Despite his injuries, Kafka insists on continuing with the aptitude test. Fortunately, Soshiro accepts his choice and agrees to hold off on activating his shield for the time being. Despite often telling Kafka that he’ll leave him behind if need be, Reno decides to assist him. I’m really liking the friendship/bromance between these two.
Having already killed most of the yoju in the area, Kikoru engages the one honju in the area. Honju are a stronger and larger kaiju class than the yoju so naturally, this particular one is the most valuable target in the aptitude test. Kafka and Reno rush over to Kikoru in the hopes of supporting her and gaining points in the test. Since Kafka is too injured to walk, Reno carries him on his shoulders and yes, it is as silly as it sounds. Part of me would’ve loved it if this actually pays off but naturally, the show doesn’t humor these two in this scene and it has Kikoru eliminate the honju entirely on her own.
Just as Kikoru leaves, a talking, humanoid kaiju attacks her and resurrects all the other monsters in the area, the process making them stronger than before. The kaiju disappears in the renewed chaos and leaves Kikoru to fend off against the revived honju. After seeing Kikoru make short work of everything in the test, it’s a little chilling seeing her get brutally injured and barely lift a finger against her opponent. It really puts perspective on where she stands in terms of power. She may be the most promising recruit but the fact remains that she is a recruit and she still has a long way to go.
During the fight, we see a flashback detailing Kikoru’s estranged relationship with her father, who also happens to be the Director General of the Defense Force. Despite Kikoru achieving top marks in school, it is seemingly never good enough and her father keeps telling her that she must be the perfect fighter for the sake of their nation and in memory of her late mother. I’ve liked Kikoru just fine the past two episodes. She’s bratty but it didn’t get too grating for me and her being a child prodigy makes for a fun contrast to Kafka being a loser in his 30s. That said, I got a lot more interested in her character after this flashback. Knowing the insanely high expectations her father placed on her, it makes a lot more sense now why Kikoru is already so strong and, more importantly, why she has such an ego and attitude. I also dig how the flashback coincides with the fight that’s happening in the present, thereby illustrating how unhealthy Kikoru’s perfectionism is. The more she struggles against the honju, the more she feels she’s failing her father and that causes her to fight even worse.
Kikoru manages to hold the honju off long enough for everyone else to evacuate but eventually, she’s too injured to fight back. Before the honju can kill her however, Kafka arrives and transforms, killing the honju in one hit. I’d like to see Kafka fight something that’d actually pose a challenge to him but I can’t deny that seeing him one shot a kaiju for the second time in row is pretty cool. Naturally, Kafka’s decision to use his powers comes at the risk of the Third Division finding out about them. Lo and behold, the division does detect Kafka’s “fortitude level” (basically a Richter scale for kaiju power) and Soshiro can’t help but notice that the aftermath of the fight looks similar to the one shown in Episode 2. I’m guessing Soshiro is going to lead an investigation of some kind.
After the test, we see our main characters recuperating. Mina stops by Kafka’s hospital room to thank Reno for carrying Kikoru to safety. It is implied that her real intention is to check up on Kafka though curiously, she doesn’t strike a conversation with him. That only makes me more curious of how Mina feels about Kafka. She must have a lot to say to him, both good and bad. On the flipside, Kafka accepts the cold shoulder and refrains from trying to talk to Mina, arguing that a proper talk is best saved for when he makes it into the Defense Force.
Elsewhere, Soshiro questions a recovering Kikoru about her with the revived honju. Interesting that Kikoru lies and claims that she killed the honju. She isn’t that close to Kafka at the moment and it would be good for her career to rat him out. The fact that she chooses to keep Kafka’s secret shows that she’s not as egregious as her introduction suggested. I also like that Soshiro doesn’t really believe Kikoru for a second. He already thinks it’s unrealistic that Kikoru could kill the honju in its revived state so Kikoru claiming that she did makes him more suspicious of a bigger picture.
In the very last scene, we see the humanoid kaiju listen to a news report on the incident it caused. It then takes on a human appearance and heads off to the kaiju cleaning business that Kafka and Reno work at. I’m curious if this kaiju was originally human or if it really is a kaiju that can disguise itself as a human. I also dig that it works in kaiju disposal. Aside from the being the last place anyone would go looking for a living kaiju, it also makes for a fun parallel to Kafka. Both the mysterious kaiju and Kafka are more or less in the situation but they vastly differ in personality and how they utilize their powers.
Watch Kaiju No. 8 on Crunchyroll
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