The manga Kaiju No. 8 by Naoya Matsumoto has surpassed 14 million copies in print (including digital versions) due to repeated reprints. In celebration of this milestone, the cover of the latest 13th volume, set to be released on July 4th, has been revealed.

As one of the "young talents," Haruichi Izumo is featured on the cover for the first time, drawing his specialized weapon against the kaiju.

Serialized on the manga app "Shonen Jump+" since July 3, 2020, 'Kaiju No. 8' is set in a world where disasters (i.e., kaiju) relentlessly invade daily life. The story takes place in Japan, which has one of the highest kaiju occurrence rates in the world. The protagonist, Kafka Hibino, a 32-year-old who works cleaning up kaiju corpses defeated by the Defense Force, dreams of becoming a "Defense Force member." However, his body is transformed into a kaiju by a mysterious creature, and he becomes known as "Kaiju No. 8" by the Japan Defense Force.

From the release of the first chapter, it garnered over 3,200 comments in just one day, with reactions such as "the thrilling developments are too interesting," and it quickly trended on Twitter (now X). Each new volume release sets new records for the fastest sales and views in "Shonen Jump+" history, making it one of the flagship series with over 2 million views per chapter—indicating that more than 2 million readers are eagerly anticipating the next installment.

In 2021, it won first place in the "Web Manga Category" of the "Next Manga Awards 2021." Additionally, it ranked first in the "Comic Volume 1 Sales Ranking" by the WEB media "Hon no Hikidashi" of Nippon Shuppan Hanbai Inc. (Nippan), sixth in the "Manga Taisho 2021," and second in the "5th TSUTAYA Comic Awards" among other accolades. Internationally, it is simultaneously distributed in eight languages worldwide (excluding certain regions) through multiple services, including "MANGA Plus by SHUEISHA," and the print version is published in 35 countries and regions.

Since April 2024, a television anime adaptation has been airing.

Source : ORICON NEWS