Kaijuu No. 8 – Know Your Kaijuu
Kaijuu No. 8 has many different types of Kaijuu from Yoju, Honju, Daikaiju and so on, and not knowing what they are can water down your experience. So allow me to walk you through them all without any Spoilers in preparation for the epic Sequel! With Kaijuu No. 8 Season 2 set for 2025, we have got to be prepared to make the most of it the second it comes out. When I first watched Season 1, without any prior knowledge about the series, the different types of Kaijuu and how they vary got me in a chokehold. This is something you have got to clear going forward in the series, because it’s all going to get more and more relevant in Season 2. So allow me to take you through all the Kaijuu types, their differences, classification and so on, without delving too far into spoiler territory. So grab your shovels and let’s dig into the mighty carcass of the fallen Kaijuu without any hesitation! What is a Kaijuu? First things first, you’ve got to know what exactly a Kaijuu is, but unfortunately not even the series has gotten far enough to have a complete answer. “Kaijuu” can be translated as “Strange Beast”, and are essentially highly mysterious monsters that tend to attack both cities and people indiscriminately worldwide. They come in all shapes and sizes, having distinguishable features and some even quite humanoid. What they all have in common is a “Core”, which acts both as their most vital organ and the sole weakness within their body. But since every monster has a different anatomy, the location of the core can change drastically and make things very difficult for the Defense Force each time. Needless to say, Kaijuu possesses disastrous powers and abilities that are unique to each of them or their type. The common factor here is the “Uni-organ”, which all Kaijuu gain their powers from and it also houses their specific abilities. Some common prowess we saw even in Season 1 include super strength, proliferation, and high levels of fortitude. They come in varying levels of complexities, where the ones higher up are even capable of using human language to converse. For convenience, Kaijuu are also classified as per their size class below. Just note that bigger does not necessarily mean stronger either, because the toughest Kaijuu are shown to be the more intelligent ones…. However, the best classification we can all get behind is POWER! Kaijuu Classified as per Power Level You may have already noticed the word “Fortitude” when watching the Anime. While even the literal meaning applies, all Kaijuu are given a Fortitude level by the Defense Force as a measure the beast’s power and the potential threat it poses to humanity. Thus, the Fortitude level classification goes as follows: If you remember correctly, it was a Yoju that attacked Kafka and Leno at the start of the series. These are essentially smaller Kaijuu that accompany their much bigger Honju. In this case, it was accompanying Philinosoma (the colossal Kaijuu we see at the very start), and Trichonephila was the Yoju that attacked the duo. Typically, there are numerous Yoju that assist the Honju, and they may have proliferative organs of their own. These monsters can appear in a variety of ways: they can travel along routes made by the Honju, latch onto the Honju, be created by the Honju, and so on. What’s alarming is that certain Yoju on their own can have a Fortitude number above 6.0, automatically making them a Honju-level threat despite their much smaller size! Honju are typically seen as the most colossal and powerful Kaijuu. As if their size wasn’t already a pain, they also create and guide their own Yoju via their proliferative organs. The standard fortitude level for these beasts are 6.0 and above, and a monster of fortitude level of 6.4 would usually demand a whole Platoon of Defense Force soldiers to bring it down. Any Kaijuu above that level would require either a Defense Force Captain or Vice-Captain to defeat it one-on-one. We saw Mina Ashiro do so with style multiple times in Season 1, including the defeat of Philinosoma. Now comes the tricky part; Daikaiju are actually a special Kaijuu category within the Defense Force. This is a classification bestowed upon beasts with exceptionally high power levels, typically whose Fortitude number exceeds 8.0. These monsters are nothing new either, as they’ve been appearing since the Meireki era and are undisputedly considered the strongest Kaijuu. These beings are prime examples of why size does not equal power in Kaijuu, because even the Kaijuu our beloved protagonist Kafka transforms into is a Daikaiju with a fortitude level of 9.8! This is the highest we have seen in the series thus far, and has proven his worthiness of the number multiple times by defeating a myriad of much bigger Kaijuu. Thanks to their overwhelming powers, Daikaiju can also act like Honju which can guide groups of smaller Yoju and make them follow their every command. The best example for this is Kaijuu No. 10, which attacked Tachikawa Base and faced off against the Third Division’s fan-favorite Vice-Captain Soshiro Hoshina. It controlled the Preondactyl Kaijuu for coordinated attacks and became a colossal threat indeed! As per Isao Shinomiya, the current Defense Force only possesses roughly two dozen elite officers that even stand a chance against a Daikaiju, and even less of ten of them can do so in single-combat. In the event of battling a numbered Daikaiju, the number of soldiers who can pull it off goes even lower… If you could not get behind the old man’s thinking before, I bet you can now! Last but not least, these are essentially Daikaiju who are classified as “Identified Kaijuu”, that are considered extremely powerful with a fortitude level of 9.0 or more. Even if the Fortitude Level requirements aren’t met, a Daikaiju will be given a Number if identification is of sheer importance. This was … Read more
