Kaijuu 8-gou

After the destruction of their hometown, childhood friends Kafka Hibino and Mina Ashiro make a pact to become officers in the Defense Force—a militarized organization tasked with protecting Japan from colossal monsters known as "kaijuu." Decades later, the 32-year-old Kafka has all but given up on his dreams of heroism. Instead, he cleans up the remains of the slaughtered kaijuu after they are defeated by valiant soldiers—including Mina, who has successfully achieved their shared goal.

Upon meeting his new coworker, Reno Ichikawa, Kafka faces a mirror of his past self: an ambitious young man whose one desire is to fight as a member of the Defense Force. Unfortunately, the two are soon involved in a freak encounter with a rogue kaijuu. Though Kafka demonstrates his innate heroic nature and rescues Reno from certain doom, he is left gravely injured.

While both men recover in a hospital, Kafka is seemingly attacked by another one of the beasts. As a result, he gains the ability to transform into a humanoid kaijuu with the strength and powers of the massive monsters menacing Japan. Dubbed "Kaijuu No. 8" by the military, Kafka resolves to use his newfound gifts for the greater good. Tied together by mutual respect, Kafka and Reno set out to join warriors like Mina at the forefront of the Defense Force.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Hoshina, Soushirou Main

Kawanishi, Kengo Japanese

Hibino, Kafka Main

Fukunishi, Masaya Japanese

Shinomiya, Kikoru Main

Fairouz Ai Japanese

Ichikawa, Reno Main

Katou, Wataru Japanese

Ashiro, Mina Supporting

Seto, Asami Japanese

Narumi, Gen Supporting

Uchiyama, Kouki Japanese

Okonogi, Konomi Supporting

Senbongi, Sayaka Japanese

Furuhashi, Iharu Supporting

Shin, Yuuki Japanese

Kaijuu No. 9 Supporting

Yoshino, Hiroyuki Japanese

Shinomiya, Isao Supporting

Genda, Tesshou Japanese

Morihiro, Fumi Producer

Takei, Katsuhiro Producer, Planning

Hashimoto, Ryuu Producer

Hayashi, Tatsurou Producer, Planning

Reviews

Aug 25, 2025

elumizu

Recommended

Kaiju No. 8 comes in with a refreshing premise, what if our “superhero” isn’t a gifted teenager brimming with potential, but a grown man who feels like life has already passed him by? Kafka Hibino makes for a surprisingly relatable lead: an ordinary worker who’s long given up on his childhood dream, only to suddenly be granted a second chance in the form of monstrous powers. This “middle-aged hero” angle immediately sets the series apart from most shonen stories. The story kicks off at a fast pace that filled with action and tense kaiju battles though the pacing isn’t always consistent. Some arcs feel rushed, ... while others drag with repetitive exposition. The conflict structure is fairly straightforward. It's leaning heavily on direct monster showdowns rather than digging deeper into the bigger mystery of the kaiju’s origins, that unfortunately leaves the worldbuilding underdeveloped. The potential of a “biologically threatened world” is huge, but most of the times, it’s treated more as a backdrop than the story’s core. On the character side, Kafka is the clear highlight. His struggle between being an ordinary man who wants to be useful and a feared monster gives him an emotional depth that resonates. Supporting characters like Mina or Hoshina are engaging, but they often serve more as motivation triggers for Kafka rather than getting full exploration on their own. Their relationships with him are interesting, but not as fleshed out as they could be. Visually, both manga and anime hold up well. The kaiju designs are distinctive, and the battles carry weight, though some action sequences lose steam in pacing. The anime’s music and voice acting elevate the tension, especially during Kafka’s transformations, which consistently land as epic highlights. The moral takeaway is clear, that dreams don’t have an expiration date, even when life feels too late to start over. That gives Kaiju No. 8 an emotional hook, especially for some who relate to the theme of second chances. In terms of enjoyment, it’s an easy watch. It's straightforward and entertaining, as long as you don’t expect the layered complexity of Attack on Titan or the political/mystery depth of Fullmetal Alchemist. As for rewatch value, it leans more on the cool moments (such as Kafka’s transformations, duels against higher-class kaiju, etc) rather than the story as a whole. It’s a solid pick if you’re looking for a lighter shonen that still feels fresh thanks to its “out-of-the-box” protagonist.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Aug 13, 2025

happycheese

Mixed Feelings

The show has excellent animation.

The music is fine but not memorable. Except the opening, that is memorable.

The characters are not unique enough. None of their personalities are memorable except for Kikoru Shinomiya, slightly because she is the somewhat mean one. The character designs are simplified like Boruto hair, no one looks pretty and the battle suits are kind of plain looking. The characters are mainly just copies of each other and their motivation is "I want to save lives and get stronger". At least thats what they chose to show in 12 episodes.

The outcomes of the fights are predictable and the ... villains kind of come out of nowhere.

I like the humor, but I wish there was more of it.

The show does show instead of tell though, that is nice. I like that power is always demonstrated before they use words/numbers to describe power level unlike Solo leveling where they tell before showing.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jul 31, 2025

ladslem

Not Recommended

The story beats are re-used from every other shounen you've seen with no originality added to the mix. Characters swing between boring and forgettable to mild unlikeable. The animation is also a bit choppy (which is fine because good animation would have been wasted on this plot).

It's a cool concept, and there are some really interesting visuals in the opening that made me excited for what I hoped was a leading indicator of the creativity of the story. I'm pretty disappointed because I've only heard good opinions about this series, both anime and manga, but I don't understand the positive reviews for this show. ... It was ultimately a waste of time that could have been spent watching better shows.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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'Kaijuu 8-gou' Gets Compilation Movie, Special Episode in 2025

The official website of the Kaijuu 8-gou (Kaiju No. 8) television anime announced a compilation movie and a special episode titled Hoshina no Kyuujitsu (Hoshina'...read more

Aug 5, 2024 11:40 AM by Hyperion_PS | Discuss (9 comments)

'Kaijuu 8-gou' Sequel in Production

The 12th and final episode of Kaijuu 8-gou (Kaiju No. 8) announced a sequel at the end its broadcast on Saturday. Voice actor Kouki Uchiyama (Jujutsu Kaisen) will jo...read more

Jun 29, 2024 7:37 AM by Vindstot | Discuss (9 comments)

	Poll: Kaijuu 8-gou Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) deg - Apr 13, 2024	349 replies	by susumu8hz »» Aug 20, 7:54 AM
	Poll: Kaijuu 8-gou Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) IzanaSolos - Jun 29, 2024	311 replies	by ReganDesu »» Aug 18, 5:40 AM
	About the character design ReMightyRon - Aug 2	17 replies	by ReMightyRon »» Aug 11, 8:48 PM
	Poll: Kaijuu 8-gou Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) IzanaSolos - Jun 15, 2024	267 replies	by Memperbrann »» Aug 11, 2:55 PM
	Poll: Kaijuu 8-gou Episode 6 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Fortress_Maximus - May 18, 2024	135 replies	by ultramb »» Jul 30, 2:07 PM