First Impression: Kaiju No. 8

Kafka once had a dream to join the Japan Defense Force and fight kaiju alongside his best friend, Mina. Now though, he cleans up the kaiju that she takes out as head captain of Division Three. He spends his days telling himself over and over that it’s okay to give up on his dream to fight alongside her and that he shouldn’t think about what he doesn’t have. That seems to be working out okay for him until a new recruit, Ichikawa, joins the team and voices things that prevent Kafka from continuing to lie to himself. When the two find themselves recovering in a hospital from an unexpected kaiju attack, Kafka’s whole life turns upside down: why is he being targeted by kaiju? And why is he becoming a kaiju himself?!

Excuse me while I squeal because my manga-loving heart is SO relieved that this first episode was good! While I’m not loving the character designs, everything else made up for this in such a huge way, so that I deeply loved and enjoyed this first episode! The opening scene with the music and the epic battle scene gave me goosebumps and I couldn’t help but get excited to see my favorite battle shonen being animated! It only got better with the music really amplifying each scene, combined with excellent voice acting! And oh my goodness, hearing Ichikawa speak made me want to tear up because he is my favorite character from the manga and his voice is absolute perfection! Honestly, everyone’s voice is perfect for each character! I knew they would be, from an interview I watched last year with some of the voice actors, but they honestly bring the anime to life!

One thing I was surprised about is how much more intense the fight is between Kafka and the kaiju than in the manga. The animators did an incredible job of bringing to life the scene of him running for his life, briefly recalling the past and a promise he made, and Ichikawa joining him in the fight. A part of me almost loves this specific scene more than the manga! Lastly, Mina is just as epic as she is in the manga! I literally cheered out loud when she made her big reveal with her tiger behind her because it captured how amazing she is! I’m super excited for the next episode and thankful that this episode was so much better than what my nerves have feared it would be these past few months! If you’re a manga reader and were turned off by the character designs, please still give it a watch! The animation, the voice acting, and the music bring this beloved series to life! And if you haven’t read the manga, this is a perfect introduction to this kaiju-fighting series. 

Kaiju No. 8 is streaming on Crunchyroll and X.

Laura A. Grace
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