Hit Japanese anime series Kaiju No. 8 is getting a second season. Shortly after the credits rolled on the show’s season-one finale on Saturday, global specialty streamer Crunchyroll revealed that work is already underway at the storied Japanese anime studio Production I.G for a follow-up story arc. Crunchyroll says it will stream the season two return of Kaiji No. 8 in over 200 countries, with the specific release plans to be revealed at a later date.
Kaiju No. 8 is adapted from the original manga created by Naoya Matsumoto. The show is animated by Production I.G (Ghost in the Shell) with kaiju artwork and design supervision by Studio Khara (Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition, Shin Godzilla).
The series is directed by Shigeyuki Miya (director and character designer of Onihei) and Tomomi Kamiya (Yotsuiro Biyori), with composition and scriptwriting by Ichiro Okouchi (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury).
The show’s official English-language synopsis reads: In a world plagued by creatures known as Kaiju, Kafka Hibino aspired to enlist in The Defense Force. He makes a promise to enlist with his childhood friend, Mina Ashiro. Soon, life takes them in separate ways. While employed cleaning up after Kaiju battles, Kafka meets Reno Ichikawa. Reno’s determination to join The Defense Force reawakens Kafka’s promise to join Mina and protect humanity.
Additional staff on the second season of Kaiji No. 8 includes chief animation direction and character design by Tetsuya Nishio (Naruto); Kaiju design by Mahiro Maeda (concept art and designer on Mad Max: Fury Road); art direction by Shinji Kimura (Tekkonkinkreet; Blood Blockade Battlefront), cinematography by Eiji Arai (Kuroko’s Basketball; PSYCHO-PASS) editing by Aya Hida (Attack on Titan), and music composed by Yuta Bandoh (Towako Omameda and Her Three Ex-husbands). The opening song “Abyss” is performed by YUNGBLUD and the ending song “Nobody” is performed by OneRepublic.
A subsidiary of Sony Group, Crunchyroll has carved out a modestly lucrative niche in the global streaming landscape by attempting to meet all of the needs of worldwide anime fans. The service currently boasts some 13 million subscribers.
In a parallel announcement on Sunday, Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment said they will release Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle, the last episodes in the wildly popular Demon Slayer anime franchise, as a trio of theatrical films in cinemas worldwide. The earlier installment in the Demon Slayer franchise, Mugen Train, famously became the top-grossing Japanese film of all time, earning over $500 million at the global box office.
