At New York Comic Con today, Crunchyroll unleashed a monstrous acquisition announcement confirming Kaiju No. 8 would be coming to its streaming service in Spring 2024, subtitled and dubbed, exclusively in more than 200 countries and territories, simulcast weekly after its broadcast in Japan.
The highly anticipated anime series is centered around a group of characters living in a world where giant monsters (or kaiju) attack humanity and the creatures’ destructive aftermath. Kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with television, movies, and books involving giant monsters (usually depicted attacking major cities and battling the military or other monsters), which has been a science fiction mainstay in the media for decades.
Kaiju No. 8 is animated by Production I.G (PSYCHO-PASS; GHOST IN THE SHELL), with kaiju artwork and design supervision by Studio Khara (Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition, Shin Godzilla (Pre Visualization Development)). The anime is adapted from the original manga created by Naoya Matsumoto.
During the Crunchyroll Industry Panel at New York Comic Con, a special message from Naoya Matsumoto was shared:
“Hello from Japan to everyone attending New York Comic-Con. I’m the author of Kaiju No. 8, Naoya Matsumoto. It’s a story about someone struggling in a harsh world without ever giving up, in the hopes of leading people into an even slightly brighter future. To anyone dealing with the complexities of reality that reads this manga, I hope it can help make your future a little brighter, too.
Next year when Kaiju No. 8 begins to air in America and worldwide, I’ll be looking forward to seeing your reactions. I hope you’re looking forward to it, too!”
Crunchyroll describes the series as follows:
In a world plagued by threatening creatures known as Kaiju, Kafka Hibino aspired to enlist in the Japan Defense Force to defeat them.
“Let’s wipe out the Kaiiju together.”
Kafka pledged to his childhood friend, Mina Ashiro. Over time, life circumstances forced them to go their separate ways and caused him to abandon his lifelong ambition.
He found himself employed by Monster Sweeper, Inc., a professional cleaning company that specializes in cleaning up the aftermath of Kaiju battles. Meanwhile, Mina Ashiro is now the Captain of the Defense Force’s 3rd Division. As it stands, he is currently unworthy of fighting Kaiju alongside her.
At work, Kafka crosses paths with the highly motivated Reno Ichikawa. Reno’s undying determination to join the Defense Force leaves no room for failure. His perseverance reawakens Kafka’s ambition of standing next to Mina as they protect humanity from Kaiju together.
A dream frozen by time, thawed by a burning promise.
Japanese voice cast and characters:
- Masaya Fukunishi as Kafka Hibino / Kaiju No. 8
- Wataru Katoh as Reno Ichikawa
- Asami Seto as Mina Ashiro
- TBA as Kikoru Shinomiya
- TBA as Hoshino
You can check out the trailer below:
Source: Press Release
