Kaiju No. 8 isn’t giving what it had promised with the anime adaptation. This is not the first time the anime has been criticized by fans for its art style that goes against the manga. Fans of Kaiju No. 8 took to X to express their disappointment with the underwhelming portrayal of significant moments.

Kaiju No. 8
Kaiju No. 8 (Credits: Production I.G)

The groundbreaking manga by Naoya Matsumoto features some stunning artwork that seemingly brings the characters (and monsters) to life. Compared to the original manga art style, the animation style feels off and has been an ongoing problem for a while now.

Fans Of Kaiju No. 8 Express Disappointment Over The Anime’s Art Style

Kaiju No. 8
Kaiju No. 8 (Credits: VIZ Media)

Fans of Kaiju No. 8 had previously questioned the quality of the anime character designs, fearing it could be a red flag for poor animation, and fans were right. The latest animation of Kaiju No. 8 fails to live up to expectations.

X user, @Promithean11, posted a side-by-side comparison of the anime and the manga panel, and the majority of the fans are of the opinion that the manga had a better appeal than the anime adaptation. While animation can boost the intensity of a scene with additional effects, it does not always mean that animation is better than manga.

 

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Kaiju No. 8 proves that anime is not always the better option. While the quality of the anime art style for Kaiju No. 8 is subjective, the differences between it and the source material are enough to cause concern for longtime readers.

Kaiju No. 8 Focuses More On The Typical Shonen Battle

Kaiju No. 8
Kaiju No. 8 anime (Credits: Production I.G)

Kaiju No. 8 first rose in popularity due to its innovative take on many shonen concepts. Instead of making a young boy its main character, the manga made a middle-aged man, Kafka, its protagonist. Initially, Kafka had to conceal his Kaiju nature from the Defense Force and fight mostly with his limited abilities, save in dire circumstances, rather than depending on his spectacular powers.

Additionally, the manga’s subversive quality is retroactively diminished by the emphasis on individual fights. Using them as a covert weapon against Kaiju No. 9, for example, the series deftly explained away the criticism for the inclusion of its inexperienced main characters.

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However, the turn of events shows that this rationalization was moot since Kaiju No. 9 was aware of them and had created special Kaiju to take them out. This, coupled with the fact that Kafka has recently been acting like a typical shonen protagonist despite his age is diminishing the subversive edge the manga once held.

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