Highlights
- Kaiju No. 8’s first season ends with a rating of 8.39, featuring strong character development and relationship-building.
- The anime falls short with its female characters and some tropes, but stands out with international themes and humor.
- Kaiju No. 8’s potential for future seasons looks promising, setting up a focus on defeating powerful enemies.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Season One of Kaiju No. 8, including Episode 12, “Kafka Hibino,” now streaming on Crunchyroll.
The first season of the science fiction anime Kaiju No. 8 has officially ended with Episode 12, “Kafka Hibino,” airing June 30th, 2024. The series followed the adventures of an ordinary man, Kafka Hibino, who became something extraordinary when he gained the ability to transform into a powerful kaiju. Kaiju No. 8 has finished its first season with an impressive rating of 8.39 according to MyAnimeList, having a steady upwards increase in recent weeks on the chart of airing anime as each episode built on the last.
Overall, Kaiju No. 8 was a great anime to watch. It was certainly a strong opening season that set itself up for the future, gripping audiences from the first episode and keeping them coming back for more with cliffhanger after cliffhanger. Nothing is perfect, though, and there are a few areas where Kaiju No. 8 could have done better. Keep reading to find out what was bad, what was good, and what was truly great about season one of Kaiju No. 8.
Where Kaiju No. 8 Fell Short
When it comes to disappointments, most of Kaiju No. 8‘s tragically fall on the series’ very few female characters. While they are not at all damsels in distress – quite the opposite – they did not get the kind of characterization that the male characters received. Instead, they either fell into predictable tropes or were mostly forgotten on the side. While that may change in upcoming seasons, the first season certainly did nothing to flatter its female characters or make them stand out from the rest.
Kikoru Shinomiya, a Trope Embodied
From the moment she first appeared, Kikoru Shinomiya was the embodiment of age-old, tired anime tropes. She fit into the cookie cutter model of a seemingly tiny and cute but actually powerful girl, with her long blond pigtails and over-sized weapon. Even Kikoru’s mean attitude and arrogance matched the trope she was playing so strongly. Throughout the season, she continued to only do and say what was predictable and expected for her type of character, so she was not able to add anything new or interesting that viewers couldn’t already see coming. Considering how important and prominent Kikoru is in Kaiju No. 8, it was disappointing to see her not rise above her trope to become anything really special.
Mina Ashiro, a Failed Opportunity
From the first episode of Kaiju No. 8, the audience learns that a huge motivating factor for Kafka is the promise he and his childhood friend, Mina Ashiro, made to join the Defense Force and gain revenge on kaiju. Throughout the season, this continues to motivate Kafka, and he often has flashbacks of the day that a kaiju destroyed their hometown as children. It is not until Episode 11 that Mina really acknowledges Kafka at all, though, finally saying that she will be waiting for him to stand at her side someday. Kafka was not able to build much of a relationship at all with Mina throughout the season, despite making a lot of other friends. Even though Mina stands up for Kafka in the final episode, her feelings aren’t based on any recent interactions between the two, making them fall flat instead of having the emotion or feeling behind them that they could have had.
Kaiju No. 8’s Successes
While not everything about Kaiju No. 8 was great, quite a few things were. Embracing the anime’s international potential right from the start, and blending together science fiction action with ridiculous humor were two things that really stood out about the first season and were present in every episode. They set the tone of the anime overall, and helped make it the success that it has been so far.
Fantastic Opening and Ending Themes
Kaiju No. 8 had opening and ending themes that were different from average anime. They were both done by major international performers! The opening, “Abyss,” was performed by UK singer YungBlud. The ending, “Nobody,” was by the group OneRepublic. Both of the themes were entirely in English. The significance of international artists doing the opening and ending songs for not just an anime, but the premier season of an anime, is huge. It shows just how mainstream anime has become and how popular and marketable it is around the world. Plus, Kaiju No. 8released a same-day dub in many languages for every episode, which helped it gain fans around the world from the very first day it aired.
Balanced Humor and Action
From the start, Kaiju No. 8 did not hold back on action sequences and gore. The fights were epic, especially between the series’ strongest characters and the powerful kaiju. Cityscapes were destroyed like they were nothing, it literally rained blood, and incredible weapons unleashed very cool powers and abilities. This helped keep audiences hooked and interested in what was happening, but it was also easy to get overwhelmed by the violence. Kaiju No. 8 was able to effortlessly counteract the heavy material with humor at all the right times, even in the middle of fights with little quips between characters or switching to chibi-style animation just for a moment. This helped audiences not lose attention, but also not get fatigued by trying to follow non-stop fights.
Where Kaiju No. 8 Stood Above the Rest
There are reasons that Kaiju No. 8 finished its first season with an incredible score of 8.39. The anime had a lot going for it that helped it stand out from other airing anime this past season, and really, so far this year. It has the potential to become a timeless classic if it can keep up with what it started in season one in upcoming seasons. Considering the popularity of the manga even now, that is a future that is not hard to imagine for the anime.
Relationship Building – No Romance Needed!
One of the things Kaiju No. 8 did the best was relationship-building between characters. And even better, it did not need romance to do so. There was no hint of romance at all in the entire season, actually, letting the characters develop strong, platonic friendships that were tested and strengthened time and time again. It started right from the first episode, when Kafka risked his very life to save Reno Ichikawa though they had only just met. The friendship between Reno and Kafka only grew stronger as the season went, and was complimented by Kafka’s friendly rivalry with Kikoru and Reno’s budding friendship with Iharu Furuhashi. The relationship between Kafka and Vice-Captain Hoshino also made the tension when the two were battling that much more tense and high-stakes. Having such dynamic friendships between characters that don’t need a promise of romance in the future was strong writing, and it made the audience truly care about their fates.
Kafka Hibino’s Character Arc
Finally, what stands out the most in Kaiju No. 8‘s first season is the character development of the main character, Kafka Hibino himself. Kafka goes from just an average guy who has a big heart to a powerful kaiju without ever losing what made him charming from the start. He is not strong in his human form, but he never lets that stop him. And while he is unbelievably strong as a kaiju, he does nothing for his own gain, using his powers to continue to put others first and save everyone from friends to strangers. He never loses his sense of humor even as he grows as a character, capturing the hearts of audiences along the way and making everyone cheer for him from the first episode to the last. As a main character, Kafka is great, being someone that fans can both identify with but also look up to as a hero.
Fortunately, Kaiju No 8‘s positives far outweigh its negatives. The first season effectively wrapped up the story that it began by deciding on Kafka’s fate after revealing his secret to the Defense Force, and in doing so, set up the focus of the next season. Rather than being about everyone still training and Kafka hiding his secret, they can jump right into facing powerful enemies and try to defeat the kaiju once and for all. Plus, the final sequence was a good reminder that the main antagonist, Kaiju No. 9, is still out there and ready to make its comeback. With no second season announced yet, fans will have to wait for a while to see what happens next, but will definitely be looking forward to it.
Watch Kaiju No. 8 Season One now on Crunchyroll.
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