So this was a show I ended up watching on a whim. I was caught up on my shows but needed to spend more time on my workout so I gave this one a try. Kaiju No. 8 features a world under the constant threat of kaiju attacks. Our star Kafka Hibino has tried for years to join the kaiju defense force to fight them alongside his childhood friend who is one of the captains; however, after so many failures he gave up on that dream and worked cleaning up the mess left by the defeated kaiju. Years later he’s persuaded to try one last time before he is too old to do so, but before the test can end an encounter with a mysterious kaiju gives him the ability to turn into one. Now Kafka must try and join the kaiju defense force while hiding the fact that he is himself a kaiju.

The story here is pretty entertaining. You have the constant tension of Kafka’s need to protect his new identity in the worst place for it to be revealed; however, that tension is balanced well by Kafka’s charismatic and humorous personality. Because of his age and being significantly weaker combat wise than his peers he really comes off as someone with a lot of dad joke energy. He is a funny but caring character that looks out for his team with the abilities he has available. That leads to another thing I like about the story is that since his greatest combat skills are his kaiju one’s Kafka is forced to rely on his human wits which come in handy as he uses his time cleaning up defeated kaiju to help his team target weaknesses for easier combat. It’s a nice departure from the myriad of shows I watch where the main character is ridiculously overpowered all the time.

As for the rest of the cast this is where we get some mixed feelings. As a whole I like the cast but I tend to like them most when they are together. The way their personalities bounce off of each other works very well and it really embodies the team atmosphere so the Kaiju Defense Force genuinely feels like a well organized unit. As individuals I feel like so far they are kind of one note. That’s not a bad thing as you rarely see any character on their own but the moments where you see very few characters together make up the less entertaining parts of the season so that’s also something to keep in mind.

The combat scenes are great and they all feel unique. You have the different parts of the season where the characters fight hoards of kaiju but you also have several one on one battles where you get to see the individual skills of the characters and Kafka as both a human and as a kaiju. The moments where he’s a kaiju are very exciting as this is where he becomes your typical overpowered protagonist and bursts into the scene with incredible force. It’s a very action packed show and the action does not disappoint at all.

Overall Kaiju No. 8 is a very entertaining show that offers a story that manages to balance both tension and humor rather well. As individuals only Kafka himself manages to show a lot of depth at this time but the rest of the cast bounces so well off of each other that the team spirit of the Kaiju Defense Force shines well here and I like that approach a lot. The combat is very entertaining and makes great use of Kafka’s unique skills both his human and kaiju abilities. I can see why this show is so popular. While I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favorites of the new shows I’ve watched recently I did greatly enjoy it and it’s on my list of shows to watch for season two.