Hey guys.
So, this video will admittedly be something completely different today.
Because I wanna introduce to you guys a new series that I’ve discovered this week and
also discuss its latest chapter a little.
The series I’m talking about is Kaiju number 8.
I stumbled across it when looking for a new series to start on Mangaplus and it’s actually
listed as the 8th most popular series there at the moment, even before the likes of chainsaw
man or Jiujutsu Kaisen.
And since there are only 9 chapters so far and the cover art looked pretty damn awesome,
I figured I’d give it a go.
And holy shit, what a story it is.
if you want to start reading before watching this video, all 9 chapters are free to read
so far.
The link is in the description below, just make sure to come back afterwards.
There are a number of familiar concepts in here that we already know from other manga,
but so far that really doesn’t seem to be a bad thing at all.
Just the opposite.
The series, written and illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto takes place in modern-day Tokyo.
The only difference is that for some still unknown reason enormous monsters pop up to
harass the people at times, threatening civilisation.
To counter this, the country has created the so called defence force, which’s sole purpose
is to destroy these enormous creatures.
Their strongest member is Mina Ashiro a tough-looking woman that we see destroy one of these gigantuous
beasts with relative ease.
Up top this point the story carries some aspects of both attack on titan as well as pacific
rim.
However Kaiju no 8 addresses an issue that most giant monster stories gloss over: What
happens once these beasts have been killed?
This is where the main character of the story comes into play.
The 32 year old Kafka, who’s name is drawn from the 20th century author Franz Kafka,
dreamed of joining the defence force, but has failed to pass the entrance exam multiple
times and has given up on his dream.
Kafka was childhood friends with Mina.
The two made a vow to join the Defense Force and protect Japan from the Kaiju together
after seeing their town destroyed.
After failing to follow Mina however, he has joined the so-called Kaiju Cleanup Corp instead.
His job as a Monster Sweeper is to chop up and dispose of Kaiju killed by the Defense
Force.
And so for a change, we learn about the nasty side of killing large creatures in a civilian
area and how to lean up the mess they leave.
However, everything changes for Kafka, when the ambitious 18-year-old Ichikawa is assigned
to work with Kafka.
Ichikawa also has plans to take the exam to become a member of the Defense Force and with
his strong determination manages to ignite Kafka’s will once again.
After being attacked by a so-called YoJu, smaller monsters that accompany the main Kaiju
when they emerge, both Kafka and Ichikawa stand their ground, but end up in the hospital.
There Kafka is infected by a small parasite-like monster and suddenly his body transforms into
a small, but powerful monster himself.
When another monster appears in the city, he defeats it with ease and is from here on
out known as Kaiju number 8, wanted by the public.
This is of course a reference to Franz Kafka’s story the Metamorphosis, where the main character
one day wakes up transformed into a giant insect.
From here on out, Kafka learns to control his new powers at will and with his new-found
strength he and Ichikawa participate in the next entrance exam.
Here they meet Kikoru Shinomiya.
Kikoru is the daughter of the Defense Force Commander and her Combat Power is greater
than any of the other applicants.
Kikoru is viewed as the hope for Japan and the future leader of the Defense Force, but
suffers heavily under her fathers high expectations.
During the exam, she easily disposes of the smaller monsters that have been set as obstacles,
similar to the entrance exam in my hero academia.
Kikoru defeats most of them, including the main monster in a short amount of time.
However, suddenly a mysterious humanoid Kaiju, similar to Kafka’s transformation appears,
who revives the monster and gives it a power-up.
Quickly it defeats Kikoru and threatens to kill her.
In the last moment, Kafka decides to reveal his power in front of her and takes out the
monster with ease.
In the latest chapter, we see the aftermath of the fight and learn that he mysterious
monster has infiltrated the Monster Sweeper force by taking up human appearance.
Now, obviously should I decide to keep going with this series, I will make the chapter
reviews much more thoroughly.
However, since this is the very first video on this, and most of you probably have just
heard about this story for the very first time, I’d prefer to share with you, why
I have such high hopes for this manga.
Despite sharing elements with other popular manga, I believe that up to this point all
of them have been presented in a quite unique and interesting way.
The fact that so little is explained about the world and how these creatures came to
be in the first place, hint at something larger being at work here and it feels like this
story might have quite a bunch of things to be revealed and explored over time, promising
some great world building, no pun intended.
In this sense it gives me great Attack on Titan vibes as well, but in a more than positive
way.
The art style also is really nice, reminding me at times of both Boku no Hero and Fire
Force.
Most importantly for me however, the characters all seem to be more than promising, as in
the handful of chapters we have so far, there is already a lot happening in terms of characterisation
and shaping complex personalities.
In addition to the excellent action, good plotting and pacing, and quality character
work, Matsumoto also delivers some wonderful comedy.
The buddy team of Kafka and Ichikawa have created some excellent chemistry between the
different characters in such a short time.
The story also promises to have a great balance between fun Shounen vibes and some darker
and more mature elements, which I personally am a big fan off.
Matsumoto also delivers tons of gorgeous artwork.
Many of the panels are flat out wonderful to look at.
All of them are meticulously drawn and the action is kinetic and leaps off the page.
Facial expressions, and emotions are also wonderfully captured.
Combined with great writing and a good balance between inner and outer dialogue, every chapter
so far has really captured me completely.
And so, overall, Kaiju No. 8 is a brilliant and fun read that delivers great chapter after
great chapter, getting me excited for the next one.
While it’s still too early to make such predictions, I think that the story has enormous
potential and I highly recommend checking out it out.
You will not be disappointed.
So, once you have checked out the story yourself, please let me know if this is something you
would like me to cover on a weekly basis.
It really depends on your feedback and preference.
So make sure to share your thoughts with me in the comments below.
Thanks guys.
Peace.