Among all the premieres of the Spring-2024
(April-June) season, “ Kaiju
No. 8 ” was definitely one of the most anticipated. The
original manga became popular from its inception due to its innovative take on
many shonen concepts. Instead of focusing on a young man as the protagonist,
the story focuses on Kafka, a middle-aged man.
Furthermore, rather than relying on his flashy powers, Kafka
initially had to hide his kaiju nature from the Defense Forces and fight
primarily with his meager skills, except in extreme cases. However, it
seems that the manga's story has lost those aspects that made it stand out
among others of the same demographic, and fans fear that this will affect the
popularity of the anime, as reported by one Internet user:
- « Kaiju
No. 8, a work that many have read but recently comments like: “It
was interesting at the beginning, right? At first…"; “I remember when
this manga was interesting”; and “The anime adaptation will surely hook
viewers at first, but disappoint them later , I can't help but
pay attention to this ,” someone wrote on Twitter.
Although the publication attracted a lot of attention,
Internet users in Japan soon saw a response that convinced them. They
consider that the failure of “Kaiju No. 8” is its protagonist :
- « The
protagonist is 33 years old, older than Kakashi and Gintoki, but his
personality is like that of Naruto from the first chapters, which is
maddening to see. "I would have liked him to use the
knowledge of his age and a cunning fighting style ," wrote
the response.
And of course, this was the most popular response, sparking
a debate among industry fans:
- " There
is certainly not much I can say against this opinion ."
- " The
protagonist is an old man, but inside he is a teenager ."
- « Well,
I want to think that 33 years old is still considered “young” ».
- « But
aren't there isekai stories where the protagonist is an old man? Well,
there is always the option for him to die and be reborn as a young man .
- « Enough
of age discrimination! Kakashi was only mature in front of 11-year-old
children, but in front of people his age he was in the shadows. And
Gin-san is a kid by his own admission .
- « I
don't think it's a good idea to worry about the age of the protagonist,
right? ».
- « In
the end it is impossible to draw characters older than the author's mental
age. That is why school stories that allow children to be children are so
popular .
- " It's
not so much the spirit of the protagonist, it's that the development is
boring ."
- " It's
hard because it gives the feeling that an old man is trying to recover his
lost youth ."
Source: Yaraon!
