Kaiju No. 8 Faces a Major Dilemma After Episode 7

Kaiju No. 8 episode 7 aired on Saturday continuing its trend of high-stakes action and story development. As I told a close friend after last week’s episode, this series is going to go nowhere but up from here on out and this week’s episode showed it. With more solid production work and shocking developments, Kaiju No. 8 is back with another great episode.

Kaiju No. 8’s Dilemma

Kafka’s “secret” is finally hitting its tipping point now that Hoshina and Kaiju No. 9 are that much closer to solving who, and what, Kaiju No. 8 really is. The bigger problem with it all is that Kafka has two of some of the most powerful characters in the entire series hot on his trail.

This isn’t just a couple of close friends keeping a secret anymore. It’s getting dangerous and I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t make the story that much more exciting. Kaiju No. 8 has its critics due to the amount of humor the series brings but now it’s no coincidence those same critics have been nowhere to be found lately.

Kafka’s dilemma now not only brings forth more action, but also mystery, drama, and suspense. Having Vice Captain Hoshina within a blade’s reach, an external threat as serious as Kaiju No. 9 that made his best friend look like Swiss cheese, and possibly the greatest recruit the Defense Force has ever seen in Kikoru by his side, the story surrounding Kafka is only going to become greater than it’s already set out to be, more specifically the current dilemma that’s a giant balloon on the verge of bursting.

Ichikawa’s Greatness Continues

I mentioned last week that Ichikawa deserves his flowers and this week he should receive that and then some. When we think of “shonen main character energy”, Ichikawa radiates it more than Kafka sometimes. While he does fall in line with the cool, calm, collected, and intelligent best friend trope, he still shines in his own ways and I love it.

Not only is Ichikawa hitting his own moments of character development, but they’re coming in big moments that give him a chance to shine. I’ve spoken on this before, but a series that does right by its side characters will go a long way. They’re called a supporting cast for a reason.

Ichikawa becoming someone on the Defense Force that even the other candidates, who showed more potential than him, come to respect is something you can’t criticize with the series. I’d say he’s even a perfect character to rival Kafka. It’s not like he’s necessarily gifted either, but his tenacity and motivation to save those in danger gives us scenarios, like in episode 7 facing Kaiju No. 9, that give the series a lot more life and edge-of-your-seat moments.

Kaiju No. 9 – A Worthwhile Villain

There are a few particular reasons why I absolutely love Kaiju No. 9 as the main villain of the series. For one, there’s no sob story with him that the main character is looking to dig deep down into to maybe bring that “good” in him to the surface. I like my villains to be just that—villains.

There are villains who are evil to the core and can still be well-written. This goes for anime, movies, video games, etc. Not every antagonist needs to be someone we feel sorry for. Kaiju No. 9 is a thorn-covered mushroom top alien that has a little bit of Kid Buu energy to him while simultaneously being intelligent.

I’m glad the main villain isn’t a human who wants to use kaiju to destroy the world or anything of the sort. Having a kaiju that quickly adapts to the world it’s in and grows even stronger with each passing second is an exciting threat in this kind of world. And the biggest mystery of it all is that we don’t know No. 9’s true motives at this point, adding to the growing mystery of the series with a touch of horror.

Kaiju No. 8 Episode 7 Wrap-Up

This is one of those episodes where there’s not much to be said other than “Damn! That was epic!” and you carry on about your day. The animation, once again, during the fight between No. 8 and No. 9 was wonderfully done. The story development, character development, and dialogue were all solid. It was just an all-around great episode and that’s that.

Episode 7 rating: 9/10

If you enjoyed Kaiju No. 8 episode 7, vote for it in our weekly poll! Episode 8 of Kaiju No. 8 will be released on Saturday, June 1. The series is streaming weekly on Crunchyroll and X.

Screenshots via Crunchyroll
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