Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon Coming To Cinemas
Kaiju are one of Japanese pop culture's greatest gifts to the world. Although most iconically represented by Godzilla there are legions of giant monsters stomping across Japanese culture. Of course, that includes anime and manga, and one recent series to include such absolute units is Kaiju No. 8, which streamed on Crunchyroll last year. Now, it has been announced that the series is to come to US and Canada and UK and Ireland cinemas this April.
Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon contains a condensed recap of the events of the anime's first season, as well as an exclusive, never seen before episode Hoshina's Day Off,. The film also debuts a new ending song Invincible by OneRepublic.
Based on the manga by Naoya Matsumoto, the anime is set in a world under constant attack from giant monsters- a.k.a. Kaiju. It follows the story of Kafka Hibino as he persues his dream of joining the anti-Kaiju Defence Force. The series debuted in April 2024. The series is animated by the world-renowned Studio Production IG (Ghost In The Shell), with Kaiju artwork and design supervision by Studio Khara (Rebuild Of Neon Genesis Evangelion). It is directed by Shigeyuki Miya and Tomomi Kamiya and written by Ichiro Okouchi. Tetsuya Nishio is character designer and chief animation director.
Official Film Synopsis:
In a Kaiju-filled Japan, Kafka Hibino works in monster disposal. After reuniting with his childhood friend Mina Ashiro, a rising star in the anti-Kaiju Defense Force, Kafka decides to pursue his abandoned dream of joining the Force... when he suddenly transforms into the powerful "Kaiju No. 8." With help from his junior colleague Reno Ichikawa, Kafka hides his identity while striving towards his life-long dream of passing the Defense Force exam and standing at Mina's side. But when a mysterious intelligent Kaiju attacks a Defense Force base, Kafka faces a crucial decision in a desperate situation...
Crunchyroll describes Hoshina's Day Off: " A day off... a rare day of peace for the Defense Force. After spending so long training, Reno has forgotten what he's supposed to do with free time. He sees that Hoshina is up to something with his own day off and decides to go on a mission to tail him with Iharu! But then things go in an unexpected direction…"
Kaiju No. 8 Mission Recon will release in the United States and Canada in an Event-style release on April 13, 14 and 16. The film will screen both in original language version and with an English dub. The film will screen in the UK and Ireland for one day only on April 16.
Kaiju No 8. Mission Recon will open in Japan on March 28, for a three-week engagement. Season one of Kaiju No. 8 is available to stream now on Crunchyroll. Season two will stream from July 2025.
