In short: Narumi's Week at Work, the four-episode Kaiju No. 8 mini series, starts Saturday, September 5, 2026. It streams free and worldwide on the TOHO animation YouTube channel, with a Crunchyroll simulcast. One episode every Saturday until September 26, all about Gen Narumi, captain of the First Division.
Click the image to watch the trailer on the official TOHO animation channel.
What exactly is Narumi's Week at Work?
It is a short anime in four episodes, telling an original story rather than adapting the manga: one working week in the life of Gen Narumi, captain of the Defense Force's First Division, between skipped meetings, overdue paperwork and online gaming sessions. The Japanese title, "Narumi no Heijitsu", literally means "Narumi's weekdays".
The announcement dropped on August 5, during the Kaiju No. 8 Day special program celebrating the game's first anniversary. The press release relayed by Anime News Network sets the tone: Narumi is described as "Japan's most powerful anti-kaiju combatant" who "regularly skips meetings and dodges deskwork". The whole pitch of the mini series fits in that one sentence.
The script comes from Kizuku Watanabe, the author of the Kaiju No. 8: RELAX spinoff manga, who already does workplace comedy with these characters. So this is not filler cobbled together between seasons: it is a deliberate comedy piece, handed to someone whose specialty this is.
When do the episodes air, and at what time?
Four Saturdays in a row, from September 5 to 26, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. Japan time. That lands at noon in the UK, 7:00 a.m. on the US East Coast and 4:00 a.m. Pacific. Here is the full schedule.
| Episode and date | Japan (JST) | UK (BST) | US East (EDT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Episode 1, Sat. September 5 | 8:00 p.m. | 12:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. |
| Episode 2, Sat. September 12 | 8:00 p.m. | 12:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. |
| Episode 3, Sat. September 19 | 8:00 p.m. | 12:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. |
| Episode 4, Sat. September 26 | 8:00 p.m. | 12:00 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. |
A word about that slot: Saturday lunchtime in Europe and Saturday breakfast on the US East Coast is comfortable territory. When we covered the One Piece Day 2026 schedule, the big announcements landed in the middle of the European night. One caveat: Japanese timings sometimes slip by a few minutes, so turn on the channel's notification bell rather than trusting your punctuality.
Where can you watch the mini series for free?
On YouTube, on the TOHO animation channel, with no subscription, no sign-up and no region lock: the release is worldwide and free. Crunchyroll also simulcasts the episodes across North, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East and CIS.
For subtitles in your language, Crunchyroll remains the safer bet: it already carries both seasons and the Mission Recon compilation film. On YouTube, expect Japanese audio with English subtitles first, with other languages depending on what TOHO enables on each video.
Who is Gen Narumi in Kaiju No. 8?
Gen Narumi is the captain of the Japan Defense Force's First Division, presented in the series as its strongest fighter. On screen, he takes over from the very first episode of season 2, aired in July 2025, where his opening battle upstages everyone. His Japanese voice is Kōki Uchiyama.
The character has two sides, and that is the whole point of the format. On duty, he dominates. Off duty, he is a big kid: hooked on online games, at war with paperwork, allergic to meetings. The main series only showed that side in quick touches between fights; four short episodes entirely devoted to it is exactly the right vehicle. The trailer promises more funny faces than explosions.
Who is making these four episodes?
The same team as the main series, which was far from a given for a short format. Production I.G animates, Shigeyuki Miya directs, and Tetsuya Nishio, the series' character designer, supervises the animation. The music is by Yūta Bandō.
One detail for monster enthusiasts: the kaiju are still drawn by Mahiro Maeda of Studio Khara, the Evangelion house. Maeda co-directed the Rebuild of Evangelion films and designed Godzilla's look in Shin Godzilla: whenever a creature crosses the screen in Kaiju No. 8, that is his hand. And if the Khara school speaks to you more than kaiju do, the Evangelion corner of our store comes down to one piece that sums it up: the Rei Ayanami slippers at 24.99 euros, rated 4.9/5 across 14 reviews, which we covered in a full article about what they are actually worth.
What about the main series?
The ending is locked in and under way: Naoya Matsumoto's manga finished in July 2025, with more than 19 million copies in circulation according to Oricon, and the adaptation of its final arc is confirmed at Production I.G. What is missing is a date: none has been announced so far.
So treat the precise windows you may read about, "late 2026" or "early 2027", with caution: those are projections from specialist sites, not announcements. In the meantime, TOHO is keeping the franchise busy: the mini series in September, then the Defense Force Boot Camp in Tachikawa on October 24, a stage event in Japan with the series' voice cast.
And if your autumn anime plans lean more towards shinigami, we also keep the schedule for the final part of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War up to date.
Frequently asked questions about Narumi's Week at Work
When does Kaiju No. 8: Narumi's Week at Work come out?
On Saturday, September 5, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. Japan time, which is noon in the UK, 7:00 a.m. US Eastern and 4:00 a.m. Pacific. The four episodes then drop every Saturday at the same time: September 5, 12, 19 and 26. The release is worldwide and simultaneous.
Where can I watch Narumi's Week at Work for free?
On the TOHO animation YouTube channel, with no subscription and no region lock. Crunchyroll also streams the episodes simultaneously in North, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East and CIS, with its usual subtitle languages.
Do I need to watch both seasons first?
No. It is an original comedy story with no stakes for the main plot. Having seen season 2 helps you catch the references, since Gen Narumi holds the military lead there, but the mini series works fine as an entry point into the universe.
Does Narumi's Week at Work adapt the manga?
No, the script is original. It is written by Kizuku Watanabe, the author of the Kaiju No. 8: RELAX spinoff manga, who already does workplace comedy with these characters. The main series adapts Naoya Matsumoto's manga, which ended in July 2025.
Does the final season of Kaiju No. 8 have a release date?
No. The adaptation of the manga's last arc is confirmed and in production at Production I.G, but no date has been announced. The precise windows you may read about, late 2026 or early 2027, are educated guesses from specialist sites, not announcements.
Antoine, founder of Bakashop. Dates and times checked on August 6, 2026 against the Kaiju No. 8 Day announcements, cross-checked with Anime News Network and Crunchyroll. Images: ©Naoya Matsumoto/Shueisha, JAKDF 3rd Division, TOHO animation, Production I.G, Akatsuki Games, via the official TOHO animation channel.
