Kafka Hibino

Kafka has 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. He is also a genuinely caring and kind person 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 are when Kafka offers solutions to inconveniences, saves people from imminent danger, and sometimes scolds them for not taking better care of themselves.

It's for these reasons Hibino does everything he can to not disappoint or sadden those who have put their trust and belief in him. Having to break that connection in times of need causes him to become insecure and unsure of what he will be able to achieve in the future.

Thus, when Kafka experiences losing control of his transformed body (his kaiju) the horror of seeing himself become the thing he's hated since childhood concludes with him taking drastic action to end the situation. Later on, the fear of losing control and hurting those he cares about prevents him from being able to use the Kaiju Form, up until his friend, Kikoru Shinomiya encourages him to trust and have faith in his comrades and the Defense Force.

Kafka seems to get annoyed when he is labeled as an "old man" and always reminds younger people of his condition of seniority when called names. He’s very close with Leno Ichikawa who was the one that pushed him to continue chasing his dream of becoming a defense officer even though Kafka has failed it for 20+ years. He is often referred to by senpai by Leno as well.

When it comes to love and being with a partner, Kafka can be overbearing with his love but in a good way. He always listens to his partner and wants to make sure they are loved and taken care of properly, even if that means missing out on his own desires and wants or even needs. When he falls, he falls hard and the person because his world plus more. Often daydreaming about his lover or not paying attention until someone (usually Leno) snaps him out of it.

He was once very close with Mina, having been friends with her since they were children and also the one he made bets with to see who would become “the coolest captain” in the defense force. They were close as kids and Kafka always promising to protect her and be by her side always. But, it seemed as time went on, their relationship became distant and strained, as Mina because the head captain for division 3 in the forces while Kafka only failed every time he entered the exam. Even though he kept failing, he never truly gave up on his dream of joining the defense force, especially when it came to wanting to keep his promise of being by Mina’s side.

Kafka Hibino is a tall man with dark brown spiky hair. He has large eyes with small irises, thin eyebrows, and a mild goatee on his chin. He sports a rather muscular frame, except for his slightly pudgy belly. He usually has a jovial expression on his face. He is currently 33 years old.

Working for Monster Sweeper Inc., Kafka once regularly wore the company's uniform; it is a grey coverall with a red Monster Sweeper logo on the right side of the chest.

Kafka's Kaiju Form is mostly covered with coal-black scales and plates, cyan energy sometimes glowing from between the cracks (most notably when he is charging a powerful attack). However, his head, spine, and clavicles appear to be made from exposed bone, resulting in these features being a contrasting white. Large plates with dorsal spines cover the back of his head and neck (above his shoulders) the very top one being white. As for his head, it has been described as a 'demonic skull-face' with two short, thick horns, a hole for a nose, and sharp, exposed teeth. His eyes are black sclera with a cyan iris. Seemingly originating from them are several cracks, the left eye having several chunks of the 'mask' missing on the lower left part.

When out of control, some of the Kaiju Form's features become more pronounced. Such as; general size relative to people, elongated horns, more predominate dorsal plates, mouth opening beyond the skull-like mask, and eyes turning entirely cyan (without pupils or a definable beginning or end to his sclera).

Kafka's likes are the Defense Force, curry, hamburgers, alcohol, and cigarettes (he has refrained himself from that before joining the Defense Force).

When he was younger, Kafka liked manga and videogames, with one of them being called Guramon (グラモン, Guramon), most likely a parody of the Pokémon game franchise.

Kafka's kaiju form has the strange feature of making him pee from his nipples.

Ever since being transformed into a kaiju, Kafka's heart has been replaced with a core (the weak point present in the body of every kaiju).

As a kaiju, Kafka has the highest Fortitude level seen thus far in the series, at 9.8. Ironically, as a Defense Force Officer, he has the lowest percentage of released power, at 1% (formerly 0%).

Overall 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 still remains, 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 is able to 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. Kafka has shown so much dexterity with his new form that he could resist an onslaught from Vice-Captain Soshiro Hoshina and disarm him without injuring him. He even proved to be strong enough to resist Isao Shinomiya's attacks, a man armed with a Numbers weapon and easily overpower a fellow Identified Kaiju like Kaiju No. 13.

Kafka's transformation appears to get the better of him sometimes, resulting in a raging Kaiju No. 8 out of control. Kafka retains his individuality and sense of self when this occurs, leaving him to helplessly watch his body rampage without his consent. Furthermore, Kafka's body, due to his age, can't take the full strength of his blows and will eventually be damaged whenever Kafka abuses his powers.

Kafka is very fond of the Defense Force, wishing to join its ranks ever since he was a kid. Failing numerous times, Kafka never gave up on his dream of joining the Defense Force to stand once again next to his long-life friend Mina Ashiro.

In spite of his low released force and while hiding his identity as Kaiju No. 8, Kafka still does his best to support the other Third Division members with his knowledge of kaiju. His support proved fundamental on many occasions during neutralization operations, earning him the respect of several members of the Defense Force. Ever since revealing his status as Kaiju No. 8, Kafka can still count on his allies in the Third Division, whereas most people in the Defense Force still see him as a threat initially. However, upon remaining a Defense Force member even as Kaiju No. 8, Kafka's efforts to support his allies are still genuine and strong enough to allow him to push himself past his limits and protect his friends.

Leno Ichikawa- Kafka and Leno first met each other at the Professional Kaiju Cleaning Company Monster Sweeper Inc., where Kafka worked at the time. Despite their first interaction being rather stormy, Kafka later helped Leno through his first day of work and Leno then showed his gratitude towards his new friend, striking new hope in Kafka by encouraging him in joining the Defense Force. After the sudden attack of a kaiju, the two were saved by the Defense Force and, in the hospital, Leno was present when Kafka was suddenly turned into Kaiju No. 8. Ever since that event, Leno followed and supported Kafka both with his new condition and with the Defense Force Entry Exam, which the two of them decided to try once again, as rivals. During the tests, Leno informed Kafka about the other candidates and later assisted him during the Aptitude Test. With Leno at his side, Kafka finally made his dream of joining the Defense Force come true, counting on such an important ally to back him up. Leno's presence would become so significant for Kafka that, when he revealed his kaiju nature to save everyone, Kafka would feel genuinely sorry to have failed his friend, as seen when Kafka was struck by guilt after revealing his kaiju form, in spite of every time Leno struggled to prevent that. Still, the two share a deep bond of trust and friendship, always thinking about each other's thoughts and sake whenever facing great threats, with Kafka hoping not to fail Leno's trust and Leno struggling to become strong enough in order to prevent Kafka from transforming.

Mina Ashiro- Mina Ashiro, the young Captain of the Third Division, is Kafka's childhood friend and his main reason to join the Defense Force. Ever since promising her to join the Defense Force with her standing side by side, Kafka never forgot her and never stopped to try to reach her on the battlefield, though failing multiple times to enroll.During his last chance of joining, Kafka's results were noted by Mina herself, who reprimanded Kafka when he became an official member for informally addressing a superior officer, as a memento of her higher rank in the Force. Despite her seemingly cold behavior towards Kafka, Mina still remembers him and his promise and follows his achievements with interest and genuine friendship.

When Kafka revealed his identity as Kaiju No. 8 to save everyone, he left Mina so much in shock that she felt uneasy when securing his friend, showing how much Kafka's presence and impending fate could shake Mina's self-confidence. Despite this, Mina still did her best to assure her friend's safety and, in an intimate moment, admitted that she'd be waiting for Kafka to stand at her side one day, regardless of his condition as Kaiju No. 8.

Kikoru Shinomiya- Right before the Fitness Test to join the Defense Force, Kafka and Leno came across Kikoru, who quickly antagonized the two, especially Kafka whom she called "old man", and promised him to show him her superiority.Upon being informed about her by Leno, Kafka started to admire Kikoru for her incredible fame and ability in combat, despite her still making fun of Kafka for his poor skills as a Force member. During the incident of the Aptitude Test, Kafka had to transform into Kaiju No. 8 to save an injured Kikoru from a revived kaiju. After saving her, and revealing his secret, Kikoru swore to not tell anyone but also to be the one to personally kill Kafka, should he ever become a threat to humanity.From that moment, Kafka and Kikoru kept a relationship of mutual respect and friendship, with occasional rivalry moments from both of them. Kikoru’s hidden concern for Kafka goes as far as asking her father, the Director General, to spare Kafka's life and to encourage Kafka to trust in his comrades when he couldn't transform due to his own fear. In return, Kafka cares about Kikoru and tries to subconsciously protect her every time he can.

Soshiro Hoshina- As the Vice-Captain of the Third Division, Soshiro first met Kafka during the Aptitude Test. Initially making fun of him for releasing 0% of his suit force, Soshiro started to have significant doubts in Kafka ever since the incident during the test, believing Kafka could be a kaiju. By having Kafka enter the Defense Force as his personal cadet, Soshiro could see Kafka's true value with his own eyes and eventually grew high expectations on him, even preaching his support on the battlefield and promoting him to an official Corps member. By showing his kinder side to Soshiro, Kafka unwillingly made him put his guard down on the possibility that he could be a kaiju. After watching Soshiro giving his all against the Kaiju No. 10, Kafka couldn't help but transform to save the whole Third Division from a Yoju bomb, much to Soshiro's shock. Ever since this event, Soshiro felt grateful towards Kafka for saving their division and even visited him to thank him and show concern about his current state. Kafka's determination and usual charm even brought Soshiro to teach Kafka hand-to-hand combat techniques. Even if untold, Soshiro was always a bit irritated at the fact that Kaiju No. 8 beat him in a fight,[30] and started training by recreating his fight with No. 8 to defeat him. In his first encounter with Kafka after he had discovered his identity as No. 8, Soshiro attacked him the same way he first did back in Sagamihara, as a way to even the odds between them.

Iharu Furuhashi- Despite the two not interacting much, Kafka still considers Iharu a friend of his and, despite being called "Old-timer" by Iharu sometimes, both of them are friends and comrades within the Third Division.