Does Kaiju No. 8 have romance?

The second season of Kaiju No. 8 is currently underway in full force, while the manga recently concluded its story. As a result, Naoya Matsumoto’s shonen fantasy is more popular than ever, with fans eager to find answers to their lingering questions.

At the very top of this list of curiosities is whether the series steps into the romance genre during its latter half. Despite its subtle hints of love-centered development initially, Kaiju No. 8 does not have any romance until the very end.

While this may come as a relief to some, given the shonen demographic’s reputation to include half-baked love stories, other fans may be disappointed that the protagonist, Kafka Hibino, does not end up with Mina Ashiro or any other character.

Kaiju No. 8 avoids romantic development to the very end

In Kaiju No. 8, apart from glimpses into pre-existing couples such as Isao Shinomiya and his wife, Hikari, there is no other form of romance or relationships. Until the very last chapter, most fans were expecting that the series was building toward a confession scene between the protagonist, Kafka Hibino, and his childhood friend, Mina Ashiro.

Since the two were friends for a long time and vowed to grow stronger together and fight the Kaiju that had destroyed their hometown, they became each other’s emotional support. Unfortunately, a rift formed when Mina was accepted into the Defense Force and rapidly rose through the ranks, while Kafka failed to pass the selection exam.

While Mina held a grudge against Kafka for not holding up his end of the deal, the protagonist gained motivation with Reno’s help and got selected into the Defense Force once he became a middle-aged man. From then on, his relationship with Mina began to mend itself, and she even continued supporting him once his identity as Kaiju No. 8 was revealed.

Due to the closeness of their relationship and shonen manga’s history of pairing together childhood friends, fans naturally thought that the two would go on to form feelings of love and become a couple.

However, shockingly, the author never attempted to evolve their dynamic to the next level, and chose to maintain their platonic relationship built on mutual trust and respect. In the final chapter, once Kafka defeated the Meireki Era Mega Monster and became a hero, Mina approached him at the hospital to guide him to the Defense Force’s new base.

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Although Mina seemed to hesitate for a brief moment, as if contemplating whether to say something, she chose to keep it to herself. While there is a chance that this was hinting at her having developed feelings for Kafka, the idea remains speculative at best, with little evidence.

Therefore, Kaiju No. 8 does not choose to engage in any sort of romantic subplot in both the anime and the manga. While some viewers may believe that Kikoru also loves Kafka, she only sees him as a reliable adult and friend, in contrast to her own strict and distant father.

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