For those obsessed with all things Kaijuu, great news is due! A new anime, Kaiju No. 8 (Kaijuu 8-gou), will premiere soon, promising a fresh load of intimidating, gigantic monsters and intense fight scenes.
Crunchyroll announced that several new titles will enter its catalog in 2024 during the latest New York Comic Con. And as a massive fan of anime and manga and the creator of the best anime subscription box, I couldn’t be more excited!
Among the new shows announced, the one that caught my attention the most is Kaiju No. 8. The animated series will be released in Japanese (with English subtitles) and English dub.
It’s an adaptation of the homonymous manga written and illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto. The work began serialization in 2020 and is still ongoing, with about 100 chapters so far.
Kaiju No. 8 is set in Japan, where Kaiju incidents are a recurrent threat. An elite military unit, the Defense Corps, risks their lives daily to protect the country from those giant monsters.
This set introduces us to Kafka Hibino, who has always dreamed of joining the Defense Corps. But by the age of 32, the closest he’s gotten to that is becoming a “sweeper,” a professional responsible for cleaning the remains of defeated monsters.
Although Kafka had already accepted his fate, when the ambitious 18-year-old Leno Ichikawa joined his cleaning team, the dream of fighting Kaijuu reignited in him. And his dream may come true in the most unlikely way possible! Kafka is surprised by a parasite-type monster that forces its way in through his mouth, turning the man into a kaiju and granting him impressive powers.
As for the release date of Kaiju No. 8, it’s set for the Spring anime season in April 2024.
This show has gotten my attention for a couple of reasons: first, to have an adult as the main character, despite the manga being released among others that generally have teenagers as protagonists. This is an interesting change I’ve been observing in some recent anime.
I also have high expectations for the quality of animation in this one. The studio handling the animation production is Production I.G, the same as Attack on Titan and Psycho Pass, while Studio Khara (Shin Godzilla) is behind the kaiju designs and artworks.
Plus, The Official X (formerly Twitter) account states in a post that the anime will be made available on the platform. This is somewhat intriguing, and it only makes me more eager to watch the show!
So, what do you think? Are you going to watch it?
If you’re still unsure about giving Kaiju No.8 a try, the manga is available online (in Japanese), and the first three chapters can be read for free. Or you could buy the physical Volume One in English!
