In this episode, the Third Division must contain a kaiju threat in Sagamihara. The main threat is a giant fungal honju called the Mixogastero and it is capable of spawning several yoju called Phaneroplus. While Mina deals with the honju with assistance from the JGSDF, everyone else forms a perimeter to prevent the yoju from taking over the area. Since this is their first mission, the new recruits are positioned as as the last defensive line in the area.
There’s a comical discrepancy in power here as the new recruits kind of give some of their senior officers a run for their money. This is especially the case with Kikoru who is able to eliminate several Phaneroplus without figuring their weak points. Once again, I’m amused that Kikoru is technically just a rookie. I am convinced that she would not be able to fight the Mixogastero at her current combat power but honestly, give this girl enough ammo and some bottles of water and she could probably take care of the yoju swarm in about an hour. Reno also does a very respectable job as he uses takes the opportunity to figure out a fighting style for himself, settling on using freeze rounds to slow his target down so he can better fight it one on one. I kind of feel bad for Iharu as the show is giving him nothing to close the gap but I’m also proud at Reno’s progress. Really, the only the issue recruits seem to have is that they tire out pretty quickly but how much that matters will likely be revealed in the next episode.
Probably the big question you’d have going into this episode is what the hell Kafka can even do in this battle. His current combat power is a pitiful 1%. It’s safe to say he’s not going to do much fighting. Some of his struggles are funny, such as when he struggles to climb down a building while everyone can use their combat suits to jump off of it, but obviously, he needs to turn things around. Fortunately, Kafka is able to do just that when he decides to dissect a dead yoju. Using the knowledge he’s gained from his work as a cleaner, Kafka is able to deduce the location of the yoju’s core and discover that it has reproductive organs that allow it to spawn more yoju even after it dies. Once he passes this info over, the Third Division is able to fight the yoju more efficiently. Honestly, I really hope Kaiju No. 8 leans into this aspect of Kafka’s character. It’s cooler to think that Kafka’s greatest strength isn’t his kaiju form but rather his expert knowledge on kaiju in general. At the very least, it seems like Soshiro is right that Kafka can provide something of value to the team (besides being a goofball, I mean).
Once the JGSDF pushes the Mixogastero to a specific area, Mina proceeds to take it down with her personal weapon, which takes the form of a massive laser cannon. Mina can apparently output 96% of her potential combat power and honestly, you buy it with how easily she solos the massive hoju with just her cannon. I like that she secretly is showing off her power to Kafka. Part of their promise was seeing who could be the cooler fighter so it’s cute that she still remembers that. Funnily enough, this scene does actually imply a fundamental weakness to Mina’s fighting style. As powerful as she is with her cannon, the weapon limits her to taking down the big boys at long range. Against a swarm of smaller sized kaiju, the cannon becomes too impractical or too dangerous. I imagine Mina can fight just fine in general but it is interesting to think that she can only fight at full power in specific situations. This apparent issue also provides Soshiro with a strong case as to why he’s the vice captain of the Third Division. Turns out, Soshiro specializes in fighting at close range with his dual swords, making him better than Mina at dealing with smaller sized kaiju and compensating for the limitation of Mina’s fighting style.
While Mina successfully kills the Mixogastero, its corpse spawns a new wave of Phaneroplus for the division to fend off. Reno and Iharu proceed to rejoin the front lines to assist but on their way there, they run into the humanoid kaiju in its human disguise. It seems kind of dumb for the kaiju to just reveal itself but I suppose a civilian appearing in the middle of a battle zone is suspicious. Plus, it probably thinks revealing itself is not a dumb move if all the witnesses are dead. Random aside but the voice for this kaiju is fantastic. I really dig the monotone delivery and the distorted filter, it makes the character sound just as inhuman as it looks. I can kind of see Reno putting up a decent fight but given Kikoru’s struggle with the kaiju a couple episodes ago and the fact that he’s running out of stamina, I don’t expect him to win. Soshiro might step in but given Kafka and Reno’s comradery, this fight is more likely an excuse for Kafka to risk using his powers again.
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