Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon Comes to Theaters April 13
Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment have announced their acquisition of theatrical rights for Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon, bringing the film to theaters in the United States and Canada from April 13-16, 2025. The film will be available in Japanese with English subtitles, and also dubbed in English.
Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon features a condensed recap of the events from Season 1 of Kaiju No. 8, alongside a brand-new original episode, Hoshina's Day Off. The film will also debut a new ending theme song, “Invincible” by OneRepublic, who also recorded the ending theme for the first season, "Nobody."
Crunchyroll describes Hoshina's Day Off as:
A day off... a rare day of peace for the Defense Force. After spending so long training, Reno has forgotten what he's supposed to do with free time. He sees that Hoshina is up to something with his own day off, and decides to go on a mission to tail him with Iharu! But then things go in an unexpected direction…
Kaiju No. 8 is adapted from the original manga created by Naoya Matsumoto, and produced by studio Production I.G with kaiju artwork and design supervision by Studio Khara. As of March 2025, the manga has sold over 18 million copies, and was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2022. VIZ Media licenses the series in English, with 12 volumes currently available, and new chapters available online via the Manga Plus platform.
Crunchyroll currently streams the series with both subs and dubs, and describes the story as follows:
In a world plagued by creatures known as Kaiju, Kafka Hibino aspired to enlist in The Defense Force. He makes a promise to enlist with his childhood friend, Mina Ashiro. Soon, life takes them in separate ways. While employed cleaning up after Kaiju battles, Kafka meets Reno Ichikawa. Reno's determination to join The Defense Force reawakens Kafka's promise to join Mina and protect humanity.
A second season of Kaiju No. 8 is currently in production, premiering July 2025.
© JAKDF 3rd Division © Naoya Matsumoto/SHUEISHA