Kaiju No. 8

, 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, with its chapters collected in eight ''tankōbon'' volumes as of October 2022. Viz Media has licensed the series for English release in North America. An anime television series adaptation by Production I.G is set to premiere in 2024.

As of December 2022, the manga had over 10 million copies in circulation. The series has been praised for its premise, characters and art.

Plot

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 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. With newfound resolve, Kafka decides he wants to fight by Mina's side and finally joins the Defence Force while also keeping his new abilities a secret.

Media

Manga

''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. 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. Shueisha has collected its chapters into individual ''tankōbon'' volumes. The first volume was released on December 4, 2020. 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. As of November 4, 2022, eight volumes have been released.

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''. It is also simultaneously published in English by Viz Media under the title ''Kaiju No. 8''. In February 2021, Viz Media announced that they will publish the first volume of ''Kaiju No. 8'' in fall 2021.

Volume list

Chapters not yet in ''tankōbon'' format

These chapters have yet to be published in a ''tankōbon'' volume. They were serialized on ''Shōnen Jump+''.
* Chapter: 67–76

Light novel

A 4-chapter side story light novel, written by Keiji Ando and illustrated by the original manga author, Naoya Matsumoto, was released on November 4, 2022.

Anime

On August 4, 2022, it was announced that the manga would be receiving an anime adaptation. It was later revealed to be a television series set to premiere in 2024, with Production I.G animating and Studio Khara supervising the ''kaiju'' designs and artworks.

Reception

Popularity

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. 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. In February 2021, the series reached 70 million views. In April 2021, the series reached over 100 million views. The series ranked #10 on AnimeJapan's 5th "Most Wanted Anime Adaptation" poll in 2022.

Manga

The ''School Library Journal'' listed the first volume of ''Kaiju No. 8'' as one of the top 10 manga of 2021. It ranked 3rd on Takarajimasha's ''Kono Manga ga Sugoi!'' 2022 list of best manga for male readers.{{cite web, last=Pineda, first=Rafael, title=Oshi no Ko, Kaiju No. 8, Jojolion, Peleliu Nominated for Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-02-20/oshi-no-ko-kaiju-no-8-jojolion-peleliu-nominated-for-tezuka-osamu-cultural-prize/.182844, website=Anime News Network, access-date=February 21, 2022, date=February 20, 2022, archive-date=June 9, 2022, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609184121/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-02-20/oshi-no-ko-kaiju-no-8-jojolion-peleliu-nominated-for-tezuka-osamu-cultural-prize/.182844, url-status=live The series ranked 2nd on the Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2022.

Sales

The series' first volume sold 90,831 copies in its first week, and 69,404 copies in its second week. As of December 2020, the first volumes had over 430,000 copies in circulation (print and digital). In January 2021, it was reported that the series the best-selling new manga of 2020, within only 28 days since the first volume was published. By March 2021, the manga had over 1 million copies printed physically and 200,000 copies sold digitally, making it the fastest ''Shōnen Jump+'' series to reach 1 million copies in circulation,{{cite web, last1=Mateo, first=Alex, title=Kaiju No. 8 Is Fastest Shonen Jump Plus Manga to Reach 1 Million Copies in Print, url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-03-04/kaiju-no-8-is-fastest-shonen-jump-plus-manga-to-reach-1-million-copies-in-print/.170233, website=Anime News Network, access-date=March 4, 2021, date=March 4, 2021, archive-date=April 13, 2022, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413154200/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-03-04/kaiju-no-8-is-fastest-shonen-jump-plus-manga-to-reach-1-million-copies-in-print/.170233, url-status=live and 20 days later reached 1.5 million copies in circulation. By June 2021, the manga had 2.5 million copies in circulation, and by middle of the month it reached 3 million copies. By September 2021, the manga had over 4 million copies in circulation; over 5.5 million copies in circulation by December 2021; over 6.7 million copies in circulation by March 2022; over 7.8 million copies in circulation by July 2022; over 8 million copies in circulation by August 2022; and over 10 million copies in circulation by December 2022.

In France, the series sold 22,041 copies in its first week, making it the best-selling debut of manga in France.

Critical reception

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."{{cite web, url=https://www.fandompost.com/2020/07/31/kaiju-no-8-chapters-1-5-manga-review/, title=Kaiju No. 8 Chapters #1 – 5 Manga Review, website=The Fandom Post, date=July 31, 2020, access-date=December 20, 2020, archive-date=June 17, 2022, archive-url=https://archive.today/20220617130837/https://www.fandompost.com/2020/07/31/kaiju-no-8-chapters-1-5-manga-review/, url-status=live 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. Grant Jones of ''Anime News Network'' praised the series, highlighting its premise, characters, art work and its comedy. Jones concluded: "Honestly, this one has a lot of promise and I'm eager to see what else is in store."

Awards and nominations

{, class="wikitable"
, +
!Year
!Award
!Category
!Result
!Ref
, -
, rowspan="7", 2021
, 14th Manga Taishō
, Grand Prize
, {{draw, 6th place
, align=center,
, -
, 5th Tsutaya Comic Award
, Next Hit
, {{draw, 2nd place
, align=center,
, -
, {{ill, Geeks d'Ouro, pt, Geeks d'Ouro
, Best Manga Series
, {{won
, align=center,
, -
, Tokyo's New Manga Award
, Best Manga
, {{won
, align=center,
, -
, 7th Next Manga Award
, Web Manga
, {{won
, align=center,
, -
, 7th Ayumi Comic Award
, Grand Prize
, {{won
, align=center,
, -
, ''Da Vinci'' 21th Annual Book of the Year
, Book of the Year
, {{draw, 12th place
, align=center,
, -
, rowspan="4", 2022
, 26th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize
, Cultural Prize
, {{nom
, align=center,
, -
, {{ill, eBook Initiative Japan, ja, イーブックイニシアティブジャパン Manga Award
, Grand Prize
, {{won
, align=center,
, -
, Eisner Award
, Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia
, {{nom
, align=center,
, -
, ''Da Vinci'' 22th Annual Book of the Year
, Book of the Year
, {{draw, 26th place
, align=center, {{cite web, last=Pineda, first=Rafael, title=Spy×Family Tops Da Vinci Manga Ranking, url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-12-06/spy-family-tops-da-vinci-manga-ranking/.192624, website=Anime News Network, access-date=December 6, 2022, date=December 6, 2022, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206080401/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-12-06/spy-family-tops-da-vinci-manga-ranking/.192624, archive-date=December 6, 2022, url-status=live
, -

References

{{reflist

Further reading

*{{cite web, last=Taniguchi, first=Ryuichi, script-title=ja:『怪獣8号』は正義を描き切れるか？ 『呪術廻戦』『デビルマン』の展開から考察, url=https://realsound.jp/book/2020/12/post-671243.html, website=Real Sound, publisher=Blueprint Co., Ltd, language=ja, date=December 11, 2020
*{{cite web, last=Kitani, first=Makoto, script-title=ja:怪獣の力を身につけた正義のオッサンの勇姿を見よ！ 「ジャンププラス」が放つ正統派ヒーロー漫画『怪獣8号』が熱い!!, url=https://ddnavi.com/review/727135/a/, website=Da Vinci News, publisher=Kadokawa Corporation, language=ja, date=January 19, 2021

External links

*{{Official website, https://shonenjumpplus.com/episode/13933686331762212128, Official website at ''Shōnen Jump+'' {{in lang, ja
*{{Official website, https://mangaplus.shueisha.co.jp/titles/100110, Official website at ''Manga Plus''
*{{Official website, https://www.viz.com/shonenjump/chapters/kaiju-no-8, Official website at Viz Media
*{{Official website, https://kaiju-no8.net/, Official anime website {{in lang, ja
*{{Anime News Network, manga, 24180, noparen=true

{{Shōnen Jump Plus
{{Production I.G

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