Kaiju No. 8

, also known in English as Monster #8, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto. It has been serialized for free on Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ application and website since July 2020, with its chapters collected in ten volumes as of August 2023. The story follows Kafka Hibino, a man who, after ingesting a kaiju, gains the ability to turn into one and now must navigate using his power while trying to become part of an organization that eliminates kaiju to fulfill a promise he made with a childhood friend. Viz Media has licensed the series for English release in North America. An anime television series adaptation produced by Production I.G is set to premiere in April 2024. By March 2023, the manga had over 11 million copies in circulation. The series has been praised for its premise, characters, and art. Synopsis Setting Kaiju No. 8 is set in a world in which monsters named kaiju regularly cause disasters. Japan is the country with the highest rate of kaiju attacks in the world and, to combat them, it establishes the . Kaiju are assigned a “fortitude level” – a scale indicating their overall strength, and are classified as honju – more dangerous, stronger kaiju and yoju – smaller kaiju that can accompany or sprout off from the honju. Kaiju that have high fortitude levels or abnormal characteristics are given a number as an identifier based on when they first appear and are classified as daikaiju. Defense Force officers wear power suits made from kaiju remains that grant them increased strength, speed and durability. The suits have a total power output measured in the form of a percentage (referred to as "unleashed combat power") which vary from person to person depending on their ability with a maximum of 100%. The Defense Force consists of general officers and platoon leaders, with varying levels of unleashed combat power, and captains and vice-captains whose combat power exceeds 90% and who lead divisions. Daikaiju remains are used to create stronger weapons named that some individuals can use if they are deemed compatible and that are named after the daikaiju they are made from.