"Kaiju No. 8," a popular manga series on Shonen Jump+, will be adapted into an anime starting in April 2024! Featuring powerful monster battles, this is likely to be one of the most talked-about anime of the spring season. Giant monsters are treated like a disaster, and the story revolves around the protagonist, who has been transformed into a monster, and the members of the defense force who hunt them down. Here, we've compiled a list of the characters appearing in Kaiju No. 8!
Character #1: Hibino Kafka/Kaiju No. 8
The protagonist of this work. At the start of the story, he is 32 years old and works at Monster Sweeper, a demolition and cleaning company specializing in monsters. Although she is an excellent cleaner with experience, knowledge, and courage, she actually dreamed of joining the Defense Forces with her childhood friend, Mina Ajiro. However, only Mina was able to join the Defense Forces, and her dream was shattered when she repeatedly failed the entrance exam and exceeded the age limit. After meeting Reno Ichikawa, who was working part-time, and after the age limit for the Defense Forces entrance exam was lowered, she decided to take the exam again.
Kafka Hibino as Kaiju No. 8
Another version of Kafka Hibino. While hospitalized, he was infected by a mysterious monster and was able to transform into a humanoid monster. This power is so powerful that the Defense Force has given him a unique name, and he possesses overwhelming combat ability that can turn an average monster into a lump of flesh with a single punch. Although he is able to return to human form, if he lets his guard down he will reveal his monster form, and if he overuses his powers he will lose parts of his body that cannot be reverted. He reveals his true identity to protect his comrades from a large-scale bombing attack launched by Monster No. 10 and is briefly captured by the Defense Force, but Shinomiya Isao decides to use him as a fighting force against monsters.
Character #2: Ichikawa Reno
An 18-year-old who works part-time at the cleaning company where Kafka works. Though calm and collected, she shares Kafka's bravery. She was initially arrogant and cold towards Kafka, who had given up on his dream of joining the Defense Forces, but after Kafka rescued her, she began to respect him. When Kafka turned into a monster, she became Kafka's only supportive partner, as he was the only one who understood his situation. After joining the Defense Forces, she quickly rose to prominence and is expected to become a potential captain.
Character #3: Mina Ashirou
Kafka's childhood friend and current commander of the Defense Force's third division. Both Kafka and Mina once aspired to join the Defense Force, but Mina was the only one to recognize her potential. Even after Kafka's failure, she steadily developed her talent, becoming the commander of the third division. Not only has her beauty earned her popularity among the entire nation, but she also maintains a taciturn and strict personality as the Defense Force's commander. Personally, she possesses the Defense Force's greatest firepower, and is the only one in the unit capable of using ultra-high-power, long-range weapons capable of destroying large monsters in a single hit.
Character #4: Shinomiya Kikoru
She is the only daughter of the Defense Force's commander, Shinomiya Isao. She's a cheeky, overconfident, perfectionist young lady, but she's no slouch. Upon taking the entrance exam, she demonstrated such skill that she smashed previous records. Not only is she a promising newcomer to the Defense Force, but she's also immediately recognized as a valuable asset. Although she has a quarrel with Kafka during the entrance exam, she's rescued by Kafka (Kaiju No. 8) during the Kaiju No. 9 attack, making her one of the few people who knows Kafka's true identity.
Character #5: Hoshina Soushirou
The vice-captain of the Defense Force's 3rd Unit. He speaks Kansai dialect and has narrow eyes. He senses something strange about Kafka's behavior during the entrance exam, and even though he should have failed, he passes him as a candidate to keep an eye on him. Not only does he possess exceptional insight, but his personal combat abilities include being a sword specialist, specializing in close-quarters, one-on-one combat. His speed and explosive power in close combat are among the best in the Defense Force. However, his lack of aptitude for firearms has sometimes called into question his suitability as a member of the force. Conversely, he is specialised in firearms but not bladed weapons, and is scouted by Ashirou Mina to become the vice-captain of the 3rd Unit.
Character #6: Iharu Furuhashi
He is one of the classmates who took the entrance exam with Kafka, Reno, and Kikoru. He is a promising candidate who graduated top of the class at Hachioji Subjugation Technical College, and after joining the corps, he often spends time with Reno. Since joining, his liberation power has stagnated, and while he feels inferior to Reno, who is rapidly improving, they support each other. In fact, he has a constitution that instantly increases his liberation power when he concentrates, a constitution similar to that of 4th Unit Commander Ogata Jugo.
Character #7: Izumo Haruichi
He is one of the classmates who took the entrance exam with Kafka, Reno, and Kikoru. He graduated at the top of his class at Tokyo Extermination University and is actually the heir to Izumo Tex, Japan's largest anti-monster weapon company. His wealth is said to far surpass Kikoru's. He has a fun-loving and easy-going personality, and often competes with Aoi Kaguragi, who has the opposite personality.
Character #8: Aoi Kaguragi
She is one of the classmates who took the enlistment exam along with Kafka, Reno, and Kikoru. Despite being a promising young recruit for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and having a promising future in the GSDF, she requested to transfer to the Defense Forces. She achieved the highest score in the physical fitness test, beating out all the other candidates. She has a serious and honest personality.
Character #9: Shinomiya Isao
Commander of the Defense Forces. He is the father of Shinomiya Kikoru and a strict perfectionist. Even when his daughter achieves extraordinary accomplishments, he never praises her as if they were a given. Instead, he instructs her to maintain perfection in order to protect the nation. Although he cares deeply for his daughter, due to his inherent personality and the influence of his wife, who died in a battle with a monster, he refuses to compromise on Kikoru. He is said to be the strongest person in the history of the Defense Forces and the only one who can master the equipment of Kaiju No. 2. However, he was unable to hide his age-related decline and lost his life in the battle with Kaiju No. 9, losing both his equipment and his memories.
Character #10: Hikari Shinomiya
Former commander of the Defense Force's second unit. Mother of Kikoru Shinomiya and wife of Isao Shinomiya. At the start of the story, she was deceased. She wielded Kaiju No. 4's unique Kaiju weapon (Numbers), and was known as Valkyrie by the locals, enjoying immense popularity. Ten years ago, she perished in a cluster disaster caused by Kaiju No. 6. The Numbers she was wearing at the time were passed down to her daughter, Kikoru, ten years later. Her death has had a profound impact on her husband, Isao, her daughter, Kikoru, and her fellow corps members.
Character #11: Gen Narumi
The commander of the 1st Division of the Defense Force. A young man considered to be the Defense Force's strongest anti-monster force. His personal life is extremely messy, with games and plastic models scattered around his room, constant ego-searching of his own activities, and malicious jealousy of Mina, who is popular with the public. His character is full of flaws. However, his abilities are genuine. He has implanted into his eye the "Rt (Retina)-0001," a monster identification weapon made from the retina of Kaiju No. 1. This allows him to visualize signals emitted from the brains of living organisms, giving him the power to predict the future.
Character No. 12: Kaiju No. 9
This mysterious humanoid monster invades the practical exam for the Defense Forces' entrance exam, rendering Shinomiya Kikoru, who had previously annihilated monsters with overwhelming power, unable to fight. Not only does it speak human language, but it also possesses the ability to mimic the humans it preys on, command numerous monsters, and create new monsters of the Daikaiju level. It is the series' nemesis and current final boss. It evolves with each battle, evolving to the point where it launches strategic attacks, creating monsters designed to counter the Defense Forces' members. It possesses a high level of intelligence and learning ability.
[Kaiju No. 8] Character Summary
Here's a summary of the main characters appearing in Kaiju No. 8! The show's most appealing features the intense battles between the defense forces and giant monsters, and the cast is filled with fascinating characters as well. The fact that these powerful battle scenes will be animated makes this one of the most anticipated spring anime! I'm really looking forward to the exhilarating battle scenes in the anime!
