10 More Action-Packed Shows!
Kaiju No. 8 is a new Shonen series that wanted to please anime and kaiju fanatics alike. This giant monster tale follows Kafka, a 32-year-old male who wants to join Japan’s Defence Force to exterminate the menacing kaijus that occasionally stir up trouble in his country. Although Kafka failed the Defence Force’s exams multiple times, a small, mysterious kaiju wanders into his hospital room one day.
After this small creature gives Kafka a taste of its power, Kafka must find a way to cope with his new lifestyle if he wants to achieve his lifelong goals.
If you’re currently watching this anime but don’t know of shows/anime that capture its magic, fear not. We’ve searched through the archives to find you 10 more TV shows/anime that offer a similar viewing experience.
Additionally, for each program we’ve reviewed, including Kaiju No. 8, we’ve included a link that allows you to view our full thoughts about the series to see if it’s worth your time. We’ve also included links to anime/shows we’re currently covering (as of this writing).
So without further ado, we present 10 TV shows/anime that should whet your appetite when you’ve finished streaming Kaiju No. 8!
Chainsaw Man
Similarities – Action, Themes, Shonen
Chainsaw Man is a modern Shonen property that’s fairly popular in the industry. It revolves around Denji, who tackles multiple tasks for the yakuza to pay off his father’s debt. He’s joined by his Chainsaw Devil companion Pochita. Pochita helps Denji slay devils to earn Denji much-needed revenue. Unfortunately, our heroes get betrayed by their bosses and are left for dead.
Fortunately, with Pochita’s help, Denji becomes Chainsaw Man and defeats the people who betrayed him and Pochita. When a mysterious woman named Makima helps Denji change his life for the better (to some degree), we follow our lead through more devil-slaying and realistic affairs.
Like Kafka, Denji obtains his power by forging a connection with Pochita, another supernatural companion shrouded in mystery. Additionally, both characters engage in magnificent battles with otherworldly entities. The devil’s designs are on par with the kaijus in Kaiju No. 8.
Although Chainsaw Man contains more erotic material than Kaiju No. 8, Chainsaw Man tackles similar ideas like friendship to a decent effect.
You can read our thoughts on Chainsaw Man in our full-season review here!
Parayste: The Maxim
Similarities – Themes, Characters, Action
Parasyte: The Maxim is one of the best anime from Madhouse Studios today. Whether in manga or through an interesting live-action spin-off series, like Parasyte: The Grey, fans will adore the world Hitoshi Iwaaki created. For those who aren’t in the know, this sci-fi horror series follows Shinichi, a boy who wakes up one day with an alien parasite named Migi bound to one of his hands.
Migi tells Shinichi that more parasites plan to conquer Earth. In typical heroic fashion, it’s up to Migi and Shinichi to save Earth from doom. Much like Kaiju No. 8, Parasyte: The Maxim features great fights and themes. It tackles the idea behind man versus nature well and offers fans a plot filled with remarkable twists and turns that’ll leave anyone excited for more.
Additionally, Shinichi and Migi’s parasite enemies aren’t mindless foes. Like Kaiju No. 9 and 10, these parasites can think for themselves and develop clever tactics to foil our heroes’ efforts to thwart their plans.
If you’re looking for another series where a man and a creature work together to fight supernatural entities for humanity’s sake, check this anime out.
You can read our thoughts on Parasyte: The Maxim in our full-season review here!
Attack On Titan
Similarities – Action & Themes
Attack On Titan is arguably one of the most popular anime to release from the early 2010s. This anime features adrenaline-pumping action sequences, admirable characters, and a plot that gets more complex and rich as the seasons fly by.
Our tale’s set in a world where giant human monsters called Titans roam the planet. Humanity resides inside several towns, protected by giant walls to keep the Titans away. Unfortunately, two Titans, the Colossal and Armored Titans respectively, open a pathway in one of the walls, allowing their Titan allies to wreak havoc in one of the towns.
Our protagonist Eren, resides in this town. He’s not happy with the Titans’ rampage one bit. This encourages Eren to join the Survey Corps, an elite military unit. Eren vows to exterminate every last Titan in existence. As one can tell, Eren and Kafka’s journeys are nearly identical. Both characters join a military unit that wants to research and destroy their world’s supernatural enemies. Moreover, both anime contain intricate settings filled with neat gadgets, economies, and more.
If you’re after an anime with more depth, check out Attack On Titan.
You can read our thoughts on Attack On Titan in our full-season review here!
Jujutsu Kaisen
Similarities – Shonen, Action, Themes
Jujutsu Kaisen is a popular Shonen that received immense buzz online when it was released. Many folks adore this one for its intricate power system, eye-candy action scenes, and interesting characters. Like Kafka, this story’s lead, Yuji, finds himself in a world wreaking of fictitious and dangerous creatures. The Cursed Spirits Yuji and his friends fight are well-diverse much like the kaiju in Kafka’s universe.
Some are brain-dead drones while others are fairly intelligent and have goals they wish to accomplish. From the volcanic Jogo to the King of the Curses, Sukuna, fans will enjoy learning about Yuji’s adversaries. The human characters and sorcerers in Yuji’s world are wonderful to follow too. Some are naturally talented while others unfortunately aren’t and must put in the work to become exceptional combatants.
If you’re looking for a Shonen series with smooth animation, a complex power system, and an intriguing cast, check this out.
You can check out our coverage of Jujutsu Kaisen here!
My Hero Academia
Similarities – Shonen, Action, Themes
Following the others on this list, we want to recommend another Shonen series where our hero obtains a nifty power that’ll help him assist humanity in righteous ways. While this one deals with superheroes instead of giant monsters, many will find Deku’s arc in My Hero Academia similar to Kafka’s journey in Kaiju No. 8.
For instance, both characters aren’t the most capable at the start, power-wise. However, once they obtain their special powers, they become more helpful to their comrades. Where Deku uses his One For All abilities to thwart his world’s supervillains, Kafka utilizes Kaiju No. 8’s abilities to defeat monsters alongside Kikoru, Hoshina, and other Defence Force officers.
Hard work, teamwork, and determination are pivotal themes in My Hero Academia and Kaiju No. 8. My Hero Academia’s Kohei Horikoshi and Kaiju No. 8’s Naoyo Matsumoto tackle those themes wonderfully by placing their leads in captivating and critical story segments. Although both works have their highs and lows, it’d be foolish not to give My Hero Academia a shot.
You can check out our coverage of My Hero Academia here!
Tokyo Ghoul
Similarities – Story, Action, Themes
Oh Tokyo Ghoul, if only your later entries would’ve turned out marvelous. Jokes aside, Tokyo Ghoul is a wonderful gem from the mid-2010s, despite its follow-up seasons’ shortcomings. This story is incredibly violent and dark unlike Kaiju No. 8. However, Kaiju No. 8 fanatics shouldn’t give Tokyo Ghoul the cold shoulder.
Like Kafka, Tokyo Ghoul’s Kaneki wakes up in a hospital bed after running into a supernatural entity. No longer a fully-fledged human, Kaneki must find a way to cope with his half-human and half-ghoul lifestyle. Kafka and Kaneki both embark on a journey where they must understand their newfound abilities. Both males struggle to do so and get into thrilling encounters with other gifted and strange individuals.
Despite their powers, both males find solace in people who accept them for who they are. Acceptance, self-growth, and friendship are themes both works share and tackle to wonderful effect too. If you love dark, mysterious, and occasionally emotional shows, check this one out.
One Punch Man
Similarities – Action & Characters
Kafka and One Punch Man’s Saitama are heroic leads people shouldn’t underestimate because they lack charming builds. They are capable heroes who can be as serious and amusing to watch when they want to be. That aside, One Punch Man delivers a humorous take on the superhero genre. In it, we follow Saitama, a bald, caped crusader who can defeat any bloke in one punch.
Saitama trained effortlessly to achieve this strength, but nowadays, he’s starting to find his career boring. When a cyborg named Genos wanders into his life and offers him a chance to get his name out there, Saitama accepts. This entices our heroes to embark on an adventure filled with non-stop humor, thrills, and diversity.
The enemies Saitama and Kafka encounter are creative, respectable, and occasionally mysterious. You’ll find most of the specimens in each media fascinating and will love it when the series offers snippets of data about them. On top of having a pleasing soundtrack, One Punch Man is worth adding to your watch list.
You can read our thoughts on One Punch Man in our full-season review here!
Solo Leveling
Similarities – Action & Characters
Solo Leveling was one of many’s favorite anime to air during the Winter of 2024 anime season. This anime features a rich, RPG-like universe where people called hunters raid dungeons for treasure.
Our protagonist Sung Jin-woo is known for being one of the weakest hunters in his universe. After engaging in a dangerous expedition with his fellow hunters, Sung is left for dead by his allies. Fortunately, Sung receives an opportunity to become The Player and his life takes a drastic turn from there.
Like Kaiju No. 8, Solo Leveling offers nice world-building. It gives viewers intel on its various hunters, the organizations they’re under, and the different types of dungeons they explore. Like Kafka, Sung doesn’t receive that much respect from others at first.
However, our heroes find a way to convince their naysayers why they’re worth respecting. This is due to our leads displaying exceptional feats of strength and know-how in front of their critics through genuine and mindful methods.
If you’re looking for another zero-to-hero-like anime with a stronger gaming focus, check out Solo Leveling.
You can read our thoughts on Solo Leveling in our full-season review here!
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Similarities – Action, Sci-Fi, Themes
Kaiju No. 8’s giant monster influence is a given based on the monsters in its tale. However, we’d like to recommend an anime that crossed paths with one of Japan’s most notorious giant monsters of all time. Yes, we’re talking about the giant scaly reptile himself, Godzilla.
That Godzilla vs. Evangelion: The Real 4-D fun fact aside, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a cult classic in the anime community. It turned the mecha anime genre on its head, giving viewers a series with a tighter human focus. That’s not to say the sci-fi entities in this anime are boring specimens. It’s just that viewers will find the human tales in this work to be more captivating than the giant robot versus alien battles that occur in it.
That aside, Neon Genesis Evangelion follows Shinji, a boy who lived a sorrowful and saddening existence. When Shinji reunites with his father, Gendo, Gendo orders Shinji to pilot Evangelion Unit 01. Therefore, Shinji must overcome his internal struggles and save humanity from destruction. Like Kaiju No. 8, this series has wonderful depth. It gives viewers a deeper look into their world’s organizations, people, and the enemies they must conquer.
On top of having thrilling twists and jarring scenarios, this anime will take you on a mind-boggling ride.
Inuyashiki
Similarities – Characters, Action, Sci-fi
Despite its bland and jarring visuals, Inuyashiki is a hidden gem worth watching. This sci-fi anime follows an elderly lead named Inuyashiki. He’s not well-loved by his family even though he’s kind-hearted. One day, Inuyashiki visits a park and encounters a boy named Hiro. He and Hiro get hit by a small meteorite and wake up the next morning to discover they’ve become cyborgs.
While Inuyashiki chooses to use his powers for good, Hiro opts to use them for nefarious purposes. Therefore, our tale follows Hiro and Inuyashiki as they aim to use their powers to harm or help others.
Much like Kaiju No. 8, this anime features characters who interact with humanity through supernatural means. Where Kafka and Inuyashiki use their powers to help humans, Hiro and Kaiju No. 9 and 10 use their powers to cause chaos. The clash between good and evil is found and handled well in both works.
Additionally, both stories follow adult leads, who are good-natured and occasionally comical. Kafka’s more childish than Inuyashiki though. Nevertheless, fans will find these older males fascinating. If you’re looking for another story with fun fights and emotional moments, watch Inuyashiki.
So there we have it, our 10 anime/TV show alternatives to watch when you’ve caught up with Kaiju No. 8!
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!