Kaiju No. 8 Season 2

Episode 18

Episode 18 of Kaiju No. 8 establishes the next big hook for the season, but I can't help but wonder if this is the right direction the series should be taking.

The threat of kaiju number 9 has completely realigned the JAKDF's priorities. This makes sense, as he's a supremely powerful villain. The ability to modify kaiju to ever greater strengths and give them unique abilities represents a huge shift in the balance of power, no question about it. This also coincides with how number 9 has been presented to the audience. Number 9 has been lingering in the background or actively attacking the heroes for pretty much the entire story at this point, so the fact that his threat level is this great tracks nicely with how he has been framed.

This all feeds nicely into the escalation in desperate tactics from the JAKDF. Hoshina being willing to work alongside kaiju number 10, Reno being willing to wield kaiju number 6, the general willingness to try untested recruits for novel strategies – it all underscores how dire the situation they are in. Drastic solutions to meet the needs of the moment.

I think the strongest part is Reno wrestling with whether he should take on the mantle of kaiju number 6 or not. He reflects on how Kafka is an inspiration, and once he suits up, he realizes that Kafka must be dealing with this exact struggle every time the beast takes over. It is nice having a character who can empathize with Kafka's situation, with the added wrinkle that Reno chose to go down this path.

The issue I have is that this all seems somewhat mistimed. Kafka hasn't been in this season much at all, and with the way Reno's musings are framed, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Kafka was straight-up dead. Our lead has functionally become a memory at this point as everyone else takes the spotlight. Adding insult to injury is that I really thought we were going to see more of Kikoru's training after the past few episodes of building her up as the next lead. I understand the training can happen in the background, so it's not an insurmountable issue. But I can't help but wonder if we're losing one of the main threads by introducing all these elements so quickly. Spending a bit of time with Kafka after the reveal that his powers are eating him alive might have been a good call, I mean, he's in the show title after all…

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Kaiju No. 8 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.