At long last, we finally see the main characters formally join the Defense Force. Reno and Kikoru are inducted as officers. No surprise there, especially with Kikoru. As for Kafka, he technically fails both parts of the practical exam but per Soshiro’s recommendation, he is nevertheless recruited as a lower rank cadet on a three month trial period. Soshiro reasons to his team that Kafka still has potential due to his knowledge on kaiju and selflessness and the guy’s goofiness could be good for the lolz morale. There is a third, secret reason however. Upon further inspection, Soshiro discovered that Kafka’s vital readings went dark right as the team detected the high fortitude level inadvertently generated by Kafka going kaiju. Suspicious of a connection, Soshiro wants to keep a closer eye on Kafka (pun not intended).
During the induction ceremony, Kafka accidentally makes a fool of himself by blurting out that he’ll fight by Mina’s side. Mina upholds her role as senior officer by making Kafka do push-ups but she does slip in a smile as she walks out. The show is still saving a proper reunion with these two but it’s nice to know that Mina is happy that Kafka still remembers their promise to fight kaiju together.
After the ceremony, Kafka and Reno talk with Kikoru at a diner to explain Kafka’s kaiju form to her. Seeing as Kafka saved her life during the aptitude test, Kikoru is willing to keep Kafka’s powers a secret, though she does stipulate that she wants to be the one to kill Kafka should he ever go rogue. A bold request but Kafka does agree to it. Knowing him, he probably does want someone strong enough to stop him and at the rate Kikoru is going, she’d fit the bill.
Kafka wonders if he should just turn himself in to the Defense Force and ask for their help in curing him but Kikoru advises against it. She explains that the Defense Force would either kill or experiment on him as numbered kaiju are used to make special equipment. Off topic but Kaiju No. 8 is definitely going to reveal some of that gear, isn’t it? I mean, that’s just free real estate for the action. I’m really curious what some of this stuff can do and how they might correlate with the characters.
The rest of the episode shows the recruits’ first days of training. Kind of funny how everyone is training with targets and whatnot when they fought live kaiju for the entrance exams. To be fair, the Third Division are out of kaijus to use. Everyone is steadily growing in power, including Kikoru, much to everyone else’s chagrin. Even Kafka has managed to reach a full percent with his combat suit. I appreciate that the show is willing to humor him with trying to get good with the Defense Force stuff, even though it’s obvious that this is not where his power lies. Probably my favorite joke in this training section is Kafka getting growled at by Mina’s pet tiger (yeah, she has a pet tiger; don’t know why but I admit it’s cool). No one gets why the tiger reacts that way but I’m betting they could sense that Kafka is part kaiju.
I don’t know how relevant the auxiliary characters are going to be but Reno has developed a friendly rivalry with another recruit, Iharu Furuhashi (Yuuki Shin) and Kikoru has befriended some of the other girls who have joined the ranks. Reno’s one true bromance is probably still going to be Kafka but it makes sense to make his rival someone who is around the same age as him. I was afraid that Kikoru might be a bit unsociable. Like, maybe her superiority complex and perfectionism makes her think she has no time for friends. Kind of relieved then that this isn’t the case.
As for Kafka, he’s accepted into the group pretty easily. Perhaps as bit of a clown but the group enjoys his company nonetheless and they don’t belittle him all that much. Even if Soshiro was making it up, he kind was right on the money when arguing that Kafka could lighten the mood. If there’s any hostility, it’s perhaps when Kafka admits that he’s a childhood friend of Mina and all the Mina simps realize that Kafka has one hell of an advantage over them.
While doing some extra studying, Kafka is visited by Soshiro, who reveals that he overheard the entire conversation Kafka had with the other guys about his past with Mina. Soshiro interprets Kafka’s promise with Mina as a challenge to overthrow him as vice captain. Kafka hadn’t really thought that far but since serving as second in command would fulfill the promise, he concedes that this is his plan going forward. I imagine Soshiro is just annoyed at this cadet talking big but it’s an interesting layer to add their dynamic alongside Soshiro’s investigation.
Just as Soshiro leaves, an alarm goes off, signaling a kaiju emergency. Kafka and the other recruits are about to head off on their first mission. I’m very curious how Kafka will do here. Given how poorly Kafka did in the aptitude test and his measly combat power at the moment, I can’t picture him doing too great. Most likely, Kafka will get into a situation where he has to resort to his kaiju powers and risk exposing his secret to the Third Division.
Watch Kaiju No. 8 on Crunchyroll
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