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If you think that a shonen anime about a guy turning into a monster and fighting other monsters isn’t going to be this deep work of art then you are dead wrong. In its sea of bloody over the top monster fights, horror influences, and quirky humor, Kaiju No. 8 contains deep and powerful themes that will make you reflect on what it truly means to be human.
But there is a reason this shonen series stands out with its complicated themes of humanity and identity and that is because it takes heavy inspiration from a short novel from 1915 that is considered one of the most influential pieces of 20th-century literature, The Metamorphosis.
“The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka begins with traveling salesman Gregor Samsa waking up to find he has transformed into a giant insect. Unable to work, Gregor can no longer support his parents and sister. The story explores his family’s reaction to his transformation and his struggle to adapt to his new form.
It’s a sad and horrifying story but not in the traditional sense. It is a story about existential dread that explores themes of humanity.
And it is those themes that Kaiju No 8 draws from and creates a unique anime that captures Franz Kafka’s work perfectly yet disguises it in a fun, flashy, and action packed story.
Kaiju No 8 is secretly educating us on literature, and I’m gonna explain how.
It’s easy to just think that the show is similar because Kafka Hibino wakes up and is turned into a kaiju but the anime is a lot deeper than that. Kafka’s transformation starts the journey of him joining the defense force and defending humanity against the Kaiju threats attacking the city but it also begins its themes about identity and the human connection.
When we meet Gregor in the metamorphosis, his life sucks even before becoming a bug. He is a traveling salesman and he remarks how the job isn’t as fruitful as it used to be. He complains about his boss and waking up early to get the train. He’s only doing this to support his family. When we first meet Kafka, he is literally cleaning the bowels of the very kaiju he wished he was fighting against. He wakes up in his messy and dark apartment with the tv on, showing him his childhood friend Mina, who achieved everything they both wanted to achieve. He keeps his job at this kaiju cleanup crew only to keep him close to the very job he wants to have.
Kafka gives us this false sense of confidence during all this. He is laughing and cracking jokes the entire time, and he does this well into the anime.
Some people would see this as him loving life and just being immature but it’s all a mask.
Kafka has his humor because without it, what else does he have? If he doesn’t feel like he is funny and contributing to his coworkers, then his reality sets in and he just feels like a failure. He believes he has hidden potential to achieve his dreams but when we first meet him, he isn’t showing it to the world.
The transformation in both stories are symbolic of how each character truly feels. Gregor feels like a bug before he transforms. He is just scurrying to work and back to bed everyday constantly being beaten down by his boss and pressures of his family. His transformation is highlighting how he has felt in his mind. Kafka is similar because his new ability to turn into a kaiju is just an extension of his hidden potential. His new powers give him the confidence to yet again try and make the defense force. He even states when training that he doesn’t want to use his powers even though it would easily get him what he wants. The powers initially don’t give a physical advantage, they mentally push him to be what he truly wants to be.
This is also because identity is a huge theme of both works.
Throughout The Metamorphosis, Gregor is constantly battling with who he is. Early on into his transformation he is still worrying about his family and trying to make it to work. As the story goes on he begins losing his touch with his humanity. He starts debating on if he is a human or just an insect. His sister brings him his favorite food and he sadly discovers that it tastes terrible to him now and he would rather eat garbage. He hides underneath a couch to avoid upsetting his mother with his appearance. When his family removes his furniture he clings onto art in his room so they won’t take it because it reminds him of what he once was. He pulls himself into the living room in front of house guests just to hear his sister play violin to be surrounded by her music and his family. Gregor is constantly in a tug of war of his own identity.
Kafka Hibino struggles with his own identity. An obvious example of this is in the season 1 final fight. Kafka is seen as a threat to the defense force even though he has been fighting by their side the entire time and saving their lives using his kaiju powers. In the fight against Director General Shinomiya, Kafka doesn’t want to fully transform. He wants to prove he is a human more than a kaiju, even as the general is trying to kill him, Kafka doesn’t want to lose being viewed as a human. There are even some interesting bits of dialogue here where the General looks at Kafka’s x-rays and sees he doesn’t have a heart but a core like a kaiju, yet as Mina argues for him to stay on the defense force, she specifically says “ I believe it’s his heart.” She doesn’t know that Kakfa doesn’t have a human heart but she isn’t talking about his physicality, she is talking about how he acts.
This concept of Kakfa’s identity goes deeper though because the only reason Kakfa can have this stance against the Director General is that he has been working on his own view of himself since the beginning of the story.
Much like Gergor Samsa, Kafka has a specific view of himself before his transformation. He identifies as a failure just spinning his wheels in a job he doesn’t like. He views himself as the funny guy because he doesn’t want to view himself as the guy who couldn't achieve his dreams. He views himself as an experienced mentor to Ichikawa. He continues this identity of someone who can clean up Kaiju when he is fighting kaiju as his knowledge stands out among the other young cadets with no experience with these monsters. He identifies as a hero. He is constantly looking to save members of his team and rushing in without even thinking to punch a nuke into space even if it means exposing his secret to the world. He identifies as an old man because right after that he states that he can't keep doing stunts like that at his age.
Most importantly, he identifies as a friend.
In the Metamorphosis, Gregor doesn’t have any friends. His relationships are near nothing. His boss is a jerk. His father resents him. His mother and sister like him but do nothing for him. Everyone depends on him but no one really loves him. He doesn’t identify as a friend or a loved family member. He identifies as a breadwinner and crucial for his family’s survival.
Kafka Hibino is a true friend to everyone on the defense force. He defends Ichikawa from a giant kaiju before he even gets his powers. He saves Shinomiya’s life though she was rude and cocky to him the entire time. He never loses his respect and care for Mina even though she has to remain stoic as a leader and even punishes him when he steps out of line. As he sits in prison basically awaiting execution, he worries about his team. He is apologetic to Mina and the vice captain. He never lets go of his dream to stand by Mina’s side, he wants to be honest with his friends about what has happened to him because he thinks he has betrayed their trust. He says he can’t give up because he has to get out and connect with them again. It isn’t just about his freedom, it is about the friends he made in the pursuit of his dreams.
And he doesn’t just get better from his friends. They get better from him.
We see this in the Metamorphosis because as Gergor is scuttling around his room, unable to work and support his family, they begin pushing themselves to fill his role. His father returns to work and is no longer just draped over his chair wasting the day. He even dresses better, stands taller, and is filled with a new confidence. His sister goes from a young girl who isn’t expected much out of, to a person who can care for her brother like feeding him moving his heavy furniture. She grows into a strong and independent woman who begins working herself. Their lives greatly improve because Gregor’s change pushed them to become better versions of themselves.
Kafka’s presence in the defense force helps every cadet he trains with in various ways. He saves their lives multiple times using his powers but even without them, he offers advice to take down Kaiju to his own competition in the training grounds so everyone can shine even when he doesn’t have the power to. Ichikawa constantly looks to grow to stay by Kafka’s side. He begins to use freeze rounds to the surprise of his teammates because he doesn't think he can hit as hard as the others so he adapts to his strengths. Shinomiya competes with Kafka and strives to become stronger even if it is just to take Kafka down herself if he loses control. The Vice Captain is pushed to grow stronger and hone his skills after his fight with Kaiju No 8. Even the Director General is forced to challenge his beliefs on kaiju after seeing Kafka handle his duality.
It’s this human connection that is so crucial to the story of Kaiju no 8 and Kafka Hibino’s growth as a character because one of the most important themes of Kaiju No 8 is also one in The Metamorphosis and that is the theme of Dehumanization
Two crucial moments of the Metamorphosis are when Gergor’s father pelts apples at him in a rage and lodges one in Gregor’s back that would soon become infected and lead to his death. The second is as he is close to death, he gives all his strength to hear his sister play violin once more. When his presence is seen as a curse instead of the blessing he expects, he realizes that he is no longer human and the family he loved no longer loves him back. He scuttles back to his room and dies, alone and unloved.
Much like Gregor, Kafka becomes dehumanized in the final episodes of Kaiju No 8’s first season. Once he reveals his secret in an effort to save his friends, Mina pulls her gun on him and arrests him. He is imprisoned in their strongest holding room even though he shows no resistance and has never shown any malice while he served. He is ripped away from his friends and confronted by the strongest fighter of the defense force, Director General Shinomiya. The general mocks Kafka even after Kafka shows him respect. He views Kafka as a primal beast that is just waiting to kill, completely ignoring everything about Kafka as a human being. Kafka resists the bait to turn into a kaiju and prove the general’s point by choosing not to transform to defend himself. The general doesn’t care and tells him he will die in that form if he chooses. Pushed to his limit, Kafka’s Kaiju side takes over and he becomes a feral and powerful kaiju and as he transforms, Kafka is lost in his mind and taken over by primal urges to kill.
As this is happening, his new friends are dealing with their friend potentially being executed. Some make calls to powerful people. Others struggle with their emotions. Mina risks her career to plead Kafka’s case to her superiors. Shinomiya requests that her own father let Kafka go.
So as Kafka is losing his humanity to the constant barrage of accusations and insults that he is no longer a man, his friends that have experienced his humanity are still impacted by him even after his secret is out.
It isn’t the fight that makes Kafka lose control. It is the general dehumanizing him. This is proven when Kafka fights the vice captain and though is physically pushed to his limit, Kafka refuses to hurt the vice captain and never loses control. That is because he is still respected as an opponent. The vice captain sees him as a worthy adversary that will push him to prove his worth and test his skills with a blade. The general has no respect for Kafka and sees him as a vermin that needs to be exterminated like all the other kaiju.
Gregor’s realization that he lost his humanity is what ultimately kills him. He loses his will to live so he lays down and awaits death because he has no one left to live for.
Kafka is only able to snap back to his humanity because of the love he has for his friends and the desire to stand by them once more. To prove he is human, he attempts to take his own life because he would rather die as Kafka Hibino, than die as just a kaiju. He is ready to give up his life for his own identity.
It is impossible to deny the influence Franz Kafka has had on Kaiju No 8. Kafka’s name is even a reference to him.
The transformations and similar themes blend together and create a unique and fun kaiju story with so many layers. There is a lot to unpack with both of these works. I didn’t even touch on the fact that some people think the Metamorphosis is a feminist piece because of Gregor’s sister’s growth into an independent woman. Kaiju No 8 highlights Mina as one badass lady who can not only blow a hole in a massive kaiju but with the strong demeanor she carries herself among her team and superiors.
My point with that is that The Metamorphosis is still being analyzed today and there are a lot of themes one can derive from it so I highly recommend the quick read alongside Kaiju no 8. It is wild to think that someone 100 years from now could be studying Kaiju No 8 and analyzing the same thing.
Because Kaiju No 8 is more than just an action heavy anime with silly jokes about peeing out of nipples, it is a deep and powerful anime that takes from a literary masterpiece and creates a story that we can analyze, discuss, and even relate to.
Kaiju No 8 deserves the praise and popularity it gets for many reasons and one of them is that it takes a nearly 100 year old genre of giant monsters and puts a unique twist on it that hasn’t been done before, and to hear more about that, you can check out this video, right here:
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