Heartwarming / Kaiju No. 8

It took him 40+ chapters, but he finally managed it.

• Ichikawa thanking Kafka for helping him through his first day on the job and, having noticed Kafka's conflict over not having been able to join the Defense Force, informing him about the maximum age for application having been raised, meaning he had a chance.
  • Ichikawa’s bond with Kafka in general. Even when his superior is turned into a Kaiju, he's constantly looking out for him.
• The little girl expressing her thanks to Kaiju-form Kafka after the latter kills the after-beast that went after the girl and her mother. Though she was undeniably frightened by Kafka's appearance and sheer destructive power in that form, the girl nonetheless built up the courage to properly extend her gratitude to this unknown humanoid Kaiju. That courage reminded Kafka of his and Mina's childhood; a time when the two of them mustered up the courage to be part of the Defense Force. And though one of them succeeded in that regard, leaving the other far behind in her wake, seeing that same dauntlessness exhibited by the girl Kafka just saved rejuvenated his will to stand by Mina's side once again and fulfill the promise they made all those years ago.
  • The little girl and her mother briefly reappear at the beginning of chapter 69, watching a news report about the sudden disappearance of Kaijus three months ago. The mother is concerned, stating that it only feels like a moment of calm before the storm... But the little girl isn't worried in the slightest, because she's confident that, if Number 9 ever comes back, Kafka will be there to defeat him once again. It's also shown that she's been drawing pictures of Kafka's Kaiju form, the latest of which depicting him killing a pair of evil Kaijus.
• While a display of Hypocritical Humor after she just pointed out how she doesn't actually have incentive to trust Kafka, Kikoru shows off an adorably happy smile when she sees Kafka returning to her alive and well after his fights with Kaiju No. 9 and Hoshina.
• Mina slowly warming back up as Kafka manages to get into the Defense Force, clearly hoping he can keep the promise they made to fight the Kaiju together.
• Despite the irony inherent in the situation, Hoshina talking about how he could have killed Kaiju No. 8 (Kafka) if he hadn't wasted time gauging its abilities (to Kafka, no less), alongside his worries about No. 9's strength being comparable, shows how much he cares about his subordinates, considering No. 9 nearly killed Iharu and Reno.
  • On that note, while he gives Kafka grief and teases him for still only being able to draw out 1% of his suit's power, he makes it clear that he does have faith in him.
• While Ichikawa and Furuhashi are recovering at the hospital following their encounter with Number 9, Furuhashi recalls the fight between No. 8 and No.9 and admits that, despite being a Kaiju (and thus, as far as he knows, a hostile monster), No. 8 was really badass while fighting No. 9. It's obvious from Kafka's reaction that hearing this really made his day.
  Iharu Furuhashi : It was super-duper strong! It came and ker-whacked No. 9's head away. Even though it's a monster, it was super cool! I wish you guys could've seen it, too...
• The rest of the team throwing a big party to celebrate Ichikawa and Furuhashi's return after they get out of the hospital. And since Izumo is the one who planned the party, he used his wealth to treat his comrades to a very expensive feast including wagyu beef.
• Hoshina's closeness to Mina is explained after getting to see his backstory: While everyone around him told him that his specialty in blades was useless against Kaiju, Mina stated the opposite was true, wanting someone who could take down smaller but still potentially dangerous Kaiju while she took down the bigger ones.
  Mina: When I need to shoot a threat, can I trust that you'll clear a path for me?
  • Similarly, the moment she arrives on the scene, Hoshina immediately relaxes, despite the fact that the Wyvern Leader Kaiju has him dead to rights. He truly does have faith in her.
    • Adding onto the above, the moment she needs help getting the kill shot, he picks himself back up and, with Kikoru assisting, chops down one of the giant Kaiju's legs to give her the opening she needs, even though he's already pushed himself over the limit.
• Kafka, the moment it seems like Hoshina is going to be killed by the Wyvern Leader Kaiju, immediately rushes to the scene, getting ready to transform fully to save him. This is with him knowing that it would mean he likely couldn't hide his situation and would mean the end of his life as a member of the Defense Forces. It's only Mina's arrival that stops him from going through with it.
  • He ends up having to do it anyway once the Wyvern Leader commands the remaining Wyvern Kaiju to create a bomb to take the entire base with him after Mina shoots out his core. And once more, he does it without a beat.
• With the chapter before ending with Kafka having to be taken into custody due to his Kaiju form being revealed, 33 has him worried that everyone feels betrayed in some way, even Ichikawa and Kikoru (for ruining their attempts to keep his identity from being discovered). As it turns out, none of them think of him as an enemy Kaiju at all and they've gathered testimony and footage to try and keep him from being disposed of by the higher ups.
  • Mina's own comments once they're alone in the same chapter are also pretty poignant.
  Mina: When you dashed in to save the base without a moment's hesitation, I was shocked to see you as a Kaiju, but I also thought... "This is such a Kafka move."
  [Later]
  Kafka: Mina. Can I still strive for a place by your side?
  Mina: Sure. I'll be waiting.

  • For bonus points, the memory of this promise is what gives Kafka a Heroic Second Wind and allows him to take back his body from the Kaiju parasite trying to control him.
• The moment Kafka wakes up after his fight with Isao, with him being right next to his bed, his first reaction is relief at seeing him alive.
• While Isao's actions in pushing for sparing Kafka to use as a living weapon are likely pure pragmatism, there are signs he has a heart in there, as well as having some faith in Kafka.
  • The reason he deems him 'controllable', as revealed in a flashback panel, is because of his last second regaining of control.
    • In addition, his motivations for pushing for Kafka's survival seem to be, in part, trying to keep the incident that took his wife from happening again.
  • After Kafka wakes up, while he doesn't hold back on the Brutal Honesty, he does call Kafka by name instead of 'Kaiju No. 8' and encourages him to show that he can be more of an asset to the Defense Force alive instead of dead.
    • In addition, upon seeing Kafka's first concern was whether or not Isao was alright, his gaze visibly softens for a panel.
• When Kafka has to face Kaiju no. 9 again alongside Kikoru, he repeatedly fails to transform, which nearly gets him killed. At first he believes the enemy kaiju has something to do with it... But it turns out, Kafka couldn't transform because he was terrified of losing control again and killing his teammates. Kikoru manages to snap him out of it, and they proceed to absolutely mop the floor with Number 9 and his ants.
  • Also, the fact that Kafka thinks so highly of Kikoru's skills that he rationalizes that, even if he lost control, he still wouldn't be able to kill her anyway.
• Kafka and Kikoru sharing a fist bump after their big Back-to-Back Badasses moment, which resulted in them finally beating Number 9. Doubles as a Moment of Awesome for both of them. Unfortunately, Number 9 turned out to be Not Quite Dead...
• Isao congratulating Kafka, Narumi and Kikoru for a job well done immediately after. It's obvious from the way Kikoru is struggling to hold her tears just how much her father's approval means to her. Kafka notices it, and gives her two thumbs up and a big smile.
• In Chapter 67, Kafka is given his cellphone back after 2 months of isolation from his former teammates. He turns it on... And is immediately bombarded by messages and missed calls notifications. 503 of them, to be precise. At first, he's reluctant to read them because he's still worried that everyone but Reno and Kikoru felt betrayed after learning the truth about him, and would despise him for being a "traitor" and a "filthy Kaiju". Then he actually does read them... And finds out that, just as Mina pointed out way back in Chapter 33, none of them see him as an enemy, and all those messages from his teammates are voicing concern about his wellbeing, wondering when he'll be back, or thanking him for saving their lives. For those two months, they've all been worried sick about him, and the sheer realization of this brinks Kafka to tears, prompting him to acknowledge that he was a dumbass for ever doubting the faith his friends have in him.
  • It's even spelt out to him by Furuhashi who points out that, while Kafka's Kaiju powers are indeed terrifying, everyone still knows him as the man he is, and his Heroic Sacrifice to save them all even if it meant exposing his secret truly cemented the fact that he is, indeed, on their side. It then becomes kind of a funny (yet still heartwarming) moment as Furuhashi starts chewing Kafka out for even considering the idea that his friends would turn on him.

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