Kaiju No. 8 season two episode one picks up shortly after the events of the season one finale.
With the training center destroyed, the recruits from season one must find a new home.
Episode one and two focuses mainly on where the group ends up. Kikoru and Kafka are reunited as they are assigned to the first division under the new character Gen Narumi, and Reno continues his trek to his landing place.
Don’t worry, more than enough kaiju are fighting in the first two episodes to remind you what show you are watching.
Season two continues the successful formula that season one found in the back half of the season, when it extended the battles and slowed down the storytelling while keeping the action full throttle.
The editing was punchy and confident. Both episodes flew by (in a good way). There was an escalation to the kaiju battle preparation that created this sense of momentum where your adrenaline was building alongside the characters, and by the time the action started, you wanted to pull out your unique oversized-over-the-top weapon and jump in.
© JAKDF 3rd Division © Naoya Matsumoto/SHUEISHA
The battles are still best-in-class. Cinematic and over the top. Kaiju No. 8 knows how to follow ‘the rule of cool’ and leans into flashy choreography and stylish poses to turn each show still into a new potential iPhone background.
The biggest improvement from season one to season two has been the balance of serious and silly. I’ve watched plenty of anime in my lifetime, but it’s not inherently in my DNA, so I have a tough time when a shonen leans too far into the silliness. It was more of a problem with season one, but I never felt the goofy moments overstayed their welcome or didn’t fit the moment. There was also this undertone of how the population is dealing with constant kaiju attacks. A mix of annoyance, fear, and apathy, which made for an interesting take on the weariness of your backyard being constantly in flux.
Kaiju design is a slam dunk. The overall visual language of the series is a blast to experience. I’m surprised to see how much of the 80’s GI Joe cartoon I see in Kaiju No. 8. Lasers all over the place, cool-looking soldiers, military vehicles, and specialized mechs fill up the screen during Kaiju fights and make every set piece epic. No spoilers, but there is a kaiju fight that brings in quite a few winks and nods to another franchise, but with just enough tweaks to make it seem like it originated in the world of Kaiju No. 8.
Two thumbs up to series newcomer Gen Narumi. The cast is more lighthearted, but their driving motivations from season one were inherently serious. His love of slacking off and not taking the “system” seriously is a fun foil against the returning cast. The character archetype being portrayed with Gen can be grating, but placed in this universe, it just… works. The only disappointment was a lack of Reno in the first two episodes. His story feels far from over, but it would have been nice to see more of him as the storylines begin to settle for season two.
Episodes one and two are straight up fun. For a summer show, it’s all I ask for. There are enough callbacks to season one sprinkled throughout the first two episodes to get caught up and not require a YouTube catch-up video. Not much story progression yet, and hopefully that doesn’t continue as the season continues, but TOHO animation focused on showing what made season one a hit-big monsters, big action moments, and big personalities.
New episodes of Kaiju No. 8 release Saturdays on Crunchyroll.
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