And we can’t blame them.
Summary:
- Kaiju No. 8 is liked by fans, but they don’t like Kikoru.
- Her erratic behavior earned her many haters in her own introductory episode.
- Fans don’t believe she’ll be redeemed in just one cour.
The second Kaiju No. 8 (Kaijuu 8-gou) episode covers Kafka’s escape from the hospital — and also introduces another major character. The character is Kikoru, a young genius member of the Defense Corps.
While fans so far like the anime — although some are dissatisfied with it having too much comedy — Kikoru’s introduction made many immediately dislike her. To be fair, it’s really hard to blame them.
Kaiju No. 8 Is Liked, and for a Variety of Good Reasons, Too
By itself, Kaiju No. 8 is a pretty solid series. While it’s, first and foremost, a battle shounen, it has a few things that make it stand out. The protagonist is not a teenager — he’s in his 30s, and he’s dissatisfied with his life.
The anime also provides a realistic perspective on kaiju attacks and their aftermath. The topic of kaiju is already underexplored in anime, and this anime gives it a completely new spin.
While it’s hard to see where the plot goes from here (manga readers saying it gets worse certainly doesn’t help), so far, it’s perfectly serviceable. The animation is really good, too (as expected from Production I.G), but the newly introduced character certainly doesn’t help.
Who Is Kikoru and Why Do Fans Hate Her Already?
Kikoru is a young prodigy in the Defense Corps. She’s certainly strong, but that doesn’t excuse her behavior.
In her introduction, she shows how rich and spoiled she is, not to mention randomly being rude to a person she doesn’t even know for no reason. She even destroys a car that was standing there over a minor inconvenience — a behavior that definitely didn’t earn her any fans.
While she’s probably supposed to contrast Kafka, whose behavior is the opposite — he’s generally relaxed and easygoing — this introduction was not a good way of showing that. Fans already feel like she’s going to be one of the worst characters of the season, and it’s hard to blame them.
Fans Are Skeptical About Her Becoming Better
That said, some still say there’s probably a reason for her behaving like that. Perhaps there’s some sort of traumatic backstory, or she is just going to grow over the series. Still, her introduction made many hate her already, and the first impression is usually the most important one.
As such, it will be hard for her to redeem herself — especially considering the fact that the anime is only planned for one cour.