Highlights
- Kaiju No. 9 is the main antagonist in Kaiju No. 8, challenging the main characters with its powers and intelligence.
- It can bring kaiju back to life, create others, and aims to destroy the Anti-Kaiju Defense Force.
- With its multiple abilities, resilience, and shapeshifting, Kaiju No. 9 is a formidable adversary in the series.
Kaiju No. 8 is one of the hottest anime this season, full of science-fiction action and plenty of laughs. Anyone who is watching the series will know all about the main character, Kafka Hibino, and his kaiju form that he takes from the first episode. That kaiju is known in the series as Kaiju No. 8, the title character. But Kaiju No. 8's name alludes to other similar kaiju that came before him - and there are some that have come after as well. The main antagonist of the series is one such kaiju, known as Kaiju No. 9.
When Kaiju No. 9 first showed up in Episode 4, not much information was revealed about the strange creature at all. While it has continued to be in the anime nearly every episode since, serving the role as the main antagonist to drive the plot forward and give Kafka a worthy opponent, still not much has been revealed about it. What exactly is it, and what is its goal? What are its powers? While not everything has been revealed yet, even in the manga, let's look at what we do know about Kaiju No. 9.
Anime Name | Kaiju No. 8 |
Character Name | Kaiju No. 9 |
Anime Debut | Episode 4 |
Manga Debut | Chapter 6 |
Kaiju No. 8: Combat Power, Explained
Kaiju No. 8 talks about "Combat Power" a lot, but what exactly does that mean, how do we know what it is, and how does it affect each character?
Kaiju No. 8's Main Antagonist
The main role that Kaiju No. 9 plays in Kaiju No. 8 is to serve as the main antagonist of the story. There are plenty of other kaiju for Kafka and the rest of the Defense Force to fight, but as has been shown several times in the anime, Kafka is his kaiju form and Kikoru Shinomiya are able to make quick work of all of them. Add in Captain Mina Ashiro's skills, and the kaiju don't stand a chance. Frankly, that makes for a boring anime if none of the characters are challenged and pushed to their limits, and there is no chance for tension or character growth.
That's where Kaiju No. 9 steps in. It is another humanoid kaiju, like Kafka in his kaiju form, which explains the naming convention used by the Defense Force to recognize them both. Kaiju that earn numbers like these two are humanoid in nature rather than huge monsters, but despite being smaller in stature, they are more powerful, harder to kill, and show signs of intelligence. Kaiju No. 9 is the perfect opposite of Kafka. Whereas Kafka is a human who is able to transform into a kaiju, Kaiju No. 9 is a kaiju who is able to take the form of a human (and not just one human, but any human that it kills and takes the form of as seen in Episode 8).
Unlike the other kaiju that Kafka, Kikoru, Mina, and the rest of the Defense Force face, Kaiju No. 9 is able to actually fight back against them. Even fighting one-on-one against Kafka, it is the only enemy able to expose his core and nearly kill him. It made quick work of Kikoru when faced with her as well, and toyed with other members of the Defense Force. Kaiju No. 9 is on a different level from other kaiju, and presents an actual challenge for all the main characters in the anime to face. It can also talk, and does its best to hide among humans, making it have another layer of danger on top of its powers.
Kaiju No. 8: Who is Kikoru Shinomiya?
Kikoru plays an important role in Kaiju No. 8. Here's a closer look at who she is.
What Does Kaiju No. 9 Want?
Presumably, all the kaiju in Kaiju No. 8 want to destroy human society, as that is what they are constantly trying to do. They want to destroy everything and kill anything that stands in their way. Kaiju No. 9 is no different, but with a more specialized attack plan than just pummeling through the city and destroying everything in its way like the other honju and yoju do. Kaiju No. 9 is able to bring kaiju back to life that the Defense Force previously killed, and it is also able to create other kaiju. It seems to be the mastermind behind some of the mass invasions, too, revealing that it was the one who designed kaiju that could reproduce even after their main bodies were destroyed.
But what is Kaiju No. 9's motivation? It is clearly intelligent, and even holds conversations with humans. Why does it want to destroy the Defense Force and kill everyone it comes across? The Kaiju No. 8 manga holds answers that the anime does not. In the lore of Kaiju No. 8, kaiju that are killed by the Defense Force are sometimes used to make powerful weapons that make use of their power. Their cells and muscle fiber are also used to create the Combat Suits that the Defense Force wears into battle against the kaiju.
Because this power has been taken from the kaiju, Kaiju No. 9 is wiping out the Defense Force to take it back. Its main motive is revenge. The Defence Force kills kaiju and takes their powers, so Kaiju No. 9 resurrects the kaiju before that can happen and tries to destroy the Defence Force in return. If it has any other specific motivations for what it does, they have not yet been revealed by the manga or anime at the time of publishing.
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.
Is Kaiju No. 9 the Most Powerful Kaiju?
As stated above, Kaiju No. 9 is the only foe that has really given Kafka and Kikoru pause so far. So is it the most powerful kaiju? Other than Kafka, who was nearly able to defeat it by ripping off its head and revealing its core, it might be. Kaiju No. 9 has exhibited multiple powerful abilities so far when engaged in fights, and those are on top of its ability to create and resurrect honju and yoju.
Kaiju No. 9's main attack is a projectile attack, which only very skilled Defense Force members are able to evade as it is invisible. This attack is devastating, ripping through everything in its path. Kaiju No. 9 is also able to heal itself even in battle, which is how it recovers from having its head ripped off by Kafka, and how it is able to stop Kafka from destroying its core. It can multiply parts of itself to create even more projectile weapons as well as create duplicates of its whole body, can grow wings to fly, and can fuse itself with other kaiju to create new and even more powerful forms of itself.
Kaiju No. 9 is also extremely fast, durable against conventional weapons (and even many that the Defense Force uses), and exhibits immense physical strength. Plus, it is able to shapeshift and transform into a human. Despite being small compared to the huge honju that it controls, Kaiju No. 9's incredible range of abilities and powers makes it an extremely formidable foe, and the most powerful kaiju in the series other than Kafka that has been revealed so far.
Kaiju No. 8 is still an ongoing manga at the time of publication, so there is likely more to be revealed about Kaiju No. 9 in coming chapters. It is a very strong, dangerous humanoid kaiju that is able to turn normal kaiju from mindless beasts on a rampage to a fighting force against humanity. And it is extremely difficult to stop, especially for normal humans. It is intelligent, with the ability to plan ahead, adapt to situations, and has the capacity for revenge, making it a formidable foe indeed.
You can 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.
