Kaiju No. 8 episode 5, titled “Joining Up!” was released on Saturday, May 11, 2024. The episode began with Kafka Hibino wailing in fear of the Defense Force exam’s result. Before revealing whether or not Kafka passed the test, the episode revealed the rest of the chosen officers. As expected, Kikoru Shinomiya was the top scorer and was asked to handle the oath during the induction ceremony.
Besides Kikoru, Iharu Furuhashi, Haruichi Izumo, Aoi Kaguragi, and Reno Ichikawa passed the Defense Force exam. While Kikoru spoke on behalf of the class, Captain Ashiro expressed her gratitude to Kikoru for saving everyone during the exam.
However, Kikoru, aware that it was Kafka who saved everyone, including him, agitatedly wished for his attendance. Just then, to everyone’s astonishment, Kafka entered the ceremony hall.
A flashback reveals that although Kafka had failed the exam, Captain Hoshina accepted him into his platoon as a cadet. In that, Hoshina praised Kafka for his ability to locate the monsters’ weak points while aiding his comrades during the exam.
Returning to the present, after Ashiro addressed the officers, Kafka excitedly screamed that he would stand next to her soon. Since addressing her by her first name was disrespectful, his valor took everyone by surprise. As a result, Ashiro asked him to do a hundred push-ups as punishment.
Kaiju No. 8 episode 5: Kafka reveals his secret to Kikoru Shinomiya
Hoshina, after laughing at the comedic element that Kafka brought into the gloomy room, noticed that Ashiro was smiling, which was unlikely given her nature. Additionally, the episode revealed that Hoshina was suspicious of Kafka. As such, he thought of keeping Kafka close to find out if he was hiding something behind his peculiar disposition.
Later, Kafka revealed his secret to Kikoru, telling her the truth behind his Kaiju form. While Kafka suggested they could admit his truth to the Defense Force, Kikoru reasons that doing so would only bring trouble.
The Defense Force will, according to Kikoru, turn Kafka into an experimental subject, and his body parts might be used as special weapons, as it happened for other Kaiju. Moreover, he will never become an officer.
Upon learning the torments he would have to endure, Kafka begged Kikoru’s silence on the matter. Kikoru agreed to keep Kafka’s secret safe but threatened to kill him if he ever harmed humankind, a warning that Kafka readily accepted.
Kaiju No. 8 episode 5 ending explained
During the fire training exercise, Ichikawa outperformed himself to finish the round in two minutes and thirty seconds, while his estimated unleashed combat power was upgraded to 18%. Other officers, too, performed well, and Kikoru, as expected, performed the best.
On the other hand, Kafka took six minutes and thirty-nine seconds to complete the exercise while his combat power upgraded to 1%. He was happy to have converted his combat power from zero to one. Not only that, he also bragged about it to Kikoru, whose combat power was 55%.
After the training, the combatants gathered to take a bath together. The bickering provided a good opportunity for them to bond with one another. Elsewhere, Ashiro offered to show Kikoru the basics of her training routine.
During their bath time together, the boys discussed how Mina Ashiro was their inspiration to join the Defense Force. This allowed Kafka to reveal that Ashiro was his childhood friend, and they had promised to join the Defense Force together.
Towards the end of the episode, Hoshina caught Kafka staying up late and working hard. He also revealed that everything that every combatant said in the dorm was being recorded. While talking, Hoshina warned Kafka to maintain distance from other officers because nobody’s life in the Defense Force was guaranteed. Right then, an alarm goes off, indicating that the officers’ first mission to kill a Kaiju has arrived.
