5 Strongest Characters In Kaiju No. 8

Naoya Matsumoto's acclaimed manga is chock-full of powerful characters

Strength is a fickle thing in any action fantasy setting. A powerful character might win or lose a fight for all sorts of reasons. That’s doubly true in anime, where character abilities evolve over time, and some power-ups might be fueled purely by emotional states.

Such is also the case in Naoya Matsumoto’s Kaiju No. 8, which is set in a world where monsters named kaiju regularly trigger disasters. Apart from the kaiju themselves, we have to take the Japanese Anti-Kaiju Defense Force into consideration, as these skilled combatants are specifically trained to keep kaiju in check. The story follows Kafka Hibino, whose body is hijacked by a parasitic creature, which grants him the ability to transform into a humanoid kaiju. Concealing this aspect of his identity, Kafka enlists in the Defense Force to fulfill a childhood promise.

Warning: Spoilers for the Kaiju No. 8 manga/anime ahead

The destructive powers of a kaiju are measured via an assigned fortitude level. This also determines their class, like the stronger, more dangerous honju and the smaller yoju. Sometimes, kaiju develop fortitude levels that are considered abnormal, which earns them the classification of daikaiju. To even the playing field, members of the Defense Force fortify their powered suits with kaiju remains, which determines their strength, speed, and durability during combat. As these factors also rely on individual skill and experience, powerscaling characters in Kaiju No. 8 might feel subjective or tricky.

With this in mind, here are the five strongest characters in the Kaiju No. 8 manga and anime, ranked.

5 Gen Narumi

Gen Narumi has rightfully earned the moniker of “Japan's Strongest Anti-Kaiju Combatant” as captain of the First Division. Although Narumi remains formidable, he has never been able to defeat his former mentor, Isao Shinomiya, who had continued to train and improve himself in spite of his extensive experience. If we are to overlook this singular hurdle, Narumi is an absolute beast on the battlefield, being capable of defeating Kaiju No. 9's Beta duplicate and gaining the upper hand against Kaiju No. 11.

Apart from possessing the skill, speed, and durability befitting the captain of the First Division, Narumi has also awakened the RT-0001 weapon, crafted from the preserved retina and corpse parts of Kaiju No. 1. This grants him the abilities of precognition and pseudo-foresight, allowing him to parse electrical signals, temperature changes, and electron movements inside opponents. This split-second advantage helps turn the tide in most battles, as Narumi’s near-accurate attacks make dodging or blocking extremely challenging. This, combined with his bayonet and martial arts mastery, makes Narumi a prime candidate for one of the strongest characters. Narumi’s strength also lies in his excellent leadership skills, which go hand-in-hand with his eccentric personality and keen intellect.

4 Isao Shinomiya

In Kaiju No. 8, Isao Shinomiya meets a tragic end in his battle against Kaiju No. 9 despite putting up a valiant fight. The kaiju overpowers Shinomiya and absorbs his body (and abilities), which has a devastating impact on the rest of the Defense Force, especially his daughter Kikoru. While Shinomiya is dead, he was one of the strongest characters to exist in this universe. Even after death, his legacy is so profound that it spurs countless characters to push themselves harder in the quest to avenge Shinomiya’s death.

Shinomiya’s experience as a kaiju combatant is reflected in his Squadron Style Combat Technique, which blends hand-to-hand combat with kaiju techniques to land forceful blows. This raw strength was backed by Numbers Weapon 2, a military-style jumpsuit (replete with gauntlets) that granted him access to energy shields, sonic blasts, and a consistent arsenal for destruction. Despite being in his mid-50s, Shinomiya outmatched most of his peers and maintained impressive skill sets and reflexes during battle. While it is a shame that such a powerhouse of a character was killed off so early, Shinomiya's overwhelming strength continues to be an aspirational yardstick for most Defense Force members.

3 Kaiju No. 9

Kaiju No. 9 is among the single most dangerous antagonists in all of Kaiju No. 8. It has revived dead kaiju in an attempt to destroy the Defense Force for good. This entity’s ultimate goal is a tad complicated, as Kaiju No. 9 wanted to create a world of kaiju inspired by the core principles of human society. This fuels his need for strategic absorption (such as when he absorbs Kaiju No. 2 via Shinomiya, which skyrockets his fortitude levels and unlocks new abilities) and hints at human-like cunning and intellect. Kaiju No. 9 can also heal rapidly from injuries and has leveraged revived minions to deflect direct hits during battle.

Kaiju No. 9 tastes defeat in the manga, thanks to the combined efforts of Kafka and Mina Ashiro in a brutal, high-stakes confrontation. This is no walk in the park for obvious reasons, as the duo struggles to keep up with Kaiju No. 9’s evolved adaptability and the ease with which it neutralized traditional battle tactics. After all, the monster’s unfathomable strength has overwhelmed the most promising Defense Force combatants, including Kafka in his kaiju form (with the exception of Kafka’s controlled berserk form). Although Kafka and Mina are able to work in tandem and destroy the beast’s core, Kaiju No. 9’s death unseals a catastrophic Meireki-era mega-monster he had previously absorbed.

2 Kaiju No. 8 (Kafka Hibino)

It makes perfect sense for the protagonist of Kaiju No. 8 to sport an exceptionally powerful kaiju form with a whopping 9.8 fortitude level. Having constantly evolved as a kaiju, Kafka often loses control over his body, being forced to witness the parasitic kaiju wreak havoc without his consent. Kafka’s journey towards acclimation has never been steady or gradual, as the stark difference in power between his kaiju and human forms has served as the source of conflict throughout his arc. The way Kafka’s kaiju form erodes his innate humanity over time is a key thematic component of Matsumoto’s story.

That said, being a host to Kaiju No. 8 comes with intimate knowledge about kaiju anatomy, allowing Kafka to identify weaknesses even when he’s wearing his Defense Force suit. Kafka’s weakness as a human combatant no longer applies in his kaiju form, which can easily injure other powerful kaiju with just a few blows. He can also use instant regeneration when necessary. The true strength and potential of Kaiju No. 8, however, is revealed during the final battle against the Daikaiju of the Meireki Era. This requires Kafka to sacrifice his humanity to unlock the kaiju’s final form — thankfully, Isao Shinomiya's spirit intervenes and saves Kafka when all hope seems lost.

1 The Daikaiju of the Meireki Era

Kaiju No. 9’s death wasn’t an immediate cause for celebration due to one terrifying reason. The destruction of its core unleashed the Daikaiju of the Meireki Era, an ancient kaiju who had rampaged for one hundred days in the year 1657 and was responsible for one of the biggest massacres of kaiju slayers. This beast is so powerful that the Defense Force deemed its fortitude level as “immeasurable.”

The Daikaiju of the Meireki Era uses its alarmingly fast reflexes to block attacks from Narumi and Soshiro Hoshina in the manga, which presents a troubling realization. Apart from being able to field attacks from two of the most gifted hand-to-hand combatants, this kaiju is able to nullify Narumi’s precognition. It also keeps up with Kafka’s Kaiju No. 8 in its evolved form, using shimmering runes to hurl powerful explosions towards its opponent.

It is also worth noting that the Daikaiju absorbed Kaiju No. 9 when it was unleashed and gained all of its abilities in the process. Thankfully, the Daikaiju of the Meireki Era is defeated once and for all at the end of Kaiju No. 8. Even though this victory is deeply draining and hard-earned for Kafka and the members of the Defense Force, it is one worth celebrating for the ages.