Epic new anime series Kaiju No. 8 is almost here, with the highly anticipated manga adaptation streaming on Crunchyroll from Saturday, April 13, 2024.
The show takes place in a world full of massive monsters named kaiju, with the focus being on childhood friends Kafka Hibino and Mina Ashiro, who after having their town destroyed promised to join The Defence Force, an elite unit responsible for fighting monsters and preventing attacks.
Now adults, Mina is a captain in The Defence Force while Kafka is a down-and-out 32-year-old who has failed the exam numerous times, and is instead tasked with disposing of kaiju remains after big battles as part of the clean-up crew.
But, when a small creature enters Kafka's body and gives him the ability to turn into a kaiju himself, he's soon hunted by the Defence Force and dubbed the titular Kaiju No. 8.
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Here's how you can watch Kaiju No. 8, including for free by making use of a free trial.
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How to watch Kaiju No. 8
Kaiju No. 8 will stream on anime streaming platform Crunchyroll.
In a big move for the show, episodes will stream live every week at the exact same time it broadcasts in Japan starting from Saturday, April 13, 2024 at 3pm UK time. Following episode one, new episodes of Kaiju No. 8 will be available weekly on Crunchyroll at 3.30pm UK time every Saturday.
Just after the first episode premiered we also received confirmation that Kaiju No. 8 will consist of a single 12-episode cour, meaning the show will wrap up at some point in June.
The news came via the official listing for the show's DVD and Blu-Ray release. Kaiju No. 8 is based on a fairly extensive manga though, so we'd be very surprised if the show doesn't continue beyond these initial episodes with either a longer second season, or with a second cour of similar length later this year.
A basic Crunchyroll membership is free and includes a library of content readily available to watch, but if you want to watch Kaiju No. 8 as soon as it releases, you'll have to subscribe to one of their premium tiers.
How to watch Kaiju No. 8 for free
The good news is there is a 14-day Crunchyroll Premium free trial you can take advantage of if you're a new subscriber or member on the free tier, which will give you access to any released episodes of Kaiju No. 8.
Crunchyroll's premium tiers include the Fan tier for £4.99 per month (UK)/$7.99 per month (US), which lets you watch new shows without ads just an hour after they air in Japan.
There's also the Mega Fan tier for £5.99 per month (UK)/$9.99 per month (US), which includes the option of downloading shows to watch offline, access to free games, store discounts and allows streaming on up to four devices at the same time.
You can also subscribe to the Mega Fan tier as an annual subscription for £59.99 per year, which is 16% off the total price if you were to subscribe monthly for a year.
Crunchyroll is also available as a Prime Video Channel. If you're an existing Amazon Prime subscriber, you can subscribe to Crunchyroll through Prime Video on both the £4.99 Fan tier and £5.99 Mega Fan tier, and watch all of the content through your Prime account. Both tiers also include a 7-day free trial if you wanted to try it out.
New episodes will have subtitles that include English, Latin American Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Russian, Castilian Spanish and Arabic, with dubbed versions also available in numerous languages, including English, Latin American Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Castilian Spanish, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu.
The Kaiju No. 8 anime is being animated by Production I.G, who have previously worked on Psycho-Pass and the Ghost in the Shell franchise.
The English voice cast includes Nazeeh Tarsha (A Sign of Affection) as Kafka Hibino, Katelyn Barr (The Dangers in My Heart) as Mina Ashiro, Adam McArthur (Sakugan) as Reno Ichikawa, Abigail Blythe (Chainsaw Man) as Kikoru Shinomiya, and Landon McDonald (Demon Slayer) as Soshiro Hoshina.
The manga by Naoya Matsumoto has become a global sensation since release and has passed well over 11 million copies in circulation, with fans of Attack on Titan, Chainsaw Man and One-Punch Man enjoying the art style and characters, with the anime looking to prove just as popular.
Kaiju No. 8 premieres on April 13, 2024 on Crunchyroll with new episodes releasing weekly on Saturdays.
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