Kaiju No. 8, Vol. 1 by Taiyō Matsumoto

At 32, Kafka Hibino toils in kaiju cleanup while clinging to a childhood vow to join the Defense Force alongside his now-legendary friend Mina. After a close brush with death on the job, a parasitic creature fuses with him, transforming him into a powerful humanoid monster the authorities dub “Kaiju No. 8.” Struggling to keep his new identity secret, he teams up with rookie Reno Ichikawa and enters the grueling recruitment trials, balancing camaraderie, comedy, and high-stakes battles as he chases a last-chance dream and grapples with what it means to protect others when he may be the very threat they fear.