Kaiju No. 8: Shinomiya’s Rivalry With Kafka, Explained

Kaiju No. 8 gives audiences different twists and interpretations of the classic shonen anime formula. This ranges from the main character, Kafka Hibino, to the rival of this story, Kikoru Shinomiya. These two started off on relatively competitive terms, sparked by a minuscule action that got Shinomiya taunting Kafka at first, before it turned into mutual respect.

Despite the rivalry starting sort of one-sided, and with Kafka’s Kaiju form being immensely powerful, Shinomiya has a good reason to want to get stronger. There is a reason why she seems to be the closest candidate for being a rival to Kafka in the future, and Kaiju No. 8 sets this up for the future. Even more than that, it has good reason to make Shinomiya a good twist as the rival.

Shinomiya And Kafka’s First Meeting

The Establishment of a Rivalry

Kikoru Shinomiya, as a person, is a prodigy. It shows from the very first introduction, that she has a lot of potential as part of the Defense Force. She did rank among the highest candidates in the entrance exam, and even her unleashed Combat Power tops up close to 56%, compared to the rest. In fact, she is pretty much shown as a big ceiling for even Kafka at first, before he reveals his power to her. It does help that Kafka’s insistence on beating her at her own game, and Shinomiya’s taunting over Kafka’s lackluster results, allow their dynamic to form a natural rivalry over the course of the episodes.

It is very clear that despite Shinomiya’s latent potential and somewhat cocky personality, she isn’t arrogant enough to not know that Kafka was hiding something at first, a suspicion that gets confirmed when Kafka saves Shinomiya by revealing his Kaiju form in the process. Despite all this, it doesn’t discourage her desire and growth, and neither does she decide to rat out Kafka out of mutual respect. It shows as well in future episodes, where, despite Shinomiya’s bluster and confidence, she sees Kafka as somebody she wants to surpass as a comrade and rival, but also as someone she will put down if Kafka ever loses control or becomes a monstrous threat. Overall, the story acknowledges their rivalry as something rather special compared to most others at the moment.

Shinomiya’s Desire For Growth

How it Affects Her Rivalry

One important character trait of Kikoru Shinomiya is her established pursuit of perfection in everything she does, which we know is partially attributed to her father and the immense pressure she feels. This character trait of hers will most likely be expanded upon in the future, but for now, it’s important to understand that their rivalry is something that even Kafka respects and wants to see through.

The idea of a rivalry between a female main protagonist versus the actual main protagonist is a novel one, but a very welcome one, considering Shinomiya isn’t passive or even too sentimental as a person. This leads to her attitude being much more indicative of respect for another comrade in Kafka, as well as a ceiling she wants to reach, so that Kafka isn’t alone in the fight against the Kaiju, but also so that she isn’t left behind. At the same time, if Kafka is revealed to be a Kaiju by the Defense Force, he’d most likely be hunted down and judged as a monster, which is a reason that Shinomiya wanted to prevent Kafka from taking too much of the burden in every consequent fight.

Shinomiya’s rivalry may have started with a bit of pettiness and superficial bluster, but as the episodes go on, you can truly believe that Shinomiya and Kafka are rivals to each other and in their own right as well. Where every character wants to reach a ceiling and overcome their own limits, Kikoru Shinomiya is a prime example of an overarching rival throughout the series. Especially considering she’s a prime example for Kafka to follow as well, showing the limits and the heights he needs to reach with his comrades, and vice versa. As a result, Shinomiya’s rivalry strikes as rather strong-headed and laced with depth, along with a promising prospect of seeing which of these two will become stronger than the other. Kaiju No. 8 as a story manages to provide a rivalry that many want to see come to fruition.