Summary

• Kaiju No. 8's art and animation have been praised by One-Punch Man artist Yusuke Murata.
• One-Punch Man and Kaiju No. 8 overlap in themes of protecting Japan from monsters and superhero elements, showcasing clear similarities in storytelling.
• Kaiju No. 8 has the potential to be just as big as One-Punch Man, if not bigger.

Kaiju No. 8. One-Punch Man is one of the biggest manga and anime franchises, and much of its success is owed to the incredible artwork of series artist Yusuke Murata. Even as far back as Eyeshield 21, Murata’s artwork has been among the best in the business, but his work is on another level with One-Punch Man, and it always has some of the best artwork of any manga.

The first episode of Kaiju No. 8 recently premiered, and following its premiere, Yusuke Murata praised the art and animation of Kaiju No. 8 on X, with both being labeled as amazing and realistic.

"In the anime Kaiju No. 8, the Kaiju battle scene in the beginning was amazing. The art is very realistic, but it has a unique touch that makes it very interesting."

Kaiju No. 8 was already being hyped up for its visuals well before its release, and seeing someone of Yusuke Murata’s caliber praise it is nothing but great for the series.

One-Punch Man & Kaiju No. 8 Have A Surprising Amount Of Overlap

Yusuke Murata is one of the most talented artists in the business, and his praise means a lot for the new Kaiju No. 8 anime

Part of why it makes sense for Yusuke Murata to praise Kaiju No. 8 is because of the surprising amount of overlap it has with One-Punch Man. For starters, both One-Punch Man and Kaiju No. 8 are stories about people protecting Japan from the constant threat of monster attacks, with the main characters of both stories even primarily using punches to defeat their enemies. Granted, Kaiju No. 8 has a militarized approach to the concept while One-Punch Man has a superhero story, but it’s a clear overlap, nonetheless.

The superhero element is another point of overlap between the two stories, of course. While Kaiju No. 8 isn’t explicitly a superhero story, Kafka’s character and transformations take clear inspiration from the Ultraman franchise and other tokusatsu stories, so in that regard, Kaiju No. 8 captures a lot of the same superhero themes utilized in One-Punch Man. When combined with the monster fights, there’s a lot of clear overlap between Kaiju No. 8 and One-Punch Man, so it makes sense Yusuke Murata would see it as worth praising.

Will Kaiju No. 8 Reach One-Punch Man’s Level Of Success?

With One-Punch Man’s Yusuke Murata praising Kaiju No. 8, that invites the question of whether Kaiju No. 8 will reach the One-Punch Man’s level of success. Like One-Punch Man, Kaiju No. 8 features vivid artwork and bombastic fight scenes, so it’s bound to win a lot of people over on pure spectacle, alone. There’s also been an unprecedented amount of promotion for Kaiju No. 8, with new episodes even being simulcast on Crunchyroll at the same time as in Japan, so it would be stranger if it didn’t become a hit.

Whether or not Kaiju No. 8’s success manages to stick is a bigger question, however. The later volumes of Kaiju No. 8 have been criticized for their poor pacing and clichéd writing, so if the anime reaches that point, then it could make it harder for the anime to take off. There’s definite potential for Kaiju No. 8 to be just as big of a Shonen Jump anime as One-Punch Man, so with any luck, the anime will try and make it as easy to digest as possible for old and new fans alike.

Kaiju No. 8 releases new episodes Saturdays on Crunchyroll.

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