English Dub Review: Kaiju No. 8: Narumi’s Week at Work Episodes 3-4
Overview
“That Person From the West”
Soichiro, Hoshina’s brother and the most powerful fighter in western Japan, visits Narumi.
“The Coworkers’ Bonds”
With the highest kaiju-emergence rates in the world, Japan is no stranger to attacks by deadly monsters. Enter the Japan Defense Force, a military organization tasked with the neutralization of kaiju. Kafka Hibino, a kaiju-corpse cleanup man, has always dreamed of joining the force. But when he gets another shot at achieving his childhood dream, he undergoes an unexpected transformation. How can he fight kaiju now that he’s become one himself?!
Our Take
Picking up from the previous two episodes, we conclude this mini-series with the final two shorts, beginning with “That Person From the West.” Narumi’s visit from Soichiro Hoshina, Soshiro’s older brother and a powerful captain from western Japan, provides plenty of laughs, particularly because Narumi somehow manages to have completely different problems with both Hoshina brothers. The exaggerated expressions and comedic timing work especially well, while the reveal that Soshiro has an older brother who is also a captain comes as a surprisingly big piece of lore. It’s easily one of the funniest shorts, and Soichiro’s introduction is entertaining enough to make you wish we had gotten more time to see him interact with Narumi.
“The Coworkers’ Bonds” then wraps things up with another collection of amusing character moments, though it doesn’t quite live up to the two episodes before it. Seeing Kafka and Kikoru again is a welcome surprise, especially Kikoru’s hilariously intense expressions, while the episode also gives us a glimpse of Mina and the other captains during their younger days. The parallels between Kafka and Kikoru and the younger Jura and Gen are fun, and seeing Mina being more expressive as a recruit adds some nice character context. It’s a simple but enjoyable way to close things out, even if the finale itself feels somewhat underwhelming.
Overall, these shorts have been consistently entertaining, with “That Person From the West” standing out as the stronger of the final two. There were plenty of laughs, fun character interactions, and even a few unexpected pieces of lore, but I still wish the series had been given full-length episodes. After all the hype surrounding the project, ending with a handful of short comedic stories feels like a missed opportunity, even if they managed to make the most of what they had.
