This is a story about a boy who dreams of crushing giant monsters who take everything from him. Together with his friend, he swears to exterminate all of these monsters. He almost dies trying, but he acquires power that allows him to transform like the monsters he vows to kill.
This is Kaiju No. 8, a shonen manga by Naoya Matsumoto that soared into popularity upon its release in 2020. Although it shares similarities with Attack on Titan in concept, this manga doesn’t follow the journey of a boy who grew up in a harsh world and is forced to turn against it.
Instead, Kaiju No. 8 is often very comedic. Despite a variety of terrifying monsters living among people, Japan and everywhere else in the world aren’t flattened to the ground. Humanity adapted against these monsters, and Japan has an Anti-Kaiju Defense Force. Kafka Hibino promised to become part of the Anti-Kaiju Defense Force along with his childhood friend, Ashiro Mina.
Kafka challenged Ashiro to be “cooler,” but eventually lost. She became part of the Defense Force, while he was left to become part of the clean-up crew after failing the exam multiple times. Ashiro also became one of the best among the Defense Forces. During a clean-up, a Kaiju appears, and Kafka rushes in to save his junior, despite not knowing what to do about it.
He saved the life of his junior, and while they’re both in the hospital, Kafka’s motivation to join the Defense Force is reignited. After that declaration, a Kaiju enters his body, and he becomes a Kaiju humanoid. This gave him an immense amount of strength, and despite the irony of it, becoming partly a Kaiju might be all he needs to finally fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming part of the Defense Forces.
Kaiju No. 8 and its production will be handled by Production I.G., the same studio that animated Haikyu!! and Psycho-Pass among other hit anime. The anime of Kaiju No. 8 is set to release in Spring 2024 in April. The exact release date is yet to be announced, but it will air on Crunchyroll for international audiences.
(featured image: Crunchyroll/Production I.G.)
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Vanessa Esguerra
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