One of the hottest new shonen manga series of recent memory will soon be receiving its own anime.
Naoya Matsumoto's Kaiju No. 8 anime will premiere its first episode on Saturday, April 13 at 7:00 am PDT, with Crunchyroll streaming it live as it airs in Japan.
Future episodes will also be streamed live every week in more than 200 countries and territories around the world at the exact same time as it broadcasts in Japan.
Matsumoto's series is currently serialized for free on Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ app. The series has released 11 volumes to date, with the 12th slated to hit Japanese retailers on April 4, 2024.
Viz Media holds the English-language license and has translated and released the first 9 volumes, with the 10th scheduled for release on June 4, 2024.
And in case fans miss the live version, the latest episode will be available on Crunchyroll every Saturday at 8:30 am PDT, which will be right after the live stream has ended.
Most recently the series ranked tenth on AnimeJapan's 5th Most Wanted Anime Adaptation poll in 2022, while it was also recently revealed that the series has amassed over 400 million views on the Shōnen Jump+ app.
Crunchyroll will also be providing dubs of Kaiju No. 8 in English, Latin American Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Castilian Spanish, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu.
The Kaiju No. 8 main English voice cast currently includes:
• Nazeeh Tarsha as Kafka Hibino / Kaiju No. 8
• Katelyn Barr as Mina Ashiro
• Adam McArthur as Reno Ichikawa
Japanese voice cast and characters include:
• Masaya Fukunishi as Kafka Hibino / Kaiju No. 8
• Asami Seto as Mina Ashiro
• Wataru Katoh as Reno Ichikawa
• Fairouz Ai as Kikoru Shinomiya
• Kengo Kawanishi as Soshiro Hoshina
• Yuki Shin as Iharu Furuhashi
• Keisuke Komoto as Haruichi Izumo
• Shunsuke Takeuchi as Aoi Kaguragi
The series is being directed by Shigeyuki Miya (director and character designer of Onihei; director of The Kawai Complex Guide to Manors and Hostel Behavior) and Tomomi Kamiya (Yotsuiro Biyori).
The series composition and screenplay were written by Ichiro Okouchi (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury; story draft and series composition on Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion).
Additional staff includes chief animation direction and character design by Tetsuya Nishio (Naruto; Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG); Kaiju design by Mahiro Maeda (concept art and designer on Mad Max: Fury Road; Godzilla Image Designer on Shin Godzilla; Director and Concept Art Director on Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time).
The anime will also feature art direction by Shinji Kimura (Tekkonkinkreet; Blood Blockade Battlefront), cinematography by Eiji Arai (Kuroko's Basketball; PSYCHO-PASS) editing by Aya Hida (Attack on Titan; 2019’s Fruits Basket), and music composed by Yuta Bandoh (Towako Omameda and Her Three Ex-husbands; BELLE).
Kaiju No. 8 Official Synopsis:
In a world plagued by creatures known as Kaiju, Kafka Hibino aspired to enlist in The Defense Force. He makes a promise to enlist with his childhood friend, Mina Ashiro. Soon, life takes them in separate ways. While employed cleaning up after Kaiju battles, Kafka meets Reno Ichikawa. Reno’s determination to join The Defense Force reawakens Kafka’s promise to join Mina and protect humanity.