Kaiju No. 8 chapter 125: Kikoru locates Meireki's core as Mina plays her trump card

With Mina Ashiro seemingly preparing to rejoin the fight against the Meireki Era Mega Monster, Kaiju No. 8 chapter 125 was expected to elaborate on what her plan was. Officially released on Thursday, April 24, 2025, the installment did exactly that, seeing Mina work with Kikoru Shinomiya and Kafka Hibino to corner Meireki.

Kaiju No. 8 chapter 125 also continues the main focus of the previous issue, which was Kikoru’s experience with Numbers Weapon 1 and her desire to avenge her father. Similarly, this previous focus was built upon by an additional flashback for Kikoru which sets her up for closure over her father’s death.

Kaiju No. 8 chapter 125 sees Mina prep her strongest weapon to take down Meireki with

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Kaiju No. 8 chapter 125 began immediately where the last issue ended, seeing Kikoru Shinomiya swear to free her father Isao Shinomiya from Meireki’s clutches. She then provided cover fire for Kafka Hibino, who attacked Meireki with a massive punch. Soshiro Hoshina was also seen fighting the miscellaneous revived Kaiju, commenting on Kikoru’s clairvoyance via Numbers Weapon 1 proving effective.

Kikoru likewise continued providing cover fire for Kafka, interrupting Meireki’s glyph attacks as it tried to prepare them. His next punch caused Meireki to begin bleeding from one of its eyes, proving he could actually damage the creature. However, Kikoru’s own eye also began to bleed, signaling that she was beginning to suffer from an overheat. Akira Kurusu and others were shown to be shocked by this, but Hoshina was unsurprised.

Kaiju No. 8 chapter 125 saw Hoshina attribute this to her not being near Narumi’s level while also simultaneously wielding two Numbers Weapons. Hoshina said that she wouldn’t last for long as Kafka thought on how to circumvent Kaiju No. 9’s shield abilities. He concluded that they had to focus all their power on a single attack to get through the compressed shield protecting its core.

Mina Ashiro prepares for the single most important shot she's ever taken in Kaiju No. 8 chapter 125 (Image via Production I.G)

Hoshina questioned how they could do so, prompting Mina Ashiro to say she can handle it if they guide Meireki to the coordinates Konomi Okonogi marked. She revealed her intent to fire the Keraunos (a giant anti-Kaiju railgun) at it. Kikoru likewise focused on locating the core for Mina, parsing through Meireki’s various fused monster cores and signals. However, her Unleashed Combat Power kept decreasing as she tried looking for it.

Kaiju No. 8 chapter 125 saw Kikoru keep pushing herself despite clearly being in pain. She then thought back to a night when both of her parents were still alive, saying she knew why Isao was so strict with her. One night as her mother Hikari and father Isao put her to bed, she pretended to be asleep as they spoke. Hikari revealed her intent to be the strict parent who pushed Kikoru forward, asking Isao to spoil her enough for the both of them likewise.

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However, when Hikari died, Isao decided that he’d be the one to be strict with and push Kikoru in his wife’s place. Focus then returned to the present, where Kikoru located the core and shared that information with the others. As she did so, Meireki attacked her, which she couldn’t dodge due to her Unleashed Combat Power not increasing when she needed it. She survived the attack, but it clearly pushed her even closer to her limit.

Kaiju No. 8 chapter 125 saw Kafka call out to her likewise, but she told him to stay back and that he’s not to save her anymore. She continued to fight likewise, promising not to yield in the face of adversity or any Kaiju. She also promised to surpass not only her parents, but Gen Narumi as well in order to become the strongest Defense Force Troop ever. As she said this, she and Kafka pushed Meireki to the target area, with the issue ending on Mina preparing to fire.

Final thoughts

Kikoru Shinomiya lives up to her family name in Kaiju No. 8 chapter 125 (Image via Production I.G)

With Mina’s trump card finally revealed and about to be played, chapter 125 sets up a major junction point for the series. The ultimate result of Mina and co’s latest plan to defeat Meireki likewise should indicate what the series’ future holds, if it has one at all. Likewise, all eyes are on mangaka Naoya Matsumoto as his beloved series could finally be reaching its end.

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About the author

Joseph has been working as an anime content specialist for Sportskeeda since the past 2.5 years. Primarily covering his core genre, he also contributes to popular culture writing news stories and cult classic features on older series.

Joseph holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Delaware, United States. His love of anime, combined with his background in literature, influenced his interest in engaging readers through the written word. He maintains complete accuracy in his content by verifying each and every piece of information regardless of how long it takes, and ensure that the output is impartial and free of bias.

Chainsaw Man, One Piece, Berserk, Undead Unluck, Re:ZERO, Tower of God, Jujutsu Kaisen, Inuyasha, and Fire Punch are some of Joseph’s favorite animanga. His exposure to 4kids' Sonic X series, One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Dragon Ball Z on Toonami fueled his enthusiasm for the medium.

When not dissecting anime plots, Joseph likes to cook, play games, work on cars, browse new music, and watch pro wrestling, especially AEW. He also enjoys ocean-based activities - beach trips, fishing, swimming and watersports.

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Edited by Joseph Brogan