Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon

2025 1h 50m JA

🙌

8.0

BANGER

★8.0TMDB · 108

AnimationActionScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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, he decides to pursue his abandoned dream of joining the Force, when he suddenly transforms into the powerful "Kaiju No. 8." An action-packed recap of the first season of Kaiju No. 8 and a new original episode, Hoshina's Day Off.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Masaya Fukunishi
Kafka Hibino / Kaiju No. 8 (voice)
Wataru Katoh
Reno Ichikawa (voice)
Fairouz Ai
Kikoru Shinomiya (voice)
Tessyo Genda
Isao Shinomiya (voice)
Kengo Kawanishi
Soshiro Hoshina (voice)
Keisuke Komoto
Haruichi Izumo (voice)
Kenta Miyake
Kaiju No. 10 (voice)
Sayaka Senbongi
Konomi Okonogi (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Shigeyuki Miya
Writers: Ichiro Okouchi
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 5

ERA

Did you know

Released last year.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 5

CRAFT

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 5

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Yuta Bandoh. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 5

CAST

Did you know

Masaya Fukunishi and Wataru Katoh and Fairouz Ai carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 5

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt35636950 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Shigeyuki Miya directs. Yuta Bandoh scores. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released last year.
2Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
3Original score by Yuta Bandoh. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Masaya Fukunishi and Wataru Katoh and Fairouz Ai carry the top of the cast.
5IMDB entry: tt35636950 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
6Classified under 8 themes, including "giant monster", "compilation", "based on manga", "kaiju".

The technical file

Original score: Yuta Bandoh
Runtime: 110 min · 1h 50m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: JA
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon (2025)

Also by

Shigeyuki Miya

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-04-20
★ 7/10
“Kafka” had tried to join the elite Defence Force but had realised his own limitations and instead taken up a job cleaning up after them as they police a Japan frequently assaulted by deadly “Kaiju”. When his team gets a newbie, “Ishikawa”, this younger lad politely but pointedly stresses that he is aiming for more, but he understands why his new colleague “quit”! Subliminally provocative? Well as the pair start to work together, the former man starts to get a little of his mojo back and so when the Force extends it’s age limits, he decides to have another go. Meantime, his would-be colleagues are facing their biggest challenge ever as the mysterious and powerful “Kaiju No. 8” continues to evade them. Now we know a little more about that that the enforcers do, and that helps tee this story up for quite a dramatic ending that tests loyalty, trust and friendships across the board as peril ebbs ever closer and the monsters starts to acquire some distinctly zombie traits. This is a solidly executed and quickly paced adventure that spends a little time building on the characters (from a previous series) but for the most part just engages us in an action-packed squash the baddies festival with plenty of squelching and loads of gunge and goo covering the streets as and “Kaiju” and the buildings end up collateral damage during the battles. There’s a bit of sarcasm hidden in the dialogue which I quite liked, and the messages of team playing, inter-reliance and of age not necessarily being a barrier to attaining your goals are here but not laboured. Stick around after the credits, there’s another twenty minutes or so (from the next series) that serves to humanise some of these folks, and if you’re looking for a colourfully vibrant series of shoot/slice/blow ‘em ups, then this is for you. Not quite sure how menacing the “sunflower thrust” would be, though…?
Chandler Danier2025-07-16
★ 9/10
Main guy is so cool. I love the tears as he jumps out the building. Just looks so cool. Cool ending. Man. Cool movie. Nice job. Maybe you can skip some exploding bodies and whatever but the exploding bodies are well executed. The cadets are pretty funny. Bitching at each other about their stupid low attack power scores. High attack power score people are cool. I guess I should watch the anime.