Kaiju No. 8

Kaiju No. 8 (Japanese: 怪獣8号, Hepburn: Kaijū 8-gou), also known in English as Monster #8, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto. It has been serialized for free on Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ application and website since July 2020. Viz Media has licensed the series for English release in North America.

Kaiju No. 8
Cover of the first tankōbon volume, featuring Kafka Hibino in his monster form.
怪獣8号
(Kaijū 8-gou)
Manga
Written byNaoya Matsumoto
Published byShueisha
English publisher
ImprintJump Comics+
MagazineShōnen Jump+
DemographicShōnen
Original runJuly 3, 2020 – present
Volumes2

Plot summary

In Japan, monsters known as kaiju regularly attack the populace with the Japanese Defense Force tasked with killing them. After their town was destroyed by kaiju when they were children, childhood friends Kafka Hibino and Mina Ashiro both vowed to become members of the Defense Force. Mina has become famous as commander of the Defense Force's Third Unit, but Kafka has failed the examination numerous times and is a member of the clean up crew, Monster Sweeper Inc., whose job it is to dispose of the monsters' dead bodies after battle. After a small talking monster flies into his body via his mouth, Kafka gains the ability to turn into a monster himself, which gets dubbed "Kaiju No. 8" by the Defense Force. Kafka remains fully cognizant while in the form, but gains superhuman strength, and becomes the first monster to escape the Defense Force.

Publication

Kaiju No. 8 is written and illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto. The series began on Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ application and website on July 3, 2020.[1] In August 2020, Matsumoto and Kaiju No. 8 adopted a schedule where a new chapter is published every week for three weeks, followed by a one week break.[2] Shueisha has collected its chapters into one tankōbon volumes as of December 4, 2020.[3] A promotional video, presented as a news program, was shown on the big screen of Yunika Vision at Seibu-Shinjuku Station from December 4–10, 2020.[4]

The series is simultaneously published in English by Shueisha on their Manga Plus website and application as it is published in Japan, under the title Monster #8.[5] It is also simultaneously published in English by Viz Media under the title Kaiju No. 8.[6]

Volume list
No. Japanese release date Japanese ISBN
1 December 4, 2020[3]978-4-08-882525-0
  • Episode: 1–7
2 March 4, 2021[7]978-4-08-882611-0

Reception

According to Yūta Momiyama, the deputy editor-in-chief of Shōnen Jump+, Kaiju No. 8, along with Spy × Family, have been very popular and are doing especially well on the Manga Plus service.[5] In December 2020, it was reported that Kaiju No. 8 surpassed 30 million views, making it the fastest Shōnen Jump+ series to achieve this feat, and each new chapter published surpasses one million views.[8] The series' first volume sold 90,831 copies in its first week,[9] and 69,404 copies in its second week.[10] Kaiju No. 8 has been nominated for the 14th Manga Taishō in 2021.[11]

In a positive review of the first five chapters, Antonio Mireles of The Fandom Post wrote that Kaiju No. 8 has an engaging premise and a "ton of engrossing aspects that it can play with."[12] Although metamorphosis is a plot device that is seen often, he felt that the character Kafka "adds new life" to the trope. However, Mireles said it was "such a shame" that the story moved on from Monster Sweeper Inc to the Defense Force, as the former could have been a source for captivating stories. He believes that Kafka Hibino and his name are meant to draw comparisons to Franz Kafka's story The Metamorphosis. Although referring to Kikoru Shinomiya as the "typical spoiled, prodigy girl," Mireles called her an exciting rival for Kafka. He strongly praised Matsumoto's kaiju designs and the art as "beautiful and grotesque but in a good way," but did not like how the monsters' intestines are self-censored by the author.[12]

References
  1. [第1話]怪獣８号. Shōnen Jump+ (in Japanese). Shueisha. July 2, 2020. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  2. "[ex] Monster #8". Manga Plus. 2020-08-27. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  3. 怪獣8号 1 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  4. 「怪獣8号」1巻発売、新宿でニュース番組風映像を12月10日まで上映. Natalie (in Japanese). December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  5. Davidson, Danica (October 14, 2020). "The Most Popular Countries for Online Manga, According to Shonen Jump+". Otaku USA. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  6. Llanes, Jeric (August 2, 2020). "Shonen Jump New Chapters 08/02/2020". Viz Media (in Japanese). Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  7. 怪獣8号 2 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  8. "ジャンプ＋史上最速で3000万閲覧を突破、松本直也が描く怪獣譚「怪獣8号」1巻". Natalie (in Japanese). December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  9. 週間 コミックランキング 2020年12月14日付 （2020年11月30日～2020年12月06日）. Oricon (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  10. 週間 コミックランキング 2020年12月21日付 （2020年12月07日～2020年12月13日）. Oricon (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 25, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  11. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (January 24, 2021). "14th Manga Taisho Awards Nominate 10 Titles". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  12. "Kaiju No. 8 Chapters #1 – 5 Manga Review". The Fandom Post. July 31, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.

Further reading
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