The Ending of Kaiju No. 8 Was TOO SAFE! Kaiju No. 8 Chapter 129 Review!

In the previous Kaiju No. 8 chapter, the spirit of Director-General Isao Shinomiya offers his human heart to revive Kafka, restoring his humanity.

Although that is not quite the end of the story.

Kaiju No. 8 Chapter 129, the final chapter, has 49 pages.

Editor’s note: “Entrusted with tomorrow.”

The chapter begins as Kafka is about to wake up, noting that the last thing he saw was Isao Shinomiya vanishing right in front of his eyes.

As it turns out, Kafka has been in a coma for four months and has grown a stubble that makes him look a bit different.

Editor’s note: “The disheveled hero makes his return.”

Here are some crucial statistics

Ever since the Final Wave, 1,136 Kaiju have appeared, with 16 daikaiju, including one special class Kaiju.

The total amount of damage is 56.4 trillion yen or 564 billion USD.

There were considerable losses but the fact it was not as much as projected is nothing short of a miracle.

As such, Kaiju No. 9’s Final Wave is considered the most devastating attack in the history of the Japan Defense Force.

As for Kaiju No. 8, the public is kept in the dark, leading to much speculation on whether he is a new biological weapon, a Kaiju with a human heart or even an alien entity.

Some even think that Kaiju No. 8 is just a government conspiracy by the national government and Bureau of Subjugation to reduce the human population and that Kaiju No. 8 was the mastermind.

A discourse similar to Attack on Titan Season 1 when Eren’s Titan identity was revealed to the public.

As he shaves and dresses up for work, Kafka wonders how he still has a human heart.

But there is a bigger mystery, that the Mysterious Larva is still sleeping in his body.

Kafka is not sure how but somehow, the spirit of Isao Shinomiya is preventing the spirits of the vengeful dead from acting up within Kafka’s body.

That or those spirits willingly stayed behind to give Kafka and the next generation their power.

This raises so many questions, which we will talk about later but first, would this mean Kafka might be able to be immortal, assuming Kaiju can go on living longer lives than humans (as proven by the Meiriki era Daikaiju and the Larva), which is a topic that is not raised since the focus has been on slaying them.

However, it is clear that the stakes for Kafka’s life being on the line from becoming a Kaiju are now completely gone.

The ending has made it quite clear Matsumoto can have his cake and eat it too.

Alternatively, you could say that the spirits choosing to stay for the next generation means they have gone beyond revenge and will inspire hope.

Kafka’s attention shifts back to the present as Mina calls for him.

The two have shared quite a unique bond.

While they were close childhood friends, with Kafka’s bravery inspiring Mina to be the strong woman she is today, their professional boundaries have prevented them from communicating more openly.

Of course no one should expect this pairing to be romantic.

Both of Kafka’s female leads, Mina and Kikoru, are his juniors but with Mina being a close friend, the story should have at least shown some improvement in their ability to be friends outside work.

Perhaps this being the norm is fine for the both of them and that can work for adult friendships.

Plus, Kafka is not lacking in any friends as he has plenty from his batch in the Third Division, who greet him when he arrives in the renovated Tachikawa Base.

Reno tells Kafka that he has always believed that he would come home and welcomes him back, which moves the older man to tears.

Kafka then brings up everyone else’s endings:

Reno, Iharu, Haruichi, and Aoi are platoon leaders in the Third Division starting next year.

Thanks to these four, analysts have said that the Third Division has the potential to surpass Gen Narumi’s Frist Vision in combat.

It is a damn shame there is not enough time for the story to flesh out the other Divisions or more of the side cast.

Also, while many anticipated a drop in new recruits because of the Kaiju No. 9 incident, that is the opposite case as in actuality, enlistment applications have quadrupled year after year, which has overwhelmed both Soshiro and Mina.

Kikoru Shinomiya makes an incredible record by becoming Vice-Captain of the First Division after only 2 years of being there.

The former Vice-Captain Hasegawa has been transferred to Headquarters as an advisor and Kikoru makes sure to look after the lazy Gen Narumi with the same tough love that Hasegawa has.

It is clear that Kikoru’s goal is to replace Narumi as the strongest and as Captain anyway.

There were seven Identified Kaiju captured from the Kaiju No. 9 Incident (Kaiju’s No. 9 to 15)

Kaiju No. 10 has been weaponized and used by Soshiro.

No. 12 is compatible with Soshiro’s older brother, Captain Soichiro of the Sixth Division.

No. 9’s tissue is stored under Level 6 sealing protocols, sealed tightly in Ariake Base.

In a supermarket, Kafka alerts nearby Defense Force Officers of a kaiju in the area.

Soshiro reminds Kafka that every research institute in the world wants to know about Kaiju No. 8 and thus his life will be in danger if he does anything to expose himself.

A boy and girl, like Mino and Kafka before them, face a Kaiju, with the girl declaring her intent to join the Defense Force and not be afraid to face a Kaiju.

Although overwhelmed by fear, the boy prepares to fight first but then we see Kafka appear.

He tells the kids not to tell anyone else about what is going to do.

The story ends with Kafka transforming in front of the two kids, reaffirming that he will still be Kaiju No. 8.

Honest Review of Kaiju No. 8’s Ending

We have been saying this for a while and it is clear that Kaiju No.8 ran out of steam way too quickly and missed to capitalize on its exciting premise.

The idea of a 30-something adult having the nature of a Kaiju, especially becoming the first full-blown hybrid, would have launched a whole franchise.

This is the premise of Tokyo Ghoul and Attack on Titan.

Remember the Izumi Corporation responsible for the weapons and technology to fight Kaiju?

We kinda forgot they could have been implemented into an arc about exposing the faults of unfettered capitalism, especially one that involves unethical experimentation and the creation of human-Kaiju weapons like Kafka.

Or maybe an arc where Kafka rebels against the Defense Force to free his fellow hybrids.

To add complexity, maybe have them and their human allies team up with natural Kaiju.

Explore the possibility of Kaiju leaving Japan or explain why there are no Kaiju outside Japan the same way Jujutsu Kaisen did.

Or maybe involve America since the minute Kafka’s existence will be known, they would want to exploit his powers for world control.

The unique politics for the board of officers in the Defense Officers, representing different sectors and interests, could have spiced up what series like Fire Force did before.

Maybe Matsumoto did not want to copy those tried and tested ideas but for Kaiju No. 8 to end on “please don’t tell anyone I am a Kaiju vigilante” while the Defense Force is growing even stronger than it ever has in the past century just screams quitting energy.

Kaiju No. 8 is closing in on 20 million sales and adding complexity to the story might either burn out the author or make the story staler.

On the one hand, I can see those reasons and they are incredibly valid in a toxic, competitive, and life-threatening industry like the anime and manga creation scene.

On the other hand, the progression Kaiju No. 8 faces feels weird in retrospect.

The story is easy to read for a reason: it shaved off a few pounds of nuance.

The longer Kaiju No. 8 went, the less actual story was developed.

The entire final arc is half the length of the story and half of that arc is the final battle with No. 9 and eventually, the Daikaiju of the Meireki Era.

Characters barely got time to shine and the pacing drastically slowed down to fit the biweekly schedule.

At the same time, however, Matsumoto wanted to excite the audience more, so he revealed the true nature of Kaiju No. 8, being created from vengeful spirits, which is already worth an arc on its own to investigate or at least some time to digest.

But instead, that was used to add stakes (for a while and for their time).

Then, Matsumoto deflates those stakes with the idea of having another spirit, Isao, not only substitute Kafka’s kaiju heart with his own human, physical heart, somehow, but also stay inside Kafka’s body to keep the vengeful spirits in check.

The story pretends to end on an open note but simultaneously makes you forget the sequel potential.

It is infuriating how this familiar setup could have made its own mark with the likes of Tokyo Ghoul and Attack on Titan, which have gained lasting cultural impact.

Instead, Kaiju No. 8 will be forgotten because it wanted to stay quiet and buried among many finished series.

Or perhaps with its safe ending, Kaiju No. 8 might be a sign of a concerning new trends in manga endings.

The anime will spark interest for a while but by the time Season 2 ends, there is only one season to go and the last embers of interest for this decent but unremarkable series will fade, staying only with the diehard fans of a story and cast that barely got their time in the sun.

Will the final volume add anything? We will see this September 4th.

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