Kaiju No. 8
a review by Yerolan
a review by Yerolan
If you want to avoid spoilers, just skip the story section before regretting reading it. I already wrote in bold where it begins and ends so, you should be fine.
Note: The images will probably look small. I'll try to fix it next time, but it would be good to DM me if you may know why.
So, hey folks, we’ve got another brand-new mainstream shonen adaptation right here! Our sorcerers/warriors/hunters fighting curses/demons/monsters have some new additions. Now, as an under 21 "shonen", you might think I'd be hyped, but… no, that's not the case here.
Now, don't get me wrong. While my score might hint at what’s up, I haven't dropped any positive or negative comments about Kaiju No.8 yet. Even though I'm not a seasoned weeb who's binged ten thousands of episodes, I've had my fair share of the generic battle-shonen concept I've just mentioned over the past 3 years of my life watching anime. Some were cliché and relatively ordinary but enjoyable, some tried different things and surprised me in a good way (though, as far as shonen is concerned, I've only seriously encountered that situation once.), and of course, some just didn't hit the mark for me.
Before the anime series was announced, I was already aware of Kaiju No.8. It was always trending on sites like Anilist and often ranked high on Manga Plus… Okay, to be frank I've been usually seeing it here and there and it was popping on my feed so I figured it was pretty popular. But honestly, Kaiju No.8 never really grabbed my attention, because I’ve never been into the whole kaiju theme. Stuff like devils/fiends in Chainsaw Man or curses in Jujutsu Kaisen have always seemed more interesting to me. So when the anime adaptation was announced, my reaction was pretty much, "Uhm, okay... Guess I’ll watch it then.”
So, okay. I finished Kaiju No.8, we all kept up with it weekly. So, how is it? Good, bad? Is it just another typical boring shonen or, does it try some different things? I think it may be a little more complicated than you might expect, but it's certainly not so bad, or the best thing out there.
Spoiler starts here.
After losing their family and hometown in a kaiju attack, Kafka Hibino and Mina Ashiro, two children who vowed to join the Defense Force to become kaiju hunters, are now in unimaginably different positions. While Mina Ashiro, the leader of the 3rd Division, is hailed as one of the greatest kaiju hunters in history, Kafka, who couldn't even pass the entrance exams, is ultimately a "senior cleaner" who takes care of the shit left behind by the Defense Force as they fight the kaiju.
One day, while cleaning up after another battle, Kafka and a new recruit, Reno Ichikawa, narrowly escape an unexpected kaiju attack. While recovering in the hospital, an unexpected kaiju suddenly enters inside Kafka and transforms into one himself. Following these events, Kafka and Reno take the exams to join the Defense Force. As the story unfolds, the cast of characters expands and the story of the Kaiju No.8 begins.
I know I ended it a bit abruptly, but no need to summarize the whole season halfway through. I just wanted to write a simple synopsis as a beginning of the story/plot part. Now, let's dive into some more details.
The first episode introduces the world simply and effectively, with smooth animations and dynamic editing that remain steady throughout the season. We get to see how modern-day Japan might evolve if faced with a kaiju threat. There are military units trained to kill kaiju without harming people, but since they leave a lot of blood and stuff behind, there's a cleaning crew to deal with the aftermath. There are also lots of little details, like the “Kaiju” light attached to traffic lights in case of an attack.
So, there’s some worldbuilding going on. It’s not like a bunch of kaiju just popped up in Japan and started f**king everything up. They’ve been around for a while, and people are trying to take the necessary precautions. Still, it doesn’t stray from typical shonen standards. The main focus is less on the effects of kaiju on the world and more on their battles with the Defense Force. You probably already know, but this is another one of your standard battle shonen.
Because of that, having high expectations for the story might leave you disappointed. If you’re looking for some non annoying comedy, good visuals and music, and hyped-up fight scenes, then Kaiju No.8 will likely satisfy you, especially if you’re a fan of battle shonen unlike me. Actually, it'll probably make sense to proceed from these aspects.
About hyped-up scenes, Kaiju No.8 might be different from the rest. Actually, many battle shonen use a variety of different methods to create excitement. A few examples briefly:
For instance, Demon Slayer is probably one of the simplest examples. No matter how much you care about the story, Demon Slayer gets you hyped through its amazing visuals, animations, sound, and music etc. Its high technical standards and editing make it exciting to watch.
My Hero Academia, even though it's not even close to Demon Slayer from a technical point of view, provides more of the excitement in its battles through its narrative content. Much of what I’m saying might not make much sense without watching these shows, but I just wanna make my point about Kaiju No.8.Especially compared to these examples, I wouldn’t say Kaiju No.8 is particularly “hyping.” In fact, it might even be a bit “suspenseful.”
The battles mostly start in unexpected ways moments. For example, there’s the attack on Kafka and Reno in Episode 1, Kikoru getting beaten by a talking kaiju (No.9) in Episode 4, the giant Honju’s sudden attack with its Yoju in Episode 6, or the best one, in my opinion, No.10’s raid in Episode 9. In short, whole series is filled with these sudden and big surprise attacks. Each one feels like a serious threat; in the last example, the 3rd Division's area and surroundings are almost destroyed.
Overall, Kaiju No.8 has a relatively tense atmosphere. Since something attacks usually but suddenly, we never know when the next one will hit (sometimes we know because of cliffhangers but whatever), how dangerous it will be, or how it will happen. This unpredictability adds tension a bit. Nothing crazy though. Don't think of it as a thriller or monster horror.
The series constantly emphasizes that there is no "Plot Armor" for anyone but the main character. There are times when the key characters face death, and it’s usually Kafka, No.8, who saves them in the end.
As for the one-on-one fights, there isn’t much that stands out to me. The real excitement (and suspense) comes from those sudden large-scale attacks that give you the feeling that even the strongest ones might not survive, some of them might die, or an entire city might be wiped out. In the end, no one really dies. And there’s not much focus on civilians and the impact on them. Like I said, Kaiju No.8 mainly focuses on the battles between the Defense Force and the kaiju. Who gives a shit about the civilians or destroyed homes, anyway?
So, is it good? I think the first two episodes are good. These are the initial parts where you get to know the cast, understand the world, and adapt to it. Most shonen anime do this fairly well. Even some non-shonen series like Tokyo Ghoul and Ninja Kamui, which get really bad later, start off good. It’s easy to make a good start; the valuable thing is to maintain that quality as the series progresses.
Up until Episode 7, I was genuinely worried that Kaiju No.8 was going to be bad. I was watching without caring about anything that was happening; it was just boring. During those sudden attacks I mentioned, and in the other fights too, everything felt bland except for the technical aspects. The characters weren’t that good, and while the comedy wasn’t annoying, but it wasn’t that funny either. For 4 episodes, it felt like nothing was bad, but also nothing was good enough.
With episode 7, No.9 lifted my spirits a bit, and with episode 9, we saw the peak of the season. I'm okay with the first 2 episodes and episodes 9 and 10. The rest, with a few exceptions, were kind of middling.
I didn’t expect Kafka’s identity as No.8 to be revealed in the final episodes, and I also didn't expect the Defense Force's top general to show up in person to test his strength. There's a good battle going on between them, yes. In the end, it is decided that Kafka will not be killed and will stay with the team, and the season ends with a little teaser about No.9. Nice.
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Spoiler ends here.
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Although as I've said in the title and in some parts of the review that Kaiju No.8 is just another generic battle shonen, it's not a completely unoriginal work. At least it's a story with its own identity that doesn't feel much familiar in many ways. It's not too original, but it doesn't feel overly basic either, unlike Demon Slayer or first seasons of My Hero Academia.
To sum up, if you like Kaiju and battle shonen, I think it's pretty clear that Kaiju No.8 is a great run for you. Enjoy the fights and the technical side of things without getting too caught up in the lack of narrative depth. On the other hand, if you’re not a shonen fan and you’re not crazy about the kaiju theme, it shouldn’t feel like a bad decision to remove Kaiju No.8 from your list.
This is usually the case with shonen anime, when talking about technical details rather than story, things get more positive. The same goes here.
Kaiju No.8 looks really good. The animation, the colors, everything is above average, as good as you would expect from Production I.G. (or maybe not, I don't know). Look at some clips on Youtube and yes, the whole series looks like that. It may not be on the level of the industry leaders Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man, especially may not be as catchy as them, but it's more than enough. I don't think it has any major flaw.
Regarding the sound, the voice acting is great. Each one fits its character perfectly and it doesn't feel artificial. So the actors' works are satisfying, no problems here.
As for the music, although I don't remember anything that doesn't fit the scene, well I actually can't remember any of the music. They're probably not bad, but I really don't remember a single melody, so I can't say much.
About OP and ED, when I first heard the OP at the start of Episode 2, the voice sounded familiar. I was pretty surprised to learn it was Yungblud. And then I found out the ED was by OneRepublic, which was even more interesting. I don’t like either artist, though I can’t say the songs are bad. But, the videos are definitely more intriguing.
The ED video is super cute. You’ll see what I mean when you watch it, the drawings and colors are really adorable.
On the other hand, what the hell is that OP video? I've never seen CGI like that in any anime. It's a bit weird in some parts (like the 2 kaiju at 0:53), but for the most part I think it looks nice and will probably stick in my mind for a long time.
Well, I guess there's not much left to talk about. Personally, I don't regret watching Kaiju No.8, but I can't say I'm very satisfied either. I think I more or less understood what to expect from the next season.
As for my advice, just read the last paragraph of the story section. That pretty much sums up my thoughts.
That’s all I have to say. If you read it, thanks. Demon Slayer: Hashira Training review coming out tomorrow by the way, just saying. (A bit late but here.)
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