Kaiju No. 8 is giving Gen Narumi a smaller story before the anime moves on to its Final Chapter. The original short anime Narumi's Week at Work begins September 5, 2026, with four episodes releasing weekly on Saturdays at 8 p.m. Japan Standard Time (JST).
The official PV arrived on August 5 and shows a different side of Narumi, the captain of the Defense Force's First Division. Instead of focusing on a large kaiju battle, the short follows the problems that appear when Japan's strongest anti-kaiju fighter tries to get through an ordinary workday.
Narumi's Week at Work has a four-episode schedule
The short premieres Saturday, September 5, and the official schedule lists a new episode every Saturday after that. The four dates are September 5, September 12, September 19, and September 26. Each episode is scheduled for 8 p.m. JST, so viewers outside Japan will need to convert the time for their own region.
The official announcement names the TOHO animation YouTube channel and other platforms as distribution points. It does not list every platform or confirm that each territory will receive the episodes at the same local time. The YouTube release is the clearest confirmed option right now.
The four-episode run is separate from the main Kaiju No. 8 television series. It is not a replacement for the announced Final Chapter, and the Final Chapter still has no public premiere date.
The announcement also does not give a runtime for each episode. That leaves the short's exact length open, but the weekly dates and four-episode total are already fixed.
What the short is about
Narumi is known as Japan's strongest anti-kaiju weapon, but the official description gives him several habits that do not fit that reputation. He skips meetings, avoids paperwork, and spends his free time playing games online. Those choices work until someone around him pushes back and turns a quiet day into another problem for the Defense Force's most powerful captain.
His rank matters to the setup. Narumi is the captain of the First Division, so the short is not about an inexperienced recruit learning the job. It is about a highly capable officer making ordinary work harder for everyone around him.
The story concept comes from Kizuku Watanabe, the creator of the Kaiju No. 8 RELAX spinoff manga. That connection explains the short's smaller scale. The episodes can focus on Narumi's work habits, his relationships with other Defense Force members, and the comedy that the main action series has less time to show.
The official site also says characters with limited screen time in the television anime will play larger roles here. The PV shows Narumi reacting to situations that are embarrassing rather than apocalyptic, which gives the short a clear job without changing the main story.
Production I.G is making the short
Production I.G is animating Narumi's Week at Work. Shigeyuki Miya directs, Tetsuya Nishio handles character design and serves as chief animation director, and Mahiro Maeda oversees kaiju design. Yuta Bando provides the music, while Koki Uchiyama returns as Gen Narumi.
Those credits connect the short to the main television anime, but the official announcement describes it as an original short animation rather than a direct adaptation of a particular manga chapter. The story concept comes from the RELAX spinoff, while the animated episodes are new material for the franchise.
How it connects to Kaiju No. 8's Final Chapter
Kaiju No. 8's Final Chapter was announced in December 2025, and TOHO animation has already released a production trailer. The anime's main story follows Kafka Hibino, a cleanup worker who gains the ability to transform into a kaiju while still trying to join the Defense Force and protect Mina Ashiro.
Narumi's Week at Work does not move Kafka's story forward in the way the Final Chapter will. It gives fans a side story to watch while waiting for the main anime's next release information. Keeping those projects separate matters: the September short has a fixed schedule, but the Final Chapter does not.
Pixel Twelve's One Piece Day 2026 guide covers another anime event with a confirmed schedule and several separate programs. Kaiju No. 8's short is more compact, but the same rule applies: the listed dates are confirmed, while anything beyond them needs a new official announcement.
Where to watch Narumi's Week at Work
The first episode is scheduled for September 5 at 8 p.m. JST, with the remaining three episodes following on September 12, 19, and 26. The official announcement points to the TOHO animation YouTube channel and other distribution services. A full international platform list has not been published.
For now, viewers can mark the four Saturday dates and treat Narumi's Week at Work as a short character story, not as the next season of Kaiju No. 8. It gives Gen Narumi the spotlight, adds four small pieces to the Defense Force world, and leaves the Final Chapter's release date as the larger unanswered update.
