Kaiju No. 8 Sci-Fi Anime Is A Brilliant Twist On Godzilla
As a kaiju fan, the last few months have been pretty rewarding. Oscar-winning efforts like Godzilla Minus One brought back engrossing human stakes to monster movies, and the dumb fun of Godzilla x Kong: A New Empire sated my appetite for massive monster battles. If that wasn’t enough, the premiere episode of the new anime series Kaiju No. 8 proves it has the potential to be one of the best anime series of the year.
A World Under Attack By Kaiju
Kaiju No. 8’s premiere introduces us to a version of Japan where kaiju attacks are commonplace. Fortunately, the kickass Anti-Kaiju Defense Force is there to make sure those attacks are stopped in their tracks and look endlessly stylish while doing it. Unfortunately for protagonist Kafka Hibino, someone has to clean up the mess from those battles.
Someone Has To Clean Up
Kafka Hibino is instantly a protagonist you want to root for and goes against the grain of your typical Shonen protagonist. In his 30s, Kafka has essentially given up on his childhood dream of joining the Anti-Kaiju Defense Force and instead finds pride in cleaning up and doing his part to make the world a little bit better. And Kaiju No. 8’s first episode definitely goes out of its way to show how thankless and arduous this clean-up job can be, with Kafka getting the unenviable task of cleaning up literal kaiju sh*t.
Endearing Characters
The premiere episode also promises some interesting character arcs, with Kafka’s childhood friend Mina Ashiro playing a big role in the episode. We get some backstory between the two, with Mina’s talents making her the youngest captain in the defense force. Of course, we also get to see Mina and her Defense Force division in action, allowing Production IG (Ghost in the Shell) to flex its considerable animation chops.
There’s a lot to love about Kaiju No. 8 so far, and as a kaiju fan myself, I can wholeheartedly recommend checking out the pilot episode. It’s stylish, has endearing characters, and it’s genuinely hilarious. While there are plenty of hilarious anime out there, it’s not always that you get a great mix of cool action, good writing, and well-executed comedy.
Poking Fun At Anime Tropes
REVIEW SCORE
One Punch Man is the first anime that comes to mind if you’re looking for a comparison in tone as, like that series, Kaiju No. 8 also seems like it will be readily subverting or poking fun at some tired shonen tropes. It’s definitely one of the more refreshing anime debuts I’ve seen so far this year, and if it can keep up the good times, I could see it being one of 2024’s best series. Of course, the episode ends on a pretty massive cliffhanger, which you’ll know about if you’re familiar with the manga or if you’ve watched the trailers, but it definitely promises things are only going to get more interesting from here.
If you’re a kaiju fan, a fan of humor, or appreciate stylish anime, I can confidently say you’ll enjoy the first episode of Kaiju No 8. You can check it out now over on Crunchyroll. You can catch new episodes as they are released every Saturday.
