Kaiju No. 8 goes from zero-to-100 with a great first episode cliffhanger

polygon.com:

Kaiju No. 8, the new sci-fi action anime based on Naoya Matsumoto’s ongoing Shōnen Jump Plus manga, premiered its first episode last Saturday.

Produced by Production I.G (Heavenly Delusion, Ghost in the Shell) in collaboration with studio Khara (Rebuild of Evangelion), the new series is unquestionably one of the most highly anticipated anime to premiere this spring, and for good reason — the first episode alone absolutely nails the irreverent tone, personal drama, and exhilarating action that’s made the series one of the best-selling manga in Japan since its debut in 2020. Even with just a single episode, it already feels like a strong contender to be one of the best anime of 2024.

For those unfamiliar with the series, the premise of Kaiju No. 8 can be aptly described as “My Hero Academia meets Pacific Rim.” Both the manga and anime take place in a world that is regularly besieged by gargantuan monsters known as kaiju that cause havoc and destruction in their wake. To combat the kaiju, Japan has established the Anti-Kaiju Defense Force — an elite battalion of superpowered soldiers armed with weapons and armored suits reverse-engineered from the remains of especially powerful kaiju. Members of the Anti-Kaiju Defense Force are championed as the first (and often last) line of defense against the kaiju, earning them praise and renown throughout all of Japan.

Kafka Hibano, the protagonist of Kaiju No. 8, is not one of these elite few. Instead, the 32-year-old works as a member of a kaiju disposal company tasked with cleaning up the remains of kaiju and rebuilding neighborhoods in the aftermath of the Anti-Kaiju Defense Force’s skirmishes. Until one day, inspired by both his new co-worker Reno’s courage and the strength of the Defense Force members that come to their rescue, Kafka is emboldened to reapply and enlist in the Anti-Kaiju Defense Force — and then a mysterious, small kaiju flies into his mouth, triggering a bizarre metamorphosis that transforms Kafka into a