The highly anticipated Kaiju No. 8 premiered earlier this month and after two episodes, it's already shaping up as the next much-watch anime series.
For those who have yet to tune in, Production I.G. shared this weekend the opening and ending theme animations for the series. While each are amazing in their own right, they also couldn't be more different.
The opening theme, titled "Abyss," is performed by the English singer and songwriter YUNGBLUD. Accompanying the addictive track is a mesmerizing 3D-animated visual in which giant terrifying titans are brought to life with bright strands of color. It's quite a departure from the industry norm and worth checking out below.
Both the song and the visual are also quite different from the show's ending theme, which is performed by the American rock band, OneRepublic. We actually got to listen to the full ending theme, titled "Nobody," before the series premiered. But now we get to hear the song as it is accompanied by visuals, which are actually more in line with the anime itself.
The head-nodding track is overlayed on top of some gorgeous 2D animated by Production I.G.. And it's also worth checking out.
Kaiju No. 8 is based on the incredibly popular manga which first debuted in 2020. The series, which has drawn comparisons to other popular mangas like Attack on Titan, Chainsaw Man, and One-Punch Man, already has 13 million-plus copies in circulation as of April 2024, which marked the anime series' debut.
The anime, which is directed by Shigeyuki Miya at animation studio Production I.G., has so far lived up to the original source material with a mix of action, comedy, and adventure.
The synopsis for Kaiju No. 8, courtesy of Crunchyroll, reads:
The story revolves around Kafka Hibino, a 32-year-old longing to join The Defense Force and make good on his promise to a childhood friend, Mina Ashiro. He befriends Reno Ichikawa, a new coworker, while cleaning up Kaiju remains. Reno’s determination to join The Defense Force inspires Kafka to fulfill his childhood promise to pass the entrance exam and join Mina to protect humanity. When a small Kaiju burrows itself inside Kafka, he gains superhuman strength and powers fit for fighting Kaiju. He works to earn the trust of his human teammates, defeat increasingly powerful Kaiju, and keep the world safe. Part human and part Kaiju, Kafka recognizes the creature beginning to take over more frequently, and he must fight to hold on to what makes him human.
If you've yet to watch the new series, it's easily available to find. The first two episodes are streaming on Crunchyroll with new episodes released weekly worldwide every Saturday at 7:00 a.m. PT. Dubbed versions of new episodes are also available in English, Latin American Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Castilian Spanish, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.