As a disclaimer, I’ve already seen Episodes 3 and 4 of Kaiju No. 8. I watched them sometime after I originally posted the Episode 2 review while hanging out with a friend. I doubt that really maters to anyone out there but I like knowing if my episode reviews are a blind run or not so I’m disclosing this purely for my future self’s sake.
So obviously, Kikoru doesn’t immediately figure out that Kafka is part-kaiju. As expected, Reno uses the kaiju cleaning job as an excuse. Funnily enough though, Kafka does indulge in his new powers to get back at Kikoru for lifting and throwing his van last episode. An understandable decision, what with Kikoru pushing his buttons, but a dumb one nonetheless. I’m really liking this running gag of Reno getting annoyed with Kafka sneaking in his powers and threatening to ditch him should the latter completely expose himself.
The second stage of the exams is split into two parts: a fitness test and an aptitude test. The fitness test simply examines the applicants’ physical abilities while the aptitude test determines their affinity with the Defense Force’s equipment. Since the aptitude test is a complete wild card, Kafka and Reno agree that they need to do well in the fitness test as a safety net of sorts. Unfortunately for Kafka, he’s in his 30s and he’s competing against a lot of promising applicants who are younger and more athletic than him. Needless to say, he barely passes the fitness test. Obviously, Kafka could use his kaiju abilities to improve his chances in these tests but he sees that as cheating so he’s trying to pass with his own abilities. A very respectable decision but there are definitely times where I think he might as well indulge in his powers.
After the fitness test, the Third Division’s vice captain and the proctor for the exams, Soshiro Hoshina (Kengo Kawanishi), introduces himself to the recruits and unveils the aptitude test to them. Reno and Kafka first assume that the test would involve kaiju corpse disposal, having been the case for the past two years. Honestly, I would’ve been down for that as I really like the clean-up crew angle of the first episode and wouldn’t mind a whole series about that. That said, this would be too easy for Kafka and Reno and it wouldn’t make the most exciting set piece so the aptitude test instead pits the recruits against live kaiju.
Naturally, the recruits aren’t fighting the kaiju with their bare hands and the Third Division provides them with combat suits made out of kaiju materials. Like the custom made suit Kikoru showed off earlier, these augment the wearer’s physical abilities. Additionally, these are equipped with an energy shield to protect the wearer, though activation during the aptitude test will cause them to fail the exams. Once the recruits don the combat suits, the Third Division measures their unleashed combat power. Reno’s output is at 8%, which Soshiro assures him is respectable for a new recruit. Meanwhile, Kikoru can already draw in 46% of her suit’s power. As I said in the last post, the Third Division might as well just accept Kikoru into their ranks from the get go. As for Kafka, he’s stuck with a comical 0%. I guess that’s one way to show how screwed Kafka is here but dang, does this show hate him or something?
The aptitude test goes about as you’d expect. The show wastes no time in depicting that Kikoru’s combat power isn’t just a number. She hilariously fights on a whole other level than everyone else and she quickly gets in the lead. Knowing that he won’t get high marks on raw prowess, Kafka instead opts to utilize his knowledge of kaiju anatomy to assist the others in taking down whatever kaiju Kikoru has yet to kill. The plan is short-lived however as Kafka gets attacked and injured by a yoju. Soshiro considers activating Kafka’s shield and advises him to drop out of the exam but Kafka is adamant about continuing with the test. This causes Kafka’s combat power to increase to 0.01% (surely, this show can give him 1% and still get the message across). I really like the dilemma Kafka has here. Like, I don’t blame him for sticking with his own strength and it’s not like he can secretly go kaiju anyway but there’s no denying that using his powers is looking increasingly appealing. Sooner or later, he’s going to have to bite the bullet.
Watch Kaiju No. 8 on Crunchyroll
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