Kaiju No. 8

Episode 10

Episode 10 adds more texture to the world-building and provides the biggest reveal yet since Kafka gained his powers.

Hoshina is at the center of the major world-building in the early part of the episode. I think it's all really good stuff, particularly the sense of the longevity of the kaiju hunting profession, as it were. Hoshina represents a much older form of combat with these great beasts. His focus on physical acumen and deadly blade strikes is - to borrow a phrase - the use of an elegant weapon from a more civilized time. Hoshina being trained at a specialized school and being potentially the last representative of his art form adds an extra layer of melancholy to the danger he is in throughout this fight, and I think the tone of the episode nails the feeling that something deeply important is about to be lost beyond one single life.

Of course, Hoshina is not killed in this fight. However, the audience has been built up to expect that this battle will have a cost and that the bill is paid via Kafka's revelation. Sure, he wins the fight, but in doing so, he has to reveal his true kaiju identity to the rest of the team. They remand him into custody with a collective grim demeanor, and it's not clear where the emotions are coming from. Is it that they feel Kafka has betrayed their trust, or are they forlorn because they realize what they now have to do to hold to their principles and purpose? Perhaps it is a mixture of both. In any case, this happened much sooner in the story than I expected. In my experience, there are usually a few more close calls before the reveal happens, so this came as something of a shock when Kafka took the narrative hit for Hoshina's death flags. Appropriate and fine, just surprising.

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Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.

Kaiju No. 8 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.