Anime Spotlight #68: Kaiju No. 8 (Season Two)

Article by Sean Wilkinson,

a.k.a. The No. 1 Animeister

Back on July 8, 2024, I gave the Anime Spotlight to the first season of Kaiju No. 8, where I talked about the meaning of the word "kaiju" (and the underestimated intricacies of the Japanese language), the proper use of the term "Kafka-esque" (because that's the title character's name, his job is menial and disgusting, and he undergoes a metamorphosis), the effect of Warner Bros. on the animation industry at the time (they've since become a potential acquisition of Netflix, and although their popular Rooster Teeth series RWBY was saved by Viz Media—its Volumes, soundtracks, and other merch are seeing new distribution in the year since—there is no news of a Volume Ten greenlight yet), and gave particular focus to the anime's plot similarity to My Hero Academia.

You might remember (or you can click the link above to refresh yourself and give me some more views) that I dropped that review before I watched the last two episodes of the season because I got tired of waiting for it to return after the cliffhanger of Kafka revealing to his team that he is the titular kaiju, and I'll catch you up after a few formalities.

Kaiju No. 8 is adapted from a now-concluded manga series of the same name by Naoya Matsumoto, and received the usual series of light-novel adaptations and spinoffs with him acting in writer and/or illustrator roles for the franchise's various print forms. A third and final season (currently only referred to as a "conclusion arc") was announced last month.

The intro's use of surreal CGI imagery persists from the first season, but as to be expected, the visuals are different and they are accompanied by a new theme song: "You Can't Run From Yourself" by Aurora. And it's a "listen every episode" banger. Not as hype as the first season's opener, but a banger nonetheless.

Its lyrics and the artist's haunting vocals perfectly represent Kafka's state of mind throughout this season, as, after he surrendered himself to the strongest, First Division of the Japanese Anti-Kaiju Defense Force and ended the first season by giving into the influence of the No. 8 parasite inside him and almost killing the Division captain (who is also the blonde himedere's father) in a bloodthirsty rampage, our hero now fears the beast within, and is psychologically incapable of a full transformation.

At least, until the blonde tells him to get over himself and kick some ass, which he does pretty much immediately and never brings it up again, so there has to now be a new reason for him to not transform as much, which is that he could end up as a kaiju permanently. Also, the mushroom-headed Kaiju No. 9 (who can duplicate itself, reanimate and buff dead kaiju, create new kaiju, regenerate, absorb the minds and bodies of humans and kaiju, and transform into people it absorbs, so it's basically Kaiju No. All-For-One with a few extra tricks) will immediately sense him and attack if he transforms.

But the blonde JAKDF princess Kikoru has her own issues to deal with (getting strong enough to be worthy of her family legacy, especially after Nine absorbs her father and goes into hiding until next season), as do the sharp-toothed ginger Iharu (struggling to keep up with the natural aptitude of Kafka's BFF Reno Ichikawa), said BFF (putting his willpower, sense of duty, and body on the line to prove worthy of a long-dormant, ice-powered, Numbered kaiju suit), and the deadly Third Division Vice Captain Hoshina (figuring out his dynamic with a sentient combat suit made from Kaiju No. 10, whom he and Kafka defeated last season). These characters get their focus, but aside from Kafka (we get to see his training and progression because main character)—no; including Kafka—it all feels tacked on and rushed just to get to the next lore drop or big explosion. The solution to almost every problem is "Oh? You're not feeling strong enough or worthy of this power?"

And then they put on the monster flesh plug suit or pick up the weapon or otherwise get put in some mid-combat scenario that almost gets them killed so they have no choice but to nut the hell up, and their problems are solved in the time it takes the average BooMilennial sitcom family to learn that Sonic Sez knowing is half the battle and the power is yours.

The pacing is made all the worse by the fact that this "you were always worthy even though you can barely walk or breathe anything but blood now, but military might and the human spirit are the ultimate drugs, so go kick some fucking ass already you whiny little bitch-bastard!" attempt at unilateral character development only lasts into the next immediate fight to the death that these characters are increasingly just enough unprepared for that it makes Solo Leveling's (Season 1, Season 2) progression look deep and nuanced by comparison.

Like, these people are wearing combat suits made from the most powerful monsters in this series' history and Kafka is possessed by a kaiju parasite. Why can't they devote a few episodes to something like Ichigo's fight with his Hollow and zanpakuto in Bleach, or Deku's training with the One-For-All vestiges in MHA? There's internal struggle material ripe for the picking here, and it went unaddressed because Matsumoto-sensei was trying to speedrun the lovechild of MHA and Gridman.

I'm still going to watch the final season when it comes out because the few characters that matter are fun to watch, the Production I.G animation is spectacular, I have a completionist personality (provided it doesn't break me in some way in the future), and that samurai ghost Kafka saw at the Defense Force shrine looked like it might lead to something important later.

Which leaves me with nothing else that I want to talk about besides the ending music. Like last season, it is a song by One Republic ("Beautiful Colors," a generic acceptance anthem with a sleepy, arena dance sound that I frequently skipped).

However, the song used for the OVA between seasons (a comedic filler episode where everyone has a day off and they end up following Hoshina all over the city trying to catch him doing something shady that just ends up being a donation to a local shelter/Defense Force museum) is much catchier.

It's called...

I won't be covering any more anime until February, but please remember to Stay Tuned and Become A Ticketholder if you haven't already, leave a comment at the bottom of this post and any others you have opinions about, help out my ad revenue as you read so I don't have to go to work in King Ghidorah's intestinal tract, and follow me on BlueSky, Tumblr, Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and LinkedIn to like what you see and receive the latest news on my content, like Wednesday's Omnibusted on Last Of the Species.

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Animeister,

Out.