Kaiju No. 8 (Volume 5) – I Expect Results!
Director Shinomiya has decided to use Kafka Hibino as a soldier rather than turning his body into a weapon. He has too much power to risk it sitting idly in a warehouse and the appearance rate of daikaiju is increasing!
Kaiju No. 8 (Volume 5) – I Expect Results!
What happened?
After an extended period of testing and observation, Kafka was visited by Director Shinomiya. He tried to tell him he was a human and that he wasn’t a threat, however, the director didn’t seem to want to talk about it. Instead, he drew a gun and fired at Kafka. He blocked the bullets with his hardened kaiju skin which only seemed to confirm Shinomiya’s suspicions. He had never seen any living creature block bullets… well, except for a kaiju. Next, he put on a pair of gloves that had been made from Kaijo No. 2 and attacked, blowing several of Kafka’s limbs off.
Kafka was forced to transform just so that he could survive. However, the director’s attacks continued, leaving Kafka with nowhere to run. Eventually, his body took over, leaving Kafka as a spectator as Kaiju No. 8 attacked Shinomiya. He tried to stop it and regain control, but his body wouldn’t respond. He heard Kikoru scream at him from the observation room, but it wasn’t enough for him to take over his body. If he killed the director, Kikoru’s father in front of her, he would never be able to live with himself. Eventually, the memory of Mina waiting for him was enough to snap him out of it long enough that he punched through his own chest and stopped the attack.
After they had recovered from the ordeal, Director Shinomiya declared that Kaiju No. 8 would work with the JAKDF as an officer. They weren’t going to dispose of him yet and turn his body into a weapon. It was possible that no one would be able to wield it and then they would lose all that power. Since the Third Division’s base was under construction, Kikoru and Kafka were assigned to the First Division under Gen Narumi although he wasn’t too impressed to have Kaiju No. 8 there. However, when the time came for them to show what they could do, Kafka was unable to transform. Unfortunately, they were facing Kaiju No. 9 and he wanted to take back the kaiju power that Kafka had acquired.
What did you think?
The first season of the anime ended with Director Shinomiya telling Kafka that he wouldn’t be destroyed and that he would have to prove his worth if he wanted to stay that way. So, everything after that is a brave new world for me to explore. I can’t say that I’m a big fan of Gen Narumi so far as he’s pretty much the opposite of what we’ve seen with the Third Division. I loved the camaraderie that we saw with all of the Third Division. That was a particular highlight for me as it made it feel like they could accomplish anything because they had each other’s backs.
Now, I’m not saying we won’t see that with the First, but Gen comes across as a huge pain in the ass. It was funny for a moment to see that he was a complete screw-up as well as the captain and one of the strongest kaiju hunters, but then it got a little old. Thankfully, we have Kikoru around to constantly tell him how hopeless he is. She’s grown and grown as a character and is definitely one of my favourites now. I wonder if Kafka damaged his core and that’s why he can’t change at the moment or if it’s psychological given how he feels about being used as a weapon. He was never a frontline fighter, instead utilising his knowledge to assess the situation and help his friends so being deployed as a weapon no doubt goes against his ethos.
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 |
| 1 | I Found You |
| 2 | Fight by Her Side |
| 3 | Welcome to the Defense Force |
| 4 | Looks Like This Game is a Draw |
| 5 | I Expect Results! |
| 6 | An Incredible Next Generation! |
| 7 | The Start of the Kaiju Era! |
| 8 | I’ll Teach Ya How to Fight! |
| 9 | Harbingers of the Cataclysm! |
| 10 | The Second Wave! |
| 11 | I Don’t Want to Die… |
Anime
| Season | Season One |
| Released | Spring 2024 |
| Animation Studios | Production I.G |
| Episodes | 12 |
