Kaiju No. 8 is your brand-new Shounen anime of 2024, and it has delivered quite a huge impression in and of itself. Amidst the abundance of heavy-hitting shounen shows from the last 2 years, from the reach of Demon Slayer to the masses, insane action sequences of Jujutsu Kaisen, and manga fans’s favorites finally getting an adaptation from Chainsaw Man, Undead Unluck, and Hell's Paradise, what does Kaiju No. 8 offer that makes itself stand out amidst the crowded shounen titles?

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Kaiju Battle Sequences ***

If you're a fan of a continuous action series where it never lets you go from the eccentric and insane action sequences, then this show has got you covered, with each episode offering one of the most entertaining and engaging action sequences, including Kaiju Battles that's difficult to look away from. Added with the fantastic animation sequences that's leveling with the heavier-hitting Shounen battles, Production I.G. Animation staff have put a lot of care into minute detail, from the details of Kaiju Monsters to the heavy punches it gives, resulting in an engaging and beautiful action anime that gets action fans hooked.

In addition to that, our main character Kafka Hibino (Masaya Fukunishi) brings a full-centric comic relief character and puts him at the center, carrying the series on his shoulders, and he does it well. This results in many comedic moments that can give you a chuckle or two, but also has humanity inside that you can easily root for him. The side characters in this series mainly serve as support for our main character, whether dynamically on screen or motivationally, but they're still fun enough to watch along the ride. ***

On viewing, Kaiju No. 8 has the ingredients to be a perfect action anime, rivaling the heavy hitters of Shounen. However, exploring deeper and giving thought to the plot points of the series exposes different amounts of duct-taped cracks that you just couldn't ignore. For instance, the entire Kaiju mythology has largely been unexplored to the point where you really don't know what these Kaiju want with the world, not to mention that there are human-Kaiju hybrids that were just shown to exist in the world as if it's a normal phenomenon rather than the suspension of mystery within its existence as the series it wants to convey to it. The entire world of the show pretends to be as big as it actually is but never fully commits to the concepts it tries to show the audience. ***

Aside from the amazing action and animation, the first season of Kaiju No. 8 offers nothing more than any other battle shounen. It's not the worst thing in the world, as other anime have one hook of a quirk that unfortunately cannot redeem the other points that drag the show down. But Kaiju No. 8's animation is solely carrying this heavily flawed series inside a half-baked world. You just have to consume what it shows you as a battle action series rather than what it promises to be. ***