Joseph Luster
April 15, 2024 
The Kaiju No. 8 anime kicked off its adaptation of Naoya Matsumoto’s manga over the weekend, and the series closes out to the ending theme “Nobody” by rock band OneRepublic. Following that, the band debuted their official lyric video on YouTube, so you can take a moment to jam it again below.
OneRepublic vocalist Ryan Tedder had the following to say about the song:
“As a basic premise, I am a big fan of Japan myself. Anime, manga, music, food, culture, etc. have always inspired me a lot. Moreover, I have been obsessed with superheroes since I was a child, and I still want to be as strong as Kafka, so I am very excited to be working on Kaiju No. 8.”
“Around the spring of 2023, I had a meeting with the Kaiju No. 8 team, where they showed me some of the footage and storyboards, and from there I analyzed the work and characters and thought about what kind of sound was needed. I wanted the song to convey a sense of exuberance, fun, and shining moments, and since I was in Japan on business in November 2023, I wrote the lyrics while I was there. This song was inspired by Japan to the greatest extent possible.”
Ryan Tedder interview:
Kaiju No. 8 is being made at Production I.G., with Shigeyuki Miya of Blood Lad helming the project as director. Its scripts are being handled by Ichiro Okouchi, whose credits include the recent movie SPY×FAMILY Code: White, Azumanga Daioh and Sk8 the Infinity. The music is being composed by Yuta Bandoh.
Crunchyroll is now streaming the anime and gave this description for its plot:
In a world plagued by threatening creatures known as Kaiju, Kafka Hibino aspired to enlist in the Japan Defense Force to defeat them.
“Let’s wipe out the Kaiju together.”
Kafka pledged to his childhood friend, Mina Ashiro. Over time, life circumstances forced them to go their separate ways and caused him to abandon his lifelong ambition.
He found himself employed by Monster Sweeper, Inc., a professional cleaning company that specializes in cleaning up the aftermath of Kaiju battles. Meanwhile, Mina Ashiro is now the Captain of the Defense Force’s 3rd Division. As it stands, he is currently unworthy of fighting Kaiju alongside her.
At work, Kafka crosses paths with the highly motivated Reno Ichikawa. Reno’s undying determination to join the Defense Force leaves no room for failure. His perseverance reawakens Kafka’s ambition of standing next to Mina as they protect humanity from Kaiju together.
A dream frozen by time, thawed by a burning promise
But Kafka doesn’t know that an imminent Kaiju threat is unexpectedly approaching him.
Via Crunchyroll News
