You rated episode 7 of
What is Kaiju number 8 like? Community score: 4.3
© 防衛隊第３部隊 松本直也／集英社
Episode 7 brings the first big challenge of secret identity tension to the forefront and begins an important battle to resolve here.
The first part of this episode focuses on Reno and Iharu fighting Kaiju No. 9. This is for the most part a pretty intense fight. Clearly, Kaiju No. 9 is much stronger than both of them even at full power. I don't think this is a big surprise—Number 9 is the first real-name villain we've had, and it wouldn't make much sense for him to be a pushover. After all, we need Kafka to the rescue! But it's a pretty menacing scene nonetheless, especially given the emotional investment from the episode a few weeks ago. Iharu handles his self-loathing mostly successfully, if briefly so that the audience really grasps his deal and gets the full effect of overcoming his ordeal .
The problem for me is that spoofing multiple times gets a bit tiring. Faking your death in anime is nothing new, so I can't fault Kaiju No. 8 for using this trick. That said, after about the second “Oh no, that's it!” type of trauma, I started to check in mentally and get off the emotional rollercoaster that it was. And I think it's not cool for your audience to check it out, as a rule.
Kafka's appearance is heroic and brings tension about the secret identity. I think this is smart, even if I feel the need to do this early. It works because it reveals more about Soshiro, seeing him in a different mode than we're used to seeing him (with Kafka doing a lot of the voice-over). This makes the implementation of an otherwise obvious trope more unique to the series, and I think it works well. The question now is, how does Kafka get out of this situation?
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Grant is a cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and the Super Senpai Podcast.
Kaiju No. 8 is now streaming on Crunchyroll.
