Last week, the social media accounts for Kaiju No. 8 teased a mysterious project associated with the anime series. At the time, not much was revealed for the project. There was a website with a 3D version of Kafka's Kaiju form along with a countdown.
Today, that countdown hit zero. After the latest Episode 10 of the anime series debuted, the website updated and a new trailer was released, revealing the mysterious project to be a new video game based on Kaiju No. 8.
Titled Kaiju No. 8 The Game, the first trailer is brief but features protagonist Kafka Hibino in his kaiju form taking on a giant monster wreaking havoc on the city. We also get glimpses of Kikoru Shinomiya, Soshiro Hoshina, Ichikawa Reno, and Mina Ashiro fighting alongside.
No release date has been announced, but the game will be available on PC via Steam and mobile via the Apple Store and Play Store. Specific gameplay details remain a mystery. We don't know if it will be an original story or if it will follow that of the manga/anime series. We also don't know if you'll be playing as the main series protagonists or creating a new character to fight alongside them. And we don't really know what type of gameplay it will feature, though the premise suggests it will be heavily action-oriented.
"Experience smashing through giant monsters with a superhuman power," the brief description reads alongside the trailer.
Kaiju No. 8 The Game is being developed by Akatsuki Games in collaboration with TOHO Games and Production I.G. Akatsuki Games is the publisher of Tribe Nine, an extreme action RPG from the same creators of the Danganronpa series, and developer of the popular Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle, a free-to-play mobile game based on the Dragon Ball anime franchise that combines elements from board games, collectible card games, and puzzle games.
Production I.G., of course, is the studio producing the Kaiju No. 8 anime series. The adaptation premiered in April 2024 and has received rave reviews with many praising its art style and animation, music, and action. The series has drawn comparisons to Attack on Titan, My Hero Academia, Chainsaw Man, and One-Punch Man.
Based on the successful Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto, Kaiju No. 8 follows a young man, Kafka Hibino, who after ingesting a kaiju actually gains the ability to turn into one. With his superhuman strength and powers, Kafka aims to fulfill his childhood promise to a friend to join The Defense Force and defeat the increasingly powerful Kaiju.
The series can be streamed on Crunchyroll, who describes it:
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.
Kaiju No. 8 is the latest anime to receive the video game adaptation treatment. It joins the likes of Solo Leveling: Arise and Bleach Brave Souls as other video games based on popular animes. But these adaptations go both ways as it was announced this week that the popular video game fighting series Guilty Gear is also getting an anime series.