Mina Ashiro unleashes her final weapon to take down the Meireki-era Daikaiju.
The latest chapter of Naoya Matsumoto’s manga was both action-focused and emotional. Kikoru pushed her body and her suit to their limits as she remembered how much trust her father had put in her training. Thankfully, she was able to identify the core of the Meireki-era Daikaiju with the help of the No. 1 weapon. Now, it’s Mina’s time to take the stage!
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Kaiju No. 8 Chapter 125 recap
The issue opens with Kikoru attacking the Daikaiju and promising that she’ll get her father out of the monster’s grasp. Kafka follows her lead, connecting his attacks thanks to her guidance with No. 1’s eyes. Kikoru flies off to find the monster’s core, but the technical team realises that she’s already overheating. Vice Captain Hoshina thinks that it’s natural because Kikoru is not as proficient in using that weapon as Captain Narumi. On top of that, she’s using two numbered weapons simultaneously. Kafka realises that she won’t last long. The only way to kill the monster is to attack its core. But it will concentrate its shield to protect its core and they’ll need an immense amount of power to break through it.
Hoshina asks how he plans to do that, to which Mina Ashiro tells him to head to the target coordinates sent to him by Okonogi. Mina says that she will break through the shield with Keraunos. Kikoru continues to search for the main core, as the many monster-fusions have given birth to multiple cores in the Daikaiju’s body. Although her body is on the verge of breaking due to immense stress, she continues to search. In a flashback, we see how Kikoru knew why her father was so strict with her during training, especially after her mother’s death. Soon, she finds the main core of the monster and shares its location with her comrades.
The Daikaiju raises a hand to attack Kikoru, and she can’t increase her output to evade it. Her power output drops another few levels and Kafka tries to help her. But Kikoru screams at him to stay back, saying she’s done being rescued. She resumes the mission, hitting the target with her weapon and driving the daikaiju towards the designated spot. She promises to surpass everyone, including Captain Narumi, her mother, and her father and become the strongest Defense Force officer. Kafka helps her by punching the Daikaiju and Okonogi announces that they’ve reached the target point. The final panel shows Mina Ashiro ‘locked on’ with her massive weapon Keraunos, ready to bring down the monster’s shield.
Kaiju No. 8 Chapter 125 review
The teamwork between the talented soldiers from the Defense Force has been utterly impressive. Everyone worked together to bring the Daikaiju to the location of Mina’s weapon, and now it’s her turn to show her worth.
Meanwhile, Kikoru was tremendous in this chapter. Despite her young age, she has the strength and talent of becoming the face of Kaiju extraction. Her character growth made everyone proud, especially Kafka. As always, Matsumoto excelled in the art department, making the action sequences seem that much smoother and more stylistic. I can’t wait to see what happens as Kafka and Mina work together to kill the Daikaiju.
Kaiju No. 8 Chapter 126 release date
According to the Manga Plus website, the next chapter of the anime will be published on Friday, 9 May, 2025, at 12 AM JST (Thursday, 8 May, 2025, at 11 PM SGT, 8:30 PM IST, 11 AM EST, and 8 AM PST). Head towards the Manga Plus and Viz Media websites to read the official English translation of the manga.
