The official website for the anime adaptation of the Kaiju No. 8 manga provided a first look with a teaser video, visual, studios, and 2024 premiere.
The Japanese Defense Task Force will be battling kaiju in full anime effect. As spotted most recently, a teaser promotional video, visual, animation studios, and 2024 premiere date were posted on the website for the anime adaptation of the Kaiju No. 8 manga. While fans will still have to wait another year to see this monster-filled series hit the animated screen, there were some really cool details revealed.
First of all, the studio handling the animation production will be Production I.G. (Ghost In The Shell, Aoashi), and Studio Khara (Rebuild of Evangelion) will be in charge of the kaiju designs and artwork. Production I.G. has done so much incredible work with building out popular franchises, while Studio Khara had successfully been able to revitalize the Evangelion populace to its peak hype factor that may have fell short back in its original, budget-struggling state.
The two studios will be bringing the work of Naoya Matsumoto’s Kaiju No. 8 manga that originally began its run in July 2020 on Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ and VIZ Media website. The first print volume was then shipped out in December 2020, and the demand for the books has only skyrocketed since. Kaiju No. 8 was quite ambitious for its publication happening during the peak COVID-19 pandemic times.
To add some perspective of the scale of popularity of Kaiju No. 8, in September 2021, the manga surpassed 4 million copies in circulation. This feat made it the fastest Shonen Jump+ manga to reach this milestone, as opposed to a serialized run in the more traditional print magazine format.
The Kaiji No. 8 manga series was also nominated for the 14th Manga Taisho Awards in January 2021, the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize last February, and the Eisner awards in May. Most recently, it placed first pace at the seventh Next Manga Awards (Tsugi ni Kuru Manga Taishō) in the web manga category in August 2021.
The story began building on a dystopian Japan where kaiju (monsters) have constantly been attacking the general population. Just think of the Godzilla and Pacific Rim franchises, but with a twist. The only thing standing in their way is the Japanese Defense Force, which has been tasked with eliminating all kaiju—similarly to some plot stuff with Tokyo Ghoul, minus the gut-wrenching villains. The series has been praised for its amazing artwork and interesting characters.
The main characters are childhood friends Kafka Hibino and Mina Ashiro who both vowed to become members of the Defense Force when they grew up. Fast-forward to their adult selves, Mina has moved up in the Forces, but Kafka had failed the entrance exams multiple times. While Kafka is working for the kaiju body disposal company, Monster Sweeper Inc., a small monster flies into his mouth and Kafka gains the abilities to turn into a monster.
Now, as for the trailer, some rockin’ music was followed by some visuals of the Kaiju No. 8 world in all its destroyed glory. It showed a shot of Kafka’s back with his Monster Sweeper Inc. gear and then a shot of his kaiju form. While it was not much, the music sold the hype!
By the end of the video, it revealed that it would premiere in 2024—no official date has been announced yet. This is like another Chainsaw Man excitement situation with its very early teaser and anime confirmation, but definitely check out the manga to get the details before the anime drops.
