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's 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?
8 The Fungal-Type Kaiju
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.
7 Kaiju No. 9 (First Apperance)
Speaking of Kaiju No. 9, this one is next on the list. Serving as the story's "central" antagonist so far, Kaiju No. 9 is the most intelligent and monstrous Kaiju to date. Its first appearance is in chapter 6 of the manga, and it's an ominous debut. As soon as this thing shows up, it manages to pierce a hole through Kikoru Shinomiya (a prodigy-level recruit) while she's using 46 percent of her Combat Suit. This initial version of Kaiju No. 9 has a laundry list of powerful abilities, such as:
- Super-Strength
- Super-Speed
- Hyper-Durability
- Shapeshifting
- Regeneration
- And even the ability to bring dead Kaiju back to life
The ability readers see the most, however, is No. 9's precise control of its regeneration, as it constantly fires off its fingertips with explosive force as these sort of makeshift projectiles. All that said, it does only take a couple of punches from Kafka in his transformed state to render No. 9 basically immobile.
6 Kaiju No. 10
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, showing an initial Resilience of 8.3 before upping that to 9.0 in its enlarged form. This monster is also the "closest" thing readers have to the monkey-Kaiju from the beloved movie franchise.
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 backburner.
5 Kaiju No. 1 AKA "RT-0001"
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.
4 Kafka Hibino AKA Kaiju No. 8
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.
3 Kaiju No. 2 AKA "FS-1002"
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.
2 Kaiju No. 9 Post-Fusion
Disclaimer: Heavy Kaiju No 8. story spoilers below
While it might not seem fair that Kaiju No. 9 is on here twice, the version seen once it fused with "FS-1002" as well as Director General Isao Shinomiya is 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.
No. 9 is the closest thing to a Resident Evil-type Monster, as it seems to have some sort of "scientific" process of creating new beasts. And, once the Fusion was complete, not even Kafka as Kaiju No. 8 and Gen Narumi using both his "RT-0001" eyes and his personal Bayonet weapon could hope to defeat it.
1 Kaiju No. 6 AKA "EC-0115"
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.