Kaiju No. 8 spin-off manga starts serialization: Release date, what to expect, and more

Jump Festa 2024 witnessed big news for Kaiju fans as the series will be getting a Kaiju No. 8 spin-off manga. The announcement was met with a huge round of applause and cheers on Day 2 of the event on December 17, 2023.

This information was much-awaited, given the growing popularity of the series. It was also revealed at Stage Red that the anime would be streaming on Crunchyroll for free for the first time, on the official X account. Truly, it was a treat for the Naoya Matsumoto series' lovers.

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Kaiju No. 8 spin-off manga: Release date, what to expect, and more

Release date

Further fueling the excitement at the Red Stage was the announcement of a spin-off manga for the series. It has been titled “Kaiju 8 Side B” and has been slated to begin serializing on Jump+ on January 5, 2024.

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What to expect

Kentaro Hidano, one of the creators of Super Smartphone, will be the one drawing the Kaiju No. 8 spin-off manga. Naoya Matsumoto and Keiji Ando are, however, credited with the original work.

The Kaiju No. 8 spin-off manga will feature members of the Defense Force and tell their stories individually. This will be a first, as it has never been seen in the main manga. The stories of faces like Kafka Hibino, Mina Ashiro, and Gen Narumi will be told in greater detail.

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Other information

The most hyped and well-received moment of the entire stage was the reveal of the new trailer. It was the third trailer for the upcoming series so far, and it showed off more of the Defense Force. The anime will begin streaming in April 2024, with further details to be revealed soon.

Naoya Matsumoto launched the manga in July 2020 on Shueisha's Shonen Jump+ website. In December 2020, the first print volume was released. Given the huge positive response and demand, the volume has since received several more printings. Moving forward to September 2021, the manga sold more than 4 million copies and became the fastest Shonen Jump+ manga to reach those numbers.

The Jump Festa 2024 Kaiju No. 8 panel also disclosed new character visuals featuring Kikoru Shinomiya (Fairouz Ai) and Soshiro Hoshina (Kengo Kawanishi). Through the official X account, the duo shared messages for fans regarding their upcoming roles.

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Kaiju No. 8 plot

Kaiju No. 8 as seen in the manga (Image via Naoya Matsumoto, Shueisha)

After Kaiju destroys their town, childhood friends Kafka Hibino and Mina Ashiro vow to enlist in the Defense Force to battle Kaiju together. Mina becomes captain of the Defense Force's Third Division. But Kafka, who was unable to clear the examination, ends up working as part of a clean-up crew that disposed of kaiju remains after the battle.

Kafka's fate drastically changes when he injests a tiny Kaiju and gains the ability to transform into one. Escaping the Defense Force, he becomes "Kaiju No. 8" and attempts to rejoin the force. Thus begins the tale of Kafka understanding his powers while attempting to keep them a secret and fight as a member of the Defense Force.