Kaiju No. 8 was one of the most hotly anticipated shōnen anime releases of 2024, which makes sense considering how different the content was. The manga had been drumming up a lot of attention since its release all the way back in 2020, becoming one of the best-selling manga of that year despite being a late-year release. The anime managed to capture a lot of the hype while also leaning into its kinetic energy and non-traditional protagonist with a lot of love. The quality of the anime itself is shown by the fact that the first season is a proud member of a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, putting it on par with beloved series like Gurren Lagann and Trigun: STAMPEDE. This is no small feat, as anyone who knows anything about review aggregator sites and anime discourse knows that it is hard to get that coveted 100% from the Tomato Meter. There was a lot to look forward to when Season 1 wrapped up, so Production I.G and Studio Khara were ready to jump right back into the fun with the announcement of Season 2 coming right as the first season brought itself to a well-earned close.

Kaiju No. 8 was something different in a sea of isekai anime and fantasy anime in 2024. That was the year when sci-fi-style anime was making a comeback, and it was the perfect time for a series like this to hit the ground running. With the incredible popularity of movies like Pacific Rim and Godzilla Minus One spreading the love of kaiju, which literally means "strange creature", throughout the world, this is the kind of anime that had an amazing opportunity to get its legs under it. Kaiju No. 8 feels like a breath of fresh air for older anime fans. Seeing how Kafka tackles the rising tension of his newly acquired form and how he chases his dreams in his 30s taps into the feeling that a lot of older millennials have had in the last five years. With Season 2 storming its way forward, fans need to know where and when to catch the antics of their favorite kaiju and to catch up on how the story has gone so far.