final attempt to destroy the HQ, after which he is arrested.
Isao Shinomiya decides to fight Kafka himself, using Technology incorporating parts of defeated Kaiju: Kafka is forced into his Kaiju form, and now the bug he swallowed asserts itself and he fights to retain his Identity; but only does so at the end, in time to prevent himself killing Isao. Isao was testing Kafka: he goes against his colleagues' advice, which is to destroy Kafka instead reinstating him in the Third Division. This decision was perhaps partially in response to his daughter's pleas, but predominantly because Kaiju attacks are becoming fiercer and, as he observes, humanity will need Kafka fighting with them to have a sliver of hope. Meanwhile, Kaiju No. 9 has concluded that humanity's strength is the ability to accumulate knowledge across generations and intends to move to the next phase of their plan – and get Kaiju No.8 to switch sides.
The series is set in an Alternate History where Kaiju attacks are real, and given that society is much like our own but with advanced technology – the Defence Force use Powered Armour – probably takes place in the Near Future. The nature of the Kaiju bug Kafka swallows is not yet clear (see Parasitism and Symbiosis), nor why Mina is often accompanied by a Siberian tiger. An exciting, enjoyable Anime with Humour, Kaiju No. 8 has well animated action sequences, and though the characters are familiar types – Kafka the bighearted lummox, Reno the friend who believes in him even when he doesn't, Kikoru the sarcastic, tough fighter who is emotionally vulnerable, and so on (see Clichés) – they are a likeable team, with Kaiju No. 9 an interesting villain. Presumably the protagonist's name is a nod to the author of The Metamorphosis (trans 1937 chap), Franz Kafka. [SP]
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