The Spring 2025 Manga Guide

Kaiju No. 8: B-Side

What's It About? 

A spin-off of the smash hit Kaiju No. 8, this manga takes a deeper look at some of the series' most beloved characters. See Hoshina, Shinomiya, and others in the past as they struggle to find themselves through battle with deadly kaiju!

In this first of two volumes, Hoshina's backstory comes to light. The harsh words of his father could have hobbled Hoshina for life, but Hoshina's not your average kaiju fighter. Armed with his signature swords, he shakes free of the doubts of the past, determined to take down kaiju and make a name for himself!

Viz Media (April 8, 2025). Rated T.

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Is It Worth Reading?

MrAJCosplay
Rating:

Kaiju No. 8 is an incredibly fun and straightforward series. However, in its straightforwardness, it just fell short in a few places. The series is such a strong archetypal shounen that I sometimes feel like some of the meat was cut off when the fat was trimmed. I don't know if this is a direct response to those types of complaints or if this is how it was always meant to be, but B-Side is the volume that gave me exactly what I had hoped for.

From the looks of it, this short side series will dedicate a handful of chapters to various side and main ing characters for the Kaiju No. 8 series. In some ways, it acts as a prequel, and in other ways, it is a companion piece to the main series. There are a lot of moments in the main series of Kaiju No. 8 where the characters will train for significantly long periods that will get abridged with fast-forward, or a character will reveal an incredibly strong weapon that they've been secretly training with behind the scenes. B-Side takes advantage of those moments and tells the stories that happened during those times. This way, the main series keeps its fast pace and we can read what those characters were doing at our leisure.

Specifically focuses on the character Soshiro Hoshina, one of my favorite characters in the series because of his sword skills and incredibly cheeky demeanor. This volume focuses on his place in the larger world, fighting Kaiju because, unlike most other characters who use guns and projectiles to kill these things from afar, he uses blades. Using a sword to fight a hundred-foot-tall Godzilla creature isn't exactly practical, but his arc focuses on him dealing with that future. There are limits to what he can do, and he has to come to with that, which I like. It also establishes why he saw so much potential in Kafka, who was originally seen as useless.

If you like Kaiju No. 8 and want more of that, then I think this is worth picking up. The writing quality and character depth are arguably stronger than the main series because there's more room to breathe. I was also shocked that the artwork was done by somebody else, as they did a fantastic job of emulating the original style. I can't wait to find out what other characters will be focused on in subsequent volumes because this does a great job of making the world of Kaiju No. 8 feel that much more interesting.

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Kevin Cormack
Rating:

Spin-offs are sometimes perceived by fans as derivative cash-grabs that can't hope to live up to their sources. However, much like Kaiju No. 8: Exclusive on the Third Division, the characters are in good hands, and artist Hidano's work is almost indistinguishable from original creator Matsumoto's in style. Everyone is instantly recognisable, their expressions and body language just look right.

This volume covers two main stories, the first providing some background on fan-favorite character vice captain Soshiro Hoshina, sword specialist and close combat fighter extraordinaire (who feels to me like a more jolly version of Attack on Titan's Levi Ackerman), detailing how captain Mina Ashiro recruited him to her third division. I love Ashiro's character – she's so terrifyingly competent… except when it comes to blades, so seeks Hoshina to compensate for her weakness. She's beloved by her subordinates, and she comes across as a good leader, inspiring Hoshina to look beyond his limitations. Of course there's a nail-biting kaiju battle where Hoshina's blade skills and Ashiro's overpowered sharpshooting save the day.

The second arc, which is incomplete in this volume, presumably to continue in the next, centers on young female recruit Kikoru Shinomiya, another fun character. Her embarrassing (to herself) crush on main series protagonist Kafka Hibino is both sweet and a little awkward, considering their age difference. Kafka has eyes only for Captain Ashiro, though.

Shinomiya gets to show off to some worshipful journalists while testing an enormous (Guts from franchise.