Naoya Matsumoto Provides a Touching Justification for Kaiju No. 8's Protagonist's Age
Naoya Matusmoto's interview answer essentially comes out as:
"There is a lot in which I identified with the narrative. I was living close to my dream but far away since at the time I couldn make a livelihood from my comics either."
Given that Kafka first appears in the series employed for the Professional Kaiju Cleaning Monster Sweeper Inc., this comment really speaks to him. This work kept Kafka far from becoming a Defense Force commander even while it brought him closer to his dreams.
Naoya Matsumoto continued by saying:
"Every time I saw my Manga friend performing well in magazines, I had mixed feelings and thought, 'Why am I on this side?' Hibino Kafka, I believe, was born naturally from within of me."
The Real-World Inspiration for Kafka in Kaiju No. 8
Author Naoya Matsumoto's hardship inspired Kafka to write following his dream.
With its fascinating story and exciting action, Kaiju No. 8 has been among the most watched anime productions of this year. Given the character's quite ancient age for a shonen series, the protagonist of the series—Hibino Kafka—is surely its selling point. Naoya Matsumoto features a 32-year-old protagonist in his Manga, so daringly deviating from the shonen genre.
Though initially it might seem that Kafka's age is only a marketing ploy, it has more foundations. Naoya Matsumoto, in a recent interview for Bunshun Online, said that personal events shaped Kafka's age. With an eye toward capturing the hardships and tenacity of maturity, Matsumoto said that Kafka is a mirror of the difficulties he encountered in following his aspirations.
Kafka Hibino: A Motivation for Pursues of Dreams
The age-related narrative of Kafka captures the author's sentiments of never giving up on aspirations and that age shouldn't stop one from following their desire. Instead, the road toward realizing one's aspirations should be driven by a great ambition and moral behavior. This is the reason Kafka and Deku from My Hero Academia, another diligent hero who exceeded expectations and the constraints of life, have many parallels.
As a mangaka and as an adult very well, Kafka Hibino captures the author's challenges; in the process, this story encourages others to pursue their aspirations regardless of age. Therefore, the real-world source of Kafka—that of none other than the actual experience and hardships of Kaiju No. 8's author—makes the series considerably more touching and motivating.
Kafka's Search for His Dreams
Working as a monster cleaner, Kaiju No. 8's protagonist experienced similar emotions and compared himself to his childhood buddy Mina Ashiro. Mina continued on to ascend her profession, while Kafka almost gave up on his dream. Though it seemed practically impossible for Kafka to keep chasing his ideal, he never gave up and was willing to sacrifice himself for Reno Ichikawa when the circumstances grew worse, hoping to realize his dream of protecting others, even if it meant facing death.
Disillusioned Kaiju corpse cleanup worker Kafka Hibino dreams of serving in the Defense Force shielding Japan from terrible Kaiju attacks. Once he contracts a Kaiju parasite, his life veers off course and he gains the ability to metamorphose into a Kaiju personally. Known as Kaiju No. 8, Kafka has to negotiate the dual life of a monster and a guardian while running across foes both human and Kaiju.
