Highlights
- Kaiju No. 8 Episode 8 features an epic fight between Kafka and Vice-Captain Hoshina, full of action and moral dilemmas.
- The confusing wording regarding Kafka's official status in the Defense Force is addressed in Episode 8, clearing up past confusion.
- Episode 8 includes a realistic work party scene that adds depth to the characters and showcases Japanese work culture in a fun way.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Kaiju No. 8, Episode 8, "Welcome to the Defense Force," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
As expected, Kaiju No. 8 was back this week with another episode that hit the ground running, wasting no time by opening with an epic fight between main character Kafka Hibino in his kaiju form and Vice-Captain Hoshina. While it was the only fight in the episode, it was an excellent one, not only full of good action, but also the moral dilemma of Kafka as he had to balance surviving and also not hurting someone who he likes and respects at the same time. It kept fans on the edge of their seats right from the start, and had enough momentum to carry the rest of the episode to the end without needing more action.
Kaiju No. 8 did go back up to a score of 8.26 according to MyAnimeList, from last week, showing that the show continues to fluctuate slightly each week based on the content of the latest episode. Episode 8 has a good mix of action, humor, horror, and character building that might be reflected in fans' feelings about it. Plus, it had one of the best cliffhangers of the series so far, introducing a potential new antagonist and kaiju that we haven't seen the likes of before.
Kaiju No. 8: Kaiju vs Kaiju
Episode 7 of Kaiju No. 8 gives viewers non-stop violence, action, and the power of friendship.
The Impact of Confusing Wording
One issue with Episode 8 of Kaiju No. 8 is a matter of confusing wording. Several episodes ago, most of the important characters in the anime were inducted into the Japan Anti-Kaiju Defense Force. At the time, Kafka Hibino was not officially inducted along with the rest, but put on a 3-month probationary period to see if he could succeed. However, he still continued to train and live with them, and went on the first big mission along with the rest of his squad mates. In fans' eyes, he was a member of the Defense Force, he was just not as high-ranking as the others.
However, near the end of Episode 8, Kafka was finally accepted as a member of the Defense Force, and was even inducted by Captain Mina Ashiro herself. While we understand that he went from a cadet to an officer, it seems confusing that he was not promoted but instead welcomed into the Defense Force in the first place. It may be a small difference in wording, but it is one that was confusing for viewers to understand exactly what Kafka has been doing the past few episodes if he technically wasn't in the Defense Force officially. At least he is now, though, so that makes it less confusing going forward.
A Realistic Japanese Work Party
To slow down after the intense excitement of the fight between Kafka and Hoshina, Episode 8 had a great work party scene to celebrate the team's first mission and the release of Ichikawa and Furuhashi from the hospital. It also was a good chance to reveal that another secondary character, Haruichi Izumo, is connected to Izumo Technologies, an important company in the world of Kaiju No. 8. The party scene was heart-warming, especially at first, as all the characters had a chance to celebrate and be happy after a few episodes of non-stop tension and excitement, and continue to build the bonds between them.
The party quickly devolved into chaos though, as everyone started to drink. Soon, the characters were arguing with each other, complaining about one another's faults, and picking apart what could have been done better in the last mission.
Kaiju No. 8: The Kaiju Cleaning Companies, Explained
Kaiju Cleaning Companies play an important in the fight against Kaijus, doing everything from cleaning up their mess to recycling their parts.
In Japan, it is common for companies to have drinking nights like this one, because in this kind of setting, everyone is allowed to be honest with one another without fear of repercussions. Regardless of your status within a company, you can speak your mind freely thanks to the presence of alcohol, which is good not only for team bonding but also for problem-solving, as people are able to talk about real issues.
It added realism to Kaiju No. 8's setting, since the anime is set in modern Japan. It is easy to imagine that if the Defense Force was a real organization, this kind of work party would definitely happen, and it would be good for team building just like it was in Episode 8. Vice-Captain Hoshina said it right when he told Ichikawa it was good for everyone to discuss the first mission, as they were able to talk about it freely and find improvements for the next time. We loved seeing this touch of real Japanese work culture influencing the anime - plus, it was fun to see everyone celebrating and having a good time together.
Kaiju No. 9's Horrifying New Power
Being a Kaiju, Kaiju No. 9 is so unlike typical antagonists in anime, behaving differently from just another evil human. It makes him unpredictable and more interesting than usual, especially seeing him interacting with humans and their technology like cell phones and even toilets. He is amusing in a dark way, and completely lacks mercy for humans and human infrastructure and culture.
Episode 8 gave fans an all-new disregard for humans from Kaiju No. 9 in the form of a new, truly horrifying power. When a random human finds the kaiju wandering down the middle of a road, clearly still recovering from his run-in with Kafka that nearly killed him, that human mistakes him for someone crazy. The man ends up paying the ultimate price after yelling at Kaiju No. 9 to move out of the way, which results in the kaiju's head growing disgustingly large - and him ingesting the human! The truly terrifying part, though, is that after doing so, he took the form of that human.
That means that Kaiju No. 9's previous human form also used to be a real person who is now dead because of him, and the kaiju took over his life and appearance. Now, Kaiju No. 9 has a new body, which will make him harder to recognize, and shows that he has another truly terrible power. He is taking over people's lives and no one will ever know what happened to them, and it does make it easy for him to disappear when he needs to if his cover is blown. This is a great new power for the antagonist, as it continues to make him more formidable, terrifying, and heartless.
Fans should be excited to learn more about the new kaiju revealed at the end of Episode 8. The last minute or so of the episode showed several winged kaiju, with at least one being ridden by what seemed like another humanoid kaiju. Considering how well done the characterization of Kaiju No. 9 is, fans should be eager to find out who or what that was.
Watch Kaiju No. 8 now on Crunchyroll.
Kaiju No. 8 (2024)
Production I.G's Kaiju No. 8 is a Spring 2024 anime based on Naoya Matsumoto's Shonen Jump+ manga. Set in an alternate version of Japan, the story follows the Anti-Kaiju Defense Force as they try to protect the nation from monster attacks.
