Kaiju No. 8 Ep. 3 “Revenge Match” gives us a training montage scene, but it’s not the typical version of this trope. The vast majority of those training scenes typically shows the main character getting better or even just plain showing off how awesome they are. With Kafka Hibino though, it’s more about showing off just how much he sucks in the most hilarious ways possible.

Kaiju No. 8 Ep. 3 “Revenge Match”: Details

Kaiju No. 8 NA key visual.
Take a good long look at this guy. Now imagine him being silly.

Kaiju No. 8 Ep. 3 “Revenge Match” is the third episode (you can read reviews for Ep. 1 and Ep. 2) of this first (and hopefully not the only) season of this anime series. Said anime is the anime adaptation of the military science fantasy adventure manga of the same name by Naoya Matsumoto. Production I.G (Ghost in the Shell, Psycho-Pass, Haikyu!!) is the studio behind this anime. Crunchyroll is licensing this anime for its NA debut.

Hitomi Ezoe is the director behind Kaiju No. 8 Ep. 3 “Revenge Match”, with Ichirō Ōkouchi as the writer, and Kazumi Ta doing the storyboard. As for the Kaiju No. 8 anime as a whole, Shigeyuki Miya and Tomomi Kamiya are co-directing this anime. Ichirō Ōkouchi is the overall writer of the anime, while Yuta Bando composed the music for the same.

Speaking of music, this anime’s opening theme music is “Abyss” by Yungblud (AKA Dominic Richard Harrison). Meanwhile, “Nobody” by OneRepublic is the ending theme music.

Voice Cast

Kaiju No. 8 Ep. 3 “Revenge Match” features the voices of Masaya Fukunishi (Nazeeh Tarsha in English dub) as Kafka Hibino, Asami Seto (Katelyn Barr in English dub) as Mina Ashiro, Wataru Kato (Adam McArthur in English dub) as Reno Ichikawa, Fairouz Ai (Abigail Blythe in English dub) as Kikoru Shinomiya, and Kengo Kawanishi (Landon McDonald in English dub) as Soshiro Hoshina. Other notable voice roles in this episode include Yūki Shin (Ben Stegmair in English dub) as Iharu Furuhashi, Keisuke Koumoto (Howard Wang in English dub) as Haruichi Izumo, and Sayaka Senbongi (Celeste Perez in English dub) as Konomi Okonogi.

When and Where to Watch

Kaiju No. 8 Ep. 3 “Revenge Match” made its airing and streaming (aka. simulcast) debut on April 27, 2024. You can watch this episode only on Crunchyroll. In fact, you can watch this anime as a whole only on Crunchyroll at the moment.

Kaiju No. 8 Ep. 3 “Revenge Match”: Synopsis

Alas, this particular kaiju won’t be making an appearance in this episode.

Alas, Kaiju No. 8 is an ongoing anime series. In fact, Kaiju No. 8 Ep. 3 “Revenge Match” only made its debut just two days ago as of this writing. Thus, you will all get the official synopsis for this episode from Crunchyroll instead of a spoiler-filled plot summary. You can check out that synopsis below:

Kafka arrives for one last shot at the Defense Force entry exam… but can he pass while keeping his Kaiju powers a secret?

Kaiju No. 8 Ep. 3 “Revenge Match”: The Good

Kaiju No. 8 Ep. 3 "Revenge Match" screenshot showing Kafka in an anti-kaiju suit and gas mask.
All military sci-fi stories need gas masks for their soldiers.

Honestly, a large part of why Kaiju No. 8 Ep. 3 “Revenge Match” is good is all due to the story. Naoya Matsumoto knows how to write a good military science fiction/fantasy story, and this episode is very faithful to that original manga. From the barbed wire crawl to the massive assault rifles (at least, I think they’re supposed to be assault rifles), everything about this episode just screams military fiction but in a world of kaiju. I think the only thing that can top that is live combat, and they even got that in this episode too. It’s definitely a treat for all those military fiction nerds out there.

It’s not just the military stuff either. The characters are who are driving the plot after all, and indeed, Kafka Hibino steals the spotlight here. Everything about his personality is just so goofy that it’s hard to dislike him. However, then he pulls out his knowledge of kaiju and his courage, and you’re rooting for this 30-odd year old fun uncle of a guy. That, and his interactions with the cast, especially Reno and Kikoru in this episode is a big part of why this episode is good.

The animation is no joke though. Production I.G are going a fantastic job here with that animation quality. It’s not quite anime film levels of quality the way Black Butler -Public School Arc- is, but it’s pretty close. It definitely enhances the story and the characterization of the anime here.

Lastly, the music deserves a mention here. Yuta Bando did a great job mixing in almost horror-like music into the scenes, giving the episode (and the anime as a whole) a Shin Godzilla-like feel to it. It’s quite the effective combo.

Kaiju No. 8 Ep. 3 “Revenge Match”: The Bad

Kaiju No. 8 Ep. 3 "Revenge Match" screenshot showing Kikoru having a bit of fun at Kafka.
Kikoru thinks everyone who doesn’t like this episode is silly.

Not a fan of military fiction in general? That’s probably the only reason I can think of as to why you wouldn’t be into Kaiju No. 8 Ep. 3 “Revenge Match”. Or even the anime as a whole, really. Well, if you’re still into action, then may I recommend Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Solo Leveling, or Bleach? Those are good alternatives there for all those action junkies.