Following the premiere of its second episode today, the anime adaptation of Naoya Matsumoto's Kaiju No. 8 manga series has released the official videos for the sci-fi fantasy show's opening and ending theme songs. Production I.G. is in charge of the animation with studio Khara on kaiju (monster) designs. The opening theme song, titled Abyss, is performed by YUNGBLUD, which was co-written by Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons:
The ending theme song is Nobody by One Republic, which sparked controversy on social media after fans pointed out that its cover image appears to be AI-generated. These allegations haven't been confirmed yet. You can watch the official ending theme video for Kaiju No. 8 below:
Here are the official covers for the opening and ending theme songs of Kaiju No. 8 anime:
Kaiju No. 8 anime is being directed by Shigeyuki Miya (Blood Lad) and Tomomi Kamiya (Yotsuiro Biyori). chiro Okochi (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury) is in charge of the series composition, Tetsuya Nishio (Naruto) is on character designs, and Mahiro Maeda (Blue Submarine No. 6 director) is the kaiju designer. New episodes are being released weekly, live-streaming simultaneously on Crunchyroll and Twitter/X, and released for traditional viewing on Crunchyroll 30 minutes later.
What is Kaiju No. 8 about?
Based on the manga series written and illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto, Kaiju No. 8 has been serialized for free on Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ app and website since July 2020, and as of April 2024, there are 12 volumes published.
The official description for Kaiju No. 8 reads:
In a world plagued by threatening creatures known as Kaiju, Kafka Hibino aspired to enlist in the Japan Defense Force to defeat them. “Let’s wipe out the Kaiju together.” Kafka pledged to his childhood friend, Mina Ashiro. Over time, life circumstances forced them to go their separate ways and caused him to abandon his lifelong ambition. He found himself employed by Monster Sweeper, Inc., a professional cleaning company that specializes in cleaning up the aftermath of Kaiju battles. Meanwhile, Mina Ashiro is now the Captain of the Defense Force’s 3rd Division. As it stands, he is currently unworthy of fighting Kaiju alongside her. At work, Kafka crosses paths with the highly motivated Reno Ichikawa. Reno’s undying determination to join the Defense Force leaves no room for failure. His perseverance reawakens Kafka’s ambition of standing next to Mina as they protect humanity from Kaiju together. A dream frozen by time, thawed by a burning promise. But Kafka doesn’t know that an imminent Kaiju threat is unexpectedly approaching him.
For more information about Kaiju No. 8, check out the official website of the anime.
