With Kaiju No 8 Chapter 113 we’ve reached the 18th part of “Episode 9: The Last Wave Arc” for the series. That makes The Last Wave the second longest arc in the series. Based on the what happened in Kaiju No 8 Chapter 113 the ninth story arc of the series could end up either tying or exceeding “Episode 8: The Second Wave Arc” in length of chapters. With the events of the latest chapter we got a major teaser of what Episode 10 of the manga will be about.
KAIJU NO 9 DEFEAT REVEALS ANCIENT HISTORY
Matsumoto Naoya quickly confirmed that Kafka Hibino and Mina Mashiro’s combo attack did indeed defeat Kaiju No 9. Though defeating and killing are two very different things as Kafaka quickly learned. Because while Kaiju No 9 did lose the fight he still had enough energy before passing away to give Kafka one final gift.
That gift is a major revelation about the kaiju’s ties to ancient Japanese history. This revelation was thanks to Kaiju No 9 using the point of contact from Kafka’s Modified Thunder Emperor finisher to transport him to ancient Japan. Specifically at some point in the Meireki Era, which took place between 1655 and 1658. The importance of being transported to this period was a reminder that Kaiju No 9 absorbed the powers out countless kaiju. These kaiju are confirmed to include Daikaiju-level kaiju, the same level as Kafka in his Kaiju No 8 form, that existed in the Meireki Era.
With this revelation in Kaiju No 8 Chapter 113 we learn that the kaiju threat is something that’s been around for 100s of years. Based on how Matsumoto represented them in this flashback it could very well be that all of the ancient Japanese folklore like the Yokai are based of kaijus in this world. Though that does not eliminate how science has played into the more modern-day kaiju. Kaiju No 9 does once again imply they’ve been experimenting with kaiju for a long-time.
Based on this development Matsumoto looks to blending fantasy and science fiction even more. Even 113 chapters in we still don’t know the full truth about eh kaiju parasite that turned Kafka into Kaiju 8. That’s something on the verge of death that Kaiju No 9 didn’t want to reveal the truth about. Given the developments in this chapter there appears to be still plenty of storytelling to be done that Matsumoto didn’t have to give this fully away just yet.
KAIJU NO 8 NEXT EPISODE TEASED
Kaiju No 8 Chapter 113 isn’t the end of “Episode 9: The Last Wave Arc” though it does provide hints at what could be next in Episode 10. Because we learn that Kaiju No 9 was containing a massive army of kaijus inside it that made it so Japan and the world wasn’t filled with kaijus. This was thanks to Kaiju No 9 bid for power as the King of Kaiju led it to absorb so many kaijus there weren’t as many as there could have been.
We get the immediate impact of so many kaijus being “hidden” as they taken control of Kaiju No 9 husk. Immediately this means Kaiju No 9 is now a mindless beast that will be out of control and likely not feel pain. We see that with how whatever comes out of Kaiju No 9’s body penetrates Kafka’s chest with ease at the close of Kaiju No 8 Chapter 113.
We don’t know if this just means if Kaiju No 9 will truly just be a mindless beast. Given that we saw a terrifying fusion of the Daikaiju of the Meireki Era things could get even worse. Because with Kaiju No 9’s death the kaijus that they absorbed could be released on the world. And if they are kaiju from across history we could see even more kaiju on the level or beyond that of a Daikaiju.
Based on this Episode 10 could very explore the history of kaiju beyond connections to our cast’s origin stories. The brief time we spent in the Meireki Era shows there is a lot of room for Matsumoto to give a greater backstory to the kaiju threat. Tying it even further to Japanese folklore and real world events across history would be a cool avenue to blend many different things. Whatever is next it should be fun to see what Matsumoto has up his sleeve for Kaiju No 8.
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