Kaiju No. 8: Exclusive on the Third Division

by Keiji Ando, Naoya Matsumoto

少年ジャンプ＋連載『怪獣８号』初のノベライズ作品が登場！

相模原での戦いの後、防衛隊第３部隊にテレビドキュメンタリーの密着取材が入ることに。
小説で初めて明かされる隊員たちの秘話とは――!?
カバーイラスト＆ピンナップ＆挿絵５点は松本直也先生描き下ろし！

【目次】

・オープニング

・CHAPTER１　新人・市川レノ
様々な訓練の中でも過酷と言われる障害走に二人一組で臨むことになったレノとカフカ。
苦戦するカフカをサポートして二人での完走を目指すレノだが、思わぬ事態が発生し…!?

・CHAPTER２　新人・四ノ宮キコル
ある日の訓練中、保科に呼び出されるキコル。そこには特別に用意された専用武器――大剣――が。
キコルが隊式斧術を扱う前の知られざるエピソード。

・CHAPTER３　副隊長・保科宗四郎
第３部隊に所属する前のころ、自らの刀術が時代に必要とされないのではないかと悩んでいた保科。
そんななか、東京へ出張することになった保科は第３部隊隊長・亜白ミナに出会う――！

・CHAPTER４　候補生・日比野カフカ
密着取材中に怪獣が発生。第３部隊は出撃することに。多発する怪獣と交戦するうちに、
事前に得た情報と実際の怪獣が微妙に異なることに気づいたカフカだが――!?

・スタッフロール

Genres: Manga, Light Novel, Science Fiction, Fiction, Japanese Literature, Young Adult, Comics Manga

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2022

Reviews

[Laura A. Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There was only one thing he could say for sure: 'There's no future for a guy who's given up. As long as you keep going, you can get closer to your goal step-by-step, even if the odds of reaching it are zero. Even if your pace is like a snail's crawl.' That was something Hoshina knew all about."

This light novel was so delightful! I caught myself struggling in the second chapter and wondered if that was more of me recovering from the flu and having sick brain than the novel itself because I was really shocked at how gripping this story was! It honestly felt just as intense and engaging as the manga, which was awesome!

Not only that, but the characters shined! The "greatest" light novel I've read when it comes to matching the characters' original voices and mannerisms is definitely the first Demon Slayer light novel, and it has since been my "standard" for light novels that are based on manga series. I would say this one captured that same energy of bringing the characters over into novel form and was deeply appreciative because that was my number one worry. But Ichikawa was his typical heroic (and dare I say worrisome? LOL) self who wanted to get stronger, while our strong Shinomiya was definitely that: strong and inspiring. Meanwhile, Hoshina had me starry-eyed and LOVEDDDDD getting his backstory! And of course, Kafka is as amazing and gung-ho as he always is!

In fact, I was MOST nervous about his story and if it would be as "exciting" as the other chapters because each chapter is from a different POV, which was really fun and I admire how the writer kept the flow and intensity building to the end. But that brings me to say that I thought it wouldn't be due to Ichikawa and Shinomiya being VERY adamant he could NOT for any reason transform since a TV news director wanted to do a segment on them, cameras would be on him at all times and he could see his real identity. Definitely makes sense, but I wanted to see him transform! However, how he handled everything was perfect and was so him! I really really loved it!

I also want to mention that I saw some reviewers mentioning that (I guess?) Hoshina's story is largely in the Kaiju No. 8 spinoff and can't add to this because I haven't read that manga yet. (I have it on preorder though!) I CAN say though that if that's true, I am all the more hyped to read it because hands down his chapter was my favorite!

Overall, I deeply enjoyed reading this light novel! Very thankful a friend gifted it to me for Christmas as it was just as fun, engaging, and funny as I hoped it would be! Definitely recommend it if you're a Kaiju No. 8 fan!

(Also if anyone saw my video of me sharing how I was bummed there were no "pictures," I was wrong as there was one in each chapter! I was so excited to see that!!)

[Knigoqdec · Rating 2 out of 5]

Някои новели към хитови поредици са писани само за да се хване вълната фенове. Тази тук е една от тях. Докато има новели, в които усещаш, че героите са тези, които си свикнал да бъдат и въобще се случват любопитни допълнителни неща, в новели като тази само присъства някаква идея, но никакво, така да се каже, качествено изпълнение. Плоски, отдалечени от оригиналите си образи и твърде обикновени суховати случки. Аз, разбира се, не съжалявам чак толкова, че я пробвах, човек никога не знае - може пък да е от добрите новели :D Но, пак както се казва, сигурно ако аз седна да напиша нещо, заемайки героите на сенсей, ще се справя доста по-добре, почти напълно съм убедена, че ги усещам повече, отколкото гост автора хахах. Самият автор споменава, че му е било интересно, че "това и това оръжие имали такава история" и т.н., нещо, което се предполага, че ако му е важно, вероятно е премислил, а не да се изненадва любезно сега. Поне се надявам, че моите мижави средства от няколко стотинки от покупката ще стигнат до него :D Рисувай още, Мацумото-сенсей! Чакам :D

[Gem (The Creepy Geek) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating 4.5

[Les Lectures de Loow (Laura) · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai trouvé ma lecture de ce roman plutôt tranquille, sans prise de tête. J'apprécie déjà l'univers du manga et j'ai beaucoup aimé le retrouver en format roman. D'habitude je suis pas emballée plus que ça par les romans tirés de mangas, parce que j'ai eu une mauvaise expérience (et du coup ça me bloque pour les autres). J'ai toujours un aprioris que ce soit trop enfantin ou jeunesse pour moi.

Celui-ci a été repris en manga, et c'est ce qui m'a motivée à le découvrir. Sinon il serait encore dans ma bibliothèque à attendre son tour. Le manga est divisé en deux tomes, et j'ai déjà lu le premier tome. Je m'étais dit que je lirais le roman avant le second pour avoir un point de comparaison. Et donc c'est chose faite!

Finalement, c'est une bonne surprise. La lecture est fluide et on a quelques illustrations. Et j'ai bien aimé le fait que ce soit divisé par épisode et que ça concerne un seul personnage à la fois. C'était intéressant d'avoir le point de vue de chacun le temps d'un épisode. Il s'agit de Reno, Kikoru, Hoshina et Kafka. Des personnages que j'apprécie déjà beaucoup.
J'ai aussi beaucoup aimé le fait que ce soit plus tranquille. Bien loin des attaques de Kaiju qu'on peut voir dans le manga. Ici, on suit surtout nos héros dans un reportage. Ils doivent montrer les bons côtés d'être dans les forces spéciales mais aussi une image de marque.

Le seul petit truc que j'ai trouvé dommage, c'est le manque de descriptions physiques. On a un petit récapitulatif des personnages au début. Mais j'ai l'impression qu'ils ne comptent que là-dessus. Et comme j'ai été pas mal perdue avec les noms des personnages secondaires, j'y revenais très très (très) souvent.

Dans l'ensemble, ça reste une bonne lecture. C'est tranquille, léger, avec de l'humour. J'ai passé un bon moment avec des personnages que j'apprécie.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that this novel had some extra stories and fights from the Third Division. We get to see some background information about the characters and their weapons, but to be honest a lot of it was the same as the manga, showing us things we already know (well, if you've read the manga.) I did thoroughly enjoy finding out a little more about Hoshina, and I find it so funny yet sweet that he reads on the way to a mission because it's his ritual and he has full faith in his abilities. The fight scenes were a little long winded, but pretty much had the same feel as the manga/ anime.

It was nice to read since I recently finished the manga and am feeling the yearning for season 3, but wasn't anything overly exciting or new. I am looking forward to the new book coming out in December (2025) I need more of my beloved Soshiro Hoshina!

3/5 🌟

[Ashley (Red-Haired Ash Reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel follows the Third Division for a week as they are being filmed for a television feature. Each chapter follows a different character during the week: Kafka, Rino, Kikoru, and Hoshina.

This was an enjoyable little behind the scenes look at the Third Division rookies and what they do in between kaiju attacks. The week was spent training focusing on Rino, Kikoru, and Kafka. I love seeing the friendship between Kikoru, Rino, and Kafka, and how protective they are of Kafka.

While I did enjoy this book, if you have read the Kaiju No. 8: B-Side manga, then you will have already read the main things that happen in this book: Kikorou’s weapon and Hoshina’s backstory. This expands a little bit on both of them, but in general, it's the same information.

Overall, this was a great novelization of Kaiju No. 8. I think this ended up being a good side story for those who wanted to read more Kaiju No. 8, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the main storyline so it's easy to skip if you don’t want a novel in this world.

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you’re a fan of the main series, I suppose you’d enjoy this collection.

In this light novel, readers get four short stories about the adventures and daily lives of characters in the Japanese Defense Force’s Third Division, with primary focus given to Kafka, Ichikawa, Shinomiya, and Hoshino.

Honestly, I don’t really understand the point of the light novels—especially when they are about very dynamic manga series like “Kaiju No. 8”. Why wouldn’t I just want to read a manga version of these stories?

Anyway.

This isn’t a bad collection. I thought each story here was reflective of the character it focused on and provided some development for each character’s storyline. The fight scenes were pretty cool too. Plus, the illustrations throughout added to the reading experience.

So, do I think this is necessary reading? No, not really. But, if you are a fan of the series, you’d probably enjoy this too~

[Joni · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fine. Certainly, you won't get anything out of trying to read this if you aren't a fan of the manga series already, and if you are a fan of the manga, this doesn't really explore anything particularly deeply. If you really, really want more out of the characters from this series, it's completely serviceable, but like I said, just don't expect anything too deep or crazy. This is mostly just to get a few more peeks into how the characters interact with each other and how they think, rather than something that contributes much of anything in the way of side plot.

That being said, it's a fairly fast read, and it doesn't overstay its welcome, so it is quick to digest and power through even if you're not super into the content, which might be a plus or a minus depending on if you prefer to get invested or not.

[Iron Duck · Rating 3 out of 5]

little new content

A lot of the content in this novel is from kaiju side b. Only about 40% is new content which is disappointing. Don’t get me wrong I really enjoyed the new novel content but is hard to give it 5 stars when things are reused. Also using baby instead of Chan is really out of place and I think that should be changed.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally getting around to reading this. A lovely little addition to the main story. Though this is a novel and not a manga. It goes more into some antics in training that we don’t quite get to see in the official manga

[Astilbe The Hobbit · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still this was so cute. I mostly enjoyed reading about Kafka and Reno but I do this would have translated better as a manga than a novel.

[KJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5?

[Đức Nhật · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nghe tin bộ này mới kết thúc, nên mình tìm cách đọc lại những ấn phẩm trước đây để hoàn thành việc đọc bộ này haha.

[Kiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought it thinking it was a manga not a novel, but it was a cute glimpse into behind the scenes of the story I’ve already read/watched.

[Bia · Rating 2 out of 5]

i bought it the moment it went on pre-sale so i didnt even know it was a novel let alone the fact it was kind of a fanfic.... loved the little art and all but to be honest it was a drag to read no shade to the writer at all! it just isnt for me