Kaiju No. 8 (Volume 11) – I Don’t Want to Die…
The Daikaiju are causing problems. Each one had been prepared to prey on the weaknesses of each of the strongest members of the JAKDF. If they are to have any hopes of winning, something or someone needs to intervene.
Kaiju No. 8 (Volume 11) – I Don’t Want to Die…
What happened?
Platoon Leader Rin Shinonome’s journey from officer has been all so that Gen Narumi would notice her. At first, she was barely more than another nameless officer, barely able to assist him with his goal of killing all the Kaiju. That just pushed her on. She trained and trained, determined to get stronger, desperate to be noticed. So, when Narumi made her into a Platoon Leader and referred to her by name, it was her proudest moment. However, now, she finds herself on the verge of losing everything as Kaiju No. 13 closes in to finish her off. It struck with an attack that was too fast to be seen, but it missed. Shinonome was not where she was a fraction of a second ago. Kafka placed her on the ground and turned back to face Kaiju No. 13. He wasn’t prepared to sit back and watch his team being destroyed. Kaiju No. 13 launched an attack on Kafka, but it was pointless. Kaiju No. 8 is on a different level entirely.
The other Daikaiju instantly knew of Kaiju No. 8’s emergence and prepared to converge on him. However, they would have to dispose of their opponents first. Kaiju No. 15 had almost finished Kikoru, but then Kafka’s voice reached her even in the grips of Kaiju No. 15’s mind hack. He reminded her that she had more than her parents’ praise to earn. There were also her friends and teammates. They all meant the world to her and that was enough for her to push on and attack, even with Kaiju No. 15 messing with her mind. After slicing Kaiju No. 15 to pieces, Kikoru learned that it had been treated in a similar way to how her father had treated her. However, Isao Shinomiya loved her whereas Kaiju No. 9 saw Kaiju No. 15 as nothing more than a pawn. Kikoru couldn’t feel sorry for it, but she promised to punch Kaiju No. 9 in the face for it.
Kikoru then contacted Narumi and gave him a little push to get things done where he was. Of course, he was already on it. Kaiju No. 11 continued to use its water attacks to get around Weapon No. 1’s ability to see electrical pulses in the body to predict movement. It had been given all of Isao Shinomiya’s memories, and since he was the one who trained Narumi, it knew all of his attacks, all of his strengths, and all of his weaknesses. Well, that’s what it thought. Narumi had been training constantly in an attempt to finally get one over Isao and as a result, had a few tricks up his sleeve that Isao had never seen. He’d trained Weapon No. 1 to see more than electrical pulses. He could see everything in his environment, allowing him to predict every move Kaiju No. 11 made. The fight didn’t last much longer!
What did you think?
After the last volume barely featured Kafka, this one gave him a tiny moment to shine, but that was enough to start the fight back. We’ve not seen much of Shinonome, but I quite like her and was glad that Kafka saved her. Then, seeing him destroy Kaiju No. 13 with ease was just as satisfying. He knew exactly how to get Kikoru going again too, and while she told him not to come and save her no matter how bad things got, in a way, he did anyway. She had the strength to beat Kaiju No. 15, she just needed to be reminded that her family was bigger than just her parents. Everyone in the Third Division was like a family and since they had spread into different for the time being, their families had grown again. It’s a great message and consistent with the way this series has been going.
I liked the way Narumi had something to fall back on since he had been training most of his life to beat Isao Shinomiya. Their rivalry was a good way for him to show that he had surpassed Isao without having to actually defeat Isao, although I’m sure he would rather still have him around. The volume ended with Hoshina switching to a single weapon style when Kaiju No. 12 had shown that it was prepared for them and was vastly superior to Weapon No. 10. Hoshina was worried about his combat potential stalling at 83% but I’m sure they will get it higher when Weapon No. 10 gets excited about the fight or they start bickering. It’s going to be exciting. I’m also looking forward to seeing the other two Daikaiju who haven’t really featured at all in this or the last volume.
And here comes the biggest problem that I now face. While this review is going live in October, I read the volume back at the end of September right after it was released. That means there’s going to be a wait for the next one which comes out in February 2025… At least, I’ve got a bunch of other series to dive into while I’m waiting. It’s going to be hard though.
Volume highlights
Series Information
| English Title | Kaiju No. 8 |
| Japanese Title | Kaijuu 8-gou |
| Genres | Action, Adult Cast, Military, Monsters, Science Fiction |
| Demographic | Shounen |
Manga
| Author | Naoya Matsumoto | |
| Artist | Naoya Matsumoto | |
| Volumes | Ongoing | Chapters |
| 1 | I Found You | 1-7 |
| 2 | Fight by Her Side | 8-17 |
| 3 | Welcome to the Defense Force | 18-26 |
| 4 | Looks Like This Game is a Draw | 27-35 |
| 5 | I Expect Results! | 36-43 |
| 6 | An Incredible Next Generation! | 44-51 |
| 7 | The Start of the Kaiju Era! | 52-59 |
| 8 | I’ll Teach Ya How to Fight! | 60-66 |
| 9 | Harbingers of the Cataclysm! | 67-73 |
| 10 | The Second Wave! | 74-81 |
| 11 | I Don’t Want to Die… | 82-89 |
Anime
| Season | Season One |
| Released | Spring 2024 |
| Animation Studios | Production I.G |
| Episodes | 12 |
