Kaiju No. 8 Gets New Spin-Off Manga Focusing On Off-Duty Days

Saikyo Jump’s June issue announced on May 2, 2024, that Naoya Matsumoto’s Kaiju No. 8 is getting a new spin-off manga by Kizuku Watanabe focusing on the off-duty days of the characters.

Titled Kaiju No. 8 Relax, the new spin-off is scheduled to debut in the upcoming issue of the magazine on June 4, 2024.

Kaiju No. 8 also known in English as Monster #8, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto. It has been serialized on Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ app and website since July 2020, with its chapters collected in 12 tankobon volumes as of April 2024. Viz Media has licensed the series for English release in North America.

By April 2024, the manga had over 13 million copies in circulation.

A spin-off manga illustrated by Kentaro Hidano, titled Kaiju No. 8: B-Side

, started serialization on Shonen Jump+ on Jan 5, 2024 and features side stories of Defense Force members. Matsumoto and Keiji Andō are credited for the original work.

An anime television series adaptation produced by Production I.G premiered in April 2024.

MyAnimeList describes the plot of Kaiju NO.8 as:

Grotesque, Godzilla-like monsters called “kaijuu” have been appearing around Japan for many years. To combat these beasts, an elite military unit known as the Defense Corps risks their lives daily to protect civilians. Once a creature is killed, “sweepers”—working under the Professional Kaijuu Cleaner Corporation—are left to dispose of its remains.

Kafka Hibino, a 32-year-old man, is unsatisfied with his job as a sweeper. From a young age, he has aspired to join the Defense Corps and kill kaijuus for a living. After a few failed attempts, however, he gave up on his dreams and resigned himself to the mediocrity that provided a decent paycheck. Nevertheless, when an ambitious, 18-year-old recruit named Leno Ichikawa joins his cleaning team, Kafka is once again reminded of his desire to join the military.

Following a chain of unfortunate events and an interaction with the junior sweeper, Kafka encounters a parasite-type kaijuu that forces its way in through his mouth—turning him into a humanoid monster. With his newfound powers, Kafka aims to give his lifelong dream a final try.

Source: ANN