Kaiju No. 8 Season 2

Episode 17

Episode 17 of Kaiju No. 8 is a solid entry that does an okay job with the fallout of Isao Shinomiya's death.

I was pretty satisfied with how this week's episode went overall. I wasn't too keen on the battle last week, as both the events and the drama struck me as forced, but I can't fault the way the aftereffects are handled here. Much like in our world, a funeral is for the living far more than it is for the dead. It allows us to put life to words, to remember what made a person important to us, to see others in the wider web of connectivity that we might not have seen in a while, and to try to provide a measure of closure to a sudden absence.

Isao Shinomiya's funeral does all of that.

Kikoru has a new fire in her belly to succeed and grow as a soldier. Her abilities have been a cut above this entire time, but now she has made a promise to her father's memory to get revenge for what has happened. Kaiju No. 9 becomes that much more of a villain now, as there is a more personal stake in the bloodshed it has caused. Kikoru is now driven to defeat him and hone her skills against the other top-notch members of the first division. This is a smart move, as it turns the strength of the division - something that in most other circumstances would be strictly positive - into a challenge for Kikoru, one of our heroes. It will be interesting to see how she develops as a warrior going forward.

We also get a chance for Kafka to get a bit of shine and drama. The implication that his transformations may eventually overtake him is a good hook, and very much in keeping with other henshin heroes of repute. This is a great way to allow him to be very powerful and in full control, with little in the way of energy management during fights, while also having an invisible cost constantly burning in the background. Even if he wins and suffers no adverse effects in the short term, we as the audience are always wondering how much of that candle has burned down and whether the next transformation will be his last.

It was a treat to get to see the cleanup crews again. That was one of my favorite elements early in the story, which added a nice sense of realism to the world. But it pretty quickly got sidelined, and I always felt that was a shame. It's nice to have Kafka back amongst his own again and getting a different perspective on the violence and fighting.

Rating:

Kaiju No. 8 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.