With only five episodes under its belt, Kaiju No. 8, featuring Kafka Hibino as the protagonist of the series, has made a big name for itself in the anime world. The series was awaited by fans for a long time because of the popularity and reception that the Kaiju No. 8 manga got, which has been going on since 2020.
While fans are happy with the story, animation, and characters of the Kaiju No. 8 anime series, the one thing that the fans were not happy about was Kafka’s physical appearance in the series. Episode 5 of Kaiju No. 8, which was released on May 11, 2024, featured a scene where Kafka unveils his puffy belly, which has shocked fans.
Anime fans instantly started comparing Kafka with Shonen protagonists from other series and pointed out how he does not have the typical body of a main character. However, Kafka’s voice actor, Nazeeh Tarsha, could not bear to see Kafka getting berated by fans, so he defended him by pointing out that Kafka’s body is the ideal physique for a male.
Kafka Gets Berated By Anime Fans For His Physical Appearance
In Episode 5, Kafka and his other colleagues decide to take a bath after intense training. During the bath, Kafka, Ichikawa, and Iharu start comparing the muscle build, and at first, Kafka shows a bulky body with intense muscles. However, suddenly, it is revealed that Kafka was just holding his breath to pull his stomach in.
As soon as he breathes the air out, his stout belly bounces out, and Iharu and Ichikawa start making fun of him and even state that he can’t be a part of the Defense Force if he has a build like this.
However, Iharu was not the only one who made fun of Kafka because of his body. A Kaiju No. 8 fan account shared a tweet on X(Formerly Twitter) comparing the physical builds of Kafka and other shonen protagonists.
MC in the other anime VS MC in kaiju no 8 …. I can't do it with Kafka 😓 🙈 ❣ #怪獣8号 #KaijuNo8 #8号リアタイ pic.twitter.com/dfBgFP1Ikr
— Angicer (@Angelicaceresa1) May 11, 2024
Fans instantly started insulting Kafka for having a pudgy belly and even commented about how he was unfit for being an anime protagonist.
Kafka’s Voice Actor Defends Kafka
While other anime fans were joking about Kafka’s dad bod and how the main character of Kaiju No. 8 is not a good fit for an anime that has quite a lot of battles and training, Kafka’s English voice actor Nazeeh Tarsha came to protect the honor of his character.
Tarsha pointed out that Kafka’s body is the ideal male body, and although fans might not like it because he doesn’t look like beefed-up main characters from other series, his physical appearance is at its peak.
As soon as Tarsha shared his tweet, Kaiju No. 8 fans came together to defend their main character. Some fans even stated that Kafka’s dad bod is much better than other protagonists.
This is the ideal male body. You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like. https://t.co/TAuo210gBu
— Nazeeh Tarsha (@NazeehTarsha) May 12, 2024
I can maybe understand three of those characters having some kind of abs (Izuku, Eren, and Tanjiro), but??? and whatever happened with Asta’s body during his training, I just… ugh. Characters with a body type like Kafka and Laios (Dunmeshi) is average and perfect.
— nicevibes, always. 🇵🇸 (@jncvibe) May 12, 2024
I swear to God, you could put all of my anime crushes together multiple times (Toji, Gojo, Sukuna, Jiraiya, Kakashi, etc) together and I will choose Kafka every time. He's got the perfect body imo 🥰
— Kelsey 🇨🇦 (@StrwbrryOvrkll) May 12, 2024
https://twitter.com/Alystar_XXX/status/1789748889722982711
Give me a Kafka bod any day. Ideal male and peak cuddle potential!
— Kya *winter edition* (@Kyarrific) May 13, 2024
Kafka’s plumpish body might not be liked by fans that much, but it offers a realistic experience to the anime, and that is certainly loved by Kaiju No. 8 fans. Irrespective of his body, his real strength comes from his Kaiju form, which fans will get to see more in the next episode, which is scheduled to be released on May 18, 2024.
You can watch Kaiju No. 8 on Crunchyroll.
