KAIJU GIRL CARAMELISE just dropped its Global Visual, and it sets the tone perfectly: a towering kaiju with smouldering red eyes, a lone boy standing right in its path, and the tagline “KAIJU. CRUSH. CARNAGE. RUSH.” Pony Canyon unveiled the key art today alongside a full slate of premiere details, and the short version is that this gleefully unhinged “high school girl × kaiju” rom-com is coming to Crunchyroll this July.
A shojo romance that turns into a kaiju movie
If you’ve not been following it, the hook is the whole pitch. Based on Spica Aoki’s manga serialized in KADOKAWA’s Monthly Comic Alive since 2018 (and now past 300,000 copies in circulation across nine volumes), the story follows Kuroe Akaishi, a socially anxious high schooler nursing a mysterious condition and an even more terrifying crush on Arata Minami, the most popular boy in class. The catch: the moment her feelings surge, a giant kaiju named Harugon erupts in the middle of Tokyo. It follows the beats of a classic shojo romance right up until it flattens them — literally.
The new visual leans into exactly that tension. It centers Harugon mid-rampage with Arata standing before it, asking the question the series is built on: what is reflected in the kaiju’s eyes, and what really ties Arata and Harugon together?
Where and when to watch
The anime begins streaming in July 2026, rolling out by region (dates are local time):
- Worldwide (excluding Asia, including India) — from July 2 on Crunchyroll.
- Taiwan & Southeast Asia — sequentially from July 3 on YouTube (Muse Asia and others) and major platforms via Muse Communication.
- South Korea — sequentially from July on major platforms via KT Studio Genie.
The theme songs
The opening theme, “KAIJU GIRL” by METANICK, launched globally today across digital platforms as part of the artist’s 1st digital EP, KAIJU GIRL E.P. The ending theme, “OtomenoHonki” by HoneyWorks feat. HaKoniwalily, follows on July 8 (JST). Both lean into the show’s whiplash between tender and monstrous — fitting for a series that swings between first love and citywide destruction in the same scene.
Catch it at Anime Expo
For anyone heading to Los Angeles, Pony Canyon is bringing the series to Anime Expo 2026 (July 2–5) in a big way. At the Pony Canyon booth (South Hall 1520), there’s a 5m × 3m “peel-off sticker wall” built around the Global Visual, plus a photo spot where you can try on heroine Kuroe’s tail-and-horns costume.
There’s also a panel: “KAIJU GIRL CARAMELISE: The Kaiju-Sized?! North American Premiere,” on Friday, July 3 from 2:45–3:35 p.m. at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Panel Room 403AB. It pairs a screening of Episode 1 with the North American premiere of Episode 2.
Cast & staff
The cast is led by Hikari Senga as Kuroe Akaishi and Daishi Kajita as Arata Minami, with Akira Sekine, Haruka Shiraishi, Kotono Mitsuishi, Katsuyuki Konishi and Eriko Matsui rounding out the ensemble. Behind the camera, the anime is directed by Teruyuki Omine with series composition by Yuniko Ayana, character design by Mitsumi Nakayama (NUT), and animation production by LIDENFILMS (produced by GOOD SMILE FILM).
KAIJU GIRL CARAMELISE premieres July 2, 2026 on Crunchyroll.
©Spica Aoki/KADOKAWA/Project KAIJU GIRL CARAMELISE