In recent years, fans have seen a spike in new anime series hitting Crunchyroll. Some of these anime include the likes of Solo Leveling, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End and The Apothecary Diariesamong many others. Of course, the fans can't forget the sensation released two years ago, which goes by the name Kaiju No. 8. The first season of the series aired in 2024, and has since received a second season in 2025.
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Unfortunately, now, the series will officially end with the next season, and this was revealed to fans late last year. Fans are definitely shocked to see this anime go so soon because it almost feels like it just started. Fans of the series are definitely disappointed, but the studio can only work with what the manga has provided. Kafka's adventures are soon coming to an official end in the anime.
Kaiju No. 8 was one of Crunchyroll's biggest hits
Crunchyroll is the largest anime platform outside of Japan. On Crunchyroll, fans can find most anime series, but not all stand out as much. Due to the vacuum left by big series like Jujutsu Kaisen, fans got to see a lot of new anime crop up in the meantime, especially around 2024. One such anime series was none other than Kaiju No. 8, a popular Shonen Jump+ manga with the same name. So far, it has received two anime seasons.
Season 1 of Kaiju No. 8 immediately caught the attention of many fans, and with only 12 episodesit definitely became a fan favorite. In fact, the quality the series delivered was such that it was nominated for many categories at the 2025 Crunchyroll Awards.
“Chasing a dream means constantly losing to someone every minute, every second on what is most non-negotiable and important.” — Kafka Hibino
Kaiju No. 8 also received a second season in 2025, which also aired on Crunchyroll. This season definitely went under the radar, but it was still an enjoyable experience for the fans, who did watch it. Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 was 11 episodes long and while it didn't reach the same heights as the debut season, it definitely made fans excited to learn more about the beloved characters and the story behind the world. But unfortunately, this adventure may end much sooner than fans expected.
Kaiju #8 is officially coming to an end on Crunchyroll
Kaiju #8 had a successful run with both its first and second seasons. But now, unfortunately, it seems that this hit anime will soon come to an end. Really, in December 2025, it was announced that Kaiju #8's next season would also be its last. The next season is called Kaiju No. 8: The Final Chapter. That means Kaiju No. 8 Season 3 will end the franchise for good. This was quite shocking to many fans as three seasons in only about three years is not enough time for one to fully immerse themselves in a story.
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right now, Kaiju No. 8 Season 3 has no confirmed release date. However, since the news was revealed in 2025, many are anticipating a late 2026 release date for the story. At the latest, this final season could be pushed back to early 2027, at which point fans will have to say goodbye to the series. Either way, fans will soon be losing out on a major Shonen anime, which is definitely unfortunate as many believed that Kaiju No. 8 would be one of the faces of modern Shonen for years to come.
Why is Kaiju #8 ending so soon?
It is not unusual for anime series to end with three seasons. But still, there is quite a lot to explore and uncover in Kaiju No. 8 world, especially as the first two seasons of the series were far too short, with a total of 23 episodes. The reason why the story in the anime ends so soon is because of the manga.
As some fans of the franchise may have heard, Kaiju #8's manga ended in a rather abrupt manner. When fans read Kaiju #8 Chapter 127, it was shockingly revealed that the manga would end two chapters later. Many fans were puzzled by this announcement as it felt far too soon for this story to end. Still, Kaiju #8 ended on Shonen Jump+ with Chapter 129.
“That's enough, I can't just keep running from the truth forever. For the record, I don't think it's always wrong to give up. But I'm pretty sure it's never okay to lie to yourself.” — Kafka Hibino
It's not entirely clear why the creator of Kaiju #8, Naoya Matsumoto, ended his series so suddenly. There have been no official reports on the matter, but fans have some theories. First, some believed that the creator of Kaiju No. 8 could have been dealing with some health issues and wanted to end his streak as quickly as possible. This wouldn't be the first time this has happened at Jump. Instead of his series taking him years to finish with breaks, he could have decided to finish it all at once.
Some also believe that the sudden end of Kaiju No. 8 was not due to the creator, but to Shueisha interrupting his work. However, this is untrue. Kaiju no. 8 was not axedand the decision did not come from the newspaper itself. Kaiju No. 8 was actually pretty successful for a Shonen Jump+ series, and there was no reason to scrap it. Over just 16 volumes, Kaiju #8 sold over 19 million copies. This gives it an average of 1.2 million copies per volumewhich is a large number for the average series.
Another possibility is that the creator of Kaiju Number 8 just wanted to be done with it. As many know, working with a mangaka is far from easy and it puts a lot of pressure on them. In fact, the burden is such that most people don't aspire to have a series as long as One Piece or Naruto. Most writers these days, like the creator of Demon Slayer, want to end their series quickly where they see fit.
Unfortunately, unlike Demon Slayer, Kaiju #8 definitely had a rushed ending. At the very least, fans would have liked a couple more chapters to finish off the final boss battle properly. Some fans are hoping that the anime will add some unique content. Currently, it is unknown if that will happen, and it is likely that the anime will simply follow the original creator's manga.
Anyway, Kaiju No. 8 is a prime example of wasted potentialespecially as many mysteries in the world remain uncovered, including the very origins of the Kaiju.
Source: X (formerly Twitter)
