Kaiju No. 8: The 12 Most Powerful Kaiju In The Manga (So Far)

Highlights

• Kaiju No. 8 is a manga series that features a unique protagonist, Kafka, and intense battles against monstrous Kaiju threats.
• Various Kaiju appear, each with different abilities and strengths, creating challenging and exciting battles for the Defense Force.
• The series blends action and sci-fi elements in a fictional world where Kaiju pose a constant threat to humanity, making for compelling storytelling.

Kaiju No. 8 (also known as Monster #8) is a fantastic series drawn by mangaka Naoya Matsumoto all about the Japanese Defense Force’s fight against the ever-present Kaiju threat in a fictional world. The term ‘Kaiju’ essentially translates to ‘Monster’ in English (hence the two manga titles) and represents a whole sub-genre of media in Japanese film, manga, and anime all about giant monsters duking it out.

To name a few of the most notable examples, there are all the Godzilla-based media (of course), King Kong, and Ultraman. But, what fearsome Kaiju have appeared in Kaiju No. 8 so far, and how do they stack up when ranked side by side?

Updated July 28th, 2024 by Jacob Buchalter: The anime adaptation of Kaiju No. 8 is over, for now. The first 12 episodes (AKA the first season) seemed to be really popular, and rightfully so. The series is action-packed, to say the least, and Kafka is one of the most unique and refreshing protagonists Shonen fans have seen in a long time. However, just because Kafka is trying his hardest, doesn’t mean that the Kaiju are in any way going to take it easy on the Defense Force. In fact, let’s take a deep look at all the Kaiju shown in the series, both the manga and anime and talk about which ones are the absolute scariest to go up against.

Disclaimer:
The entries below feature some heavy spoilers for the
Kaiju No. 8
anime, as the manga is much further in the story
than the anime adaptation
.

12 The Fungal-Type Kaiju

Not Even Worthy of a Name

Sadly, this first entry is the only non ‘numbered’ Kaiju on here, as the rest of the rankings are made up of all the Daikaiju that the JDF couldn’t beat on first sighting, which then required them to be identified when they showed back up. The unnamed ‘Fungal-Type’ Kaiju first appears in chapter 12 of the manga where the new Defense Force recruits, including ‘cadet’ Kafka Hibino, are being brought in to help take it down as part of their training.

Now, at a basic level, this bug-like monster is obviously something the JDF can handle pretty easily, as the main body was leveled without much effort by Mina Ashiro’s gigantic cannon while the rest of the troops cleaned up its offspring. That said, if Kafka didn’t dig into one of the corpses and find the implanted egg-sacs (modified by Kaiju No. 9), these smaller offspring beasts would’ve kept self-replicating long after the JDF left the scene, causing untold damage. Basically, it’s Boss Monster, but more of a weaker Mini-Boss than an actual Boss.

11 Kaiju No. 10

Currently Known as Soshiro Hoshina’s Numbered Combat Suit

Here’s another Kaiju they introduced into the story by issuing a ‘challenge’ of sorts to the Defense Force, Kaiju No. 10. This beast of a creature is the one who used draconic-type flying Kaiju to orchestrate an air raid of sorts on the Third Division’s Tachikawa Base. Now, individually, Kaiju No. 10 is basically the ‘tankiest’ living Daikaiju seen thus far (until the Second Wave arc), showing an initial Resilience of 8.3 before upping that to 9.0 in its enlarged form.

That said, this prototype Kaiju created by No. 9 has some obvious flaws, the largest of which is its personality, AKA its desire for a worthy battle. Because No. 10 was enjoying himself so much battling against the Vice-Captain of the Third Division, Soshino Hoshiro, he put his initial goal of destroying the base on the back burner and this eventually led to his defeat and eventual status as a Numbered Weapon.

10 Kaiju No. 1 (RT-0001)

The Future Sight Kaiju

Next up is one of the first Kaiju in the series that is only ‘seen’ in their Weaponized form. For numbered Daikaiju, the JDF makes it a point to take their corpses after they’ve been defeated and turn them into weapons, similar to something like the Quinque in Tokyo Ghoul.

Now, there’s not a lot known about Kaiju No. 1, other than the fact that it was ‘The Future Sight Kaiju’ and the first ‘numbered’ Kaiju. But, from what readers have seen from Gen Narumi using its power located in his eyes, it must’ve been an incredibly formidable beast.

9 Kaiju No. 2 (FS-1002)

The Calamity of Sapporo

To be the weapon wielded by the Director General of the Defense Force, Isao Shinomiya, Kaiju No. 2 must have been a real menace when it was alive. And, from what readers currently know about Kaiju No. 2 before it was Weaponized, this seems to be true. Kaiju No. 2 was a monstrous behemoth that almost single-handedly destroyed Sapporo before it was eventually taken down.

It was known for its monstrous strength, pride in its power, building-leveling Sonic Blasts, and even the power to unleash a blast of Electromagnetic energy. While its overall powers are relatively basic and somewhat similar to Kaiju No. 10’s, the scale of these powers and the size of the Kaiju dwarfs what No. 10 showed. Plus, even as a Numbers Weapon, Isao used Kaiju No. 2 to easily put a rampaging Kaiju No. 8 in his place.

8 Kaiju No. 14

Designed To Teleport Away From Mina Ashiro’s Bullets

The next five Kaiju on this list are all sort of in this ‘nebulous’ grey area when it comes to rankings. See, Named Kaiju’s 11-15 were all made by Kaiju 9, and were quite literally designed from the ground up to directly counter very specific Defense Force Members. Kaiju No. 14, for example, was seemingly created as a counter to Mina Ashiro, the weapons specialist of the Defense Force. Kaiju No. 14 could fly, it could shoot highly destructive beams from its mouths, it could generate force fields, and it could even teleport.

The general tactic of this Kaiju was to cause as much damage as possible, constantly teleporting to different locations within an area so that Mina Ashiro could never ‘lock on’ to it. While this did work for a while in countering Mina’s combat style, she eventually overcame it, and there are a good number of Defense Force Captains and Vice Captains that would’ve had a relatively easy time fighting this Kaiju otherwise.

7 Kaiju No. 13

Moves Really Fast & Was Also Defeated Really Fast

Next up is one of the five Named Kaiju of The Second Wave Arc in Kaiju No. 8, that being Kaiju No. 13. This one didn’t get nearly as much time to show off its abilities as the other 4 (11, 12, 14, and 15) did.

This is because No. 13 came up against Kafka Hibino pretty quickly, who had recently powered up a whole ton as Kaiju No. 8. Fans do know that this Kaiju had the ability to run and fight at incredibly fast speeds, and it also seemed to be able to enhance (and enlarge) its muscles. However, neither of these attributes was enough for it to put up any real fight against Kafka, which makes it one of the weaker Numbered Kaiju of this arc.

6 Kaiju No. 11

Designed To Counter Gen Narumi’s ‘Mind Reading’

Much like how Kaiju 14 was a direct counter to Mina Ashiro, this next Kaiju (AKA Kaiju No. 11) was a direct counter to Gen Narumi. Using Isao Shinomiya’s memories, Kaiju No. 11 knew exactly how Gen’s Numbered Weapon eyes worked, and used its hydrokinesis abilities to basically prevent Gen from predicting the attacks using electrical signals.

Outside of its hydrokinesis, Kaiju No. 11 isn’t all that special. It had a high resistance, was very powerful in terms of strength, and could morph its body to fit its needs, but the only ‘special trait’ it had was hydrokinesis. Once Gen figured out a way around that, putting down Kaiju No. 11 was pretty easy. And, any other Defense Force Vice Captain or Captain would’ve likely had a good chance of beating Kaiju 11 too, since the Kaiju wouldn’t be able to use its abilities to directly counter that Defense Force member’s fighting style.

5 Kaiju No. 12

Designed To Beat Soshiro Hoshina in Close Combat

This next Named Kaiju, Kaiju No. 12, is a hard one to rank. He was obviously designed to be a direct counter to Vice Captain Soshiro Hoshina and the ‘perfected’ version of what Kaiju No. 10 was meant to be, but that’s exactly why it’s difficult to rank him. His battle against Vice Captain Hoshina was incredibly and a delight to read, as Kaiju 12 really pushed the Vice Captain to his absolute limits.

However, if any other Vice Captain or Captain of the Defense Force had fought Kaiju No. 12, things might’ve been over a whole lot quicker. Again, Kaiju 12 was designed to be a close-range specialist who could do what Soshiro Hoshina did, but better. So, if Number 12 went up against, say, Mina Ashiro, it’s very likely that it would be defeated very easily from a distance due to Mina’s absurd levels of penetration using guns.

4 Kaiju No. 15

Designed To Put an End To Kikoru Shinomiya

Mental attacks are incredibly hard to deal with. Granted, Kaiju No. 15 was given these mental abilities as a way of beating Kikoru Shinomiya but using her own memories of her family against her. But, unlike all the other Named Kaiju in The Second Wave arc, Kaiju No. 15 likely would’ve been difficult for any Defense Force member to handle.

Kaiju 15’s mental abilities allowed her to dig up the memories of the person she’s connected to, manipulate said trauma, and so much more. Everyone has some problems they’re working through at almost every stage of their life. So, having to work through those issues in the moment while fighting against one of the strongest Kaiju in existence is something that any Defense Force member would struggle with, let alone Kikoru Shinomiya (given all her recent trauma).

3 Kaiju No. 8

Also Known As Kafka Hibino

It might be surprising for readers to see the main character of the series this far down the rankings, but there’s a reason for this. First off, it wouldn’t be much of an interesting story if the protagonist was leaps and bounds stronger than everyone else by default, would it? Kafka Hibino and by extension Kaiju No. 8 is an incredibly strong fighter, literally atomizing lower-level Kaiju with just a single punch. In his transformed state, Kafka is:

• Super-Durable
• Super-Strong
• Can morph his body as needed
• Incredibly Fast
• Has near-instant regeneration
• And a whole host of currently unknown abilities

But, as it currently stands, Kafka hasn’t quite tapped into all of Kaiju No. 8’s powers yet. In fact, who knows how much of No. 8’s power he’s actually used? For example, when he first transformed and isn’t in full control of his body, Kafka can be seen spawning a bunch of tentacles, creating a Gieger Alien-esque tongue mouth, and even…relieving himself from his pecs. But, since then, Kafka has just kept it to big punches and kicks so it’s unclear just how much stronger both the human and the Kaiju sides of this lovable MC can get.

2 Kaiju No. 6 (EC-0115)

The Literal King of the Kaiju

If this list was ranking where Kaiju No. 6 would currently sit as a Number Weapon being wielded by Leno Ichikawa, it would probably be near the bottom. But, Leno just recently became able to even utilize the No. 6 bodysuit, and even then the weapons made from numbered Kaiju aren’t confirmed to contain ‘all’ the power that Kaiju used when alive.

From what readers have seen and heard of Kaiju No. 6, AKA the ‘King of the Kaiju’ (which seems similar to another Kaiju-King multiverse) it was almost assuredly the most powerful Kaiju to date. When it rampaged, it killed over 200 Defense Force members, as well as Isao Shinomiya’s wife (aka Kikoru’s mom). If it was a current threat in the story instead of a weapon used by Leno, Kaiju No. 6 could likely handle every other monster on this list at once and still come out on top.

1 Kaiju No. 9 Post-Fusion

Pretty Much The Leader of All Kaiju

Disclaimer: VERY HEAVY
Kaiju No 8.
story spoilers below, you’ve been warned.

We almost wanted to put Kaiju No. 9 on here twice, considering the version of it seen once it fused with ‘FS-1002’ as well as Director General Isao Shinomiya is essentially a completely different character. Even leading up to this tragic fusion event, Kaiju No. 9 revealed a whole host of new powers it had been working on since its loss to Kafka, ranging from being able to create clones of itself to boasting an entirely different level of Resilience.

And now during the Second Wave arc Kaiju No. 9 has proven itself to be even more powerful than ever before. Basically, any overpowered ability you can think of, Kaiju No. 9 likely has it. And this isn’t even including the hundreds of monster consciousnesses he has inside himself that apparently make it ‘impossible’ for anyone he’s assimilated to fight back. Even Mina Ashiro and Isao Shinomiya were left helpless in the face of these inner ‘demons’ or monsters. With the current chapter of the manga, it does seem possible for Kafka to beat Kaiju No. 9 with the help of Mina, but even then it’s still going to take just about everything they have to achieve this.