With a start in the summer of 2020, the Shonen Jump+ manga series Kaiju No. 8 is getting an anime adaptation. Originally revealed in August 2022, we’ve had some teases of information along the way. The series was set for an April 2024 premiere where Crunchyroll simulcast it with Production I.G. handling the animation production and Studio Khara working on the designs for the kaiju.
With the series making an April 13th, 2024, premiere date, the first season went over very well. A second season was previously scheduled for a July 2025 premiere, and the latest update has come in that has scheduled a July 19th, 2025, premiere. Ah, but we said “date(s)” above, right? Correct! The side story episode of Hoshina’s Day Off is getting a broadcast release as well with a July 5th, 2025, premiere. Presumably, we’ll see some sort of pre-show event on July 12th, 2025, to prime fans for the debut a week later.
Shigeyuki Miya is directing the show from the series composition by Ichiro Okouchi, who also worked on the scripts. Tetsuya Nishio handled the character designs and served as the chief animation director.
The Japanese cast includes:
- Masaya Fukunishi as Kafka Hibino/Kaiju No. 8
- Wataru Katō as Reno Ichikawa
- Asami Seto as Mina Ashiro
- Fairouz Ai as Kikoru Shinomiya
- Kengo Kawanishi as Soshiro Hoshina
- Yūki Shin as Iharu Furuhashi
- Keisuke Koumoto as Haruichi Izumo
- Shunsuke Takeuchi as Aoi Kaguragi
- Sayaka Senbongi as Konomi Okonogi
Check out our reviews of the manga.
The series features the opening theme song “Abyss” performed by YUNGBLUD while the ending theme song “Nobody” is performed by OneRepublic.
The series comes from creator Naoya Matsumoto which began in the summer of 2022 in Shonen Jump+ and has eight volumes out so far and is ongoing in Japan. Viz Media brings it out in English.
Check out the official site and Twitter (JP) and Twitter (EN).
Plot Concept: With the highest kaiju-emergence rates in the world, Japan is no stranger to attack by deadly monsters. Enter the Japan Defense Force, a military organization tasked with the neutralization of kaiju. Kafka Hibino, a kaiju-corpse cleanup man, has always dreamed of joining the force. But when he gets another shot at achieving his childhood dream, he undergoes an unexpected transformation. How can he fight kaiju now that he’s become one himself?!
Kafka hopes to one day keep his pact with his childhood friend Mina to join the Japan Defense Force and fight by her side. But while she’s out neutralizing kaiju as Third Division captain, Kafka is stuck cleaning up the aftermath of her battles. When a sudden rule change makes Kafka eligible for the Defense Force, he decides to try out for the squad once more. There’s just one problem—he’s made the Defense Force’s neutralization list under the code name Kaiju No. 8.
Previous promos and visuals:
