Kafka Hibino & Reno Ichikawa

Kafka Hibino (日ひ比び野の カフカ, Hibino Kafuka),[1] also known as Kaiju No. 8 (怪かい獣じゅう8号ごう, Kaijū Hachi-gō),[4] is the main protagonist of the Kaiju No. 8 manga series.

He is a Defense Force officer [6] and a former worker for the Professional Kaiju Cleaning Company Monster Sweeper Inc. [1] who was turned into humanoid Identified Kaiju with shapeshifting abilities after a small kaiju entered his body.[1] He was formerly a member of the Third Division,[7] which is being led by his childhood friend, Mina Ashiro, but he was recently transferred to the First Division.[8]

Kafka is a tall man with dark brown spiky hair, large eyes with small irises, thin eyebrows, and a mild goatee on his chin, he sports a rather muscular frame except for his slightly pudgy belly and he usually has a jovial expression on his face.[1]

Working for Monster Sweeper Inc., Kafka once regularly wore the company's uniform; it is a grey coverall with a red Monster Sweeper logo on the right side of the chest.[1]

Kafka's Kaiju Form is mostly covered with coal-black scales and plates, cyan energy sometimes glowing from between the cracks (most notably when he is charging a powerful attack). However, his head, spine, and clavicles appear to be made from exposed bone, resulting in these features being a contrasting white. Large plates with dorsal spines cover the back of his head and neck above the shoulders with the very top piece being white. As for his head, it has been described as a 'demonic skull-face' with two short, thick horns, a hole for a nose, and sharp, exposed teeth that extend down his neck. His eyes have black sclera with a cyan iris. Seemingly originating from them are several cracks, the left eye having several chunks of the 'mask' missing on the lower left part. [1] His Kaiju form resembles the armor and mask of the fallen warriors in Meireki-Era, which were powerful Amerasian soilders.

When out of control, some of the Kaiju Form's features become more pronounced. Such as; his general size relative to people, elongated horns, more predominate dorsal plates, mouth extending further down his neck, and eyes turning entirely cyan (without pupils or a definable beginning or end to his sclera).[9] The Kaiju Form's features became even more pronounced in the anime: four extensions on the back position in a cross shape, a greater height that forces a crouched posture, and the cyan energy turning red.[10] After Kafka learned to control the berserk state for one minute, pupils will briefly appear when he speaks in that form.

After having his heart converted into a Core to deepen his connection with the Mysterious Larva[11], Kafka's Kaiju Form undergoes a metamorphosis by shedding the black scales and plates.[12] His body is now white while still retaining the energy cracks on his upper body, the horns on his skull-face have slightly grown, curved inward and possess a set of two small eyes along each horn's curve, and his back now sports four maple leaf-shaped dorsal plates.[12]

Kafka has a comically childish personality in most situations, resulting in him being an easy target for teasing by other characters [1] despite being a determined and dedicated individual in serious situations, bringing him to try his best to do everything to succeed whether individually [1] or for the betterment of the group.[13] Kafka is also a genuinely caring and kind guy long before he joins the Defense Force, resulting in him going out of his way to help and care for others, regardless if they want it or not.[1] Some examples of this behavior are when Kafka offers solutions to inconveniences [14], saves people from imminent danger,[15] and sometimes scolds them for not taking better care of themselves.

It's for these reasons that Kafka does everything he can to not disappoint or sadden those who have put their trust and belief in him.[16] Having to break that connection in times of need causes him to become insecure and unsure of what he will be able to achieve in the future.

Thus, when Kafka experiences losing control of his transformed body [9], the horror of seeing himself become the thing he's hated since childhood concludes with him taking drastic action to end the situation.[17] Later on, the fear of losing control and hurting those he cares about prevents him from being able to use his Kaiju form until Kikoru Shinomiya encourages him to trust and have faith in his comrades and the Defense Force.[17] Kafka seems to get annoyed when he is labeled as an "old man" and always reminds younger people of his condition of seniority when called names.[4]

Unleashed Combat Power: Kafka is the only Defense Force troop member to ever release 0% of their combat suit's power [13], which later increases to 1%.[19] Thus, only using his suit, Kafka's physical attributes are almost dampened by his inability to draw more power. [14] However, he still manages to get strong enough to easily tear into dead kaiju bodies. [14] Kaiju Transformation: After a kaiju invades his body, Kafka could transform into an incredibly powerful humanoid kaiju himself, [1] and not only that, he was actually made with abilities that can corrode any Kaiju within its proximity due to the Mysterious Larva's nature against them.

Immense Strength: In kaiju form, Kafka gains immense physical strength [3] to the point where he can even annihilate a Honju [20] or seriously injured an Identified Kaiju [25] with just a single punch. Kafka could use this strength to cover great distances in a few leaps. [26] Even with only part of his body transformed, Kafka could easily lift the company's car, making Kikoru Shinomiya believe that he had his own Defense Force suit. [4] His strength in his Kaiju form is said to be on par to Isao Shinomiya, but eventually overpowered him easily when the Mysterious Larva took control. [9] Following his metamorphosis after converting his heart into a new Core, Kafka's strength evolved to the point he can send the The Daikaiju of the Meireki Era flying through the air with a destructive fallout,[27] he even deflected Kaiju No. 2's energy blast into the sky when the Meireki Kaiju targets Tachikawa with its blast was able to break the sky and skyscrapers, and fought toe-to-toe with the Kaiju to point overwhelming it with a barrage of punches.[28]

Immense Durability: In his kaiju form, due to his exceptionally thick skin, Kafka is extremely resilient to the point of tanking shots. [21] His pain resistance is so strong, that he barely felt any pain when Soshiro slashed him multiple times and came out unscathed. [22] [29] He could survive and defeat the combined power of Isao and Kaiju No. 2. [24] His durability is enhanced even further after his metamorphosis as he took a full-powered punch from The Daikaiju of the Meireki Era without flinching and only a little bleed from his nose. [27] Immense Speed and Reflexes: In his kaiju form, Kafka possesses immense speed and reflexes as he can evade Soshiro's extremely fast sword attacks with relative ease. [22] Even when not fully transformed, Kafka has shown to be able to run at tremendous speeds, impressing even Soshiro Hoshina himself. [30] After gaining a new Core, his speed is now evolved, as he managed several blows while keeping up with the The Daikaiju of the Meireki Era, as Soshiro Hoshina and Gen Narumi were unable to land a single blow despite their speed and prediction, even with their Number Weapons proved useless against it, he also avoided all of Meireki's (using No. 2's) energy barrage despite their trajectory changes and only get a single hit nevertheless survived.[27][28]

Unlimited Energy Source: As mentioned by Kafka, the 400-year-old ancient warriors' negative emotions turned into a "neverending stream of pitch-black fuel" that powers his Kaiju form, which was realized after he strengthened his resonance with them. Energy Attacks: Kafka can power up his body with electrical-like energy that flows through his body and spine. [3] Usually, the energy is used to make some of his attacks more powerful. [3] Energy Roar: By concentrating the energy in his spine and opening his mouth wide, Kafka can release a powerful energy roar that can easily neutralize attacks from individuals as powerful as Kaiju No. 9. [21] Energy Boost: Working in tandem with his shapeshifting powers, Kafka's Energy Manipulation can take the form of energy flowing out of his body's pores like thrusters, enhancing the strength and speed of his attacks. [20]

Shapeshifting: Kafka can manipulate parts of his body, manifesting tentacles and even smaller heads and limbs on his body, and can turn his tongue into a long-range capturing weapon. [3] He can also use this power, in conjunction with his energy and super strength, to shapeshift his elbows into thrusters, for more powerful blows or to morph his legs for better stability. [20] Having more fine control over it, he’s able to block weapons by changing any area of his body into a jaw to grab hold of bladed attacks. [22] Gigantification: When out of control, Kaiju No. 8 can grow in size.[9] Kaiju Sense: Kafka can sense when a kaiju will appear near him or already in the vicinity his present whereabouts. [3] He is also able to determine what type the kaiju is if he has encountered it before. [3] More powerful kaiju can trigger this ability even when Kafka is not transformed. [31]

Regeneration: Kafka can regenerate from attacks and regrow back limbs, but doing so consumes his stamina. [22] When going out of control, Kafka's body can instantly regrow from his core after detaching it from his body.[9] Regeneration Disruption: Kajiu No. 9 noted his regeneration became impaired from Kafka's heavy blows during their first battle, later revealed to be due to the Mysterious Larva's vengeful souls of the ancient warriors. Force Shield: Similar to Kaiju No. 9 through No. 2's powers, after turning his Human heart into a core, Kafka has shown to have a similar force shield around his core, withstanding the The Daikaiju of the Meireki Era's slashing attack.[12]

Kaiju Knowledge: Kafka's time as a member of the kaiju disposal team gives him immense knowledge of kaiju anatomy, using it to identify weaknesses and the type of kaiju he's facing. [13][14][32] Even when working with his Defense Force suit, from which Kafka can only draw 1% of its power, he can easily pierce through a kaiju's corpse and dig into it to further study it and localize the core. [14] Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Kafka is at least somewhat learned in unarmed combat, making use of this, while as Kaiju No. 8, making use of his immense strength, speed, and reflexes as a Humanoid Kaiju to overpower most opponents. However, despite being incapable of matching more skilled foes, such as Isao Shinomiya and Soshiro Hoshina without transforming, the former pointed out that he hasn't skipped out on training, impressing him. Indomitable Will: Kafka possesses a strong will that not only lets him regain control of his kaiju form when gone berserk but also allows him to bear the 400-year-old hatred of the fallen samurai and warriors when gained a new core.

Despite having a fortitude level of 9.8 as a Kaiju, Kafka has the lowest recorded released force among the Defense Force as a Human, making it close to impossible to fight like their normal members and wield weapons. However, to aid Kafka in the fight against Kaiju No. 9 and to lessen his time spent as Kaiju No. 8, Soshiro Hoshina begins instructing him in Squadron-Style Combat Technique (隊式格闘術, Tai-shiki kakutō-jutsu), a bare-handed fighting style perfected by Isao Shinomiya. There, Kafka learned its fundamentals, to channel the power generated from his lower body into his fists, however, while not transformed his strength and skills didn't match Soshiro, let alone Isao, both of whom either trained in or perfected it.

As Kaiju No. 8, Kafka combined strength and technique to prove a sufficient match for Kaiju No. 9, but proved incapable of doing much against his greater strength and Isao's perfected Squadron-Style Combat Technique. But, expecting this to happen, Soshiro taught him the hand-to-hand techniques of the Hoshina Family to instead evolve the fighting style, Kafka eventually managed to use an alternative Third Form to catch Kaiju No. 9 off guard and critically damage it.

Number Two: Force Blast (2式: 発破, Nishiki: Happa Yabu):[33] Number Three: Twin Blast (3式: 双破, Sanshiki: Sō Yabu):[33] Number Three Alternative: Twin Blast (): A variation of the original where he sinks and steps with a wide gait, then rotates for increased power, letting him damage Kaiju No. 9,[33] breaching his core.[34] Number Four: Rising Blast (4式: 昇破, Yonshiki: Nobori Yabu):[35] Number Four Alternative: Rising Blast ():[35]

Combat Suit: When fighting without transforming, Kafka uses the usual combat suit of the Defense Force. [13]

Respirator Mask: Kafka wears a respirator mask on the battlefield. [13]

Handgun: Kafka carries a handgun. [13]

Pocket Knife: Kafka uses a pocket knife. [14]

Reno is a tall, slender young man with short silver hair and big violet eyes. He usually shows a neutral unfazed look on his face, but this expression usually changes to exasperation or incredulity when around Kafka.

Earlier in the series, Reno wore the usual Defense Force combat suit when on the battlefield. Reno's new combat suit is unique compared to the regular combat suit's worn by other Defense Force members, being the Numbers Weapon forged from Kaiju No. 6's corpse. It is a dark-blue armory suit with pipes and pistons on the back and shoulders, the Izumo Tech logo on the left side of the chest plate and the 006 insignia on the chest.[7]

Reno is a calm and collected person. Despite initially antagonizing Kafka for giving up on his dream, he later shows a softer and more caring side towards his friend and his condition and goals. As their bond grows, Reno begins to show his protective side, not only towards Kafka but towards any of his comrades. His resolve in fighting in order to protect his peers brings him to completely ignore Iharu Furuhashi's one-sided rivalrly towards him and still put his safety first.

In battle, Reno is a determined and straightforward person, being a natural thinker on his own. Due to his immense sense of resposibility towards his colleagues and his desire in becoming stronger, an extended usage of his Numbers Weapon can bring Reno to spiral out of control and push himself past his limits in order to be strong enough to save those around him.

Overall Abilities: Reno is a strong troop member with great potential. He is noted by Soshiro Hoshina to have the potential to become a captain,[8] proven when he was able to momentarily stall a kaiju as strong as Kaiju No. 9.[9] Jugo Ogata states that he is a prodigy.[7]

After becoming compatible with Numbers Weapons 6, the Defense Force's most powerful and dangerous weapon made from the corpse of Kaiju No. 6, Reno's combat skills and abilities have drastically improved, allowing him to move much faster and neutralizing a pack of kaiju on his own.[7] However, despite drastically agumenting his fighting prowess, it seems that the suit has a negative influence on Reno's behavior, bringing him to fight out of control in order to defeat his opponent. In fact, due to his immense sense of resposibility, Reno is able to draw a lot of power out of his suit but brings his human body past his limit, to the point of tearing his muscles and breaking his bones just to beat his enemy.[10]

High Unleashed Combat Power: When Reno first tries on his Defense Force combat suit, he is able to initially release 8% of the suit's power.[11] After shooting training, he is able to release 18%, having drastically improved as noted by Iharu.[12] Currently, while wearing Numbers Weapon 6, Reno's full released force has risen to 43% and he can further increase his suit's power to 51%.[13] Enhanced Speed and Reflexes: Reno is incredibly fast, surprising Kafka with how fast he can move while carrying him.[14] He also has incredible reflexes, able to dodge Kaiju No. 9's extremely fast attacks.[15] His speed is greatly agumented when wearing Numbers Weapon 6.[13] Enhanced Endurance: Reno has incredible levels of physical endurance, able to continue fighting after Kaiju No. 9 shot him multiple times.[15] When wearing Numbers Weapon 6, Reno is able to keep fighting even with fractured bones and muscle tears.[10]

Cryokinesis: By using Numbers Weapon 6, Reno is able to released high amounts of ice and freezing energy from his body, replicating Kaiju No. 6's late powers.[7] Reno can use it to stick to his surroundings by releasing ice from his feet, to stabilize his footing. The suit also includes freezing rounds.[7] Reno can also freeze his enemies with a simple touch of his hand.[13] After training his skills even further, Reno can now manage to freeze a whole horde of Daikaiju in one single attack.[16] Abilities Expert Marksman: Reno is a very skilled marksman.[12][9] Advanced Growth Rate: After only one month of training, Reno is able to use Numbers Weapon 6 in combat with great proficiency. According to Toko, Reno's ability to improve far surpasses that of Kikoru Shinomiya's even though his current released force is lower than hers.[7]

Respirator Mask: Reno wears a respirator mask in combat.[11]

Rifle: Reno uses a rifle in combat as his main weapon of choice, equipped with brust rounds and freeze rounds.[11][7]

Numbers Weapon 6 (識別怪獣兵器ナンバーズ6号ごう, Nanbāzu Roku-gō): Marked EC-0115 and provided by Izumo Tech, Reno's personal Numbers weapon is a special combat suit, recognized as the Defense Force's most powerful and dangerous weapon, made from the corpse of Kaiju No. 6. This suit allows the user to release ice.[7] The suit also increases his overall skill and physical abilities far beyond that of the standard combat suits of the Defense Force.[7]

Cannons: Reno earned sixteen smaller cannons, marked FN-0006 and provided by Izumo Tech, to go with his Numbers Weapon. The cannons allow him to better control his freezing attack and easily freeze multiple giant-size Daikaiju with no effort.[16]

Combat Suit (formerly): Before being given Numbers Weapon 6, Reno would wears the usual combat suit of the Defense Force.[11]