Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 Ep. 1-2: Return Of The Kaiju Military Sci-Fi [Spoiler-Free Review]

Kaiju No. 8 is all set to return for season 2 when the first episode will premiere on July 19, 2025. Are you eager to find out what happens next as Kafka Hibino learns how to deal with the kaiju inside him? Well, we’re here to give you all a first look at the new season with not just the first episode, but the second as well. Completely spoiler-free, of course.

Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 Ep. 1-2: Details in Brief

Kaiju No. 8 season 2 Ep. 1-2 (aka. Ep. 13 “Kaiju Weapon” and Ep. 14 “The Next Generation’s Trial”) will be the first two episodes of the second season of this military science fiction/fantasy, adventure, and horror anime series. Said anime is the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Naoya Matsumoto. This second season will make its debut a little over a year after the finale of the first season. In fact, you can read my reviews for that first season here.

Production I.G (Ghost in the Shell, Psycho-Pass, Haikyu!!) will return as the animation studio behind the anime. Shigeyuki Miya and Tomomi Kamiya return as the co-directors, with Ichiro Okouchi also returning as the writer for the composition and screenplay.

Synopsis

Alas, Kaiju No. 8 season 2 Ep. 1-2 have not yet made their debuts yet. As I mentioned before, the first episode won’t even start streaming until July 19, 2025. Thus, in the meantime, here’s the official synopsis of that second season from Crunchyroll to give you all an idea of what it will be about:

“Thanks to Isao Shinomiya, Kafka Hibino avoids being turned into a weapon. As new recruits head to their posts, Kafka meets Gen Narumi, the strongest man in the Defense Force and leader of the First Division. Kafka embraces the power of Kaiju No. 8 to force Gen to recognize his strength. Meanwhile, Kaiju No. 9 lurks in the shadows as the greatest threat the Defense Force has faced awaits.”

Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 Ep. 1-2: The Good

It’s hard to deny that Kaiju No. 8 season 2 Ep. 1-2 is a very good-looking anime. Both the kaiju and the JASDF, sorry, JAKDF continue to look very good in this second season, all thanks to the well-done CGI. Seriously, this is some of the best CGI I’ve ever seen in an anime series. With realistic military vehicles (minus the JAKDF-only gear) and kaiju designs that range between cool and very creepy/horrific, it makes both episodes look amazing, visually speaking.

However, it’s not just the set pieces that look good. The action sequences are quite stunning as well. It mixes military action, usually involving oodles of guns firing and rockets/missiles flying around in Macross Missile Massacres, and shonen-style high-intensity melee fighting. You’d think that it would create a disconnect between the two action styles due to how much they clash with each other. However, they somehow synergize with each other quite well in a similar way to a tabletop RPG mixing melee and ranged fighting together. Moreover, it does make sense in-universe why the JAKDF go with this. Their weapons are made of kaiju body parts, which they can only get in very limited quantities. This is especially true of their most powerful weapons. Thus, melee weapons are the most economical use of those materials, which when combined with their kaiju-based powered exoskeletons, result in some very action-heavy fighting scenes.

Truly, Production I.G must’ve spent quite a bit on their budget for that animation.

Not only that, but the story isn’t half-bad either. The main focus on these first two episodes is all about Kafka Hibino (voiced by Masaya Fukunishi, and Nazeeh Tarsha in English dub) and his battles against both himself and the forces at the JAKDF’s upper echelon who basically want to summarily execute him and turn his body into more weapons. Oh, and against the assorted kaiju popping up, but that’s practically a side issue here. How we see Kafka’s story play out is the important bit. At the very least, it’s a compellingly heartfelt story.

Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 Ep. 1-2: The Bad

Honestly, my main complaint with Kaiju No. 8 season 2 Ep. 1-2 is that there’s a noticeable lack of heavy blood and gore in the episodes. Yes, we see kaiju blood spray everywhere, with organs spilling out and everything. However, there’s a noticeable lack of civilian casualties to emphasize just how much of it is happening in this anime in the background. Yes, there is a similar lack of such civilian deaths in the first season as well, which is interesting because the manga does depict civilian casualties on occasion for horror and to emphasize how serious things are getting. It might be worth it for the anime to do the same for similar reasons. Maybe the second season in the future might do so? We’ll just have to see.

Aside from that, the way the JAKDF is treating Kafka Hibino is…interesting, but a bit questionable. Mostly because not one of them brings up any moral implications about the idea of summarily executing one of their own when he’s demonstrated pretty much total loyalty to them. Even the one guy who does want to spare him is motivated purely by pragmatism rather than morality. Only his immediate comrades do so, and only for personal reasons. My guess is that this is meant to make the JAKDF leadership feel antagonistic, but it’s certainly an odd approach to make all of them that way.

Fortunately, you can watch the first season of Kaiju No. 8 on Crunchyroll if you want the full context. Or if you want more action-packed anime, then you might want to check out Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, DDDD, DAN DA DAN, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II, Zenshu, Solo Leveling, Black Butler, and/or even a few episodes of Apocalypse Hotel. Those anime should have more than enough action to satisfy your inner action junkie until we get back to Kaiju No. 8.

What do you think of these upcoming episodes of Kaiju No. 8? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

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