By Dustin Cabeal
The quick and straightforward way to describe this is a Kaiju take on Marvel’s Damage Control. Damage Control asked the question of “who fixes the city after a superhero battle” and has varying degrees of seriousness and success of the years. Kaiju no. 8 begins by asking the question, who cleans up after a giant Kaiju is defeated? Certainly not the people that put the monster down, that is for damn sure.
The story follows Kafka Hibino who works for a cleanup crew that hacks up and gets rid of defeated Kaiju. He is assigned a new part-timer to train, and they share an awkward exchange when it comes out that Kafka wanted to join the defense corps before setting into his role as a cleaner. The new kid, Reno Ichikawa, is interested in why Kafka gave up and at first, they do not particularly like each other. Eventually, they find themselves a ground zero for a new Kaiju appearance and Kafka saves Reno and vice versa. The two men end up in a hospital and talk about joining the Defense Corps together as Reno and reignited Kafka’s interest. Which is all great until a bug looking Kaiju flies into Kafka’s gaping mouth and turns him into a Kaiju.
The two men end up fleeing together as Kafka discovers his newfound powers and eventually turns back into a human. They story then flashes forward several months as the two men get ready to take the practical test of joining the Defense Corps. They meet a prodigy girl that’s only sixteen years old that wipes the floor with all the Kaiju, which is until another humanoid Kaiju shows up and revives all of them making them more powerful.
Having the second volume of this series already it was incredibly difficult to stop myself from reading it. Manga reviews tend to get messy when you have too much story material to pull from and I really wanted this first volume to get its fair shake before I dove into the second volume. While I want you to read this review, I also want you to stop reading it and go check out the story as it has the makings of the next big thing from Viz. There are only a handful of stories that I have had this same desire with, One Punch Man, Black Clover and Twin Star Exorcists. Those are all heavy hitters in the manga and anime world.
What is nice about the story is that for once it is not about a high school kid. It is a dude in his thirties deciding not to give up on his dreams and getting a second lease on life. He is not trying to be the best; he is trying to be a part of a team that he feels makes a difference in the world. During the practical test he plays a support role knowing that without his Kaiju powers he can only do so much. Yes, there is the childhood friend storyline in which he is trying to catch up to her, but at least right now he is not trying to be best or the top dog. He is just trying to get a role on the team.
While the writing and characters are nothing particularly new, they are masterfully written. Well written character types will succeed every time because it is good enough to hook you and that is what happens with Kaiju No. 8. Frankly, I would have been happy with the story sticking with Kafka cleaning and gutting monsters, but where it went was enjoyable and relatable.
The artwork is well-balanced. It does comedy well, but then it also stays serious when needed as well. The two share a style rather than one breaking from the style like it often does when comedic elements are added to a story. Kafka’s Kaiju form is detailed and very cool looking. There is definitely some recent manga and movie influences on the design which gave the Kaiju a distinctive look. Overall, the action and designs are wonderful.
Simply put this has the makings of being the next big manga. It is not a perfect first volume as there are several wasted pages introducing a character in the least interesting way possible, but overall, it is an addictive read. I cannot wait to see what happens in the second volume and I will likely return with a review when I do. For now, it scores extremely high, but falls just short of a perfect score.
Naoya Matsumoto
Viz Media