Kafka Hibino
Kafka Hibino is a male anime and manga character who features in Kaiju No. 8.
Contents |
Biography
Kafka Hibino (Japanese: 日ひ比び野の カフカ, Hepburn: Hibino Kafuka) was a Japanese male who grew up in Japan in an era when Kaiju had emerged to terrorise the world. During one such attack in his childhood, Kafka met Mina Ashiro where the pair swore to fight alongside each other in the future after deciding to join the Anti-Kaiju Defense Force. However, by the time Kafka was 23 years old, he had already failed the Defence Force Entrance Exam four times. He would make another attempt when the 18 year old Mina tried joining for the first time. Ashiro would pass whilst Kafka would fail once again but despite that he encouraged Mina to go forward stating that he would catch up to her soon.
As always, Kafka was working at Monster Sweeper Inc. one day where he was cleaning a kaiju corpse killed by the Third Division. At work, he was then introduced to Leno Ichikawa, a new part-timer, who wanted to join the Defense Force just like Kafka, who had already attempted to join them but had given up due to his age, much to Leno's disapproval and Kafka's chagrin. As they were both assigned to intestine duty, Kafka helped Leno during his first day and, at the end of the day, Leno thanked him and informed him that the Defense Force had raised their age limit to 33, raising Kafka's hope once more. Moments after, a Yoju appeared and Kafka promptly pushed Leno away, saving him from being eaten. He then sent Leno to call for help as he would hold back the Yoju. The Yoju easily overwhelmed Kafka, but Leno managed to return in time to save him from being killed as well. A moment later, both were saved by the Third Division and its Captain: Mina Ashiro. That night in the hospital, Leno thanked Kafka for saving him and added that he should try to join the Defense Force once again. Kafka agreed but suddenly a small flying kaiju appeared and, after saying "I found you", it entered Kafka's mouth. Kafka then transformed into a humanoid kaiju, surprising Leno and an old man, who raised an alarm. Surprised by Kafka's new overwhelming strength, the duo ran out of the hospital. While they were running, Kafka sensed a Yoju emerging and headed to help a little girl in danger. He easily killed the Yoju and recalled his promise to Mina. He decided to try for the Defense Force, and at that moment, turned back to a human.
Three months later, a news report said that Kafka's kaiju form had been labelled as Kaiju No. 8, the eighth kaiju which appeared that year, stating that the Defense Force was still looking for him. Leno then reached Kafka, who was eating alone in his kaiju form, and told him they had passed the first exam for the Defense Force. Ten days later, they went to complete the test for the second exam at Tachikawa Base, the base of the Third Division. In the parking lot, a girl calling Kafka an old man, to his annoyance, asked him to move his car as her lucky number today is five, and he had coincidentally parked on the 55th parking slot. She then proceeded to lift his van with one hand and toss it aside, introducing herself as Kikoru Shinomiya. She then wondered why Kafka reeked of kaiju, but Leno quickly explained that they worked at a kaiju disposing of company. Kafka then flipped the van back, transforming only parts of his body that Kikoru couldn't see, and told her to remember his name. As she got interested in his strength, she promised to crush him. Leno then explained that there were two tests for that year: fitness and aptitude, and since the aptitude test was a wild card and changes each year, they would need to score the most points in the fitness exam. Unfortunately, Kafka barely managed to finish the fitness test and places 219th out of 225. Kikoru quickly made fun of him, but Leno explained that there are quite a lot of people who could be considered elite, like Haruichi Izumo, Iharu Furuhashi, Aoi Kaguragi and the top one, Kikoru Shinomiya herself. Kafka was surprised that she's a big deal and Kikoru commented that he made a fool of himself again.
As the aptitude test was about to start Soshiro Hoshina, the Vice-Captain of the Third Division, announced the task would be kaiju neutralization. All the examinees were given Defense Force suits that have kaiju muscle fibers in them and increased their strength. Unfortunately, Kafka was the first candidate ever to not draw any significant power from it, causing Soshiro to laugh. As the test started, Kafka performed terribly but realized the drones were not only there to monitor how many kaiju they killed, but to judge their teamwork skills and adaptability. He and Leno started to provide backup to other candidates using their knowledge of kaiju, but suddenly a Yoju hit Kafka and injured him. However, Kikoru killed that Yoju and promptly told Kafka she would finish the test soon. Even though he suffered fractures, Kafka still stood up, begging Soshiro to continue and asking Leno to carry him, as they tried to catch up to Kikoru. However, no one was able to keep with her and she managed to kill all the Yoju left. As she defeated the Honju and the final examination ended, a humanoid kaiju appeared and seriously wounded Kikoru. Then, the Honju was mysteriously resurrected and proceeded to attack Kikoru again, causing everyone to evacuate the venue, and for the Third Division to intervene. Meanwhile, Kafka quickly transformed and defeated the resurrected Honju before anyone could arrive, saving Kikoru's life and begging her to keep that a secret. Then he, Leno, and an unconscious Kikoru were collected by the Defense Force and brought to an infirmary. There, Kafka and Leno had their injuries treated and Kafka thanked Leno for his encouragement. Just then, they were unexpectedly visited by Mina who thanked them for saving Kikoru's life. Some days after, both of them received their passing exam results and finally became members of the Defense Force, even though Kafka only became a cadet since Soshiro wanted to keep an eye on him. During the Presentation of Enlistment Certificate, Kafka loudly vowed to be at Mina's side one day, causing her to punish him for disrespecting her title as Commander with 100 push-ups. At some point, he and Leno met Kikoru to inform her about Kafka's conditions. Upon hearing that Kikoru promised to keep the secret, but also promised to be the one to kill Kafka, should he ever pose a threat to humanity, and also gave them tips on the humanoid kaiju she faced in the exam venue.
Two months after, Kafka had his marksman training, being able to unleash a measly 1% of his armor's strength and promptly bragging about it with Kikoru. After training, he went to the hot tubs with the other boys and they talked about why wanted to be Force members, discovering that Mina's influence among them was greater than he thought. During the night, he decided to study instead of sleeping, but then Soshiro arrived to inform him that he overheard everything Kafka said, including his promise to Mina, and warned him not to be too friendly with anyone. Suddenly, an alarm went off alerting the officers of a kaiju outbreak, with Soshiro informing Kafka that this would be his first official mission. Assigned to Vice-Captain Hoshina's platoon, Kafka tried to provide support but proved unable to keep up with the others, simply watching them from the sidelines. While his 1% released force initially slowed him down, he was still able to locate the core of the Fungal-type Yoju and report it to Soshiro, thus earning him a lot of praise from the Vice-Captain and the satisfaction of being useful to the Defense Force. As he was enjoying his moment, he witnessed Mina shooting at the enormous Honju with a cannon multiple times. He was later approached by Soshiro who, to demonstrate the kind of power someone should have to stand next to Captain Ashiro, showed off his swordsmanship skills in front of Kafka's shocked eyes, before witnessing the Yoju rushing out of the Honju's corpse. Later, Kafka witnessed one of the dead Yoju moving and heard the call for help of the Ikaruga Platoon, which lost Leno and Iharu, he and Kikoru agreed that the kaiju who attacked Kikoru at the exam venue was there too. Luckily, moments before the Humanoid Kaiju was about to kill Iharu and Leno, Kafka arrived in his Kaiju form and decapitated the other kaiju with one fist to the face. While carrying Leno away, the Humanoid Kaiju regrew his head and recognized Kafka as the rumored Kaiju No. 8. Kafka engaged in combat with it and proved strong enough to resist everything the Humanoid Kaiju threw at him. Kafka was able to strike him strong enough to expose his core, the Defense Force arrived and spotted him before he could finish the kaiju off. This forced the kaiju to attack the Defense Force to distract Kafka and escape, forcing Kafka to retreat to avoid being caught by the Defense Force. Entering an alley to transform back, he was approached by Soshiro, unaware that the Kaiju No. 8 he just found was Kafka. Evading all his attacks, Kafka watched as Soshiro got ready to go all out on him. As Soshiro kept attacking him, Kafka managed to defense himself from everything Soshiro threw at him until, since Soshiro localized his core, he distracted Soshiro by punching his blade away, and escaped. He then reached Kikoru again to transform back into a human and be aided by her. Sometime later he visited Leno and Iharu in the infirmary and, after two weeks, Kafka and the other Force members celebrated their first mission all together. While discussing the mission during the party, Soshiro announced in front of everyone that Kafka was promoted to an official Third Division officer
Overview
Personality and attributes
After transforming into a kaiju, he was given the designation Kaiju No. 8 (怪かい獣じゅう8号ごう, Kaijū Hachi-gō).
Kafka had a comically childish personality in most situations, resulting in him being an easy target for teasing by other characters despite being a determined and dedicated individual in serious situations, bringing him to try his best to do everything to succeed whether individually or for the betterment of the group.
Hibino was also a genuinely caring and kind guy long before he joins the Defense Force, resulting in him going out of his way to help and care for others, regardless if they want it or not. Some examples of this behavior were when Kafka offered solutions to inconveniences, saving people from imminent danger, and sometimes scolds them for not taking better care of themselves.
Powers and abilities
After an unknown kaiju entered his mouth, Kafka obtained the power to transform into a humanoid Daikaiju, gaining immensely powerful abilities. He eventually learned to use this power on a more advanced level, allowing him to change specific parts of his body without a full transformation; conversely, this allows him to outwardly appear completely human if he so chooses. Unfortunately, his kaiju nature remained, making it nearly impossible for Kafka to presently draw out beyond 1% of released power from the Defense Force combat suit he wears. Kafka's kaiju form has a fortitude level of 9.8, the highest fortitude level seen so far in the entire series, making him one of the most powerful kaiju to ever exist, if not the most powerful. He can overpower other kaiju rather easily, even those as powerful as a base Kaiju No. 9 who has a fortitude level of 8.5, without even tiring out.
There were times when Kafka's transformation caused him to lose control resulting in Kaiju No. 8 going on a rampage, albeit when it sense the presence of an Identified No. Kaiju. It was also discovered that the longer Kafka stands in his kaiju form, the more his human body turns into a kaiju, with no possibility of returning to normal. Kafka retained his individuality and sense of self when this occurs, leaving him to helplessly watch his body rampage without his consent. Furthermore, due to his age, Kafka's body can't take the full strength of his blows and will eventually be damaged whenever he abuses his powers.
Due to the Parasitic Kaiju, he has some unique connection that allows him to "see" the phantasms of ancient warriors. Near-dead, Kafka strengthened this link further, resulting in him reliving the Parasitic Kaiju's memories and could see the reason why he lost control was the result of the ancient Kaiju Hunters' 400-year-old grudge due to the Daikaiju of the Meireki-Era.
Despite his early ambitions, by adulthood he came to work for the Professional Kaiju Cleaning Company named Monster Sweeper Inc. (モンスタースイーパー, Monsutā Suīpā) whose job was to go into sites post Kaiju elimination and help clean the area.
Notes
- Kafka Hibino was created by Naoya Matsumoto where he featured in the setting of the Kaiju No. 8 universe.
In other media
Television
Appearances
- Kaiju No. 8:
External Links
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