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Kaiju No. 8 is a hit Shonen Jump+ manga that’s getting a highly anticipated anime this Spring. The trailers released for it have whipped up a nice frenzy, and it looks like a nice subversion of typical kaiju fiction. However, one noteworthy development marks a huge milestone for anime streaming. For the first time, X, formerly known as Twitter, will stream Kaiju No. 8 as its first anime this April.
Why X Streaming Kaiju No. 8 is a Big Deal
It’s no sign of alarm among fans who enjoy their Crunchyroll subscriptions. After all, if they want to watch Kaiju No. 8 on-demand with added features like the English dub, Crunchyroll is the way to go.
But Kaiju No. 8 streaming on X alongside Crunchyroll as a simulcast with its Japanese release signals an important development. It’s pushing for wider accessibility and reach for its viewers, which, while not shocking, is an impressive move.
This shouldn’t be a surprise, given the viral power of X’s algorithm to get this content into fans’ hands. Despite recent attempts at getting X’s streaming off the ground, such as the heated Don Lemon / Elon Musk interview, it still has lots of potential.
Anime fans are always actively posting on Twitter, and this is a great delivery vehicle for those looking to catch the simulcast. It’s a great reminder that Crunchyroll is not the only game in town alongside other services like HIDIVE, including pushes by Hulu and Disney+ to include anime. With 330 million monthly active users on X as of March 2024, Kaiju No. 8’s otherwise tepid My Anime List support of 102,000 could get a big boost.
What Does This Mean for Streaming on X?
As previously mentioned, Don Lemon was meant to have a streaming talk show on X. However, after a tense and combative interview with X’s owner, Elon Musk, this was swiftly canceled. Other X streaming presences include Tucker Carlson, Jim Rome, and Tulsi Gabbard. These personalities are popular and have sustained a reasonable viewership.
While sports and political pundits have a presence, this doesn’t accommodate the diverse viewer base on the platform. Hosting an anime points to the social app’s true pivot towards hosting general entertainment media. You can watch Kaiju No. 8 anytime on Crunchyroll, but it’ll launch live with English subtitles on X, a premiere event.
Making an event of each release is an interesting move and something that Crunchyroll lacks. In fact, with bigger shows like Attack on Titan, Crunchyroll has infamously crashed at crucial simulcast times. It can offset some of the server load caused by this while not necessarily threatening Crunchyoll’s on-demand presence. We just have to hope the series doesn’t fit in any jabs against Musk, or it’ll all be for naught.
Will Kaiju No. 8 Be a Hit Anime?
This one is a tough call. The manga is certainly popular, selling copies in the tens of millions as of 2023. However, with an increasingly saturated market full of more eagerly-anticipated series with established fandoms, it remains doubtful. Kaiju No. 8’s unique advantage of an X livestream certainly can’t hurt it, and if anything, it could draw in far more casual viewers.
Given that the series is influenced by kaiju series like Ultraman and Shin Godzilla, it retains broad enough appeal for the general fan craving action, humor, and spectacle. But one should never set out to make a hit for the sake of it being a hit. Time will tell on April 13, 2024, so if you see this show pop up in your feed, don’t report it like you might with the multitude of pirated movies circulating on X.
