Kaiju No. 8 episode 3: Kafka and Ichikawa struggle in the second exam as Kikoru shines

Kaiju No. 8 episode 3 was officially released on Saturday, April 27, 2024, bringing with it the exciting continuation of Kafka Hibino’s efforts to finally make it into the Kaiju Defense Force. In the process, fans were also introduced to central supporting character Soshiro Hoshina, and also saw Mina Ashiro take an interest in Kafka’s exam.

Kaiju No. 8 episode 3 also introduced additional supporting characters who’ll become more relevant as the series progresses and several key concepts to the Kaiju Defense Force’s methods. However, the episode ended with Kafka being put in a precarious position, with his final shot at making the Kaiju Defense Force hanging in the balance.

Kaiju No. 8 episode 3 sees Kafka struggle as additional supporting characters introduced

Brief episode recap

Kaiju No. 8 episode 3 kicks off with the continuation of Kikoru Shinomiya's introduction (Image via Production I.G)

Kaiju No. 8 episode 3 began immediately where the previous installment ended, seeing Kikoru Shinomiya confront Kafka Hibino for smelling like a Kaiju. Thankfully, Reno Ichikawa said they work at a Kaiju cleanup company. However, Kafka drew attention to himself by moving the van Kikoru had thrown without any help.

Kikoru commented on how the exam might be kind of fun since someone like Kafka was there, walking away after saying this. An infuriated Ichikawa berated Kafka for using his powers, even if his partial transformation did stop her from seeing anything. Ichikawa even promised to send Kafka home if he did this again, while Kafka hyped himself up about this entrance exam and promised he wasn’t giving up this time.

Kaiju No. 8 episode 3 saw Kafka struggling during the physical exam, prompting a flashback to Kafka and Ichikawa discussing how the second round of exams would go. His fitness grade was one of the six worst, prompting Kikoru to come over and show him up. This sent him into a spiral, prompting Ichikawa to commend him for not using his powers.

Kaiju No. 8 episode 3 quickly establishes Kafka and Kikoru as friendly rivals (Image via Production I.G)

Kafka responded that it wouldn’t be fair to the others, but quickly said he should’ve used them. Soshiro Hoshina reported to Mina Ashiro on the top recruits from this group, while Ichikawa did the same for Kafka. This introduced Haruichi Izuma, Iharu Furuhashi, Aoi Kaguragi, and of course, Kikoru Shinomiya, called the greatest talent ever.

Kaiju No. 8 episode 3 saw Ichikawa call her "the cream of the crop," prompting her to go over to them and gloat. Soshiro Hoshina appeared for the next part of the exam, leading Kafka and the others to a specific area for their aptitude test. Their test was to find Kaiju and neutralize them, revealing several Kaiju lurking in the area ahead.

Hoshina added that everyone would be getting Defense Force Kaiju combat suits to use for the neutralization, similar to the one Kikoru was seen wearing. The previously introduced characters’ unleashed combat powers were then revealed by Konomi Okonogi, a Third Division Operator.

Central supporting character Soshiro Hoshina is formally introduced in Kaiju No. 8 episode 3 (Image via Production I.G)

Kaiju No. 8 episode 3 saw Ichikawa’s combat power at 8%, Izumo’s at 18%, Aoi’s at 15%, Iharu’s at 14%, and Kikoru’s at a shocking 46%. Kafka’s was then revealed to be a zero, prompting Hoshina to go down where everyone was and begin the final test. He added that they would forcibly activate a shield if any of them were in mortal danger, but this meant they would fail.

The test then began, with Kikoru rushing out in front of everyone and already killing Kaiju. Hoshina announced that Mina Ashiro was also watching the exam, inspiring Kafka to calm himself down and focus. This led Kafka to realize this part of the exam wasn’t just about killing Kaiju, and that they were measuring other factors as well.

In Kaiju No. 8 episode 3, Kafka and Ichikawa decided to play support roles for the others, with Kafka recognizing a type of Kaiju from a cleanup. Knowing how to deal with the beast, Kafka set up the others for victory by stunning it and telling them to shoot its stomach. This proved to be accurate info, earning Kafka praise from others, seemingly Soshiro Hoshina.

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Kafka and Ichikawa then continued racing around the battlefield, with the former being extremely optimistic regarding his chances. However, a Kaiju burst out of nowhere and grabbed him in its clutches, sending him flying and injuring him. Hoshina instructed his remote shield to be prepared, with Kafka recognizing that this was likely what they were doing.

Kaiju No. 8 episode 3 saw Kafka force himself to stand since he knew Mina was watching, with Hoshina upset about needing to deploy his remote shield. However, at that moment, Kafka was saved by Kikoru, who killed the Kaiju and told him nobody got to quit when she was on the battlefield.

Kikoru chased the main target, inspiring the others to do the same. Kafka also tried to move, but his leg was broken. Hoshina then reported that they saw him as having taken severe internal damage, prompting Kafka to worry that he’d be forced to give up.

Then, in Kaiju No. 8 episode 3, Kafka remembered his 0% unleashed power, realizing he would never be able to pass with the others and stand by Mina’s side. Hoshina then advised him to drop out since even the shields they could deploy weren’t fully reliable. Kafka responded by saying he decided when to give up, psyching himself up as he stood and achieved the 0.01% unleashed power as the episode ended.

In review

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While somewhat uneventful overall, episode 3 is an extremely informative installment for the series and does its best to infodump in as enthralling a manner as possible. The introduction of the central supporting characters to aid with this infodump helps significantly and adds another layer of intrigue to help keep audiences’ attention on the information being presented.

Kaiju No. 8 episode 3 also excels at showing just how much getting into the Defense Force means to Kafka, seeing as he struggles through his injuries in the installment’s final moments. Combined with the natural talent Reno Ichikawa is shown to have despite being a rookie, Kafka is clearly being set up to overcome these hurdles and prove that he’s also Defense Force-worthy.

In summation

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While episode 3 does set up Kafka potentially quitting the Defense Force, the more likely reality is he’ll continue pushing himself in an attempt to fully realize his dreams. However, this will more likely than not force him to use his Kaiju powers, which in turn could eliminate his dream of being a Defense Force member for good.