Crunchyroll has announced that the worldwide broadcasts for Kaiju No. 8 will coincide with the Japanese broadcasts, a first that will also include many dubbed versions at launch.
Some Godzilla–sized work and innovation has been happening over at Crunchyroll. For the first time ever, the anime streamer will be debuting the Kaiju No. 8 anime on Saturday, April 13 at 7:00 am PDT worldwide. This means the timing and everything for the Japanese broadcast will also stream live worldwide at the same time. Over 200 countries will have the opportunity to view the premiere live at the exact same time!
While this will be a semi-throwback to catching live TV cartoons on the weekends, fans can still catch the episodes post-airtime. Specifically for Kaiju No. 8, every new episode will be readily available at 8:30 am PDT on the same Saturday it aired. Subscribers to the anime streaming site can now visit the official Kaiju No. 8 show page and add it to their Watchlist as a reminder.
But this was not the only work Crunchyroll has been putting into the live broadcasts for this monster-filled show. The streamer company will be producing multiple dubs of Kaiju No. 8 in English, Latin American Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Castilian Spanish, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. And that is still not all. Crunchyroll will have an array of languages dub-ready for each air date of Kaiju No. 8, beginning with the first broadcast.
Here is a list of the Japanese voice cast and characters:
- Masaya Fukunishi as Kafka Hibino / Kaiju No. 8
- Asami Seto as Mina Ashiro
- Wataru Katoh as Reno Ichikawa
- Fairouz Ai as Kikoru Shinomiya
- Kengo Kawanishi as Soshiro Hoshina
- Yuki Shin as Iharu Furuhashi
- Keisuke Komoto as Haruichi Izumo
- Shunsuke Takeuchi as Aoi Kaguragi
ADR direction has been done by Shawn Gann (The Apothecary Diaries, Buddy Daddies). Here is the revealed English voice cast, along with additional English dub crew:
- Nazeeh Tarsha as Kafka Hibino / Kaiju No. 8
- Katelyn Barr as Mina Ashiro
- Adam McArthur as Reno Ichikawa
- Susie Nixon as ADR Producer
- Jarrod Greene as ADR Script Writer
- Nathanael Harrison as ADR Mixer
- José Sandoval as ADR Engineer
The anime is adapted from the original manga created by Naoya Matsumoto. 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)). This series has been on my radar for years.
I started reading the manga earlier this year, and have been reading it relentlessly. The general vibes based on the manga is that it is kind of like Attack on Titan meets Pacific Rim meets any other kind of “kaiju” related media. I think one of the best parts of it for me is that the main character Kafka is a bit aloof, so there is a certain air of levity.
I genuinely thought this would be another serious series similar to Attack on Titan. However, the monsters in Kaiju No. 8 can be just as ruthless as the Titans. The different monsters that will be introduced throughout the series are also interesting, all having different powers and characteristics. Like many of the aforementioned media portrayals of giant human killers, there is a science and explanation to this world.
Here is the official synopsis from Crunchyroll:
“In a world plagued by creatures known as Kaiju, Kafka Hibino aspired to enlist in The Defense Force. He makes a promise to enlist with his childhood friend, Mina Ashiro. Soon, life takes them in separate ways. While employed cleaning up after Kaiju battles, Kafka meets Reno Ichikawa. Reno’s determination to join The Defense Force reawakens Kafka’s promise to join Mina and protect humanity.”
