#mysterious young yoju

[kujoestars]

The Mechanism of Kafka's Transformation and How It Affects Him

(Crossposting my analysis/theory from Reddit. Also, warning: this post contains both anime and manga spoilers so beware if you are anime-only)

So, something that drove me nuts about the manga's version of the X-ray scene was the fact that there was literally no difference from a normal human chest x-ray. The anime THANK GOODNESS fixed that:

We finally know exactly how Kafka's core looks while he's in human form. It appears to be primarily occupying where the chambers would be with a good amount of myocardium (the heart muscles) suspending it while also continuing to function as a heart.

Notably for me, there's actually a translucent hemicircle up top there where it's supposed to connect to the aorta. In fact, you can see the core is translucent on its left (our right) side while more opaque to its right (our left).

Let me highlight it for reference I hope y'all appreciate the fact I had to do it with a mouse on MSPaint because Reddit won't save images to drafts and I can't drop images from tablet like on desktop:

It appears that Kafka's heart was fully converted and the tissue there is just a facsimile since it appears to be forming a pouch for the core to nestle in.

The anime's expansion of the scene the Mysterious Larva/Young Yoju fused with Kafka ended up perfectly tying in to this. Something I noticed was that Kafka was not actually transforming for most of it. Initially he was clutching at his throat where it entered:

Then just before the transformation started (when his eyes started glowing), he was clawing desperately at his chest:

For reference to anyone who's never studied anatomy, the mid-esophagus is actually resting against the heart, which is why the best form of imaging for the heart is a transesophageal echocardiogram (i.e. stick an ultrasound down the esophagus), which works like in this diagram:

In other words, the Larva's target was his heart and it was burrowing into it from that point. Which is consistent with where Kafka was clawing at in the shot I posted before and why after the change completed, his hand was resting just above that area:

Basically, the theory I have been saving specifically for after this episode is: Everything about Kafka's body is tied to the core.

Yes, that was obvious since we saw him regenerate his entire body from just the core, but what I'm saying here is that that the heart was the only thing the Larva was trying to fuse with. The rest of the body followed instantaneously once the heart became a core. Kaiju cores appear to be storing a lot of energy, so it would fit in with why even the initial change could happen so rapidly. It was a large burst of energy that had Kafka's cells all convert and restructure, and we even see steam coming both off and out of him here in the anime.

All future changes seem to be purely a matter of him controlling every cell in his body like individual muscles or even like how cuttlefish and octopi are able to change their appearance in an instant from muscle contractions and chromatophores.

In other words, the evidence has stacked to full OVERKILL that Kafka is truly a kaiju that can shapeshift into a human rather than the reverse like he and everyone else prefers to think.

Which leads me to my big pet theory right now: the reason Kafka is losing his ability to revert to human form is because he's becoming malnourished. I won't stack the image evidence since I've already done enough and the focus is on the core and Kafka's real biological nature now (I'll save that for a future post, lol), but it only stands to reason that if Kafka is physiologically a kaiju regardless of form, that means he has the metabolic needs of a kaiju.

He was only fine before because he had a lot of extra body fat as reserves and didn't use his kaiju form much. But after entering the Defense Force, he's been in multiple situations where he had to push himself while transformed and consume much more energy. If you pay attention to his body type, you'll notice he's been having quite a bit of weight loss.

Sure, he's been training a lot too and eating better, but following the fight with Isao, he's becoming abnormally thin. Maybe not enough for people to immediately think he needs a sandwich, but as of the latest chapters, I've noticed he's actually pretty lanky now even in kaiju form when previously Kaiju No. 8 was built like a bear.

You could argue it's just art evolution EXCEPT literally no one else had such a drastic change in body type or AT ALL. I'm pretty convinced this is an intentional transition from Matsumoto.

Whatever Kafka is eating as a human, it's not enough to sustain him long term and so his body is going into power save mode. And since his default is kaiju (why else would he constantly slip up his first few months if it wasn't actually his default form?), his body is losing its ability to shapeshift because it doesn't have the energy to. Malnourishment tends to manifest in a similarly piecemeal fashion irl, so I'm not surprised its first sign is just one spot on his hand.

Such a deceptively simple reason for the kaijufication is precisely why I'm very certain that is the cause. Kafka has a lot of issues with loving and taking care of himself. And this series is all about subverting tropes in favor of common sense. It's not some "inner demon" trying to take over (the Larva actually only did that once because Kafka was both in danger and refusing to fight back what it perceived as another daikaiju); Kafka just isn't taking care of himself as usual!

And there you have it, folks. Finally, a clear breakdown of what exactly the Larva did, how the transformations work, and why the kaijufication may not be as scary as everyone thinks. Or rather....not in the way they think. Someone please feed that kaiju properly!

[kujoestars]

Counterpoint: We actually hear a casual version right in the first episode when Kafka was first introduced and well before the Mysterious Larva fused with him. I wish I could pull up the exact track, but I haven't been able to find it listed just yet. But I can tell you it starts at about the 4 minute mark in the first episode on Crunchyroll.

So it's incorrect that it's "Kaiju No. 8's theme". Or rather, not the way you think, LOL.

Furthermore, there's a lot of evidence in both the anime and manga pointing to Kafka and the Larva being two halves of a whole forming No. 8. It's not a case of "Kaiju No. 8 jacked Kafka's body and Kafka is on borrowed power!" No, Kafka is literally No. 8. Or specifically, he is the mind of No. 8 because the Larva was perfectly content to let him do whatever except for that ONE time their lives were in danger because Kafka was in actual danger but refusing to fight back against what the Larva perceived as another kaiju.

A common misinterpretation of what the larva was telling Kafka (that's often affected by what translation people are using) is that it's calling him a kaiju and urging him to kill everyone. But that actually makes no sense even within the context given as Kafka noted that his body was reacting to Isao like he's another kaiju. Something that happened only after Isao started using No. 2.

It's also worth noting that while Kafka does refer to his kaiju side as No. 8, the Larva itself never appeared as anything besides how it appeared prior to fusion. In fact, it is Kafka's mental avatar who starts taking on No. 8's appearance when the Larva started assimilating him mentally:

This is what tells me that No. 8 is both of them. The Larva in many ways parallels the Numbers weapons in that it does not appear to have an actual will of its own and instead functions as an extension of its host. Though, unlike with the Numbers weapons, it still has its core (that it's now sharing with Kafka) and therefore isn't basically lobotomized like they are, hence why it's still able to assert itself.

Although, given how mentally sync'ing with the Numbers causes their users to be consumed by their deepest desires, I wouldn't be surprised if the Larva was acting partially based off Kafka's desire to kill off kaiju. But that's a whole 'nother analysis.

Anyways, the tl;dr of all this is that where Kafka is the mind and will of No. 8, the Larva forms the instincts. The theme and its variations simply reflect Kafka's different states with the version for Berserk No. 8 embodying the sheer horror of that out of control rage state he's trapped in. They lyrics of the song don't make sense otherwise if they're for the Larva!

I have a separate theory that Kafka will need to eventually integrate willingly in a balanced way with the Larva to be able to function as he should, but I'll save that for another post.

It was such a fantastic move for them to bring in the kaiju no. 8 leitmotif here - it's a tune that we're usually thrilled to hear as it gets us pumped, oh so excited to see what badassery the transformed Kafka's about to pull off...

But the tone is so much darker now, because Kafka desperately didn't want to transform this time. Even worse, it's not even Kafka we're seeing anymore. In this scene, it's made it painfully clear...

This is not Hibino Kafka's theme. It has never been his theme.

This is kaiju no. 8's theme.

[sonicasura]

MAG Man: Main Route

Here is the MAG section of our species swap with everyone's favorite himbo! This is the main route as Mina's path will have her own post. Kafka ain't gonna have fun either way that's for sure. Warning this does get a bit dark with mentions to inhuman experimentation and PTSD. Let's get started.

Kafka is 24 years old when he fails his latest attempt at the Entrance Exams. The day has already been terrible for him personally. He didn't make it through the first part, the company van gotten wrecked so he had to walk, and it was raining like hell.

Kafka was about to walk home when a mysterious man approaches him. The guy explains that he's with a side branch for the Defense Force who focus on dropouts. He heard about Kafka's recent failure and offered him another shot through a special program.

A deal that honestly sounded too good to be true. Yet, the last promise Kafka had made to his childhood friend would do him in. He takes the offer and meets the man at an agreed upon location tomorrow. This was the last day Kafka would be seen by anyone.

In reality his 'provider' actually worked in a shadowy organization with links to the black market. Due to the rise in kaiju attacks, high paying officials wanted special 'guards' to protect their assets. Individuals with the kind of power only seen by the Defense Force.

Thus they delved into experimentation involving kaiju DNA in what would be known as Project MAGNUS. Super soldiers with increased size, enhanced strength, heightened aggression but also made to follow orders by their select 'handlers.' Kafka had become their latest test subject and they aimed to break all of him.

He would undergo grueling experiments as his genetic code is shattered n stitched together like clockwork. These high stressed tests were made with the purpose of triggering the kaiju DNA inside Kafka to activate. Only then would he be ready for 'reprogramming'. It took 6 months for the man's kaiju side to activate.

Kafka would skyrocket to 15'6 in size with his muscle density doubling in the process, dark grey scales swiftly covered his arms/legs/sides of his face/torso sides, teeth growing into fangs so large they overtook his cheeks to form a massive mouth(like his kaiju), a large black scaled tail came out his lower back, twin white long horns burst from his forehead and eyes became blood red slits.

The newly made MAG would go on a vicious rampage. Kakfa brutally kills everyone inside the building he been imprisoned within as all were guilty. He is soon found by Toku, his fellow Monster Sweeper, within an alley. (There was a corpse cleanup nearby where the MAG ran off to afterwards.)

The man quickly recognizes his missing coworker and decides to help Kafka. You can say the Sweepers become very protective of their transformed coworker. Everyone pitched in to find Kafka a safe, comfortable place to call home and help him feel like a person than just survive.

Sometimes the MAG's aggressive nature would come to the surface so his sweepers find kaiju for him to fight. If the Defense Force get too close, then they send a signal out for Kafka to run. There have been a few sightings of the MAG but not enough for him to land on the DF's radar fully.

It would remain like that for years until Reno joins the Sweepers. The young man immediately felt something was off when he was assigned to this particular crew. Like something is watching him with sheer curiosity. It didn't help that his coworkers would ignore sudden discrepancies on the corpses they work on. (Power tools don't leave behind bite marks.)

He uncovers the truth when Kafka is forced to save Reno from the spider Yoju. Things only escalate further as the MAG would find his nest been invaded by a particular tiny Kaiju. One that triggers a panic within him upon the words 'Found You' before shoving itself down his throat.

Kafka reacted much more violently with this forced transformation due to PTSD wrought from the experiments. The new No.8 stands around 23'4 in size, his lower arms/lower legs/jagged back spikes/horn tips now a blood red, has an extra pair of smaller arms underneath his main pair, four horns with a smaller pair in front of the main, mouth reached half way down his neck, and large obsidian batlike wings bearing torn red membrane. Reno immediately called the Sweepers as he seriously needs help to look for the now runaway Kafka.

They would find the upgraded MAG getting soothed by Ami(the little girl) and her concerned mother(Futaba). Interestingly, Kafka's red highlights had turned a soft blueish green as both recounted how he not only saved them from the Spider Yoju but healed the mom with his scales. Whatever had altered his form somehow stabilize the man's unstable DNA.

This becoming more apparent as Kafka suddenly shrinks to a more humanlike state. (He's around 6'8 but still have some monstrous features like small horns, short tail, faded scale 'patterns', and sharp claws.) Kafka will now change forms depending on his mood with content/relaxed leading to his smaller humanoid version.

The kaiju inside him seems to be responding to the MAG's innate desire to keep his humanity. Maybe it could turn Kafka back to the way he was before. Or at least make this monstrous side more manageable.

Although the Monster Sweepers will have to be careful. Kafka has fully landed himself in the Defense Force's radar but more unstable sources shall make themselves known. Whether he can be a man or become a monster only gotten a lot harder than just dangerous.

That's all I have at the moment. For now, enjoy a song that came to mind involving our himbo in general: Monster by Fight The Fade.

[sonicasura]

Mag Man: Placation

You can thank @discoknack for the new name suggestion. Here we are with the alternate route for MAG!Kafka species swap, the Mina Route or what I call Placation. There will be some similarities from the main particularly the start. Other than that, let's get started!

Mina Ashiro first major assignment as Captain of the 3rd Division didn't fully involve Kaiju. People have been mysteriously disappearing for the past few years, specifically Defense Force examinees and dropouts. At first these rumors were ignored by the higher ups until a recent report came in.

Someone was posing as an applicator for a Defense Force program with the aim to train failures into proper officers. An organization who has deep connections to the kaiju side of the black market. The latest victim however is what really got Mina to take this case. Kafka Hibino, her childhood friend and someone who drifted away from her over time.

The mission was painfully simple. Apprehend all of those responsible and rescue any alive captives. Permission to use lethal force was authorized as these people could be more dangerous than a simple kaiju. It would take some time before her division was allowed to move out.

A little too late for the scene they will stumble upon was a sheer bloodbath. Every member of the shadow organization laid dead on the ground. Their bodies flattened or viciously tore apart by something.

Any captives her officers found been dead for a while, some showing minor mutations eeriely reminiscent to Kaiju. Yet Mina found no sign of Kafka or whatever caused this carnage. That is until she noticed movements in a nearby alley.

What Mina would find broke her heart within seconds. Curled up in a blood soaked ball was what could only be Kafka. A 15'6 giant adorned in a torn black jumpsuit barely holding onto his large body, dark grey scales that covered his arms/legs/sides/cheeks, a massive maw of sharp teeth which split his face than overtake his lips, a thick black reptilian tail curled down from is lower back, and long white horns.

Mina's hope however remained alive when Kafka's now blood red slits eyes looked at her with sad familiarity. He was still in there despite being the victim of a nightmare soon to be known as Project MAGNUS. An experiment meant to create giant supersoldiers programmed for loyalty through kaiju DNA.

Mina immediately places Kafka under her division's protection and do all she could to help him. Keeping the MAG calm even if a nightmare or PTSD attack was lethal. Help him feel normal by getting custom made clothes and the closest he can have to a normal bedroom.

Kafka would slowly begin to act more like himself than a nervous withdrawn wreck. Although there are some bad days spent curled around Mina or some of the few people in the 3rd Division who earned his trust(Okonogi/Soshiro.) That doesn't fully stop Kafka from trying to help with their fight against the Kaiju.

It took time for protocols to be set in motion. Some of these include either Mina or Soshiro being present to reign him in should his aggression risk evolving into a rampage. Kafka lived mostly content with the 3rd Division although things were guaranteed to change the day he saves a certain young Monster Sweeper from a Yoju.

There have been rumors that had spread throughout the public about the 'Mag Man'. An unclassified humanoid Kaiju known to haunt the 3rd Division's operations. It wasn't uncommon for people to try and stake out their hunts only to end in failure.

Reno is the first to meet Kafka so he gets put in a private Defense Force hospital as Mina gives him the rundown. The 3rd Division do plan to make the MAG known to the public hence this particular transfer. However a wrench is thrown in their plans when a certain small Kaiju infiltrates Kafka's den.

Mina having front row seats to his more monstrous transformation. Kafka did his absolute best to not lash out from the pain in fear of hurting her. A difficult task since growing two smaller arms, red torn membrane obsidian bat wings, fanged mouth extending halfway down the neck, two extra kaiju horns while his own pair alongside body spikes becomes more jagged and red tipped. Nevermind the room shrinking due to a harsh growth spurt making him 23'4.

The problem only escalates when officers run in upon picking up a 9.8 fortitude on base. Mina didn't even get a chance to tell Kafka to stop before he flees like a bat out of hell. You can say it was a long night for the 3rd Division when it came to locating the runaway MAG.

They almost didn't find him until the Spider Yoju appears to attack the small family. Neither Captain expected to see Kafka being soothed by a little girl while her (healed)mother watches. Or for him to shrink to almost human form.

Keyword being 'Almost' as other than his height of 6'8, some inhuman features would remain like small horns, faded scale patterns on his skin, short tail, fangs and claws. Tests would be run(after reassuring the family they aren't gonna hurt Mister Kaiju.) Whatever the unclassified Kaiju did, it somehow fixed some of the issues in Kafka's mutation.

His form shifts depending on his current emotional state with contentment being the most humanoid. This discovery however led Kafka to become fully known to the public as Kaiju No.8. It was time for him to truly prove that he isn't a monster.

Luckily the 3rd Division has been preparing for this day to come. Mina was gonna make sure nothing bad will happen to Kafka again. And maybe the kaiju who caused this new mutation could help him get his humanity.

Only time will tell. Something that might become limited as threats towards the MAG shall come for him. Both human and Kaiju.

@renard-dartigue @drmarune

[kujoestars]

I have similar thoughts except I personally believe that it's not No. 8 that's old. For starters, the little flying kaiju does have an official name now thanks to the anime refsheets:

The more literal translation of the Japanese version is "Mysterious Young Yoju". Both descriptors indicate that the little guy likely was born more recently.

It's also important to bear in mind that kaiju created by other kaiju can inherit memories from their predecessor. So I believe the ghost vision samurai Kafka saw was a memory from the proto-No. 8 kaiju rather than the Larva's own experienced memory.

I wouldn't be surprised if Kafka is descended from the human side of things while the Larva was produced from the kaiju aspect. We shall see though!

Otherwise, I think we're on the same page with this train of thought!

So far we know that:

The kaiju inside Kafka was specifically looking for him. We don't know since when, but given that it found Kafka right after he saved Reno, we can assume it somehow located Kafka after that one incident.

The kaiju inside Kafka was on a mission to kill kaijus, because of the way it reacted to Isao when Kafka lost control. (It clearly says I'll kill monster which means it was a desire of its own, not just a Kafka projection).

Kafka saw a ghost from the past during his visit to the shrine for kaiju slayers.

Which is odd in itself, but later we are told that numbered weapons users can see the ghosts of other users. It's caused because they are using the memory of the identified kaijus as the core of the weapon.

There are living numbered kaiju weapons, like number 10 with Hoshino. Yet, technically, the Kafka situation is a sort of living numbered kaiju weapon too, except we're talking about a deeper symbiosis.

Kafka is slowly turning into a kaiju and he spends too much time on his kaiju form, he risks not being able to turn back to human.

Whatever is no.9, it has hundreds of kaijus on the inside and apparently it has devoured other kaiju slayers along the eras, not only Isao Shinomiya. Which leads off to think 'bout what is going on and how old is that kaiju .

(Obvious) theory time:

If the kaiju within Kafka is acting similarly to the way the cores of dead kaijus turned numbered weapons acted, then Kafka saw the ghost of the shrine through the memory of the kaiju within him. It means that the kaiju is pretty old, having been around for a battle on the Meireki Era.

Whatever No.9 is made of is also old, if not older. It's been fighting kaiju slayers for a while, eating them even.

Unlike other kaijus and excluding no.10 (it'd fight anything that moves), no.8 is fighting against its race on its own accord. It looked for Kafka, not the other way around. When did no.8 evolve to understand humanity? When it decided to turn against kaijus and so it'd help exterminate them?

There's a possibility no.8 had done it before— fight alongside a human to destroy kaijus. There is a possibility Kafka is not the first one, but it was chosen by no.8 because it reminded it of another previous human.

There are many ways it could go, but what we are sure of is that Kafka becoming no.8 user is not a coincidence AND the Defense Corps don't know half the story yet.

( I personally think no.8 is a part of the actual monster within no.9 that escaped and now its trying to kill it, maybe motivated by the memory of the kaiju slayers no.9 real monster has ate )

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

My second theory ( more spoiler alert : info from the latest chapters ):

Maybe the mysterious young yoju was originally part of the thing inside kaiju No. 9.

Given all the kaiju slayers that the thing inside No. 9 has eaten across the centuries, their collective consciousness could have created a new yoju with the sole purpose of killing kaijus. It'd explain why it is so powerful to start with or how it knows about kaiju slayers from so long ago.

One question here is why the young yoju didn't go for someone already in the Defense Corps??? You know, someone established as being strong?? Not a common guy from the Cleaning Corps????

Kafka being a descendant from a legendary kaiju slayer seems to be the best option, since we know that kaiju compatibility is pretty selective— The young yoju was specifically after Kafka for who he is related to, so no one else could have worked. It is like Hikari and Kikoru's case with the numbered weapon: compatibility shared by their genes.

This is a particularly scary situation if the young yoju is actually a part of an older kaiju. It means Kafka is compatible not only with the mysterious young yoju, but also with the kaiju it was part of originally.

No. 9 was looking for a perfect vessel, that's why it possessed Isao Shinomiya. What if (only a very what if situation) the perfect vessel is Kafka?

Anyway, other possibilities for Kafka:

There was a kaiju slayer that knew him and was eaten by No. 9 (or the thing inside it), so the mysterious young yoju knew him from the memory of someone else and that's why it looked for him.

It was actually dumb luck that the mysterious young yoju came across Kafka saving Reno and decided it wanted that courageous yet weak man to be its human.

Kafka is not related in blood to the person the mysterious young yoju originally knew, but the way Kafka fought to save Reno reminded the young yoju of someone else. It decided to look for Kafka because he had what it took to be a kaiju slayer, not because of his blood.

The mysterious young yoju is actually after Kafka because he was so good at taking apart kaijus.

The yoju knew it had the fighting experience and strength, but it needed a human with a good heart willing to not give up.

Somehow the yoju learned about Kafka through Mina and that's why it decided to search for Kafka to be its vessel. Maybe it was originally a failed experiment??? Or something like it???

So far we know that:

The kaiju inside Kafka was specifically looking for him. We don't know since when, but given that it found Kafka right after he saved Reno, we can assume it somehow located Kafka after that one incident.

The kaiju inside Kafka was on a mission to kill kaijus, because of the way it reacted to Isao when Kafka lost control. (It clearly says I'll kill monster which means it was a desire of its own, not just a Kafka projection).

Kafka saw a ghost from the past during his visit to the shrine for kaiju slayers.

Which is odd in itself, but later we are told that numbered weapons users can see the ghosts of other users. It's caused because they are using the memory of the identified kaijus as the core of the weapon.

There are living numbered kaiju weapons, like number 10 with Hoshino. Yet, technically, the Kafka situation is a sort of living numbered kaiju weapon too, except we're talking about a deeper symbiosis.

Kafka is slowly turning into a kaiju and he spends too much time on his kaiju form, he risks not being able to turn back to human.

Whatever is no.9, it has hundreds of kaijus on the inside and apparently it has devoured other kaiju slayers along the eras, not only Isao Shinomiya. Which leads off to think 'bout what is going on and how old is that kaiju .

(Obvious) theory time:

If the kaiju within Kafka is acting similarly to the way the cores of dead kaijus turned numbered weapons acted, then Kafka saw the ghost of the shrine through the memory of the kaiju within him. It means that the kaiju is pretty old, having been around for a battle on the Meireki Era.

Whatever No.9 is made of is also old, if not older. It's been fighting kaiju slayers for a while, eating them even.

Unlike other kaijus and excluding no.10 (it'd fight anything that moves), no.8 is fighting against its race on its own accord. It looked for Kafka, not the other way around. When did no.8 evolve to understand humanity? When it decided to turn against kaijus and so it'd help exterminate them?

There's a possibility no.8 had done it before— fight alongside a human to destroy kaijus. There is a possibility Kafka is not the first one, but it was chosen by no.8 because it reminded it of another previous human.

There are many ways it could go, but what we are sure of is that Kafka becoming no.8 user is not a coincidence AND the Defense Corps don't know half the story yet.

( I personally think no.8 is a part of the actual monster within no.9 that escaped and now its trying to kill it, maybe motivated by the memory of the kaiju slayers no.9 real monster has ate )