JP Nunez
I was not ready for “Kaiju No. 8 Captured.” Sure, this show has had emotional moments before, but it’s never given us anything like the sustained gut punch of this latest episode. It picks up right where “Secret Revealed” left off, with Kafka now being under the custody of the Anti-Kaiju Defense Force, but he’s not held at his division’s base.
Instead, he’s taken to the Defense Force’s headquarters, where the director general resides, and he’s going to be put on trial to determine if he’s a human or a kaiju. And if they judge him to be a kaiju, they’ll almost certainly execute him and use his body to create unbelievably powerful weapons.
From that brief plot synopsis, it’s not hard to see why this is the most emotional episode of Kaiju No. 8 yet, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Yes, seeing our main character in such dire straits is shocking and saddening, but the most heartbreaking thing about “Kaiju No. 8 Captured” is the way the rest of his division reacts.
Everybody on his team, from Mina and Hoshina down to the new recruits, still believes that Kafka is a good guy, and their gloom shrouds the entire episode in an atmosphere of despondency and uncertainty. They’re visibly depressed about the situation, and some of them even try to use their personal connections to put in a good word for their comrade.
But above all else, the most moving scene in “Kaiju No. 8 Captured” involves an exchange between Kafka and his childhood friend Mina. She accompanies him in the truck that brings him to Defense Force headquarters, and she’s the first one to tell him that their entire division still believes in him. Up until then, it seems like everyone except Ichikawa has turned their backs on the poor guy, so this moment just might bring a tear or two to your eye.
All that being said, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. “Kaiju No. 8 Captured” isn’t just depressing doom and gloom. At the end of the episode, the director general takes some drastic and unexpected measures, and it makes for a super fun action scene that also helps move the overall plot of Kaiju No. 8 forward. I’m not going to spoil anything if you haven’t seen it yet, but suffice it to say that this development introduces a little problem we haven’t encountered before. It’s something we knew would be coming, but up until now, it hadn’t reared its ugly head.
And now that it’s finally come front and center, it seems like there’s no way to stop it. In fact, “Kaiju No. 8 Captured” ends on a cliffhanger that makes me think next week’s season finale might even revolve around this very issue. It’s that big, so I suspect Kafka and his crew are going to need at least a full episode (and, to be frank, probably more) to sort it out.
On top of all that, this latest installment of Kaiju No. 8 also leaves the rest of Kafka’s division in a difficult spot. After last week’s all-out war, their base is practically in ruins, so without giving anything away, let’s just say that things are going to be a bit different moving forward. This new dynamic will almost certainly give season two a much wider scope, and that makes me excited for the new characters and storytelling possibilities we’ll encounter.
Last but not least, I want to talk about Kaiju No. 9. He’s not in “Kaiju No. 8 Captured,” but I can’t help but wonder if he’ll make an appearance next week. To be honest, I’m torn. On the one hand, it seems like Kafka’s new problem deserves its own episode, so it looks like there might not be room for him.
But on the other hand, maybe that issue requires more than just a single episode. Maybe it’s going to be the crux of the next season, and if it is, I could see Kaiju No. 9 showing up next week and throwing a wrench into the director general’s plans, thereby pushing this new problem into season two.
Or maybe it’s something I haven’t thought of, but either way, I absolutely can’t wait to see how this inaugural season of Kaiju No. 8 ends. It’s been an amazing ride so far, and I’m sure it’s going to end on a high note.
Kaiju No. 8 premiered its first episode on Crunchyroll on April 13, and the streaming service is set to roll out the season finale on June 29.
