Kaiju No. 8 is the latest hit anime to premiere on Crunchyroll, and it has a lot of similarities to Attack on Titan. Both anime are set in worlds overrun by giant, man-eating monsters, although Kaiju No. 8 is meant to take place in a more realistic setting, and the protagonists even gain the power to turn into the monsters of their settings to fight them on even terms.
Attack on Titan finally ended in 2023 after 10 years, and Kaiju No. 8 is the perfect show to watch for anyone looking for something like that. The surface similarities are one thing, but much more notably, Kaiju No. 8’s writing and aesthetic compliment what made Attack on Titan so great, so any fan of Attack on Titan is sure to get a lot out of it.
Kaiju No. 8 is one of the biggest anime of 2024 so far, and the overlap it has with Attack on Titan has probably played a large part in that.
One of the most immediately appealing things Kaiju No. 8 and Attack on Titan have in common is their consistently stellar visuals. Whether it was with Wit Studio or Studio MAPPA, Attack on Titan always had the best art and animation around, and similarly, Kaiju No. 8 always has incredible art and animation courtesy of Production I.G. that’s made every episode great to watch, even when the focus isn’t on the action. Kaiju No. 8 plays into the same aesthetic of gorgeous monster action as Attack on Titan, so from a purely visual level, there’s a lot to love.
Beyond its similarly gorgeous visuals, the biggest appeal Kaiju No. 8 has for Attack on Titan fans is in its story. Kaiju No. 8, just like Attack on Titan, tells a gritty, action horror story of a man having to become a monster to fight monsters, and the character writing focused on the struggles of living in that sort of world has a similar effect on the impact of it all as Attack on Titan’s character writing. Granted, Attack on Titan is more serious than Kaiju No. 8, but their stories are similar enough to provide plenty of identical appeal.
Kaiju No. 8’s comparatively more lighthearted tone, of course, is another big part of the story’s appeal. Thanks to the excellent execution of its writing style, Kaiju No. 8’s relatively lighthearted and comedic stylings can be seen as a complement to Attack on Titan’s darker trappings, so someone can watch it for a similar experience while still getting something new from it. Between its writing and animation, Kaiju No. 8 has been doing a great job of filling the void left by Attack on Titan, and watching how that continues to play out on Crunchyroll will be great to see.
Kaiju No. 8 releases new episodes on Saturdays through Crunchyroll.