Kaiju No 8 Season 2

Well, it’s here. The second season of Kaiju No 8 has arrived, an anime where the first season didn’t exactly grip me, but left enough of an impression to warrant my return as a viewer for the second season. Now, 11 weeks since its premiere, Kaiju No 8 has concluded, and I’m sorry to say that this was easily one of the most monotonous shows I’ve watched, not only this season, but this year in general. In comparison to the other shonen we’ve been treated to this season, Kaiju No 8 Season 2 has absolutely crumbled under the weight of its own mediocrity, and today, I’m here to talk all about it.

It’s time for our review of Kaiju No 8 Season 2. I have some major gripes with this season, so there will be spoilers ahead! I have to talk at length about what exactly was going on with this anime, so discussion of plot points is inevitable – make sure you check out the season for yourself before reading on! With that in mind, let’s get into this review.

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Kaiju No 8 Season 2 Review

Image by Production I.G.

Where to start when it comes to this anime? Well, before we even get to the nitty-gritty of Kaiju No 8 Season 2, let’s go back to the first season. Despite my thoughts on this show’s mediocrity remaining consistent, the first season of the anime was actually fairly well-received, even beating out its contemporary shonen counterparts back in Spring 2024, including My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, and Wind Breaker when it came to critical acclaim. For me though, Kaiju No 8‘s first season was pretty bland, a fairly flavourless cocktail of everything that made most other shonen series work. One could argue other anime, like Demon Slayer, have also done this, but the work of Production I.G. was nothing to write home about, leaving the anime to rely on its plot to carry the load.

Now, the second season has arrived, and to be quite honest, I can only describe Kaiju No 8 Season 2 as the junk food of Summer 2025. There’s been a lot of really great anime this season, and when it came to watching this each week, it was like digging into a fast-food burger, when a gourmet steak was waiting for me just around the corner. With that being said, sometimes all you’re in the mood for is a burger, and Kaiju No 8 Season 2 certainly delivered in that aspect. I don’t think anyone could lie and say they had no fun with this season. There were plenty of kaiju to marvel at, plenty of explosions to indulge in, and when it came to the action, Production I.G. really put their best foot forward. However, when it came to just about anything else, Kaiju No 8 Season 2 falls apart when even the notion of a comparison to its seasonal counterparts comes to mind.

The season had a somewhat promising start. Early on in Kaiju No 8 Season 2, we explored the emotional history of the Shinomiya family. However, as the season concluded, the Shinomiya family history remained the most engaging part of the season, and while I respect the way this element of the show was explored, that’s not really saying much. Kikoru herself is not a character I cared about in the first season, so I wasn’t exactly thrilled to learn more about her. However, the whole sequence with her mother, and subsequently, the loss of her father in battle all played out really well. I do wonder how much of this sequence working is thanks to the very many tropes that anime has been establishing for years before Kaiju No 8 came along, but I’ve got enough to criticise this show over without diving into those semantics. The Shinomiya element of Kaiju No 8 Season 2 is one of its rare strengths.

Image by Production I.G.

Now, let’s talk about Kafka Hibino, the main character of Kaiju No 8 Season 2 in name alone, because what an afterthought he was this season. Kafka was never the most compelling anime protagonist of all time. He’s a typical character, with a typical goal. However, he had a few things going for him that made him interesting, mainly his age. Unlike most shonen protagonists, who are in their late-teens max a lot of the time, Kafka is a 32 year-old man. The first season actually explored this dynamic, playing with the idea that it was too late in life for Kafka to change his future. Kaiju No 8 Season 2 seems to forget this was ever a theme, as we watch Kafka be reduced to a struggling military weapon, who just sort of lingers in the background of battles, as we the viewers wait for him to do or say anything of merit.

Perhaps the lack of impact made by Kafka this season is thanks to Kaiju No 8 Season 2 being incredibly short. I understand from a production standpoint why weekly shonen anime simply isn’t viable anymore for studios, but wow, could a show like Kaiju No 8 benefit from back-to-back episodes, filler included. Each season ends up feeling so empty, largely because there’s not nearly enough time to get invested in anything when the end of the season is always lurking just around the corner. It’s practically impossible to lose yourself in Kaiju No 8 Season 2, or any of its characters, all of which could benefit greatly from some filler arcs focusing on them. Filler doesn’t always have to be a bad thing – in fact, characters like Reno, Iharu, and even Mina, could all become much more well-rounded characters if they had some time away from the main plot to develop. In the absence of this development, they all feel like soulless husks, relying on character tropes to even operate as players in the story at all.

All of this blends together to make Kaiju No 8 Season 2 one of the most mindless viewing experiences I’ve had in recent times. Nothing in this show provokes any thought, any discussion, any input from its viewer at all. You turn it on, you watch things blow up, you turn it off. Outside of the action scenes where they really turn up the heat, Production I.G. has not done a great job of animating this season at all. Dialogue scenes are characterised by still images of characters as their mouths stagnantly clip between open and closed. There’s little to no humanity conveyed from these characters, which is ironic when the show is almost entirely about preserving humanity in the face of its kaiju threat.

Image by Production I.G.

As far as originality goes, Kaiju No 8 Season 2 has practically none, and is one of the most ‘paint-by-numbers’ seasons of anime I’ve watched in a very long time. Perhaps it was my disengagement from the story that caused this more than anything else, but nothing unpredictable happened in this season for me, outside of the defeat of Isao Shinomiya. It’s a shame, because there are some things that could make this show feel distinct, but the series chooses not to explore them. Everything is a rehash of storylines, character arcs, and moments that we’ve seen done before, and done better, in other shows.

The pacing is also, for lack of a softer word, abysmal. The way that this show jumps around is ridiculous, but is likely done as a mad dash in the face of such limited episode counts. Episodes 7 and 8 in Kaiju No 8 Season 2 feel pretty close to filler, while Episode 9 onwards introduces a world-ending threat, the kind of battle that you would imagine would go down in the final season of the show. What emerges as a result is not a sense of thrilling surprise, but rather a confused feeling of ‘how on earth did we get here?’. For those of you who have watched Naruto, think of the team defeating Zabuza and Haku, only to regroup briefly and then suddenly have to battle Kaguya. I’m not sure how many more seasons of this are planned, but I doubt the pacing is going to improve if we’re throwing down like this in Season 2.

Also typical of shonen, Kaiju No 8 Season 2 is all about power. Now, I’m familiar enough with shonen to know that this is an integral part of their structure, and I can handle it to a degree. When I stop being able to handle it, however, is when the entirety of the show relies on people wanting to get stronger as its only real plot. Everything with these characters is; ‘I need to get stronger’, ‘how strong are you?’, ‘how strong can I become?’. The series can’t hook me because it’s incredibly rhythmic, but not only this – it’s rhythmic without a greater purpose. If the goal here is still for Kafka to catch up to Mina, then to be completely honest with you, I don’t care anymore about it at this point. I can watch just about any other shonen and experience the same thing, if not better.

Image by Production I.G.

The only true compliment I can afford to Kaiju No 8 Season 2 is that it’s well-produced, and for action fans, you’re going to find entertainment to some degree. As I mentioned earlier, I can’t lie and say the show never made me have fun. Watching these heroes take down giant kaiju with cool weapons is inherently entertaining for any shonen fan, and Production I.G. know this, which is why they only put money and effort in when it comes to those scenes. However, beyond this, the series is growing incredibly stale, having lost sight of anything that distinguished itself with its first season.

Ultimately, Kaiju No 8 Season 2 is not an outstandingly bad show. Certain elements are outstandingly bad for sure, such as the pacing. However, it’s the pure, unfiltered definition of average when it comes to shonen anime. It never falls flat on its face because it never takes any leaps that would open it up to that risk. I would much rather watch a show experiment and fail than watch a series that only indulges in what it knows will work based on the shows that came before it. Overall, Kaiju No 8 Season 2 is not a terrible season of anime, but it is the very epitome of average in practically every way.

What did you think of Kaiju No 8 Season 2? Did you enjoy the show? Be sure to let us know, and thanks for reading!

See also: DAN DA DAN Season 2 Review

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Where to Watch Kaiju No 8 Season 2?

Image by Production I.G.

You can stream all episodes of Kaiju No 8 Season 2, as well as the show’s first season, only on Crunchyroll.

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