When Kaiju threaten the city, the Japansese Defense Force
is there to save the day. When the
battle is won, that’s when Kafka Hibino comes in. His job is to clean up after the Kaijju’s are
dead and it’s not the most glamorous job.
Long dreaming of joining the ranks of those who kill the Monsters, Kafka
finds an in when he accidentally injests a mysterious bug that transfroms him
into a human sized Kaiju. Forced to lead
two different lives, Kafka puts his newfound powers to the test while trying to
prove he’s worthy to stand alongside the best of the JDF, especially his
childhood friend and the JDF’s best fighter, Mina Ashiro
When I think of Humans battling Kaiju, my first thoughts
go right to Giant Robots as the most effective weapons against them.
After all, how else are you going to handle
skyscraper sized monsters otherwise?
It
looks like Kaiju No.8 is looking to answer that question and even expand upon
aspect of the Kaiju fighting business that are seldom explored.
Add in a nice dose of humor and some gross
out gore courtesy of Production IG and I can see why this has become a bit of a
favorite in 2024.
The most fascinating aspects of Kaiju No.8’s first
episode is the look at the two divisions in the war against Kaiju’s: the
offense and the clean up crew.
Like I
said, there’s no sign of any mecha to pummel the monsters so it begs the
question how humans are handling the threat in this universe.
Simple, pack some hot 20 somethings into
skintight power suits and give them some high powered guns.
It brings up memories of Attack on Titan
seeing the Japanese Defense Force Third Division zip around their Kaiju
adversarives while the beautiful poster girl (literally) Mina Ashiro, gets in a
solid kill shot.
It’s kind of nice
seeing Humanity use more than just mecha to solve their problems (cant believe
I just write that sentence).
Then
there’s the clean up crew and man, oh man, they might be the true heroes of
this world.
Having to go in and carve up
dead Kaiju for various means isnt easy and they go into great detail about the
work they do, even going into the places no man should ever have to see (or
smell).
As for the characters, eh theyre fine.
Kafka’s likeable enough though you’re still
not sure why he isnt working alongside Mina like he’s always wanted.
Dude’s a hard worker and a team player, seen
when he both coaches newbie Ichikawa and saves his life from a surprise Kaiju
attack.
He’s got the heart of a
defender, so why’s he cleaning up dead Kaiju doody?
Thankfully it looks like he’s gonna get his
time to shine (in a manner of speaking) now that he’s a Kaiju who looks a lot
like Ichigo’s Final Hollow form from Bleach (also Shonen heroes inheriting
powers from swallowing some kind of evil object?
I feel like Jujutsu Kaisen’s starting a
disgusting fetish/hero trope). Ichiwawa has some good chemistry with Kafka and
seems like an OK guy.
As for Mina,
besides knowing she’s a second to none Kaiju slayer, we don’t spend too much
time with her outside of that and a couple of flashbacks to Kafkas
childhood.
A lot mustve happened to turn
that determined little girl into a grown up Ice Queen always at the ready.
Still, being a girl of few words I can see
her becoming a heartthrob for Anime fans everywhere.
And yeah, of course she looks good in the
suit but personality goes a long way, just sayin.
The first episode of Kaiju No.8 is a fascinating
presentation of the bad ass takedowns of Kaiju’s and the struggles that follow
to clean up the bloody and disgusting mess left behind.
Production I.G.s’ clearly in the zone with
all the bloody carnage and crazy action.
And the twist with Kafka at the end continues to add to the uniqueness
of this Kaiju anime outing.
Might be
worth exploring a bit long if only to see what he does with this newfound power
and if Mina can be a bit more than just the sexy Poster Girl for Kaiju
exterminators.
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