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怪獣8号 [Kaijū 8-gō] #2

怪獣8号 2 [Kaijū 8-gō 2]

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防衛隊員選別試験の最終審査が終了した時、謎の人型怪獣が討伐したはずの本獣を蘇らせ、四ノ宮キコルら受験者たちに襲いかかる。キコル絶体絶命の時、怪獣に変身した日比野カフカが、本獣の前に現れる…! 果たして人型怪獣の正体とは…? その目的とは…? ──謎が深まる第二巻!!

204 pages, Paperback

First published March 4, 2021

273 people are currently reading
1365 people want to read

About the author

Naoya Matsumoto

41 books254 followers
Name (in native Japanese): 松本直也

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5 stars
5,317 (54%)
4 stars
3,466 (35%)
3 stars
935 (9%)
2 stars
78 (<1%)
1 star
26 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 632 reviews
Profile Image for Sam Quixote.
4,795 reviews13.4k followers
April 29, 2022
The cadets have graduated to fully-fledged members of the Defense Force - except for the hapless Kafka Hibino, aka the secret Kaiju No. 8, but whose training performance has intrigued the higher-ups enough to take him on anyway as a trainee. As they head out on their first mission to take down a giant mushroom kaiju, they also encounter the mysterious humanoid kaiju - and for some of the new grads, this debut mission might be their last…

Kaiju No. 8, Volume 2 is a weak follow-up to the decent first book. Volume 2 opens by resolving Volume 1’s cliffhanger predictably before spending nearly half the book on the characters doing more dull training and reiterating the team dynamics. The second half sees them fight a giant mushroom kaiju - although I use the term “fight” very loosely as the mushroom kaiju just stands there while the Defense Force shoots it. Zero tension there.

The only interesting part was the subplot involving the (not Kafka) humanoid kaiju whose motivations are still unclear (he’s masquerading as a member of the Monster Sweepers, Kafka’s old unit, for some reason) but we see how deadly he can be when he isolates and attempts to kill two of Kafka’s colleagues, Reno and Iharu. He’s a cool villain.

Other than that, this was an unimpressive second book, which is unfortunately how it goes for most mangas that start well. Here’s hoping Naoya Matsumoto gets the series back into shape with the next book but if you were a fan of the first one, don’t expect much from Kaiju No. 8, Volume 2.
Profile Image for James DeSantis.
Author 17 books1,206 followers
April 2, 2022
Okay Kaiju No. 8...I see you.

So I'll be honest the first volume was enjoyable but not amazing. But volume 2 stepped it up in a lot of ways.

See this time we have a little deeper look into the acdemy who recruits and does the work to take out Kaiju. So spending more time with each character really helps. I really started to like Leno who I didn't give much of a shit about in book 1. I even liked Kikoru a lot here, she's badass. And Mina's special sniping attack? Bro...if this gets a good animated team for the anime we are in for a goddamn treat.

The fights are fun, the humor works a lot of the time, and the ending really gave me some big "oh shit anyone can die at any time" vibes and I'm here for it.

A 4.5 out of 5.
Profile Image for Ola G.
517 reviews51 followers
September 9, 2021
8/10 stars

Still good, still highly enjoyable, and having found its groove it admirably keeps to it. Sure, this volume has a lot of academia vibes to it, with cadets/troopers trying their best at various forms of one-upmanship, bonding in sauna sittings and so on, but it's also about Kafka (man, I bet Matsumoto has read Franz Kafka's short story, The Metamorphosis, and the protagonist's name is a twisted tribute to the author of The Trial) finding his own place among people who seem to be much more talented - and younger - than him. Life experience matters!

It's a lot of fun to see an older shonen protagonist. I really appreciate the humor here, showcased in scenes where Kafka feels too old, inadequate and overwhelmed by a bunch of teenagers, realizing he will never be able to compete with them physically, but at the same time he slowly begins to understand that he can contribute in other ways, his experience and knowledge as valuable as the youngsters' energy and fitness.

The plot thickens!
Profile Image for Lauren Lanz.
897 reviews308 followers
July 25, 2023
I love himbo shonen leads, and Kafka certainly fits into that category. It’s so nice following an older protagonist chasing his dreams amongst younger peers!!

I don’t know what happened to me between when I read volume one (which I disliked) and now, but I’ve had a big turnaround with this series. I’m charmed by its lighthearted comedy, and found myself close to tears during the scene with Reno and Iharu, when their friendship lost all remnants of rivalry and truly solidified itself. I honestly can’t wait to continue this series. It’s such an easy and entertaining read!
Profile Image for Moon_child31.
285 reviews35 followers
May 9, 2025
I love everything about this manga😍🫶🏻
Profile Image for crybby.
151 reviews55 followers
March 15, 2023
Kafka and Leno’s friendship means everything to me
Profile Image for Rod Brown.
7,307 reviews280 followers
May 23, 2022
I really liked the first volume, but this one loses a little shine as it mostly just repeats the same beats from the first book, right up to the cliffhanger. I still like the characters and the balance of humor to action, so I'm hoping this is just a short sophomore slump and the story breaks out of the loop and starts blazing some trails.
Profile Image for Adam M .
659 reviews22 followers
February 14, 2022
This series is easily one of my favorite new discoveries. Kafka Hibino dreamed of joining the Japan Defense Force and eliminating kaiju that threaten the country. However, he finds himself as a lowly clean-up crewman, removing kaiju corpses while his childhood best friend lives their dream of being the country's savior. He's given a second chance to try and join the military group and climb their ranks, but has to deal with having kaiju powers himself.

In this volume we meet more of the current crop of trainees hoping to make it through J.D.F. training and see them all score higher than Kafka in just about every metric. He doesn't give up and his new friend Ichikawa does what he can to try and help. Kikoru knows his secret now too, but he saved her life so she's willing to keep it - for now. We learn a little about how strong Kafka really is, even if he doesn't know himself and we find out humanoid-kaiju are going to be a problem.

A wholly satisfying follow up to a strong opening volume. New character introductions were welcome and well done in the greater world being built. I'm interested in where this is going and invested in the characters, so Naoya Matsumoto is doing great work there. This is fun and funny while still feeling like there are stakes. I really like the art as well, it doesn't slouch, but also isn't so busy that your eye doesn't know where to go. Highly recommend this series.
Profile Image for Keiko, the manga enthusiast ♒︎.
1,266 reviews188 followers
February 11, 2022
Can I scream?! Because I want to scream so bad! This is topnotch and I freaking hate myself that I just only decided to read it today!! I've been seeing it a lot on Shueisha and don't even pay attention to it! Gah! I hate myself! But I'm so glad I picked it up today!! Finally! I've been feeling so empty today because I can't find the perfect book—and this here, augh, thank you so much Naoya. I know I'm blabbing now. But I'm just really so grateful!

I personally loved this volume a lot better than the first one. I adored the friendship so much, and I'm so moved by Ichikawa's adoration and loyalty to Kafka. Man, the beauty of male friendship, that's a hundred plus points for me! Seriously, my eyes are still wet from falling tears. Gah! I adore it so much, I can't wait to read the future volumes and get well acquainted with other troopers too—especially Iharu! He's a good boy, that one!
Profile Image for Molly™☺.
967 reviews110 followers
April 25, 2022
You know a series is good when you want to devour it all in one sitting. Everything good about the first volume is also present here, although there is less comedy and far more action. It looks absolutely phenomenal, with all of the special moves jumping off the pages in epic fashion. Chock full of great characters and a plot that doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon, this just keeps on getting better.
Profile Image for Lashaan Balasingam.
1,475 reviews4,624 followers
December 25, 2020
Kaiju No. 8 continues to be an impressive new Shonen as the team is now off in the wild for their first mission. This is where all of the characters showcase their skills and abilities, while Kafka tries something different to bring to the table something useful instead of his usual incompetence.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
Profile Image for 灰.
160 reviews28 followers
October 28, 2025
Alright alright, I admit it… I’m attached now. WHAT AM I GONNA DO WHEN THIS ENDS?????????? I CANT PROTECT THEM ALL 😫😫😫😫😫 a lot of characters were very pretentious and pretty forgettable in the first volume (or so I thought). This volume gave a good number of characters the substance they needed for me to understand the division better. Great volume!
Profile Image for Camila T &#x1f349;.
426 reviews27 followers
June 11, 2024
Kafka reveals his secret to another person. Kafka and Ichikawa get their results from the second phase of tests. Platehead makes a second appearance.

This has JJK vibes and I like it very much.
Profile Image for Corey Allen.
217 reviews14 followers
July 19, 2022
Once again, this was pretty good. I don’t think I liked this one as much as the first, but I still enjoyed it a lot. My only complaint, is the fact that it is black and white, which can make it hard to see who is who at times. Luckily, they all have distinct hairstyles, so it didn’t bother me to much. I love all the great cast of characters, and at times it can be pretty funny at times. Something that I have been noticing with manga, is these big long battles at the end. And then a dramatic moment happens, and then BOOM! It’s over. Which as I am starting to get used to it, I am enjoying a lot. Luckily, the next volume just came out, so I don’t have to wait to long.

I recommend!
Profile Image for  Bon.
1,349 reviews198 followers
February 21, 2023
Continues to be so good. I LOVE that the defense forces' uniforms and masks look like odes to Sango's demon-hunting clan from Inuyasha!
Profile Image for Michael J..
1,035 reviews34 followers
February 18, 2023
Finally, after years of trying to get interested in manga, I'm starting to find a few titles that I can follow with enjoyment. Add KAIJU NO. 8 to the short list. With Volume 2 it delivers on the promise of Volume 1 and builds on the premise (although it does drag on in several places).
Main character Kafka Hubino has struggled for years to pass the exam to enter the Japan Defense Force who protect the land from an abundance of kaiju monsters of various sizes (the main threat here is an enormous mushroom/fungal blob that seems impervious to their guns and small rockets).
He fails the entrance exam once again, but shows enough promise that he is enrolled as a new cadet outside of the main officer corps.
The central conflict of this title is Kafka's attempts to conceal his other manifestation, a humanoid kaiju, that happened as a result of an inexplicable accident following a kaiju assault in Volume 1. He does his best to avoid the transformation and keep it under control, but continues to find the need to become the monster when his friends and fellow force members are in extreme danger.
There's a brand new threat arising in Volume 2 that may prove to be interesting: another humanoid kaiju - - this one hiding within the ranks of the kaiju-corpse cleanup crew (Kafka's former job)- - and not as good-natured as Kafka with sabotage and murderous intentions.
The supporting cast is good. I admire the art style of writer/artist Matsumoto. I'm going to hang around more with this title.
Profile Image for Mark.
2,773 reviews269 followers
April 7, 2022
With the kaiju attack successfully thwarted, that should mean smooth sailing for Kafka, minus the part where he still totally sucks when he’s not in kaiju mode. Sneaking in by sheer luck (or is it?), Kafka’s off to prove himself in his dream job, provided he doesn’t get himself killed doing it.

The second volume is typically where you can really assess whether a manga is going to have legs or if it happily tossed out all its ideas in the very first volume and doesn’t have anything left in the tank for the rest of the series.

Happily, Kaiju No.8 acquits itself pretty well, being full of silly macho antics and double takes and wild takes, but once again managing that very fine balancing act between telling a good story and being nothing more than a trip to wacky town.

Kafka is still utterly hopeless but well-meaning and absolutely easy to root for - the guy giving it his all for one last chance to live his dreams. His wild expressions are frequently hilarious and his inability to keep his inner monologue inner provides at least one gut-buster.

And we even get a fantastic bad guy this time around. There are few things funny as evil that treats evil as a day job and, while this is a short list, this volume features what may very well be the funniest bathroom scene in manga history. It’s so deadpan and straightforward.

Even better, when he has to step up, our baddie is very competent and the scene featuring Ichikawa, who really starts coming into his own this volume, and another recruit quickly goes from silly to deadly serious with ease (and then back to silly, with what I can only describe as a howler of a decapitation that made me laugh).

There’s also a smart swerve where, rather than having Kafka suddenly turn into a battle savant when he clearly has zero capacity for it, he uses his work experience and long hours of study to get a result for his squadron. It’s great to see him making his way without his powers or just being a fighter and it’s smart writing.

The jokes hit far more than they don’t, although the sudden cuts from somebody saying something to Kafka being hopeless are a crutch the mangaka needs to get over really fast because they tend to be overused. Otherwise this is quite solid and even fleshes out the cast in some really fun ways. The smug butt Hoshino turns out to be Kafka’s saving grace (and rival!), but he’s nowhere near as easygoing as he initially appears.

Young prodigy girl continues to be an excellent fighter, thankfully not being relegated by Kafka saving her last volume, and is clearly starting to nurse a bit of an unrequited crush (the way this gets called out by the monitoring software is exquisite).

A strong cast with a good story and solid art and some downright killer gags, plus some dynamite action sequences? Believe me when I say you could do a lot worse when it comes to shonen.

4 stars - seriously, this is the kind of shonen that I like. It’s silly and self-aware, but knows when to curb itself to deliver the heart and action that makes the comedy parts more effective. A lot of fun.
Profile Image for Amanda.
148 reviews21 followers
October 18, 2024
3.5 stars. The beginning dragged a little but the ending made up for that mostly. I appreciated the depth shown in the characters.
Profile Image for MajesticalLion.
677 reviews59 followers
July 26, 2022
Reading this volume made me realize how much the art and dialogue reminds me of Fullmetal Alchemist. I could see this series getting animated by Bones and it looking spectacular.
Profile Image for Peter Looles.
299 reviews6 followers
September 15, 2022
Kaiju No. 8 vol. 2

After secretly defeating the Kaiju that attacked the people who tried to join the Defense Force, Kafka as well as Reno get selected as new recruits. Kafka continues to struggle with training, while Reno shows very promising results. Also, people start learning about Kafka's relation to Commander Mina. Soon the new recruits get called for their first Kaiju extermination assignment. There, Kafka realises that while he's not as powerful as his colleagues, his vast knowledge of Kaiju helps him prove himself useful. At the same time, Reno starts becoming one of the most powerful recruits. Everything is going well, until another half-human-half-kaiju creature appears and attacks Reno.
This was a great second volume. Kafka finally gets into the defense force, like he always wanted, but his troubles don't stop there. He learns that if he doesn't improve like the others, he'll be out in three months. This gives him motivation to try even harder to improve, while it also keeps the stakes very high. Due to his ability to transform into an extremely powerful Kaiju, there's never the feeling that he's in danger, but thanks to the clever writing, the stakes remain high all the time and the story is never boring. On the contrary, the entire volume is captivating. There's a lot more action here than in the previous volume and it's all very well written and entertaining. Something else that's very well written is the characters. Every character is great. The protagonist, Kafka, is very interesting and unique, compared to most manga protagonists. Not only because he's 32, but also because he's kinda silly, in a funny way and actually not that great at what he does, most of the time. This is good because it gives him the ability to evolve, as the story continues. Another great character is Reno. The two of them have great chemistry and in this volume we start realising how powerful he actually is. I'm sure that we'll get to know him better in later volumes, which is going to be very interesting. Other than these two, who are the main characters, I think that Kikoru Shinomiya is very interesting. We didn't get any deeper into her character in this volume, but based on what has been established about her in the previous volume, I believe that he's one of the most interesting characters in the series and she'll certainly play a huge role in later volunes. Yet another interesting character is vice captain Soshiro Hoshina. He's very lighthearted, even at serious situations and in this volume he was one of the characters that I enjoyed reading the most. Other than the characters, something I love about this manga is the great world building. The world is pretty crazy, but it's all written so well that it makes a lot of sense. Furthermore, this manga combines action, drama and comedy in a great way, that makes it extremely enjoyable and fun to read.
The artwork in this manga is gorgeous. The designs for the various Kaiju are very beautiful and unique. The action scenes are beautiful and filled with power and excitement and the facial expressions always work perfectly, for both dramatic and comedic affect.
Overall, this was a great volume that continued the story in a very interesting and satisfying way, while also adding some very interesting new elements to it.
10/10
Profile Image for Andrea.
627 reviews34 followers
December 14, 2022
Sigue la línea del primero, pero tiene detalles bonitos e interesantes, como la sonrisilla de la capitana (aún no me sé los nombres 😅) ante las palabras del prota y el "malo". Lo mejor sin duda el vicecapitan de las katanas. Me encanta.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 632 reviews

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