This is a pretty hard week forKaiju No.8fans. Those who only follow the anime series arejust starting to dive deepinto the world of Kafka Hibino (voiced byMasaya Fukunishiin the original Japanese and voiced byNazeeh Tarshain the English dub), withSeason 2 of the series slated to premiere next month. Manga readers, however, were hit with devastating news. Manga online platform Shonen Jump+ announced that the series created byNaoya Matsumotois coming to an end, and not only that — only two more chapters will be released in the coming months.
This is a bit of a shock when you consider thatKaiju No. 8isone of the most popular manga seriesof the last five years. Last year alone, the title managed to roar past the whopping number of 15 million copies of the manga in circulation — and a million of them were bought in just one month. On the occasion, franchise creator Matsumoto hinted that the series was close to the end but didn’t elaborate. He stated:
“As of the release of the 13th manga volume on July 4, Kaiju No. 8 has exceeded 15 million copies printed in Japan! It’s with the support of so many readers, both those who have been reading the manga for a long time and those who have newly started after watching the anime, we have been able to accumulate such a large number of readers! I am truly grateful to all of you. Though the story might be reaching its peak, I will continue to draw Kaiju No. 8 with all my might, so please continue to support the series!”
The ‘Kaiju No.8’ Anime Will Power On
With the end so near, for now, all thatKaiju No.8fans can do is hold on to the thought that the anime will still keep going, likely for at least a few years. Due to the title’s popularity, it wouldn’t be unlikely that a spin-off could come to life, just like it happened withMy Hero AcademiaandMy Hero Academia: Vigilantes. However, at this point, no statements have been issued by either the series creator or Shonen Jump+ regarding the future of the franchise on the manga pages.
TheKaiju No.8manga will wrap its run with 129 chapters, with the 128th being released on June 20. So far, the anime series has covered roughly 30 chapters of the story, meaning that the show could run for as many as four or five seasonsto tell its complete story. However, there’s also the possibility of some arcs taking more episodes to develop, depending on how complex they are, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if the hit anime seriesstretched for longer than five seasons.
Season 2 ofKaiju No. 8debuts on July 19. The final chapter of the manga series is yet to get a release date.
