With Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 premiering next year, a new trailer has been released, setting the stage for what looks to be an intense and emotional new season.
The latest trailer begins with a flashback of Kikoru Shinomiya, suggesting that Season 2 will delve deeper into her personal arc. The flashback of her as a young girl, promising to join the Defense Force and fight alongside her mom will likely involve exploring the emotional weight of her legacy.
It then shifts to Kafka Hibino, struggling to control his kaiju form. With the new season picking up directly after the Season 1 finale, it should explore whether he can maintain control in the face of more frequent and intense battles.
From there, it becomes more of a montage, highlighting members of the Defense Force. It's set to the track "Beautiful Colors" by OneRepublic. Yes, the American rock band is once again returning to the anime with "Beautiful Colors" serving as the ending theme song to Kaiju No. 8 Season 2.
"Beautiful Colors" will also serve as the inaugural single from the band's forthcoming seventh studio album. The track will be released on July 25th, just a few days after the premiere of Kaiju No. 8 Season 2.
“We’re excited to join the BMG family to keep releasing music that our fans will love,” said OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder in a statement alongside news that the band signed a record deal with BMG. “Jon [Loba, BMG President, Frontline Recordings, The Americas] and Dan [Gill, BMG EVP, Recorded Music, West Coast] have already been such incredible partners throughout this whole process and we’re looking forward to their continued support. We can’t wait for our fans to hear our new single ‘Beautiful Colors’ [written for] the Japanese anime series Kaiju No. 8, coming out later this month!”
This will be OneRepublic's third anime collaboration. The band's song "Nobody," which was featured on the deluxe edition of their album Artificial Paradise, served as the official ending theme of the first season of Kaiju No. 8.
OneRepublic was once again tapped for the ending theme of Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon, a special omnibus film that was released earlier this year. The film featured the track "Invincible" as its ending theme.
Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 is scheduled to premiere on July 19, with new episodes broadcast worldwide and available to stream on X/Twitter. The series will also stream on Crunchyroll as part of the Summer 2025 lineup. Crunchyroll will simulcast new episodes globally on the same day.
Based on Naoya Matsumoto’s hit manga, Kaiju No. 8 is a sci-fi action anime set in a world where humanity fights to survive against massive, destructive monsters known as kaiju. The story centers on Kafka Hibino, an ordinary cleanup worker tasked with disposing kaiju remains. His life changes dramatically when a tiny kaiju merges with his body, granting him extraordinary strength and monster-like powers. The official synopsis reads:
The story revolves around Kafka Hibino, a 32-year-old longing to join The Defense Force and make good on his promise to a childhood friend, Mina Ashiro. He befriends Reno Ichikawa, a new coworker, while cleaning up Kaiju remains. Reno’s determination to join The Defense Force inspires Kafka to fulfill his childhood promise to pass the entrance exam and join Mina to protect humanity. When a small Kaiju burrows itself inside Kafka, he gains superhuman strength and powers fit for fighting Kaiju. He works to earn the trust of his human teammates, defeat increasingly powerful Kaiju, and keep the world safe. Part human and part Kaiju, Kafka recognizes the creature beginning to take over more frequently, and he must fight to hold on to what makes him human.
With Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 on its way next week, you can watch the entire first season plus the OVA, Hoshina’s Day Off, on Crunchyroll.