Kaiju No. 8: 10 Strongest Defense Force Members, Ranked

Highlights

• Jump into the action-packed world of
  Kaiju No. 8
  manga series and prepare for an upcoming anime adaptation to keep you on the edge of your seat!
• Meet powerful Defense Force members like Eiji, Jugo, and Leno, each with unique abilities and strengths that make them crucial in battling Kaiju threats.
• Experience the thrilling journey of characters like Kafka, Mina, and Gen as they strive to protect society from Kaiju, showcasing incredible skills and powers.

Kaiju No. 8 fans must be over the moon right now. For those unaware, Kaiju No. 8 is a manga series by Naoya Matsumoto that is primarily centered around powerful soldiers trying to stop powerful Kaiju from destroying all of society, so it follows a “standard” Kaiju Monster format.

Additionally, the anime adaptation is bringing a lot of first-time readers to the IP as well who are falling in love with all the characters in the JDF (or Japanese Defense Force) that function as the “good guys” in this story. But, out of all the Defense Force members seen so far, from Captains to Vice-Captains and even Recruits, which ones are the strongest?

Updated July 28th, 2024 by Jacob Buchalter: The Kaiju No. 8 manga is almost at its end and the anime adaptation of the series finished its first season recently (at the time of writing this). Overall, people are absolutely thrilled with the adaptation, as it did a fantastic job bringing to life Kafka and Leno’s struggle to join the Defense Force and their fight against Kaiju in general. Where the first season ends, the power dynamic is pretty clear, with the regular soldiers at the bottom, the strongest recruits that joined alongside Kafka just above them, the Vice-Captains above them, and the Division Captains at the top. However, that dynamic doesn’t always stay that way, as anyone familiar with the manga is well aware. So, let’s take a deep look at all of the strongest characters in the Kaiju No. 8 series and see how they stack up against each other.

DISCLAIMER:
The rankings below use information about the character gained from the most current chapter of the manga, which is far ahead of the anime adaptation, so there are plenty of spoilers below, be careful.

10 Iharu Furuhashi

Member of the Fourth Division & Leno Ichikawa’s Rival

In all honesty, at the point the Kaiju No. 8 manga is at while writing this, Iharu Furuhashi could either be at the bottom of the rankings or just below Leno, it’s hard to tell. This is because Iharu is an ‘in the zone’ type of fighter who typically has relatively poor Combat Suit output until he gets in the zone.

Once he’s there, his Combat Suit percentage can skyrocket to absurd numbers, though only for a short duration. If controlled properly, this can make Iharu a truly frightening and unpredictable combatant as his attacks have the power to rival some of the strongest, but he’s also the least consistent. Thankfully, Iharu has already shown that he can control his flow state to some extent, which is exactly what earns him a spot on this list alongside the main cast and Division Captains.

9 Eiji Hasegawa

Vice-Captain of the First Division

First up is Eiji Hasegawa, a character who didn’t appear in the manga for quite awhile, and one that fans haven’t quite seen the full extent of yet in regards to his abilities. Eiji is the Vice-Captain of the Defense Force’s First Division and also sort of functions as the Division Captain’s (AKA Gen Narumi) babysitter. Compared to Gen, Eiji is a much more professional and by-the-books sort of DF Officer. And, in battle, Hasegawa basically functions as the First Division’s command center, giving out orders so that Narumi can run wild however he needs to.

As far as his equipment goes, Eiji has this massive metal battle suit with machine guns on the shoulders, but no one knows the full extent of this suit, what its capabilities are, or anything of the sort. But, considering how much of a powerhouse the First Division is as a whole, fans can reasonably assume he’s incredibly strong.

8 Jugo Ogata

Captain of the Fourth Division

Next up is another one of the old guards and Captain of the Fourth Division, Jugo Ogata. Now, as far as combat is concerned, readers of the Kaiju No 8 manga have not seen Jugo fight yet, despite all the chaos that has happened with Kaiju #9 at the time of writing this. But, he is the Captain of an entire Division and is shown a fair amount of respect by powerhouses like Mina Ashiro, so it’s safe to assume he meets a certain standard of strength.

Additionally, Jugo has revealed that, like Iharu Furuhashi, he is the type of soldier who has large spikes in the Force Output of his Combat suit depending on how “in the zone” he is, so it’s very likely that when he does fight, it’ll be for something he’s passionate about, and he’ll be quite powerful. Typically, his unleashed Combat Power is relatively low, but when it spikes it spikes to an incredibly high amount. Combine his experience in the field, intelligence, expertise in Numbers Weapons, and Force Output ability, and it’s safe to assume that Jugo is one of the stronger members of the JDF considering he’s lasted this long in a Kaiju-infested world.

7 Leno Ichikawa

User of the Numbers Weapon 6 Suit

Leno Ichikawa basically functions as the secondary protagonist of Kaiju No. 8 directly behind Kafka Hibino. He’s the one who convinced Kafka to try out for the JDF again, has supported him along the way, and has shown himself to be an exemplary soldier in no time flat. In comparison to other JDF members, Leno doesn’t have a ton of combat experience, but the speed of his growth is what’s earned him this spot in the rankings.

At first, Leno comes off as cold and calculating, but that doesn’t last long, as anyone who has watched the first few episodes of the anime adaptation can verify. Mr. Ichikawa is actually one of the most caring, highly intelligent, and well-rounded characters in the series, outside of his one big flaw of putting a bit too much responsibility on himself. Plus, now that he seems to be able to use the Kaiju No. 6 Battle Suit to a certain degree, so now he can give the other half of this fantastic duo, Kafka Hibino, the time he needs to go and rescue Mina.

6 Kikoru Shinomiya

User of the Numbers Weapon 4 Suit & AX-0112 Battle Axe

This next character is the truest example of a ‘prodigy’, Kikoru Shinomiya. As the daughter of the JDF’s Director General, Kikoru has been working since she was literally a child to become the greatest Defense Force soldier possible to make her mom and dad proud. She went from Trainee to Officier, and then to Numbers Weapon holder the fastest out of any character in the entire series, and that absolutely wasn’t a fluke.

Kikoru is simply better in all fields than any other recruit and also started off being able to release 45 percent Combat Power on her first try (with 5-12 percent being the norm). And, with people like Leno, Kafka, and Soshino around her to keep her on her toes, Kikoru is able to grow so much faster than she likely would have on her own for fear of being left behind. In the anime (at the time of writing this) Ms. Shinomiya has only just made her appearance, but in the manga, she’s absolutely one of the strongest characters in the Defense Force.

5 Soshiro Hoshina

Vice-Captain of the Third Division

Ah, the close-range weapons expert of the JDF, Soshino Hoshina, otherwise known as the Vice-Captain of the Third Division. While the Captain of this Division, Mina Ashiro, excels more than anyone else in using large firearms and taking down gigantic Kaiju, Soshino is the exact opposite. He’s a swordsmanship expert who is the best of the best in taking down small to mid-sized Kaiju/Honju.

After all, this is the man who took down Kaiju No.10 basically entirely on his own and even put Kafka in his place (unknowingly) while he was transformed. And, when the chips are down, Soshiro is able to expel an absurd amount of Force from his Numbers Weapon 10 Combat Suit, capping out at 92 percent.

4 Isao Shinomiya

Director General of the Defense Force

It only makes sense that an organization with ranks based on how good its soldiers are at killing Kaiju would have an absurdly powerful person at the top of it. Isao Shinomiya is the Director General of the JDF, as well as Kikoru’s father. He’s a stern man, almost terrifying so (at least at first), but he makes it very clear very quickly that he’s all about protecting the people and using whatever means possible to make that happen. As such, Isao is intelligent, adaptable, strict, and insanely loyal to the cause.

As a soldier, there aren’t many who are stronger thanks to his years of experience and his Numbers Weapon Gauntlets made from Kaiju No 2. The only thing holding Isao back, really, is time itself, and he knows this. If Isao was in his prime, he’d be at the top of this list, but at his current age, this is as high as he gets, especially after seeing how his fight with Kafka went down once things got out of hand.

3 Kafka Hibino

The Series Protagonist & Kaiju No. 8

Now it’s time to talk about the actual main character of the series, Kafka Hibino. Kafka, otherwise known as Kaiju No. 8, is probably one of the weakest Defense Force members by the standard definitions such as physical fitness or Combat Suit Force Percentage Output. But, thanks to his Kaiju transformation abilities, he’s able to compensate for this weakness and make himself an extremely capable soldier.

The story has yet to reveal all that Kaiju No. 8 is capable of. But from what readers have seen so far, he’s simply one of the strongest kaiju in this setting. In this form, Kafka can literally punch Kaiju into atoms, regenerate his body to essentially come back from the dead, and all kinds of other wacky abilities such as ‘relieving himself’ through his nipples or transforming his body in horrifying ways. Additionally the last stretch of the anime adaptations first season showed just how terrifying Kaiju Number 8 is when it becomes unrestrained by Kafka, as it was able to soundly beat Isao Shinomiya, the strongest member (and leader) of the Defense Force.

2 Mina Ashiro

Captain of the Third Division

Next up is the person who functions as the ‘end-goal’ Kafka is struggling so hard to achieve, Mina Ashiro. Kafka’s biggest goal in the JDF is to one day become strong and trustworthy enough to stand by Mina’s side just as they promised when they were kids. Of course, Mina has long since fulfilled her side of the promise, quickly rising through the ranks and becoming the Captain of the Third Division.

As a fighter, Mina is a long-range specialist thanks to her ability to release an absurd amount of Force from her Combat Suit with firearms specifically, up to 96 percent so far. But, even outside of long-range, Mina has shown superhuman strength, dexterity, and leadership skills that prove she would do just fine in a close-range situation. Plus, she has a white tiger (named Bakko who literally functions as a stabilizer while she fires her cannon) who is also a type of Kaiju as well.

1 Gen Narumi

Captain of the First Division

Last up, or more accurately in first place for the rankings, there’s Gen Narumi. Gen is the Captain of the First Division and seemingly the strongest JDF soldier in the organization’s history, which is exactly why he leads the strongest Division. He’s known as ‘Japan’s Strongest Anti-Kaiju Combatant’ and has proved this title to be true in multiple situations.

Because of his Bayonet weapon, known as the GS-3305 (made by Izumo Tech), Gen Narumi excels in both close and long-range combat. He is alsoable to exert the most Combat Power from his Combat Suit to date at 98 percent, just barely beating Mina’s record of 96 percent. Lastly, Gen also has a Numbers Weapon literally installed in his eyes called the Kaiju Retina or RT-0001 that allows him to visualize the brain signals of others and predict their movements and actions based on those signals. Now, compared to other soldiers such as Mina, Gen may seem childlike, but when it comes to Kaiju-slaying, there’s absolutely no one more qualified than him.