Last year, Production I.G introduced us to Kafka Habino, a thirty-two-year-old who had all the aspiration and intention to fight alongside his childhood friend Mina Ashiro but none of the physicality for the demanding job. Instead, he works cleaning up the aftermath of Kaiju fights.
Now of course, with a name like Kafka, he was always kinda doomed to experience some sort of body horror transformation. Shortly after meeting 18-year-old Reno Ichikawa who resparked his dream to join the Defense Force, Kafka also met a little kaiju critter who proceeded to do kaiju shenanigans. Without a lick of explanation, Kafka discovered he could transform into a kaiju. But not just any kaiju. A kaiju so powerful that it gets a designated numeric designation: the titular Kaiju No. 8.
The first season saw Kafka entering the Defense Force, training, fumbling, and ultimately making himself useful both as a human and as a kaiju, although not without consequences.
The second season of Kaiju No. 8 picks up shortly in the aftermath of the Third Division base. Kafka is still under surveillance, while his compatriots have been temporarily reassigned to different divisions while their home base gets rebuilt.
What follows in the first two episodes of the second season is pretty stock for your shonen series. There is a new status quo being established. The good guys are attempting to rediscovering their bearings, and the bad guys are unrelenting in their endeavors.
As someone who caught up on the manga following the first season, it is super exciting to see the scenes in fully animated glory. Production I.G continues to stun with their exhilarating fight scenes that have incredible weight and speed, while also managing to leverage different stylistic changes to accentuate comedic moments.
Kaiju No. 8 may be about humanity fighting back against larger-than-life monsters, but it’s also a treasure trove of comedic moments and clever quips. And like its first season, the show manages to balance brevity with gravity. Humanity’s not doing great at the moment, the members of the Defense Force are still determined to defend their home with everything they got and then some.
So as you look for things to consume this Summer 2025 anime season, remember to leave time for Kaiju No. 8. If you haven’t seen the first season, well, you still have plenty of time to catch up. As someone who has read the manga, I am very excited to see the splendor in full technicolor and need more people to talk to about this show.
Kaiju No. 8 premieres on July 19, with new episodes every Saturday on Crunchyroll.
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