Kaiju No. 8

Episode 6

Episode 6 kicks off the first true battle of the series with style, mystery, and curious discoveries.

This episode is where all the pieces come together and work in unison. This is textual, obviously, with our new recruits working as a team in the field to fend off kaiju threats both big and small. Each team member's strengths and weaknesses create a Venn diagram of capability that allows them to cover one another in hostile situations against unknown threats. It all works well and creates fun and exciting monster-killing action with a fair amount of suspense along the way.

But this is also where the show's disparate elements blend thematically. We get big exciting action setpieces, mysterious kaiju creatures, odd encounters with unknown individuals, revelations about power and capability, new insights into the suits and their gear, more than a few strong comedy beats, implications for the setting's history—the list goes on. Everything Kaiju No. 8 has been laying down finally comes into focus in this episode to paint a really pretty picture. There's juice here, folks.

It also helps that the spectacle is plentiful in this episode. The standout moment is surely Mina using the BFG ("Big Firing Green," naturally) cannon to obliterate the kaiju with multiple shots. It's a great effect and the detail on the smoking kaiju husk is superb, even down to the innards and bone(?) structures. There are other great bits, particularly Soshiro's rapid purple blade techniques that reveals kaiju hunting to be a tradition going back generations. The ecology of the kaiju is great too—with the fungal growths/spores playing into how the creature adapts and spreads even after being defeated. It's all a big, exciting mishmash of cool fights and concepts. It's hard not to see this episode as the series reaching escape velocity.

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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.