Who is Mina Ashiro in Kaiju No. 8? Explained

Modified Jul 25, 2024 01:30 GMT

Who is Mina Ashiro in Kaiju No. 8? Explained (Image via Production I.G)

Following the incredible success of Production I.G’s television anime adaptation and recent manga events, many are asking who is Mina Ashiro in Kaiju No. 8. Throughout author and illustrator Naoya Matsumoto’s original manga series, Mina plays a pivotal role both as it relates to protagonist Kafka Hibino’s journey, and in the setting of the world itself.

The Kaiju No. 8 manga likewise heavily focuses on her, with Mina very arguably being one of the most central characters to Matsumoto’s story as of this article’s writing. However, there’s still much about Mina which fans may not know or remember from their initial exposure to the series, whether via the aforementioned anime adaptation or the original manga.

Fans asking who is Mina Ashiro in Kaiju No. 8 will be pleased to hear of her importance in plot and series’ world

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In the Kaiju No. 8 manga series, Mina Ashiro plays several pivotal roles. One of her most impactful to the series’ narrative is her status as protagonist Kafka Hibino’s childhood friend. As children, the pair’s hometown was destroyed in a Kaiju attack, resulting in the deaths of their loved ones and Mina’s pet cat. This is what started their friendship, and eventually led to each promising to join the Defense Force and exterminate all the Kaiju together.

As children, they’d talk about what kind of Defense Force officers they’d be when they grew up. Mina’s dreams specifically centered on saving people, and ensuring that no one she deployed into a mission with would die during that mission. Eventually, the two became old enough to begin applying for the Defense Force, with Kafka (being the older of the pair) having taken it several times first.

When she was 18, Mina took her first exam, which was Kafka’s fifth. Kafka failed, but she passed, allowing her to join the Third Division and start her career as Kafka promised to join her in the Defense Force soon. However, as Mina began training, it quickly became apparent that she was an exceptional case when it came to her use of weapons. Director General Isao Shinomiya viewed her as a missing link which would change Kaiju neutralization forever.

Mina was likewise studied during this time, and would often beg Kafka to hurry up and join her. Eventually, she continued fighting and became the captain of the Third Division with Soshiro Hoshina as her vice captain. This is how fans are first introduced to her upon starting Matsumoto’s Kaiju No. 8 story, also seeing her utilizing her incredible skill with weapons to take out Giant-class Kaiju on her own.

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From here, Mina sees Kafka finally pass the entrance exam in what’s his last opportunity, joining her in the Third Division. After Kafka is officially accepted as an officer rather than a cadet, she and him have a brief but clearly meaningful conversation with one another. Fans next see Mina upon her return to Tachikawa base during the raid on it, where she yet again uses her skills to quickly and effortlessly eliminate a Giant-class Kaiju.

This also leads to her discovering Kafka’s Kaiju powers, which she initially seems upset about. However, it quickly becomes apparent that she still believes in Kafka and wants him by her side, even pleading such a case to the Defense Force higher ups. She eventually gets her wish, with Kafka being spared and the two reuniting shortly before the Second wave arc. However, their reunion is marred by Mina clearly being able to tell that Kafka is keeping something from her.

During the Second Wave arc, fans see Mina easily kill Kaiju No. 14, but it’s revealed this was a trap set by No. 9 in order to capture Mina. By capturing her, No. 9 would be able to both create a new type of Kaiju, and severely weaken humanity’s ability to fight Kaiju. While he does capture her at one point, Kafka arrives just in time to save her. Now, in the contemporary series, the pair are finally fighting side-by-side as they aim to defeat No. 9 once and for all.

Final thoughts

The answer to the question of “who is Mina Ashiro in Kaiju No. 8” may not be a short or easy one, but it is an exciting and enthralling one which emphasizes how important her role is. Both as a character and a soldier, Mina is irreplaceable in Matsumoto’s story.