Kaiju No. 8 had the potential to be one of the greatest Shonen series. But when its abrupt ending date was announced, fans quickly realized that the manga was going to miss the mark. Despite being one of the most refreshing series in recent years, Kaiju No. 8 became a surprising miss.
Of course, the series had a great run initially. But during its final arc, a lot of things got messed up. Amongst the numerous problems, pacing and unfinished arcs became the biggest issues.
Kaiju No. 8 had potential that was wasted
The premise of Kaiju No. 8 was unique. It had a middle-aged protagonist instead of a youngling who would be thrown into battles. Kafka Hibino wanted to be a part of the Japanese Defense Force, which is in charge of fighting against kaijus. But due to a twist of fate, he got turned into the same kaiju that his dream profession is in charge of subjugating.
Kafka himself is a much more relatable protagonist than most others. He has weaknesses, dreams that are attainable but just out of reach, and he is a comical character. However, he became a part of the Defense Forces and must strive to protect humanity as well as his own identity.
As the series progressed, some truly memorable characters were introduced who were also properly fleshed out. Kafka’s struggle for control was also the central focus, and he had to balance his newfound abilities with responsibilities. The mystery of the kaijus was also extremely intriguing, making Kaiju No. 8 a truly interesting series.
Kaiju No. 8 became a Shonen miss
Despite its potential, Kaiju No. 8 faced plenty of problems. Its ending was announced abruptly, and in two more chapters, the manga is supposed to feature its finale. However, the story feels far from completed, especially due to how a lot of characters are yet to meet their full potential and complete their character arcs.
New chapters of the manga were released every two weeks or with a bigger gap. This is a stark difference from most Shonen manga that are released weekly. At one point, the story began to move at a glacial pace, with events of a single day being covered over tons of chapters. It felt like the author simply did not know where to head with the series and was continuing just for the sake of it.
Although it is the right of the author to complete their series whenever they want, Kaiju No. 8 could have provided fans with much more before ending. It is clear that no matter when the ending occurs, it will be rushed. Of course, pressure to extend a series has never ended well, but fans want at least the central figures to receive their complete development arcs.
Kaiju No. 8 anime is currently available to stream on Crunchyroll.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
