Kaiju No. 8 is Heading to Theaters, But There's a Catch

Kaiju No 8 is making a grand return in 2025 with its highly anticipated Season 2. But that's not all – there's something special coming to theaters, though it's not what you might expect.

In June 2024, it was announced that Kaiju No 8 Season 2 would be happening, solidifying the anime as a major underdog hit. Despite stiff competition from heavyweights like Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia, this monster-filled series managed to carve out a dedicated audience, ensuring its renewal.

Production IG is pulling out all the stops for the next phase of Naoya Matsumoto’s universe. Kafka Hibino is headed to the silver screen, but not for a new movie or the latest episodes.

Instead, a special episode titled ‘Hoshina’s Day-Off’ will be hitting theaters sometime in 2025. Details are scarce at the moment, limited to just the title and release plan. For now, it’s a Japan-only release.

This raises a lot of questions. Is it something that was cut from the first season? An original spinoff? We don’t know yet.

Another question is the length. Anime episodes can range from 20 minutes to feature-length, so ‘Hoshina’s Day-Off’ could be long enough to stand on its own. It’s expected to be part of a compilation of the first season.
These compilations have become quite popular recently, thanks to series like Demon Slayer and Bocchi the Rock. The latter set box office records with two films that contained no new footage, just re-edited parts of previous seasons.

This special episode at least makes Kaiju No 8 more in line with Tanjiro and the Demon Slayer Corps, offering a teaser of what’s to come rather than relying solely on glorified clip shows. While it may not garner the same level of attention, pushing into cinemas is a sure sign of its growing popularity.

We’ll keep you updated. In the meantime, check out the best anime like Kaiju No 8 for more recommendations, and our upcoming anime list for more excellent picks.

Trivia

• Kaiju No 8: The series is also known as "Monster #8" and is written and illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto. It started serialization in Shueisha's Shonen Jump+ in July 2020.
• Kafka Hibino: The protagonist of Kaiju No 8, Kafka Hibino, is a 32-year-old man who gains the ability to transform into a kaiju, a giant monster, after an encounter with one.
• Production IG: Known for producing high-quality anime, Production IG has worked on other popular series like Ghost in the Shell and Haikyuu!!.