Summary
The following contains major spoilers for Kaiju No. 8, which can be streamed onCrunchyroll, or read viaVIZ Media’s website.
Kaiju No. 9 is the main antagonist ofNaoya Matsumoto’sKaiju No. 8series, introduced as early as episode 4 of the anime series. With its superior intellect, knack for disguise and its swift ability to learn and assimilate all kinds of knowledge and apply it, not to mention its ability to revive dead Kaiju, No. 9 is by far the most dangerous Kaiju faced by humanity, even counting the dai-Kaiju that caused immense damage prior to the events of the series.
More about the beast is currently being revealed during thebattle between it and KafkaHibino in what feels like the final showdown in theKaiju No. 8manga. What exactly is Kaiju No. 9, and what is its objective?
Upon Introduction
The Enemy of the Defense Force
In the early parts of the series, No. 9 infiltrated the post-Kaiju cleaning service that Kafka worked for, making use of its ability to shapeshift to take on the appearances of people that it has killed. According to its self-assessment, it wasn’t always very powerful, and thus had to make use of itssuperior intellect and shapeshiftingto work on its plans unimpeded. It would go around reviving Kaiju that have been taken down by the Defence Force, and is the brains behind a devastating Kaiju attack that was unleashed directly upon the Defence Force, forcing humanity to deal with the terrifying realization that the Kaiju are evolving and becoming intelligent enough to attack humanity’s only means of standing up to them.
A frail Kaiju with intelligence as its only claim. That’s what I thought at first. I hid from humans and had a quiet life, until that fateful day when I learned that I am stronger than humans.
No. 9’s main characteristic is its ruthlessness and its cold, calculating personality that allows it to even spare innocents if it means it’ll avoid detection. It has a keen sense of observation, and wishes to establish a world ruled by Kaiju. As such, its infiltration of institutions like the Professional Kaiju Cleaning Company Monster Sweeper Inc. is motivated by its desire to take back Kaiju powers that have been “stolen” by humanity. While it is aloof and lacks any sense of empathy for other living things, it also respects humanity’s tenacity. In chapter 113, during a conversation with Kafka, No. 9 expresses immense curiosity about humanity, why we do the things we do, including fighting bravely against opponents far stronger than ourselves.
What Are No. 9’s Abilities?
Shapeshifting, Absorption, And Even Works As a Spawn-Point: No. 9 Is a Harbinger of Doom
No. 9 has a host of abilities, including the aforementioned shapeshifing, which is quite versatile and even works in improving its body’s usefulness in combat. At first, No. 9 has an eerie-looking, lean appearance with a hammer head, hiding beady little eyes with a mushroom-like canopy. It has the ability to spawn Kaiju, and is the progenitor of numbers 10 through 15, and countless swarms of Honju. Its ability to birth incredibly powerful Kaiju is insane enough, but No. 9can also absorb the Kaiju that it encounters, using this ability to absorb No. 2, which had been defeated by Captain Shinomiya and turned into his weapon in the past, giving it access to its own powers and those of one of humanity’s toughest challenges, not to mention that it killed and absorbed Shinomiya himself.
It evolves from its various absorptions, so it has gotten much stronger since its introduction, and when it takes on No. 2, it gains a second head and a pair of arms coming out of its back. During the climactic battle with Kafka, damage to its core causes No. 9 to rapidly evolve into something even more terrifying. Itsface splits open, revealing countless eyesand it grows eight arms, revealing a form that is reminiscent of Asuras from Hindu/Buddhist myth; the expressions or representations of chaos, evil or simply, “antigods”. The fact that it does a mudra (hand sign) shortly after its transformation is aligned with its origins.
Who Exactly Is Kaiju No. 9?
“The Daikaiju Of The Meireki Era”
At first, No. 9 believed itself to be weak. It used to be small and feeble, but one day, it learned that it was stronger than humans and developed a voraciousness for learning. It wanted to see what kind of impact it could have on the human society it once desperately avoided, and garnered more knowledge; however, at some point in the distant past, No. 9 encountered a terrifying being that, at this point, can only be described as the twisted, sinewy mass of countless Kaiju. According to No. 9, no person or Kaiju in history could escape it, and it was as if his journey was all meant for that fateful moment when it was consumed. As such, No. 9 is an insanely powerful beast and its appearance, straight out ofEastern visions of Hell, spoke to this unfathomable power which it kept hidden until Kafka damaged its core.
Despite its terrifying connection to the entity that once absorbed it, Mina Ashiro’s steadfastness in the face of its evolution reminded it of an encounter in the past – with a member of the Asahina Clan, placing its origins at some point in the Sengoku Period of Japanese history; the 15th and 16th centuries. Shortly after its core is damaged, No. 9 inflicts a mortal wound on Kafka, and connects its mind with his so they can have a chat. It shows him a bloody battlefield, where Kafka sees a familiarhannyamask (which is a representation of a vengeful spirit, while the word itself is a transcription ofprajñā– wisdom in Sanskrit), and tells him it admits defeat. Kafka’s final blow disrupted its equilibrium and the countless Kaiju inside it have gone berserk. It asks him if the scene is familiar at all, and some brief memories of a samurai in a mask are shown before it assumes its horrifying true form – one dubbed “The Daikaijuu of the Meireki Era”. There is an old connection between No. 8 and No. 9, one that goes as far back as the 1600s, but the full truth is yet to be revealed.
Kaiju No. 8
Cast
Production I.G’s Kaiju No. 8 is a Spring 2024 anime based on Naoya Matsumoto’s Shonen Jump+ manga. Set in an alternate version of Japan, the story follows the Anti-Kaiju Defense Force as they try to protect the nation from monster attacks.
