The new spring season started a few weeks ago, and as expected, many anime adaptations were expected among fans and Kaiju N. 8 (Kaijuu 8-gou), was one of the anime for which a lot of expectations had been created around. But today the anime is the center of discussion among some fans, as the opening theme has received harsh criticism for its composition.
Kaiju N. 8 opening was not to the liking of fans
Debuting last April 13 and distributed by Crunchyroll, the first episode caused a good impact among those who already read the manga as well as for those who were just approaching this explosive sci-fi shonen. But as with any other anime and under the attention of fans, Kaiju N. 8 was not without controversy from the start, as it was accused of lacking originality in its promotional art alongside another popular anime.
Recently, the anime is once again under the spotlight and has become a topic of debate among the anime fan community, but this time it’s about its opening, which was just released in the second episode. In the first episode we were able to see the ending, performed by the American band OneRepublic titled “Nobody”, with a 2D animation, which normally accompanies an anime.
Unlike the ending, which apparently has not received any criticism, the same cannot be said of the opening of Kaiju N. 8, since it has not had the same luck, first of all, the animation made with 3DCG has not been liked by the fans. They have commented that it is similar to what is known as MV or “Musical Video”, which often corresponds to a video of a commercial song, so it is very different from what has been seen in anime openings.
The theme “Abyss” is performed by the British singer YUNGBLUD and apparently did not meet the expectations, the comments have been mainly from Japanese fans, as they accuse that it is made in order to take relevance at international level and that for this reason an English theme was selected. In addition to the fact that the cinematic did not convince them as confusing and strange, the purpose of the opening is to give a small glimpse of the development of the plot and the characters, which only have a brief appearance at the end.
His disappointment was evident in his comments: “They tried to please both Japanese and foreigners, and failed in both missions”, “They are trying too hard to please foreigners, I don’t know if it worked for them”, “The song is fine and matches the anime. Visually, its CGI looks great for it, but it doesn’t really feel like an opening.”
Apparently there are divided opinions among Kaiju N. 8 fans, as those who have made negative comments towards the opening have been the Japanese themselves, while in the West it has been well received, because if the intention has been to please the Western audience they have succeeded. What we can say is that regardless of the song, it has shown us something different and interesting to what we are used to. Let us know if you liked the opening of Kaiju N. 8.
Kaiju N. 8 takes place in Japan, where there are creatures that invade humanity, causing havoc, fear and worry known as Kaijuus. These imposing beings, fortunately for humans, can be eliminated by a group of people known as the “Defense Group”, who have the ability to destroy the threat. On the other hand, the gigantic bodies of the Kaijuus are unhealthy for humans, waste a lot of space and cause terror, so the defense group is accompanied by the “Monster Sweeper”, a group dedicated to cleaning up the remains of Kaijuus.
Kafka Hibino has always had the dream of belonging to the defense group, being the protagonist of this story, where together with a companion, after many efforts to join this squad, they are attacked by a Kaiju that makes them reach the hospital. Inside the hospital, Kafka, in a deep sleep, does not realize that a small flying Kaiju enters his mouth, thus merging with it and turning him into a hybrid. Now he must live as part of the defense group, hiding his identity as Kaiju n. 8, being part of constant adrenaline-filled situations.