Hi, it’s Kaiju No. 8 episode 12, and the first season of this series is ending with it. However, this episode is last but not least, since it’s ambiguous if Kafka is being tested or if he is being disposed of, in it.
However, before we learn about the truth, we should remember the happenings since Kafka was taken into custody in Kaiju No. 8 episode 11.
Kafka was finally taken into custody and was about to be taken to the Headquarters for judgment, and he was thinking how he betrayed everyone’s trust.
At that time Reno stepped forward and wished him a safe return from the headquarter.
He also learned from Mina that nobody in the Third Division blames him, which boosted his mental strength.
Everyone was trying to get Kafka acquitted, be it Aoi contacting his JSDF superiors or Kikoru directly visiting his father Isao Shinomiya, the Director General of the Defence Force.
But all was for naught since Isao Shinimiya had already decided to execute as it seemed and tried to demotivate Kikoru showing the chest scan of Kafka in which he had a core instead of a heart.
But Kikoru remained resolute in her belief.
The battle started one-sidedly as only Isao was attacking and Kafka was only evading.
After blowing Kafka’s hand and arms multiple times as they regenerate, with the gauntlet made from the organ of Kaiju No. 2, and tiring Kafka out due to extreme use of energy, Isao launched one of the strongest strikes he possessed.
This time Kafka retaliated as Kaiju No. 8?
Yes, something else took control over his body and fully transformed it into a Kaiju’s.
To know the rest of the story, we will delve into Kaiju No. 8 episode 12.
Table of Contents
What Was The Third Division Doing?
After Kafka was taken away to the headquarters, among all of the dejected officers Reno was the only one who chose to go strong at his training to become stronger.
In the previous episode, Reno was the first to accept the reassignment order to another team.
However, Iharu didn’t understand the exact reason behind Reno’s action, as they could also become strong in the Third Division.
Reno accepted the order to become stronger and faster, as Third Division’s base Tachikawa Base had lost its 75% functionality, so maybe he thought that place couldn’t support his growth anymore.
The reason Reno wants to become stronger is to be the one to protect Kafka when he comes back.
Yes, he strongly believes that Kafka will come back with his head held high.
Iharu Didn’t believe in that possibility before, but Reno’s determination made him believe in that possibility, a little bit.
Ikaruga, Minase, and Nakanoshima were also the ones who believed in Kafka’s safe return, however, Haruichi and Aoi were devoid of hope in this matter.
To make matters worse, Haruichi was also skeptical about Kafka himself for his identity as Kaiju.
However, Aoi didn’t believe in judging people based on their background or the words that come out of their mouths, but he believed in judging someone by their actions.
At separate corners of Tachikawa Base, different members of the Third Divisions were occupied with their different thoughts regarding Kafka and Kaiju No. 8, even though physically they are the same.
How Was Kaiju No. 8 Fighting In Kaiju No. 8 Episode 12?
As we have seen in the previous episode, Kafka has lost control over his Kaiju body, and maybe the Kaiju inside him has taken control of his body, so, In Kaiju No. 8 episode 12, the frantic battle of Kaiju No. 8 is ongoing.
The table seemed to have turned.
Before Isao was cornering Kafka with his experienced and relentless attack.
But then Kafka’s body was taken over by the Kaiju consciousness, and the real Kaiju No. 8 came out only to corner Isao with its prowess.
Kaiju No. 8 kept on its frantic attack, but for some time Isao was able to keep him at bay, but soon that stalemate condition broke, and using some weird tricks, Kaiju No. 8 kept cornering Isao.
The impact of their attack colliding nearly destroyed the shelter, where the fight was going on.
Deputy Director of Defense Force-Kaiji Itami, felt as if two Daikaijus Kaiju No. 2 and Kaiju No. 8, are fighting among themselves, crossing the barrier of time.
The attack of Kaiju No. 8 started to grow more frantic and wounded Isao gravely, but that wasn’t all, it almost pushed back all of the attacks by Isao and managed to take Isao in its grasp.
It didn’t stop there but started to add damage to Isao’s heavily wounded body, but Kafka wasn’t ready to commit such a worst crime of killing Kikoru’s father in front of her, as she was watching the fight.
He struggled one last time to escape from the clutch of Kaiju No. 8’s consciousness, but nothing seemed to work well for Kafka since he was sunk deep into Kaiju No. 8’s consciousness.
A helpless Kafka in his mind realm was helpless as he couldn’t fight the bloodlust of Kaiju No. 8, but help did arrive.
In his mind, was a mental image of Mina, which dragged him out of that abyss.
After getting partial control over his body back, the first thing Kafka did was damaging own Kaiju core thus ending the fight.
Was Kafka Being Tested By Isao Shinimiya?
The fight to execute Kafka was not as simple as it seemed.
If the only reason was to kill Kafka in the previous episode, then when he was partially transformed as Kaiju, was the best chance for Isao to kill him, but he didn’t choose that.
This behavior of Isao seemed strange in the eyes of, Deputy Director of Defense Force-Kaiji Itami, and the above remark made Kikoru suspicious that her father wanted to give Kafka another chance to prove his humanity.
In reality, until the very last moment, Isao Shinomiya was waiting for Kafka to make a judgment, after Kafka made that judgment, Isao didn’t allow his subordinate Narumi to kill him.
Instead, he asked others to tend to him as Kafka may have hurt his core.
So, we can say for sure that Isao Shinomiya was simply testing Kafka and his conscience.
Kafka From Mina Ashiro’s Point Of View
While the test was going on in Kaiju No. 8 episode 12, Mina had to wait for the result, in a secluded room.
However, after the test was done, instead of declaring the result, all other executives including, the Director General of the Defence Force-Isao Shinomiya, called Mina for questioning regarding Kafka.
They made it clear to Mina, that whatever she says can’t change the fate of Kafka anymore, which was not exactly true, as her side of the story is important for dealing with Kafka legally.
Executives seemed to know that, Mina and Kafka were old acquaintances, and they also knew that, she didn’t give any preferential treatment to Kafka.
So, next, these asked her impression of Kafka as his commanding officer, since she left it to experts to decide if Kafka is human or not.
According to her, Kafka showed his potential as an officer in his first mission by contributing to his unit by discovering Yoju’s reproductive organs and their weakness.
Kafka continued his hard work to save the lives of his comrades, and last but not least, saving the entire Tachikawa Base from the Kaiju Bomb by using his Kaiju form.
But none of the executives were ready to accept her argument as they believed what Kafka did was purely using his Kaiju power to perform such a feat, which proves him as a Kaiju.
Mina had no choice but to appeal to them regarding Kafka’s humanity.
Kafka had the lowest combat power of 0% when he joined the Defense Force and only passed somehow as a backup in the entrance exam.
He also failed twelve times before that, in the Defense Force exam, which makes him the oldest among newcomers.
But, despite that he didn’t give up, he didn’t give up even though his body turned into that of a Kaiju’s, and kept trying to save people.
According to Mina, Kafka is the one who doesn’t give up easily, cares for others, and is more human-like than other humans, his heart(not physical) is the thing that makes him human.
Decision Of Isao In The Executive Meeting And Kafka’s Resolve
After Mina did put forward her opinion about Kafka, she was excused.
Next, it was time for a decision.
Executives had already classified Kafka as a full-fledged Kaiju and were simply waiting for Isao’s decision to execute Kafka.
However, their expectations were betrayed when Isao announced that he would not execute Kaiju No. 8 and turn him into a weapon, but would use him as a powerful addition to the Defense Force.
Despite the disapproval from nearly all of the executives he stayed firm on his decision, the reason was, as a group, Kaijus were getting stronger, and the Defense Force needed to get stronger.
Since Kafka was performing well within the Third Division, there is no guarantee, that his power output after becoming a weapon would be equivalent to the efficiency shown.
However, representing other executives, Chief of Staff of Defense Force Eastern Command-Juzo Nogizaka, pointed out that there is no such precedent.
However, to Isao, breaking precedent and welcoming new change for betterment was the only choice, as he didn’t want the event of 10 years ago involving Kaiju No. 6 to repeat, which claimed his wife’s life.
Even after all of these arguments, everyone else was against Isao’s decision, and Kafka’s lifeline was literally in the hands of Isao alone.
When Isao was about to tell all of these details to the recovered Kafka, Kafka first displayed his relief after watching Isao safe.
A perplexed Isao told him about the situation at hand, but that didn’t shake Kafka, as his resolve to prove his humanity remained strong.
Kafka declared that he still thinks of himself as an officer of the Defense Force, and will make others accept him as the same.
News of Kafka being acquitted reached everyone in the Third Division, but Hoshina among them said otherwise, that the real battle would start from there.
Next, Kafka had to keep his resolve strong and prove his worth to others, as his being a Kaiju won’t remain secret from civilians forever.
What Was Kaiju No. 9 Scheming?
On the other side of the city, Kaiju No. 9 was plotting a comeback while researching human intelligence, and progress, which it didn’t find much impressive.
What? There are actually two Kaiju No. 9!!
That was unexpected.
Their main goal was revealed, either getting the Kaiju’s power back from Kafa or snatching Kafka away from the Defense Force.
Finally
Kaiju No. 8 episode 12, as the final episode, sets the stage for the future progress of Kafka and all the other important characters surrounding him by providing them with new goals.
Goals like Kikoru wanted to become stronger to be able to stop Kafka if the need arose, Reno on the other hand wanted to become stronger, to help Kafka not use that Kaiju power.
In short, all these sudden changes which happened in the last episode of Kaiju No. 8 first season do set the path for the plot of the next episode of the next season…
