Warning! Contains spoilers for Kaiju No. 8 Chapter 73!The hit manga Naruto's best relationship dynamic. Namely, the initially antagonistic but eventually synergistic relationship between Naruto and the 9-tailed fox Kurama. However, there more hurdles to get over before smoothing out this relationship in Kaiju No. 8 than the number of hurdles present in Naruto.
Many of the most important characters in Naruto were the Jinchuriki, ninja who contained one of the legendary tailed beasts inside of them. In Kaiju No. 8 there is a similar concept. The Japanese Defense Force that aims to protect humans from the Kaiju attacking Japan is able to use the remains of powerful defeated Kaiju to create strong weapons that it can pair with suitable wielders. However, while many of the Jinchuriki could communicate with the spirits contained inside of them, most Kaiju weapon holders cannot, making this comparison somewhat flawed for the most part. However, the manga's newest Kaiju weapon and wielder pair is changing all of this.
The recent chapters of Kaiju No. 8 (by Naoya Matsumoto) have featured various Kaiju battles across Japan, with many powerful fighters being deployed to fight the wave of monsters attacking the country simultaneously. In chapter 73, Hoshina enters the fray wielding a weapon made from Kaiju No. 10. This weapon is unique from the others in that its Kaiju can actually speak to Hoshina directly while they fight. It also has some control over its actions, which causes some dangerous moments of dysfunction when Hoshina and Kaiju No. 10 disagree on how to fight. Part of this issue stems from how strong each personality in their team is. Each of them were incredibly powerful fighters before becoming a weapon and wielder and so each is very opinionated on how they should fight. Which makes it hard for them to work in sync.
Hoshino And Kaiju No. 10 Will Struggle More Than Naruto And Kurama
The relationship between Hoshina and Kaiju No. 10 is more dysfunctional than Naruto and Kurama’s. While Naruto and Kurama didn’t get along at first, their lifetime sharing a body allowed them to more easily trust each other when they had to. Hoshina and Kaiju No. 10 have each lived their own lives fighting on opposite sides, so they are both much less likely to trust the other one. And a disagreement between the two can leave them immobilized, making them extremely vulnerable in battle. In contrast, Naruto was largely able to use Kurama’s Chakra even while the 9 tails was bound to his body against its wishes.
This is yet the latest example of Kaiju No. 8’s mangaka Matsumoto borrowing ideas from iconic mangaka like Naruto’s Masashi Kishimoto and putting his own spin on it. By repurposing these ideas, Matsumoto can use them in creative and exciting ways. It remains to be seen exactly how Kaiju No.8’s version of Naruto and Kurama’s relationship will develop. But, no matter what happens Naruto fans will enjoy seeing one of the manga’s best relationships re-imagined in a new context.
Kaiju No. 8 Chapter 73 is available to read from Viz Media.
