Kaiju No. 8 Season 2

Episode 22

Episode 22 of Kaiju No. 8 enters the fray full force and emerges on the other side as one of the best episodes to date.

I was really impressed with this week's offerings, from the action to the framing to the character choices. The entire thing felt carefully thought out, well-structured, and meaningful. Many of my prior complaints about this season were not present here, and in fact, at least one of my major hang-ups was still present but was a non-issue because of how good the episode was.

This is a very action-focused entry. The battle with Number 9's unleashed kaiju rampaging all over Tokyo gives the defense forces license to pull out all the stops. Shinomiya and Hoshina pilot their kaiju powers and get to let loose in a frenzy of violence that is both engaging and cathartic. I'm always down for cool powers blowing up cruel monsters, and there's plenty to go around this week. Shinomiya's fight is a bit more visceral (snarf), with gallons of blood and big chunks of falling meat. She's a woman of few words and her powers are more of a standard upgrade suit, so the commentary was from onlookers rather than herself or her foes.

This silent-but-deadly approach pairs well with the chattier bickering of the rest of the episode. Hoshina and Kaiju No. 10 have a more fractious relationship, and it plays super well in practice. Classic teamwork struggles abound as the duo is forced into action before all the kinks have been worked out - and before they really know how their cooperation is going to work in the field. Their actual opponents are less of a threat than their own inability to fully sync up, and once they do finally click, it's even more of a game over for the big bugs. By the end of the fight I'd say that Hoshina and Number 10's dynamic is the most compelling in the show thus far, and I wasn't all that invested in Hoshina beforehand so that's saying something.

Even the early framing device with the wedding was super well-handled. It was relatable and terrifying, full of easy emotional hooks but unique visuals too (particularly the young bride being launched into the air approaching the kaiju's jaws). It set the stage and the stakes for all the Shinomiya and Hoshina parts quite expertly.

If I had any complaint this week, it's that the mantis mooks aren't all that engaging. We've done all this build-up for the new slate of terrifying creatures from Kaiju No. 9's mad mind, and to have the majority of the episode involve fighting a big swarm of insects just isn't terribly interesting. Hoshina and 10's arguing took center stage, so I can understand why the mantises were blank slates to cut down on the complexity of the scene. I was merely hoping for something more complicated after last week's preview, and instead we got yet another swarm of bugs.

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Kaiju No. 8 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.