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sunder-the-gold · 1 year

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[Kaiju No.8] The character development of Mina Ashiro

I think Mina Ashiro actually gets as much character development as Kikoru Shinomiya, if not more. It's just far more scattered, with some of the juiciest bits coming after Kikoru's.

This makes the individual pieces easier to forget and harder to collect into a clear picture.

Especially if you've been reading the manga bi-weekly for the last three years, rather than binging it in one week.

Chapter 1

We’re first introduced to Mina as this lonesome badass who killed a giant monster before the public announcement system could even finish warning the civilians to evacuate. She’s committed to her job and effective at it.

Her second appearance contrasts her against her subordinates. They accept the adulation of the crowds and wave back, but she’s facing straight forward and her mind is turned inward. She’s an introvert, not an extrovert, or else something weighs heavily on her heart. She doesn’t care about the signs waving her name around.

But while she’s amazingly powerful and mentally far away, the smears of blood and filth on her cheek and armor symbolically bring her down to earth. These imperfections show that she’s not untouchable, or afraid of getting dirty, or being seen in less than perfect condition. At the same time, the fact that she’s not tried to wipe away the mess on her face underscores how far away her mind is from her current situation.

Kafka observes that Mina’s division leaves such a dangerous mess of the kaiju they kill that the cleaners have a hard time telling the organs apart. Mina either doesn’t care, doesn’t know, or considers it a fair price for the cleaners to pay for the swiftness of her methods.

When she appears on television, the shot is a repeat of her walking through the crowds with her inward focus, but she’s been cleaned up. Letting eyewitnesses see her dirty is fine, but she or someone with authority doesn’t want a visual recording of such imperfection. Or it might have been the reporters digitally editing the visual record, which they had all day to do.

The report tells us that she’s only 27 years old (5 years younger than Kafka), but credits her with making Division 3 so effective and with neutralizing hundreds of kaiju. She’s pretty, she’s popular, she's successful, and her career only promises to get better.

But Kafka remembers her as a little girl who’d lost her home, struggling through her tears to put on a strong face.

When he remembers that moment again, he remembers how Mina mourned the death of her cat, or at least of a cat she knew.

In the present day, Mina once again displays her dedication to her job by arriving within minutes of the sirens going off. Also, she’s filled the void of the dead calico with a white tiger.

Mina pulls off her breather-mask to reveal the fullness of her disappointment in Kafka. She arrived soon enough to save his life and to see him broken and being protected by someone younger.

She did not arrive soon enough to see Kafka’s heroism in saving the younger man first and fighting bravely against impossible odds.

Despite her disappointment, she maintains her professionalism. She doesn’t say a word to Kafka, only issuing orders to her men to assist the wounded and help her look for any other kaiju in the area. She turns her back on Kafka and gets back to her life without him. She rides off on the tiger's back, side-saddle like a lady wearing a skirt despite wearing pants.

Chapter 2

Because of her chance encounter with Kafka, Mina remembers back when she felt daunted by the thought of fighting giant kaiju, and how Kafka comforted her with a promise that he would fight by her side when the time came.

She compares that older memory to the more recent memory of his broken and helpless state as a mere civilian, and bitterly calls him a liar.

But she once again sets aside her personal feelings to answer the call to exterminate a lowly, small-scale yonju. A task that she could have delegated to her subordinates. She was, after all, off the clock and taking a bath. She's at her off-duty home, not the barracks.

Chapter 4

Mina's vice-captain observes that she normally doesn't show any interest in things outside of killing kaiju. But Mina noticed that Kafka is among the candidates for the entrance exam, so she surprises her vice-captain by asking him to elaborate on the "interesting folks" that Kafka will compete against.

Chapter 5

Mina arrives to take part in proctoring Kafka's final exam, while taking care not to show undue interest.

Chapter 6

Mina instantly pays attention the moment that Kafka is felled by a kaiju, but she maintains a poker face and doesn't otherwise react. She trusts Hoshina to activate Kafka's shields if necessary.

Her expression becomes more closed off as Kafka insists on continuing with the test despite his injuries.

After Kikoru finishes the test, Mina surprises Hoshina by revealing Mina was familiar with the younger woman's reputation.

Chapter 9

To meet Kafka face-to-face, Mina takes the excuse of thanking Kafka and Reno for saving Kikoru.

But rather than walking right in to do only that, she takes the opportunity to listen in on Kafka speaking his mind to Reno. She wants to know what's on Kafka's mind.

Chapter 10

When the test examiners pronounce Kafka a failure and ask Mina for any objections, she hesitates. She knows she cannot afford to say anything without it looking like favoritism, but she has to fight the urge to say anything that would help.

She also might not trust herself to be objective about Kafka. Not like she trusts Hoshina's judgment of the man's suitability.

Chapter 11

The other men at the baths demand that Kafka reveal more about Mina's childhood. Among other things, Kafka tells them that "when she was in grade school, she used to take care of the animals". The class pets. After the loss of her pet calico, Mina sought other pets. Today, she has an adult white tiger.

Chapter 14

"Well, Kakfa. Here's what I'm like now."

There's a difference between humiliating a man and challenging him. At no point does Mina demean or degrade or insult or belittle Kafka. She doesn't set him up for a failure or draw the attention of others to him failing at something.

Instead, she makes a spectacle of herself. She shows Kafka the bar he needs to clear to even begin making good on his childhood challenge. Her display stands on its own as a gauntlet he can pick up or ignore, because only he (and Soshiro Hoshina) would even know what she meant by it.

If she humiliated anyone, it was the kaiju she double-tapped after it was already dead.

Chapter 21

Mina has a good enough relationship with Soshiro Hoshina to claim that "It's rare to see you in a slump."

She also doesn't once berate him for his failure. She trusts he did his best, and so merely asks for clarification about Number 8's strength. Was it really that strong, or did Hoshina fail because of some outside factor?

It's only after her vice-captain jokes that she caught him in his "least dignified moment" that she allows herself a show of humor, by taking a photograph of the occasion.

But despite being a long-range specialist, Mina takes the responsibility of hunting for Number 8 on herself, while ordering Hoshina to rest.

Chapter 23

Mina holds a private, one-on-one ceremony where she personally swears Kafka in as an officer.

We the audience already know that Mina remembers and values their childhood promise, but this is where she makes it clear to Kafka himself that she does.

When Kafka gets sucked into their old style of childhood banter and forgets to maintain decorum, she gives him one of those rare smiles that only Hoshina has ever thought he might have seen.

This is, in fact, only the second time we've ever seen her smile as an adult, both times because of Kafka wearing his heart on his sleeve and reaffirming his promise to her. (Actually, aren't all of her childhood flashback smiles because of Kafka, too?)

Of course, Mina still punishes him for the breach of decorum, because she cannot afford to show him any favoritism.

Which is why it is important to her that Hoshina advocated for Kafka, and that Kafka know this. She wants these two men to respect and appreciate each other.

Chapter 29

With Hoshina, Mina shows us that she's willing to admit her weaknesses, even when (judging by her blush) doing so clearly embarrasses her.

She's willing to ask others to cover her weaknesses, and she's willing to take a chance on someone whose specialty is currently "off-meta". She could have chosen someone with more balanced abilities to support her, but she went with someone whom no one else was willing to trust.

In some ways, it seems to me that Mina replaced Kafka with Hoshina. She would have extended the same kind of trust to Kafka, but he wasn't there, so she needed to rely on someone else to fight by her side.

In the present day, after she joins the battle, her first action is to give words of praise and encouragement to her vice-captain and division.

This is the first time we see Mina angry. Veins visibly throb on her face from the rage of seeing kaiju attack her people while she was gone.

Chapter 30

Every word she speaks to her people is encouragement, gratitude, and praise. "Thank you, Hoshina. I'm truly glad I picked you as my vice-captain."

Every time she focuses on Number 10, her veins throb with rage.

Chapter 31

She calls Hoshina's bluff and insists he rest after his fight with Number 10.

Chapter 32

After saving everyone, Kafka's arms and legs are shot. He's immobile and helpless.

Mina could have shot him dead and her superiors would have praised her for it. Her division would have accepted she made the right call, even if they quietly harbored doubts.

But she calls Kafka by name first, before catching herself and addressing him as a monster. And then she spares his life and takes him into custody.

Chapter 33

It isn't until Mina and Kafka are alone that she dares speak to him like a person.

"When you dashed in to save the base without a moment's hesitation, I was shocked to see you as a kaiju. But I also thought...

"This is such a Kafka move." I think there's some faint exasperation on her face.

She then reassures him that she's done everything she can to prepare a case to vouch for his humanity and his usefulness to the defense force's leadership.

She additionally reveals that she took a roll-call to verify that no one in her division considers Kafka an enemy.

And when Kafka asks for permission to still fulfill their childhood promise, she gives him her third small adult smile.

"Sure. I'll be waiting."

And she lets him cry without condemnation.

Chapter 38

While Kafka recovers from his fight with Director-General Isao Shinomiya, he recalls a childhood memory:

Little Mina crying over her dead cat; wailing with grief.

Chapter 39

Mina promptly informs her subordinates of command's decision to spare Kafka's life. She now dares to publicly refer to him by his human name rather than his kaiju designation.

Chapter 56

Mina listens to Okonogi's reasonable concerns about the risks involved with weaponizing Kaiju No.10 while leaving its consciousness so intact.

But just as Mina took a chance on making Hoshina her vice-captain, she's willing to stake her career on his decision to take the risk. Mina explicitly calls it a "wager".

Chapter 57

Perhaps to reward Hoshina for the risk he's taking, she allows him to personally attend the Anti-'Kaiju No.9' Conference in her stead. This allows him to visibly receive the most credit for the information he bought humanity.

At the conference itself, Mina displays outright disdain for fellow-captain Gen Narumi.

We've seen her disappointed at Kafka, back in Chapter 2. But we've never seen her openly and publicly insult anyone before.

She not only tells the second division captain that reprimanding Narumi about his decorum is pointless, she goes on to say, "We all know that the only redeeming talent Narumi has is slaying kaiju."

Earlier in this chapter, Narumi's vice-captain informed us that the First Division and Third Division "get along like cats and dogs". Given that it's Hoshina on the ground bearing his fangs at Narumi, and not Mina, we might have thought this quarreling goes on despite her wishes.

But with her opinion of Narumi clearly revealed, Mina might actually be part of the reason why the two divisions mutually hate each other.

(So if Kafka develops a friendship with the man who is currently his captain, that could put him in a humorously uncomfortable position between Narumi and Mina.)

Chapter 58

Mina and Hoshina worked together to collate Number 10's information with the data they already had, and prepared a proposal for the defense force's strategy going forward. If her vice-captain is willing to risk so much for the information, Mina wants to ensure that information is put to the best use.

Mina also recommends Reno Ichikawa be trained to use their ultimate weapon: Gear No.6.

Chapter 64

Despite her own recommendation, Mina deliberately sent Reno Ichikawa to captain Ogata for the training.

"I don't want him to die. You're the leeriest about the use of Numbered Weapons, so I wanted to get your opinion on the matter."

Chapter 69

Mina just happens to be taking her lunch at the same place Kafka goes for the same. I suspect she planned that.

Even after Kafka chickens out from eating lunch with her, Mina calls him on it and invites him over.

Kafka has no idea how to reconnect with her, but she brushes aside his attempt at pleasant small-talk because she's already got something on her mind she wants to share.

Mina joined the defense force to protect the peace she lost the day that kaiju destroyed her home. She's older, stronger, more famous now, but her singular goal remains protecting the everyday peace enjoyed by ordinary people.

She enjoys little moments like this, to let herself believe that a future of peace is possible.

Mina gives Kafka her fourth little smile, even before he makes her laugh by slipping up on decorum again. But she also tells him to relax; she only insists on decorum between them when they're not alone.

She's not talking to him as a captain, but as a childhood friend. And as a childhood friend, she's deeply concerned.

She touches on their shared history, of how much Kafka worked as a child to look out for her, keep her hopes alive, no matter how scared he actually felt (and no matter how embarrassing it was). She greatly admired that about him, and tells him he's still the same as an adult.

That's why she's concerned about what Kafka told Hoshina: About how he knew what the doctors said about the risk of his condition getting worse if he continued to transform, and how Kafka intended to keep transforming to fight regardless.

So she's trying to tell Kafka now: I'VE changed. I'm stronger now. You're trying so hard to catch up to 'me' I am now, but I'm the one who caught up to the 'you' of back then.

"I don't need to hide behind you, anymore. So you don't have to bear the weight alone. We made a promise, didn't we? We said we would wipe out the kaiju TOGETHER."

But he shuts her out, and she sees the moment that his heart closes. The look she gives him before she turns away is the saddest we've ever seen her as an adult.

'He hasn't changed a bit. And neither has that smile he flashes when he's pushing himself too hard.'

Mina didn't want Reno to throw his life away using Gear No.6, and so sent him to the one captain who was most likely to deny him the opportunity. Similarly, she wanted to convince Kafka to consider himself more, and to not throw himself away for the sake of their promise.

Instead, he rejected her plea, and the two of them made their own separate promises. Unspoken, unarticulated: Each promised themselves to try harder for the sake of the other.

#kaiju no.8 #kaijuu no.8 #kaiju no. 8 #kaijuu no. 8 #kaiju 8 gou #kaijuu 8 gou #mina ashiro #ashiro mina

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violinvoidspecialty · 1 year

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8 and Rising

First chapter. I hope this sparks others to write Kaiju No. 8 books! It's great ya know! Also, this book will contain gore, but no cussing! I'm an adult that doesn't swear a bit nor will I write swear words. "Heck" is the best I got. (This will be in first person too! Though my hands tend to write "you" instead of "I") I decided to post this on Tumblr as well!

Kaijuu No. 8 various M x F reader

I was awestruck when I saw them. On the way to the shelter, my father urgently pulled me forward yet with a caring hand. But I still stared off toward the destructive force that roared down and stomped upon my roof like it was mere lego (dang monsters must be immune to that pain). I couldn’t help but look for the tiny figures of the Defense Force that took on an imaginable, deadly task. They were amazing. Amazing. Amazing. Their presence felt bigger than that of the giant monster. My father pulled me into the shelter as the door shut and drew the curtain on the battlefield. I wanted to watch the monster fall and humanity rise to another victory. I knew it wasn’t safe, and my father wouldn’t trust a rope tied around the waist. My faith led me to let it go.

Humans that were that amazing couldn’t possibly fail.

"And though Japan’s Defense Force was early to dispatch, casualties were many and so was the damage to the city. The reports say that Commander of Division 2 Hakari Shinomiya was held back in an escalating situation and despite her agility, could not arrive to aid. The De-"

“Enough of that dear, please come and eat dinner.” Father urged from his end seat at the evacuation shelter table. Other people had not come to eat, too upset over the attack.

“Did you see them, Papa?” My eyes gleamed as I walked over. “The Defense Force are made up of heroes!”

Father tried to smile, but his eyes soured the mood. “Whoa, don't get too worked up, alright? And yes, those are very brave and strong people.”

“You were once too, Papa.” I plopped down on the chair next to him.

“Oh…so I’m not brave and strong anymore?”

“OH! You still are!” My eyes watered up thinking I upset him.

“Haha…that’s alright.” It is then he started coughing, hunching slightly over the table. His gloved hand gripped the edge painfully.

“Papa?!”

He grabbed his handkerchief and covered his mouth aware that his glass of water was a bad cough drowner. “I-I’m…fine dear.”

I sat back down from my knees. His cough was as bad as it had always been, like a man that was the sole host to the cold. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t truly believe him. My colds always went away. Why didn’t his?

Present Day

A roaring crowd. I was part of the roaring crowd that applauded the members of the Third division. The scaly orange Kaiju was defeated all thanks to their might and prowess. Commander Mina Ashiro was even more so incredible. She walked with a firm stance, splattered with the essence of battle, but unscathed nonetheless. I remembered my father holding me above his shoulders when I was little so I could express my gratitude to passing victorious troops. I smiled to myself before forming a cup around my mouth and pulling a party popper from my pocket. The person beside me asked under his breath if I just carried those around. Well, of course! You never know when a kaiju will fall!

“You were great out there! Thanks so much!” The popper was a tail to my gratitude and it brightened the soldiers, even more, lifting them into higher spirits.

“Heheheh…You’re welcome miss.” One of the troop members responded.

The crowd eventually dispersed and I wandered the street thinking of something to have for dinner. It had been some time since I had gone grocery shopping, the reason due only to sitting in front of the TV with a growly stomach, and waiting for word of Division deployment. Then and only then would I dash out of my temporary abode to see it with my own eyes. Collect and memorize, fuel my desire to join the ranks. Maybe some would rush to a scene of a meteor shower, yet I was the only one, however, to push passed the influx of flight. I wanted to see and take it in. The rise of humanity over calamity. I never felt more alive than in those moments I witnessed tiny feet upon gigantic ones.

I was convinced it was my reason to exist. The fact that my father never resisted when I confessed was all the more proof. Father…

I stopped in front of a small little store that looked like an extra bookshelf squeezed into the corner. I smelt a savoury and welcoming scent that wandered out of the place. The sign above read “Chiisana Chiisana”. My stomach growled and I gave in to the call of hunger. At least I was immune to the effects of hanger because by now it would’ve metamorphosed me into a Numbers Kaiju.

Instead of the chime of a bell greeting, I dodged the incoming assault from a party popper. I caught some of the confetti before it fell to the ground and tilted my head blinking. A wide smile popped onto my face and I glanced at the culprit. It was the same one I had popped for the troop members earlier!

“You have great taste! Such innovation! What a greeting! It’s like a surprise party for every customer.” My empty tummy forced that party’s cake and snacks into my thoughts as the sales clerk came out of the back room.

“Ah…you look like a fangirl.” The plush-sized elderly woman said as she hopped onto the stool behind the counter. She was wearing a cute little kimono with “Chiisansa Chiisana” and dancers stitched within the fabric.

She was adorable, to be honest, and I immediately wished this sweet old lady was my gram-gram. Did I not mention that I was wearing…JAKDF merch? My shoes looked like Kaiju, one alive with a mean face, and one with X’s as eyes, my shirt had the insignias of the divisions and I had hair accessories of the same theme. It was obvious at a glance. The old lady’s eyesight had yet to fail her.

“Oh, yeah. Unapologetically so.” I did a salute and she laughed.

“It’s good to see the youth in such high spirits. Makes the future more hopeful when those of my generation are gone.”

You tried not to tear up. ‘No grams, no! Judging by your eyesight you still have many years left.’

“Lured in here by the savoury aroma?” She asked with her sweet smile and cat-mimicking eyes.

“How’d you-” Your stomach growled like a Kaiju. “Yep, indeed it did.”

She looked off to the table behind me and that was where I saw them. If I wasn’t so distracted by the adorable old lady my nose would’ve locked onto the target already.

“Oooooo….” Some drool slipped down the corner of my mouth and I grabbed a napkin from my other pocket and wiped it up. I was always prepared.

“Go on ahead dear, not many are going to come around today.” I heard her say as I travelled towards them while my head rocked back and forth to scan the shelves. (I do this and probably look so odd! SMH)

“What a blessed day! First, the Kaiju is brought down and now I get all the burgers I could want.” You were practically in Buddha form as you approached the steaming goods.

“GRANDMA! I need burgers stat!” A sudden cry caught you off guard. So much for your divinity.

An older, tall man with scruffy black hair was blocking the entranceway huffing and puffing. He was in a full white suit that looked like it was from a lab.

‘Is this…some sort of…burger robbery????’

“Oh my, you’re late today Kafka.” The elder woman chuckled as she shook her head.

“I know! I’m sorry!” Kafka apologized loudly.

“I haven’t lost my hearing yet you know.”

“Nor have I.” The man then looked at me as I blocked the table as if poorly attempting to hide the fact that there were amazing-smelling burgers on it.

“Oh dear me, right Kafka this is-”

“Y/n Hayakoki. It’s nice to meet both of you.” I saluted yet again because it was a habit I developed upon introduction while posing in front of the mirror as a child.

‘That’s the-’ He smiled. “Kafka Hibino.” He saluted back.

‘That’s the-’

Before the question could be asked the man suddenly remembered he was running late.

“Ah-burgers!”

“But-” You sulked. “Yeah, okay. No room to be selfish in this Kaiju-infested world.” I removed myself from the table but not before snatching a good armful of the goods.

“Thank you dear.”

Kafka speed-walked over. “IappreaciateitreallyyouhavenoideawhatsitslikeforamanofmyageanywayIgottacleanupthatKaijunowsobyeee.”

“Did you say Kaiju?” I asked feeling my interest meter fill like my soon-to-be tummy.

“I also said I realllllly got to go!”

“But Kaijuuuuuu?”

He blew air from his nose. There really was no time to debate. The old lady threw him a paper bag which he caught and opened up like cracking an egg with one hand.

“So your part of the clean-up crew? How long?” I walked with my hands in my pockets beside Kafka.

“Yeah, that’s what this suit is.” He pointed his thumb at it. “For a few years now.”

“Wow.” I took in all the sights of massive, broken, rearranged Kaiju corpses I’d seen throughout the years and even though I’d never gotten close to one, I knew it was a big job. “That’s real cool, Mr. Kafka.”

“Ahhh don’t address me like that…” He sulked before lightening up. “But thanks. Not many people say that.”

“Clean-up can be just as dangerous as a battle?”

“Yes! There are many dangers to it actually! Acid and toxins that would melt at your skin. Once I saw this guy-”

“I really don’t want the details…Mr.Kafka.” I grimaced.

“Okay.”

We rounded the corner and just like that the familiar city crumbled. Debris was everywhere. Buildings were cracked, homes were pancakes, and the Kaiju lay at the heart with lifeless eyes.

“Whoa.” Was all I said as Kafka moved a little more forward to grab something left for him. He stopped and glanced back, hanging a saw over his shoulder. “Shocking isn’t it? The sheer size of these beasts? Everyone is taken back despite the reality that we deal with them year-round.”

The Kaiju scales were so in-depth now. I could see the rigid outline, the details of the eyes, the spaces between the plates you could fit a mega bowl of ramen inside. It was incredible.

“Scared now-” Kafka seriously thought I'd back away now. Well, he seriously hoped I would. Kaiju corpses posed a major threat to those unsuited and untrained to deal with them. “HUH?”

I walked forward at a fast pace and shattered all his expectations.

“Nah stop!!!! It’s dangerous. You aren’t permitted to come any closer!” He swung his arms frontwards, trying to propel me back.

“Wow, that’s great form, Mr. Kafka. You’d make a bowling pro for sure.”

He blushed. “Y-You think so?”

In his flustered state, I swerved around him and got closer.

“Wha-no! Come back Y/n!”

‘It hurts….’

A sudden booming voice halted me and Kafka had to face-plant himself onto the ground to stop from crashing into me.

‘It hurts…please end my suffering…I only wanted to live…it hurts…I can’t take it…’

The voice faded out but the sudden pounding in my head and chest were overwhelming.

“Y/n, you have to go back! you-”

Kafka’s face drew back in utter surprise at the tears that left your eyes.

Hurray for chapter 1! I really enjoyed writing this and am super excited about the future of Kaiju No. 8!

Thank you for reading!

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