In celebration of Kafka's birthday on August 5 and "No. 8" day in Japan, the official website of Kaiju No. 8 has confirmed that the previously announced sequel is Season 2 of the TV anime, and it's scheduled to premiere in 2025. Furthermore, a film compilation of scenes from the first season and a special episode titled Hoshina's Day Off will be screened in theaters in Japan sometime next year. There will also be a live event with the Japanese voice actors of the anime at Kannai Hall on June 1, 2025.
The news comes just a few weeks after the sequel was announced following the broadcast of the Season 1 finale back in June. Only an 18-second teaser was released then, and the confirmation that Koki Ichiyama (Soul in Soul Eater) will play the role of Gen Narumi, the captain of the First Division. Crunchyroll previously also confirmed that it will stream the highly-anticipated sequel when it airs in Japan.
The first season of Kaiju No. 8 introduced the story of Kafka Hibino, Reno Ichikawa, Kikoru Shinomiya, and other members of the Defense Force as they faced the fallout of the continuing kaiju campaign against humanity. The combination of brilliant character development and spectacular visuals made the anime series one of the most entertaining to watch in the Spring 2024 anime season, and it surely lived up to all the hype it had received before it premiered.
Production I.G, which animated the first season, will return to animate Kaiju No. 8 Season 2, with character designs and artworks by Studio Khara. The first season was directed by Shigeyuki Miya, with Ichiro Okouchi in charge of the series composition and screenplay. Tetsuya Nishio served as the chief animation director and character designer, Mahiro Maeda was the monster designer, Shinji Kimura was the art director, and Yuta Bando was the music composer.
What is Kaiju No. 8 about?
The Kaiju No. 8 anime is based on the manga series of the same title (Japanese: Kaijū Hachigō) by Naoya Matsumoto. The science fantasy series began serialization on Shueisha's Shonen Jump+ and as of December 2023, the chapters have been collected in 12 volumes. Viz Media, which holds the English license of the manga in North America, shared a plot description for Kaiju No. 8:
Kafka hopes to one day keep his pact with his childhood friend Mina to join the Japan Defense Force and fight by her side. But while she’s out neutralizing kaiju as Third Division captain, Kafka is stuck cleaning up the aftermath of her battles. When a sudden rule change makes Kafka eligible for the Defense Force, he decides to try out for the squad once more. There’s just one problem—he’s made the Defense Force’s neutralization list under the code name Kaiju No. 8.
For more information about Kaiju No. 8, check out the official website of the anime.
