Interview: We Talked With the English Cast of Kaiju No. 8

Kaiju No. 8 is one of the biggest – and best – anime of 2024, with the smash hit shonen anime premiering in April to massive praise from critics and fans alike. At the time of writing, nine episodes of the anime have aired, and as the first season is nearing its end, fans are eagerly anticipating every new episode as the story heats up.

Ahead of the season one finale, GLHF sat down with three of the English voice actors on the show – Nazeeh Tarsha, the voice of Kafka, Adam McArthur, the voice of Ichikawa, and Abigail Blythe, the voice of Kikoru – to talk about everything Kaiju No. 8, from their experiences working on the anime to their favorite moments and everything in between.

GLHF: How are you enjoying the project so far?

Nazeeh Tarsha: Absolutely loving it. Everything’s been a blast. The director is amazing in guiding us through the experience and my co-stars here have been nothing short of phenomenal. And Adam’s okay, I guess.

Adam McArthur: [laughing] How dare you. Well the thing that I’ve been having the most fun with is not Nazeeh, so… Quote me!

Abigail Blythe: What is this, enemies to lovers? What’s going on?

Adam: Reverse that, reverse that Abigail.

Abigail: Oh?

Adam: No, we’ve been having a blast. This show is so fun, we’re so lucky to get to be a part of something with some amazing action, some awesome, hilarious comedy, the music is amazing, fans like it. We’re all pretty much just on the hype train of Kaiju No. 8. We’re loving it.

Abigail: It’s been a dream. This is an actor’s dream, and [ADR director] Shawn Gann is the best director for this project, as are Nazeeh and Adam the best for the characters. It’s just a great fit all around, and we are so lucky and so honored.

GLHF: Abigail, you voice Kikoru, who’s a little bit on the bratty, mean side. What was it like recording her lines?

Abigail: She is a blast to record for, especially because she has so many layers, and she has such depth as a character. She does come across in her character introduction as kind of cattish, but it’s really just a front, as you find out when you continue watching it, especially once you get into episode 4 and get to more of her backstory.

This confidence is really just a front for her fear of failure, and she’s been preparing for greatness her entire life, and she has such high expectations of her. She always has to have this air about her, that she knows exactly what she’s doing, because that is all her father expects of her. He expects her to be perfect, and so she constantly has to act like she is perfect.

So I don’t fault her for any type of brattiness or meanness that she might project to others. But it’s a joy, and really, really fun in the comedic moments of the playfulness between her and Kafka. They very much have a sibling relationship where they’re able to go at each other in those moments like that, and I think that it’s really fun.

GLHF: Nazeeh, what was it like going into this project knowing you were going to be voicing a washed up, dead-end guy who’s suddenly thrust into everything?

Nazeeh: The thing that I really loved about Kafka is that when we get introduced to him, he’s at a sort of… I don’t even want to say a low point, but he’s sort of at a complacent point in his life, where he’s accepted that he’s not going to be having any dreams or aspirations. Like, he’s just part of the cleanup crew, and this is the rest of his life — go to work, come home, eat his ramen noodles, sleep, and repeat.

Because of that, and also because of his age, while it is sort of a gaff throughout the entire show, it does make this level of relatability and seeing what it’s like when you have a character who’s actually experienced some sort of trial and tribulation through their life. You know it’s not just this happy-go-lucky 15-year-old looking to take down a deity, this is a person who has experienced life, has experienced emotions.

And all of a sudden, thanks to the push of Ichikawa in the show, he begins to find his own and realize age really is just a number, and you can pursue your dreams and hopes no matter what your age. It’s never the wrong time to start trying. I think it’s just an absolute joy, and it’s definitely different when you see a character that you know, despite it being an anime, there is a lot of relatability to the real world.

GLHF: One of the things that makes Kaiju No. 8 so appealing is that it’s this very human story, but it’s also very monster-focused, particularly with Kafka who has a monstrous side to him now. How do you go about balancing those two aspects in your performance?

Nazeeh: That’s the interesting thing, and Adam brought this up at one point, which is despite this being a world filled with kaiju and abnormalities, this is very much a human story where the kaiju are just sort of a vessel to continue showcasing the story. You get a little bit of both, you get the comedy, you get the action, you get everything that you want in an action-packed shonen anime.

But with the human element being the main focus, you kind of learn to put things into a little more perspective and help put more of a light on that.

GLHF: Adam, Ichikawa has an air about him that he knows what he’s doing, but he’s very young and very headstrong, and is always freaking out under the surface because he’s in over his head. Is it a character you resonate with?

Adam: Yeah, definitely. I think he came into this a little bit of a loner, not because of anything wrong with him, but just life. He strikes me as somebody who doesn’t have a lot of people to open up to or talk to, and then he meets Kafka and Kafka brings out something in him.

I definitely think that he’s someone who has a lot of things bubbling under the surface. Whether he’s freaking out, whether he’s passionate about something, he sort of keeps all of his emotions in a small range of what he shows to people.

It’s actually a lot of fun getting to play a character like that because you have to be mindful in these crazy moments not to also go crazy when everyone else around you is going crazy. He has to be this grounded force.

In my own life, I have parents and I have older siblings and things like that, and his relationship with Kafka feels very much like he is acting parental towards Kafka to protect him, or almost like a big brother, even though he’s younger. I think the age difference helps lend itself towards the comedy of that, the fact that this younger dude is like “why are you doing these dumb things?” So it’s been a lot of fun to play.

GLHF: On the surface, Kaiju No. 8 looks like a traditional shonen anime, but barely 5 minutes into the first episode you have poop jokes and gross-out humor as well. Were you surprised at some of the directions the show goes in?

Abigail: I’ve read the source material, and even I was surprised. I think that’s a lot of people’s first takeaway when they first see the anime, too. A lot of the time, the comedy doesn’t really lift off the page when you’re reading manga, but it translates very well into the anime.

That’s what I think is so special about Kaiju No 8., not only the variety of what you mentioned but there’s comedy, slice of life, there’s touching moments, a lot of action. What’s great about it, having such high comedic moments and such high action moments is the juxtaposition.

And since we do have such lighthearted and funny moments, I think that makes the action moments even cooler. I remember watching the blood rain moment in one of the first couple of episodes, when he first punches the other kaiju and obliterates it and blood rains down on him.

And the music, I think the score really helps too in those moments. I think it just makes it even more powerful and striking, because there is that strong juxtaposition. I think it’s so special.

Adam: Yeah, it’s cool. The comedy is so well balanced with all the action, it feels like it gives you a moment to breathe and digest everything. The serious stuff makes you appreciate the comedy, the comedy makes you appreciate the tender-hearted stuff, and the more serious action.

If you were just to look at the poster or the cover of the first episode that’s on Crunchyroll, you’d think “oh, I’m getting into some serious stuff,” but the levity in the show is totally refreshing.

Nazeeh: Yeah, exactly what they’ve said. Personally, I wasn’t expecting the sort of tonal whiplash, but it all just works to heighten the level of the writing and the project in general.

GLHF: What have been your favorite moments so far in the series?

Adam: I had a lot of fun in episode 7, when Ichikawa and Iharu were fighting Kaiju No. 9, not just with the stuff those two are doing but the ending of the episode – spoilers, you should be caught up! – when Kafka shows up as Kaiju No. 8 and knocks Kaiju No. 9’s head off. That whole thing was amazing. And then carrying Ichikawa to safety, all that stuff… that episode was a lot of fun.

Abigail: The obvious answer for me would be episode 4 with Kikoru’s backstory and her big fight with Kaiju No. 9. But what I also really loved was episode 6 when it was more of a team-building episode and had a lot of scenes that weren’t in the manga. I love that they’re adding in anime-only scenes, that’s been really exciting for me.

Them all bathing together, or Kikoru talking to Mina, her idol, and asking her questions, and Kikoru talking to Kafka and seeing him laying down and saying “boys are stupid.” All of them bonding together, it was really fun getting to see that in all of those comedic moments.

Nazeeh: My favorite moments include the hospital fleeing scene, as I first transform and we're just hightailing it out of there with the iconic peeing nipples. And I absolutely adore Kafka’s first interaction with Kikoru in the parking lot, because it immediately shows the dynamic of just how strong and powerful a character Kikoru is, but also laying down this camaraderie that ends up building from that moment. Like Kikoru calling Kafka an old man and him trying to bite back, but then having to suck it back up.

GLHF: And finally, is there anyone else you worked with on the series that you’d like to sing the praises of?

Abigail: Shawn Gann, an amazing director. He was perfect for this project, and he is so extremely talented. Also, Ben Stagmire is amazing as Iharu, and so talented and a very good friend.

Adam: Shout outs to Alejandro [Saab] too, he’s been killing it as Kaiju No. 9. But honestly there are so many people in this show, it would take longer than a minute to name them all by name, but it has just been an awesome experience getting to work with everybody, and everyone is doing an amazing job. There’s not a single miss at all in this entire series so far, and it’s been really cool to watch.

Nazeeh: Agree, and I will still name a couple more names, and I will say Katelyn Barr, who plays Mina in the show–

Abigail: Incredible, absolutely.

Nazeeh: Absolutely. She’s one of my favorite actresses of all time, period. And then also shout out to José Sandoval, who is the engineer on the show. He has been a wizard behind the keys. But like Adam said, there are so many people to name, and we could go on and on.

Kaiju No. 8 is available now on Crunchyroll, and the final episode of season one will become available on June 30, 2024.

Related: Kaiju No. 8 Review