Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress (TV)

[Buffalobiian]

http://i.imgur.com/loYlT9h.jpg

Alternative title:
Kōtetsujō no Kabaneri (Japanese)
甲鉄城のカバネリ (Japanese)

Genres: action, drama, fantasy, horror

Themes: fighting, post-apocalyptic, steampunk, superpowers

Plot Summary: On the island country Hinomoto, humans hide themselves in fortresses called "stations" against the threat of zombie-like beings with steel hearts known as "Kabane." Only armored locomotives known as "Hayajiro" go between the stations. -ANN

Links: ANN (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16595), AniDB (https://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=10951), MAL (http://myanimelist.net/anime/28623/Koutetsujou_no_Kabaneri), Official (http://kabaneri.com/)

Download: HS - Episode 01 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=800803)

----------------------






Highly entertaining. Steampunk meets Attack on Titan with a lead character who has some brains to his balls. I totally expect him to have some form of superpower after this. And if the similarities weren't enough, Sawano Hiroyuki's doing the music again. Maybe it won't be exactly like our other friend who survived a pathogen attack (http://i.imgur.com/jUMER1U.jpg), but they've already shown evidence of physiology-enhancing features of the virus already.

The art itself is attractive. Overall it's older school. The girls themselves seem oddly ero to me however. Maybe they're remnicense of porn where poor budget meets cool-in-theory designs? Anyway, they look good.

I'm not sure what's so special behind his pile-driver gun and why no-one else thought of it prior. If they have explosives they should just use that instead of steam.

[Kraco]

I liked this more than Titan, preliminarily speaking. The zombies are more interesting than the naive looking, mindless giants appearing out of nowhere, with the exception of the even more unexplained human-titans. The fact humanity isn't all in a single city is also a big plus, especially when it's combined with those train trips between them. Train trips can be good stuff, like Baccano taught us. Funnily enough even though Titan's setting should have been closer to me culturally, I liked this show's world better. The social class issue is more or less the same, but somehow it was more interesting here.

Of course after just a single episode it's unfair to compare the shows so much as this could still turn into a (literal) train wreck at any point, but how could one not compared these?


The girls themselves seem oddly ero to me however. Maybe they're remnicense of porn where poor budget meets cool-in-theory designs? Anyway, they look good.

Well said. I was actually wondering why those girls looked kind of peculiar, but only after reading your post it all made sense. I'm not complaining at all either.

[Ryllharu]

When the virus recedes in a silly-fast manner (a conceit I'm willing to give for suspension of disbelief and pacing), you see it finally flash around his heart and primary veins/arteries. I'm certain he will have an iron-encased heart for extra combat durability.

The gem strapped to his hand seems to hold some significance in his miracle recovery. The virus spread right to the point where the gem contacts his hand, though the auto-asphyxiation obviously had a huge, yet brutal, effect on that as well.

The character designs really are attractive, but I wouldn't call it hentai. It's just classic Gainax. The original character designer for this series, Mikimoto Haruhiko (https://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=creator&creatorid=512), worked on the original Macross, Macross 7, Orguss and Gunbuster. The last two being the most influential here, with Ayame having that strong similarity to Kazumi (and all Meiji era women characters). There's also a bit of Murata Renji/Tony Taka in the design, but maybe that's more in just the clothing.

edit:
As for the pile driver gun, I'd guess that they just decided to give up. The Bushi class are the only ones allowed to fight as the ruling class obviously, used to easily winning over the lower classes, and when they couldn't win with even guns, they decided that the monsters are simply unbeatable. The lower class people like Ikoma aren't stuck on one particular set of weapons, and have the craftsman know-how to build, study, and ultimately innovate.

Explosives are used for suicide and demolition. They apparently never thought to actually use them as a propellant. The Bushi gave up when their lead bullets splattered on the heart cages. Ikoma (and anyone with common sense), would notice an exposed, pulsing, guarded heart is their weakness. His gun focuses the force of a steam/explosive blast to pierce, when the Bushi never thought beyond cut/shoot. Ikoma studied the targets instead of being fearful of them, where the Bushi studied only their own combat skills.

Mumei obviously has a different approach, but one that only works with incredible skill.

[NeoCybercoin]

Yeah I think the Bushi and their guns can injure the Kabane but his weapon has enough force to pierce/destroy the heart.

[Buffalobiian]

Ikoma (and anyone with common sense), would notice an exposed, pulsing, guarded heart is their weakness.

Yeah. I assumed that the iron cage being the heavily fortified weakness was common knowledge, and that everyone should be working should have worked on a way to crack that.

I guess not.

All that said, criticising them while living in the 21st century is perhaps slightly unfair.

[MFauli]

Aaand we have this season´s must-see. Good.

Great first episode. It introduced us to completely new world, but didn´t throw lots of dry exposition at us. The characters all have a certain quality to them which makes them instantly likeable/interesting. The hero also is a healthy mixture of normal guy/competent guy. He knows some stuff, but he´s not presented as some know-all prodigy character.

Only preemptive complaint: I hope this anime QUICKLY explains what happened at the end. This whole world lives in fear of the Kanabe, and our hero knows a way to heal yourself from that infection? There better be a good reason why he doesn´t make this widespread information, and also why he knows about this method, considering he doesn´t have experience facing the kanabe.

[Buffalobiian]

Only preemptive complaint: I hope this anime QUICKLY explains what happened at the end. This whole world lives in fear of the Kanabe, and our hero knows a way to heal yourself from that infection? There better be a good reason why he doesn´t make this widespread information, and also why he knows about this method, considering he doesn´t have experience facing the kanabe.

He appears to take a scientific approach to things and also studied how to kill them for years. Most people seemingly believe it's a "curse" while he tackles it by calling it a virus/disease. This is steampunk (usually based on the Victorian era), the idea of viruses may not be commonly accepted to be true.

I don't see his "fix" to be a big point of contention though. He's been working his ass off such that people can stop killing each other. That involves finding out how to kill Kanabe, and finding out how to stop their pathogenesis.

He may have never fought one off first hand, but it appears that he's seen the transformation of one and observed keenly.

[Ryllharu]

(edit: What buff said, but wordier)

He didn't know. He guessed. If it progressed to his brain, the jury-rigged asphyxiator would have just killed him, because he wouldn't have the brain power left to turn the damn thing off.

Ikoma has been actively studying their remains for months, if not years. Both he and his mechanic buddy concur that it isn't something supernatural, it progresses from bites and is related to the blood. He's seen it infect people first hand, most people probably have. He's a scientist at heart. He examines, he studies, he iterates. He tries again and again. He knows it spreads from bite to brain before their glowing heart comes out and they become monsters. So he did what he hoped would work, or would kill him if it didn't.

As for why no one listens to him? He's just a mere craftsman, not a Bushi. What does he know!? He could very well be working with the Kabane! He might even be one himself! All this was explained if you paid attention. This is a heavily stratified society. The ruling Bushi class is paranoid and weak, but since they have all the guns, they enforce the rules and live off the work the lower classes perform for them. When they fail, they use fear and paranoia to cover up their weaknesses. They couldn't have been more blunt about that.

I bet all his craftsmen class friends know about his theories, whether they dismiss them or not, and his one buddy definitely believes him. When he shows up, all of them will.

Ayame has already shown hints of thinking there is something wrong with their world too. She wants heroes too. She respects knowledge and skill, no matter who exhibits it. She admires standing up for others, even when you don't know them. She was horrified at the way the Bushi handled the inspection, and was shaken to the core that people wanted to fight instead of just run.

[shinta|hikari]

Mumei = delicious.

I love the retro art. It's really refreshing after all the cut and paste we've been getting recently. That's also the reason I enjoyed UBW's strange faithfulness to the original. I don't even like the art style, but it's valuable by virtue of rarity alone, not to mention the attention to detail is awe inspiring. The action in the ED is very promising.

I only have praise for the execution of this first episode. Similar to Orphans, it's just hard to find things to complain about, which is honestly quite rare for me.

I wonder if these zombies can still move around after getting beheaded. Mumei, which means unnamed funnily enough, beat one that way, but I wonder if it's a temporary measure.

[MFauli]

Ikoma being interested in science still doesn´t explain why his infection instantly regressed, once his apparatus had done its job. Keeping the infected blood from reaching your head is one thing, but you can´t just treat it as if it´s a one-time thing ... the infected blood should still be inside his body. Yet, we see him returning to normal in an instant. Weird.

[Buffalobiian]

So is your problem:

1) the fact that he tried what he did, or

2) the fact that the virus regressed?

We explained 1, and you know all about a certain other parasite that needs to reach the brain in due time before it has to settle down. Ryll suggested the gem had something to do with it. The asphyxiation may have too.

For all we know, perhaps he is a Kagane with a human head. I really don't think they're going to skip on an explanation for this.

edit: beat you again Ryll.

[Ryllharu]

@Mfauli: It's definitely still in him.


When the virus recedes in a silly-fast manner (a conceit I'm willing to give for suspension of disbelief and pacing), you see it finally flash around his heart and primary veins/arteries. I'm certain he will have an iron-encased heart for extra combat durability.


@Shinta: When Mumei smiles, especially in the scene where her priest-buddy kills himself, the retro-art has a distinct I"s style to it. Or really any of Katsura Masakazu's (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=creator&creatorid=866) work. It's really nice.

And considering my first anime ever was Iria (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=197)...I think I finally understand why I'm so drawn toward the art style of this series.

[shinta|hikari]

I actually like that guy's art, well, except for his latest Garo crap.

[MFauli]

So is your problem:

1) the fact that he tried what he did, or

2) the fact that the virus regressed?

We explained 1, and you know all about a certain other parasite that needs to reach the brain in due time before it has to settle down. Ryll suggested the gem had something to do with it. The asphyxiation may have too.

For all we know, perhaps he is a Kagane with a human head. I really don't think they're going to skip on an explanation for this.

edit: beat you again Ryll.

I meant the latter. The method of preventing the infection reaching his head is okay. What doesn´t make sense atm is that as soon as he keep the infection away from his head for a moment, it all regressed. Like, if I´m infected and I stop the blood flow from my arm, as soon as I release the pressure to my arm, the infection will continue to spread. That´s what doesn´t make sense. Hope we´ll get a satisfying explanation for that, because this show is great otherwise.

I also agree, this is even more enjoyable than Attack on Titan so far. AoT suffered from dumb, over-dramaticized characters. The characters in this one appear more balanced, specially the hero.

[Kraco]

Considering this infection turns people into an abomination that hasn't got anything to do with humans anymore, apart form a humanoid shape, I wouldn't mind even if there was such a condition for the disease that it had to reach the brain in 1 or 2 minutes or the person would be saved. That disease, or curse, can't be compared to any normal disease that we know of, obviously, so it shouldn't be subjected to the same standards in any way, good or bad.

It wouldn't be all too strange that nobody would have discovered the conditional lightning cure if it was such. It's pretty crazy, after all. It didn't exactly look like the MC knew precisely what he was doing, as if he had seen it numerous times before. It was more like it was a solid theory of his, and he was prepared to try it out if needed. But then again, I do share the feeling that he's somehow special, with the stone and everything.

[Edort4]

Yeah I didnt understand the disease "retreat", nor the bolting his shoulder or trying to asfixiate but I guess we must judge that according to other things showed in the show and its lore. Its pretty clear that it makes no sense to us.

Couple of things I didnt get. How is a weapon that needs a steam furnace for 1 shot gonna help and why did they say that the ones suspected of infection must stay 2 or 3 days in quarantine and this time the infection happened in seconds to the MC, in minutes to the priest guy and the citizens.

I actually liked how the "guard" were just common thugs and even the lord couldnt force himself to stop them. Thats pretty much real life like.

Also how the hell could the girl severe a head with a blade that doesnt seem more than 2 inches long? That was unnecesary bullshit right there. You need several hits or a blade at least the same width of the neck to achieve that in any universe that has the slightest sense.

[shinta|hikari]

The 2-3 day quarantine is due to the irrational fear of infection. The fear factor (lol) was very stressed in the first episode. People have lost their sanity and intelligence because of it. The protagonist even stated that out loud.

The gun development is merely a first step. He succeeded where everyone gave up. That will lead to new research and new weapons that can actually kill the enemies. It's like how there were no electronics until someone lit the first light bulb.

The kick beheading was clearly for style points. If you watched the ED, a lot more unbelievable stunts are waiting. But hey, it looks fucking bad ass.

Also, the lord didn't stop the thug guards because he agrees with them, unless you meant the girl, who clearly couldn't oppose her father.

[MasterOfMoogles]

I was worried this was going to be too similar to AoT, but I think it is different enough to stand on its own, which is great.

[KrayZ33]

This is great, I was on edge the whole time - the music, action and animation felt right throughout the episode.

I've yet to understand whether they can be stopped by cutting off theird heads or not. Or is the head/body even "stronger" than the heart? Are they made of iron, I wonder if we even get some answers to that, I'd be fine either way but it would be nice to get some more info about the virus/curse.

And holy crap, that roundhouse kick was amazing, that kick alone made her go up and high in my character rankings... and it was so amazingly animated too.

[shinta|hikari]

And the geta got stuck to the torii. Talk about Japanese culture incorporation. Delicious. I found myself crouching to get a peek of what's underneath her kimono.

I think only the heart has a cage. The body is normal durability. The problem is, does it regenerate? Otherwise, they can just chop the legs off and leave them be.

[KrayZ33]

And the geta got stuck to the torii. Talk about Japanese culture incorporation. Delicious. I found myself crouching to get a peek of what's underneath her kimono.

I think only the heart has a cage. The body is normal durability. The problem is, does it regenerate? Otherwise, they can just chop the legs off and leave them be.

No pantsus were drawn this day

However, after rewatching it for - uhm - research, I noticed that she unties the ribbon around her neck for "no reason". Since it was shown in a rather important way, I start to doubt that this scene had no meaning at all and when we consider what Ikoma did at the end I get the feeling that she's been bitten once (and healed similiar to how Ikoma got "healed") and this is somewhat of a "unleash the forbidden curse"-move. Maybe her brother is just as clever as Ikoma and knows more about the virus than most people and helped her in the past.

Ikoma didn't just strangle himself either, he had this weird collar around his neck before he did it too which I assumed was more or less the last resort after he failed to stop it in his arm and later his shoulder.
The virus is clearly still in his system, his hair color changed and you can still see the infected, blueish veins comming out of his heart. So maybe that collar will help him to do the same thing later?

I guess it's impossible to grasp what was going on right now, I'm already interested in the explanations or at least in more hints.

[Ryllharu]

Did anyone else get stuttering in the horriblesubs 720p release? As if it was badly ripped from the original source.

Most noticeable in the kicking scene (where it really interrupts the action!).

@KrayZ33: I believe the collar was to keep from crushing his windpipe while still allowing the circulation to be cut off to his head. The handkerchief that he was strangling himself with cuts off the carotid artery and jugular vein where it meets his jaw.

[shinta|hikari]

If Ikoma isn't special, then humans can produce an army of hybrids to combat the enemy. I hope there's a limitation or at least a price for this power up, aside from losing the interest of normal girls who aren't interested in cross breeding.

Putting that aside, if the virus travels via blood, then simply chopping off an infected hand/arm/foot/leg is enough to save a bitten person. Instead, they've been purging them with that cool but inefficient heart explosive bushido tool. Fear really did a number on these people.

I can't wait for train-top combat. The OP shows this. If that's a troll scene, well, damn.

[KrayZ33]

Putting that aside, if the virus travels via blood, then simply chopping off an infected hand/arm/foot/leg is enough to save a bitten person. Instead, they've been purging them with that cool but inefficient heart explosive bushido tool. Fear really did a number on these people.


Well, this show should play somewhere around 1700-1800, I remember that it took several decades before they understood that cholera doesn't spread and infect you by breathing "bad air" or touching a patient, before John Snow finally came up with a better theory at around 1845 or something.

So, I'm no expert, but who knows what little they understood in that regard.
Ikoma might be one of the few people that has the right idea.

[Buffalobiian]

The Suicide bag was the only sure way to work:

1) it's easy to carry. Everyone can have one.
2) It works regardless of where you're bitten
3) You can do it yourself.

The ribbon definitely signifies something. They've got a special power, as mentioned.

I don't think Ikoma's hair change was due to the virus. It was simply "stress" due to suffocating and almost dying. The virus never didn't get that far.

[KrayZ33]

I don't think Ikoma's hair change was due to the virus. It was simply "stress" due to suffocating and almost dying. The virus never didn't get that far.

I don't know about that, it could be totally unrelated, but you can actually see his hair changing during the scene when the virus expanded throughout his system and it stayed that way when the virus disappeared too.
It almost looked like they put a grey shader on it and the haircolor change looked like you'd " slowly fill a bottle with some kind of liquid."

However, it might be nothing more than an animation error.

[MFauli]

btw the one thing i truly dont like about this anime: its title. "Kabaneri". It sounds like some sort of Italian pasta.

[shinta|hikari]

Hey, at least it's not translated weird like Sakamoto Desu Ga (Indeed, I'm Sakamoto), which became "Haven't you heard? I'm Sakamoto."

Where do these people get these titles?

[neflight86]

When I learned Wit studio was doing this instead of another AOT season this spring, I jested to myself that it had 'better be at least 80% as good as AOT', or I would be salty. I got my wish. This was a good premiere, and I enjoyed it.

A few thoughts:

Even though I jokingly describe this to friends as "Attack on Zombie", it really is its own thing. One of the defining characteristics in Titan that was divisive was the slow pacing which could be supposed to be caused by budget or scope constraints (not enough manga at the time), but regardless had the side effect of facilitating the most effective cashing out of despair for hope I'd ever seen in an anime, and that really resonated with me. Kabaneri does not have that build up for me so far; even though it is a losing fight, it doesn't feel like one when I watched this first episode. The first episode of Titan really set a tone for the uphill battle the humans would face and the sacrifice they would endure to survive. The clear gap in strength from the onset really paid off later when humans could win victories later, even small ones, and I really enjoyed watching that. I suppose this approach suites Kabenari better as a complete 1 cour series, but I feel it won't have the investment in the characters built up enough for me to care about them aside from the plot devices they are.

Lowering the train drawbridge because the train sounded its horn by accident when the zombies don't posses intelligence was pretty tragic and hard to watch.

The art is fine, but the shading is throwing me off a bit. It looks a little cheap, like overly smoothed CG actually, but given all of the positive reception this show's art is getting, I must be mistaken.

I wonder if this will have the international success Titan did due to it being Bushido-steampunk themed. Would that be less marketable than Titan's pre-victorian steampunk?

[Buffalobiian]

Just the fact that the women aren't in uniform should be a plus. Variety in wardrobe and design always helps.

This wasn't so much a "the world is doomed" episode like Titan. Titan was an isolated city with nowhere else to go.

Kabaneri is where the hero is downed by social injustice and an inability to kill zombies. There is inter-city transport available. Now that he's found his super-power and the ability to kill, he can leave this shithole and make the world a better place. The zombie screwed the town for him so there's no reason to stay.

This is one of those "get out of town to a big new world" type of shows.

Ikoma will now learn all about other major cities, fractions full of half-zombies, and girls that have the hots for him.

[Kraco]

It would certainly be cool if he freed himself from the social inequality. The ruling bushi class is obviously fine with leaving things as they are. Probably they die less often than the working class members, and this sort of a world will help them stay in power. They ought to be afraid of change, even change that might save humanity, if it also carries a risk of losing power. Highly effective weapons anyone could use is one such thing as they could not only be used against the zombies but also against the aristocracy.

[shinta|hikari]

Isn't it weird for the bushi to die less? The reason why samurai were respected was because of their readiness to die and how close they are to it. They even have this saying that when given a choice to live or die, they will always choose death (for honor). They are also the ones fighting with the kabane and suiciding all the time.

I agree about them staying in power as their prime motive.

Kabane, btw, is likely taken from shikabane, which means zombie.

[Kraco]

Well, yeah, I should have been more specific and say the leadership, the real noble families, among the bushi. Not those dudes who look like foot soldiers even though they act all big in front of the workers.

[Ryllharu]

Isn't it weird for the bushi to die less? The reason why samurai were respected was because of their readiness to die and how close they are to it. They even have this saying that when given a choice to live or die, they will always choose death (for honor). They are also the ones fighting with the kabane and suiciding all the time.
When the city gets overrun, who do you think gets to hop on the armored train first, and who are left to fend for themselves?

I'm willing to be the only reason Ikoma's half-dozen craftsmen friends are saved is because they're basically already on the train as the city is getting overrun.

When a station-city gets taken out, the bushi all move since they are the locomotive crew and guards. The rest of the city get infected, suicide if they can, or simply die.

It's exactly what Ayame's father said they'd be doing.

That's why Ikoma is always pissed at them. They treat everyone else like shit and simply run away when the kabane attack. They don't fight the enemy and only defend themselves.

These are paper warriors.

[MFauli]

Btw. the whole Samurai honor thing is bs. The reason Samurai were fighting was because they were the only ones ALLOWED to carry weapons. It wasn´t a matter of "hey, farmer, look, I´m risking my life to safe you!". It was more like "hey, you worthless farmer, look at my awesome katana. Cool, eh? Ora, don´t give me that look or I´ll cut you in half - I could, because my rank in society is higher than yours!"

As somebody here posted, it´d be very interesting if this story told the uprising of the lower class, granted by their abilities/capabilities. Only thing that could harm this anime´s quality is if Ikoma turns out to be too perfect.

[shinta|hikari]

But that's only when the city is overrun, right? Normally, these civilians don't even see a kabane, while the bushi have to fight them and even suicide when bitten.

[shinta|hikari]

Episode 2. (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=803092)

Fair warning. That video has English subs imposed on Chinese ones. It's perfectly watchable, just not something you'd archive. But trust me, you gotta watch this as soon as you can.







Content:
OMG. This show owns SnK so bad right now.

And Mumei already wins for best female in 2016. Why?

Badass? Check.
Hot? Check.
Waki? Check.

Mumei is not only imba, it makes sense why she is, unlike Mikasa, as much as I love her. Her fighting style is utterly luscious, and so is her waki. The costume designer for this show knows what it's all about. Kudos.

Back to the action. The animation is smooth as hell, something you don't find in anime nowadays. It reminds me of Kite, only on steroids, which makes sense because I think Ryll said the artist is the same. Moreover, the fight coordination is superb. Mumei using a spear for stabbing and throwing, along with her insane dual air guns (LOL! They really are!) make her extremely bad ass.

She has a time limit though. Does Ikoma have the same limitation? Maybe his infection is so widespread he has gone to the next level. I mean, he got chowed on by the zombies but nothing happened to his body. I loved the "I forgot I'm Superman" moment when he grabbed the piping hot pipe (pun intended).

I'm really looking forward to the romance between these two. Mumei is so jaded and detached, while Ikoma is so enthusiastic and serious. They really complement each other, and I'm looking forward to watching more of their interactions.

I want that ponytail guy to get bitten by a kabane. No wait, it'd be funnier if he got a scratch from a fight, but it's not from a kabane, but everyone still hunts him down out of fear. That'd be poetic justice.

[Buffalobiian]

Mumei is not only imba, it makes sense why she is, unlike Mikasa, as much as I love her. Her fighting style is utterly luscious

How ridiculous was it that she was doing her checks in enemy territory? Check, check, ch-.. oh fuck. xD

This was great.

I would expect Ikoma to have no time limit actually. He's a bit of a Frankenstein and is different from the others. He became a Kabaneri by halting a normal infection's progress. His entire body below his neck is a Kabane, while his head is that of a human.

Mumei's is definitely different. She either got a Kabane heart (or blood) transplant, or is a being who is conceived by both Kabane and Human cells. (plenty of room for imagination here).

I'm going to guess it's the former type. When she activates her "kabane powers" she becomes superhuman. However, after some time she must stop using it or else it'll consume her completely and turn her into a Kabane. Think about another show where women borrow super-powers to hunt monsters (http://i.imgur.com/LSXWRi8.jpg).

That ribbon might also have some sort of suppresive ability to keep the virus out of the brain during their refractory phase.

I have to wonder what what'd happen if either of them get bitten above neck-level.

Mumei's actions suggest that Bushi steamguns are perfectly capable of killing Kabane. If being superhuman gives you super bullets, that'd be pretty bullshit.


I loved the "I forgot I'm Superman" moment when he grabbed the piping hot pipe (pun intended).

I think he actually feels no pain or heat.

[shinta|hikari]

But didn't her steam pistols need at least 2 shots to kill the zombies? That's what I thought at least. It required for the heart cage to be damaged before it actually worked. It's hard enough to hit the heart once. Hitting it twice with the pathetic firing rate of the steam rifles is impossible for mob characters.

Another possibility is the gun that Ikoma has been working on has already been in production in high levels of society, but some sort of evil political plot prevents it from going to the hands of the masses to keep them dependent on the highest authorities.

[Buffalobiian]

ut didn't her steam pistols need at least 2 shots to kill the zombies? That's what I thought at least. It required for the heart cage to be damaged before it actually worked. It's hard enough to hit the heart once. Hitting it twice with the pathetic firing rate of the steam rifles is impossible for mob characters.

Yep. At least two shots.

She's just too good I guess.

[shinta|hikari]

Right now, the "Koutetsujou" (Dammit, I really wish they translated this as Steel Castle/Fortress, because that's how the kanji reads and it's much cooler than alien language to English speakers) is a really cool setting. It reminds me of the movie Snowpiercer, where everyone has to survive inside a train. I also like the term hayashiro (fast castle) for trains in general. It really fits the setting and the purpose of the vehicles in light of the zombie apocalypse.

Their train is pretty much ok though. With two Kabaneris guarding them, zombie mobs should be no problem. The problem is when elite zombies show up, and they will. They always do in zombie stories.

[MFauli]

Dear god, so is everyone in here watching this supposedly terrible Anon-subs version? How bad is it? It´s so hard to wait >_<

[shinta|hikari]

It's not terrible at all. There's just Chinese subs behind the English ones, which is easily ignored.

[Ryllharu]

Dear god, so is everyone in here watching this supposedly terrible Anon-subs version? How bad is it? It´s so hard to wait >_<
Really just shinta and Buff. The rest of us apparently have a minimum threshold when it comes to standards.

I can wait.

[shinta|hikari]

Just because of some Chinese text? It's no big deal. At least check the first few seconds out to see if you can't endure it.

[MFauli]

Watched it :P And the subs are fine, other than the silly non-translation of some japanese words.

I liked that they explained the girl´s abilities in this episode. My mind already went "ugh, this pretty young girl better not be stronger than all those samurai just because".

The way these people treat infected is off-putting. It´s not like the transformation is instant, so when Ikoma saved the passengers from the kabane, they could have been a little bit more grateful.

What I wonder the most, though, is how this show will keep its sense of danger. Sure, the kabane ARE dangerous, but we´re already at the point where a single character can take out dozens of them by herself. We now also have the immune hero. And the girl is definitely not the only kabaneri. So, to keep the threat level up, there needs to be more. My guess is that there are irregular kabane ... and that´s where the Attack on Titan-comparison reaches 100% :P

[shinta|hikari]

Irregular enemies didn't start with SnK. It's unfair to use that as ammo to compare the two. Even then, Kabaneri is winning at this point.

[Kraco]

Mumei can only operate for a couple of minutes before she needs to sleep, so even the mob can get her if she can't hide somewhere safe when the time comes. Ikoma isn't a killing macine like she, at least not yet. In fact I'd prefer it if he divided his time between fighting and developing his weapon (or weapons). And possibly trying to change the world since he seems to have that kind of a disposition.

But damn it's a pity the holier than thou ponytail dude didn't get bitten. Although he probably tastes so bad that maybe the zombies wouldn't even want to bite him.

This certainly looks like one of the keeper shows of this season.

[shinta|hikari]

I bet you he will, later on. Poetic justice ftw.

[Kraco]

I bet you he will, later on. Poetic justice ftw.

And then Ikoma saves him? I bet the dude still wouldn't feel ashamed of being ungrateful.

[MFauli]

Is there now episode this week? I only know that HS decided to be lazy last week. What´s with episode 3?

[shinta|hikari]

Earthquake and Chinese episode.

[Ryllharu]

Ikoma seems more "developed" as a kabaneri than Mumei.

I'd guess his infection progressed to completion despite him stopping it at his head. Mumei's glowing heart isn't just smaller because she's a tiny woman, but because it didn't quite finish. This would explain why she has to stop and sleep and her face/skin start to shine, because she's expending effort in pushing it back down. The longer she exerts herself without rest, the worse it would get, and her ribbon isn't on the same level as Ikoma's strangler-collar.

Sometimes Ayame seems wussy and weak, but other times she has a classic level of strength and composure. I like her character more because of that. She's helpless compared to her peers, but has a degree of calm stoicism to contrast the flippant Mumei, raging Ikoma, and dumbass-authoritarian ponytail guy.

[shinta|hikari]

Doesn't anyone remember ponytail's name? Don't cheat by googling.

[Ryllharu]

Obviously we mentally blocked it out. I know Ayame says it very clearly in this episode.

[MFauli]

Earthquake and Chinese episode.

No chinese episode, yet :/

[NeoCybercoin]

Ep 4 is out.

Guess they need blood to survive. They got it easier now. No more food and water. Just plain ol' blood.
Also, never really listened to it but I love the song the play at the end..

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 3 was like God's gift to Shinta. Waki all episode.

I was actually slightly entertained by the idea that Kurusu could die this episode. They managed to partially redeem him by making him noble, even if narrow minded.

These were some good Ayame development episodes. She's a spiritual leader through and through. Luckily for her she had some loyal men who stuck around long enough for her to earn her leadership.

I'm actually not too annoyed if she pairs up with Ikoma instead of Mumei. They're both good.


Guess they need blood to survive. They got it easier now. No more food and water. Just plain ol' blood.

I'm going to guess that Kabane blood doesn't count.

[shinta|hikari]

Well yeah. Because if it did, the kabane would be chowing on each other and not humans.

These kabaneri are efficient. Just a few drops of blood and they go full power.

The waki was cool and all, but they lacked detail. Detail is important in waki. It can't just be some empty white space. That's no different from a butt cheek, or a nippleless boob. Meh.

Mumei's character is a bit hard to place, but I guess that means she isn't too tropey, which is a good thing. She looks cute when asleep. I'm not a fan of her crown accessory in her battle outfit. The miniskirt kimono she had on in the first episode was by far the better attire.

The fight against the skilled zombie was a letdown. I wish they saved a bit more budget for the boss fight. Taking down the fodder on top of the train didn't matter as much in the bigger picture, but that was animated way better. Even ponytail dude's fight looked better than Ikoma's boss battle.

Ayame is such an idiot. So many people died because she was weak and let go of leadership to a no name dumbass. However, that might all be part of her plot to shave off the population on the train to have enough food and water for everyone. In that case, she might be more awesome than we all think.

[Buffalobiian]

Ayame is such an idiot. So many people died because she was weak and let go of leadership to a no name dumbass. However, that might all be part of her plot to shave off the population on the train to have enough food and water for everyone. In that case, she might be more awesome than we all think.

She could never do that.

[Ryllharu]

Ayame is such an idiot. So many people died because she was weak and let go of leadership to a no name dumbass. However, that might all be part of her plot to shave off the population on the train to have enough food and water for everyone. In that case, she might be more awesome than we all think.

She was weak. Was. That's what makes Ayame a great character thus far. She's had to become a leader. True leaders aren't born, they appear when they're needed the most.

Her compassion is what separates her from the simply strong (Mumei), the passionate berserker (Ikoma), the stoic rule-followers (Kurusu and Engineer-chan), and the paper tigers (the nameless dumbasses).

Ayame was born into privilege, but was compassionate enough to respect her "lessers" even before the initial disaster struck. Through the adversity she's been forced to endure, she's already become a more capable leader than her father.

[shinta|hikari]

Well, that's what I wrote. Doesn't change the fact that tons of people died because of her mistake. If it weren't for the food crisis, those deaths would be a much bigger problem.

People were hating Mumei for killing a pregnant kabane. What about the girl who killed dozens of people because she decided she wasn't fit to be a leader despite disagreeing with the very first dumb order given by her replacement?

I think change is a good thing, especially story-wise, but that doesn't erase the sins that led to it. As such, she must be evaluated with her past in mind, not just her present.

[Buffalobiian]

She thought she wasn't fit, and she had every reason to think that way. In fact, it wasn't until she saw how shitty those rulers were that she became fit. She needed to fail to succeed.


Also, never really listened to it but I love the song the play at the end..

[Mashin] [160511] TVアニメ「甲鉄城のカバネリ」EDテーマ「ninelie」／Aimer with chelly(EGOIST) [320K] (https://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=809560)

[shinta|hikari]

She was still smart enough to know that they shouldn't cross a valley. That's just stupid any way you look at it. It's like asking to be attacked.

Her mistake was letting that happen. When she disagreed, she should've taken back leadership.

Oh, and I was joking about her scheming about all this.

[Kraco]

She might have been afraid of a munity. It did look like it could have happened if she hadn't handed over the command. That way things would have most likely ended up far worse than they now did. This really was a before and after incident for Ayame. It's quite clear now she's not anymore the same person she was. It cost quite a few lives to mature her, but they live in a tough world.

[MFauli]

Just got to watch the latest episode. It was okay. Was the first episode that didn´t make me excited, though. The sword kabane wasn´t dangerous enough. I mean, it might have killed everybody if Ikoma had not come to save the day. But the way it was presented I felt as if it would have been manageable by normal humans, too. Use some trick to throw it off the train or whatever. It´s entirely the presentation´s fault, though. I needed that special kabane to appear more cruel, dangerous, invincible.

Ayame-boobs also looked really dumb when she splattered half a litre of her blood into thin air, instead of trying either feed it to Ikoma or ... ya know ... stay alive.

Biggest complaint: Shitdumbfuck-samurai is still alive. meh

[Buffalobiian]

Just got to watch the latest episode. It was okay. Was the first episode that didn´t make me excited, though. The sword kabane wasn´t dangerous enough. I mean, it might have killed everybody if Ikoma had not come to save the day. But the way it was presented I felt as if it would have been manageable by normal humans, too. Use some trick to throw it off the train or whatever. It´s entirely the presentation´s fault, though. I needed that special kabane to appear more cruel, dangerous, invincible.

The problem was that they made Kurusu look badass with his sword. Compared to that, the super Kabane was powerful but dumb.

[Munsu]

Just managed to watched the first 4 episodes, and not surprising that I love this so far.

And of course, after watching this series and seeing his work with Aldnoah.Zero in particular, while also Guilty Crown among others, every anime series from now on better put Sawano Hiroyuki in charge of Music and all it entails.

Really have nothing to add to the discussion, don't care much for the plot at the moment, simply enjoying the ride.

[neflight86]

Episode 5

____________

Ugh. This episode was a bit of a mess. I already have little tolerance for drama that feels 'forced', and this episode blew that up with some uninspiring bickering. Mumei has become quite the annoying character as of late, and I struggle to find sympathy for her insecurity and unfounded machismo. MC wasn't much better with an odd salary-man like "Yes, of course it will still work" when desperately defending his plan after seeing her abrupt belligerence against strategy, without expressing much concern other than "Do what you want!"

"Do what you want?" Is that where we're at now? I weep for the dead dog scene. It was painful to watch as I felt myself check my eyelids for holes. So Kabaneris are emotional 13 year olds now, in spite of seeing this character in particular (mentally) capable of so much more? She has a perspective of not wanting to be 'discarded' by some person, and reminded of this by peg-leg Pete, but that hasn't been solidly sold to the audience so its introduction and severity here feels forced.

So is Mumei a bad character? Not really; I'm just harping on her being a poorly executed portion of this rather unexciting present danger for the train to overcome. Genuinely disappointed in this latest episode of the good show I pay nothing to watch. I'll go cry over there.

Also, is the 'giant monster made of zombies locked together' a trope by now? I've seen it a few times in Japanese zombie apocalypse stories of late.

[Ryllharu]

I agree. So much of this episode felt simply lazy.

Stupid bullshit with Mumei that could have been resolved in seconds had either Ikoma or Kajika (side ponytail-chan) forced her to actually answer wtf her problem was by emphasizing they're not just on the same train, they're already allies or friends or whatever.

This episode has Mumei closing herself off when she was already past that with these people.

I'd have been okay with the "black smoke" giant monster if it was just a constantly moving smear like an amoeba. But Japan really needs to stop making zombie hordes form into a bipedal shape with arms and a head.

Also, Ikoma is a fucking idiot. Lash the damn controls up if you're going to run away. You're covered in cloth and belts. In reality, he should have already started rotating the crane. You don't lift up a suspended load as high as thing can go, that's how disasters happen. He already lifted it up high enough to clear the tracks if he starting turning the crane. Suspended Loads 101.

[shinta|hikari]

That's the word I was looking for while watching this episode: lazy.

Kabaneri has been getting weaker each week. This was on the level of the usual shounen crap I drop nowadays.

I'm fine with Mumei going all emo and stuff. The backstory was there. The problem was the execution. It felt needlessly exaggerated and forced.

Speaking of exaggerated, Ikoma's constant shouting is grating on my ears now. I could understand his strangely hyper voice when he was being oppressed, but he doesn't have to use that tone every single scene.

To top all the laziness off, check this out:
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/KoutetsujounoKabaneri-Episode5-Omake-6_zpsv4j6qsep.gif

How hard is it to add a line or two of skin creasing detail or another layer of shading? Waki NEEDS detail. Otherwise, it's just blank space. Meaningless. Mumei's character design and constant combat scenes should make her God's gift to waki-lovers, but we get this lazy flesh-colored emptiness instead. It's like a vagina without a hole.

I'm not asking for much. See comparison from one of the trashiest shows around below:

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/ShinmaiMaounoTestamentBurst-Episode3-Omake-1_zpssykj6oml.gif

Here is an even better comparison because of the similar pose and action:
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/Reina_zpsqndivszo.gif

Take note how the part between the breast and the arm has a (very sexy) crevasse, shown by adding two measly lines and a bit of shading. That's not some random art style thing, either. It's physically there IRL. An armpit has to have a pit. Otherwise, it's just an arm.



Yeah, I'm just finding excuses to litter this forum with waki gifs now. Any complaints?

[MFauli]

I was about to post a comment about this week´s episode. Now I´m confused about shinta posting hentai-gifs ;>

[shinta|hikari]

Those are all valid anime gifs, not hentai.

[MFauli]

Then step up your game!

[Ryllharu]

@MFauli, the Testament gif is definitely the most pervy, but in comparison to the rest of the series...is quite tame.

Shinta is right (and her character design is indeed apparently in support of this particular niche fetish, why else would she raise her arms like that constantly?), despite me not really being concerned about that particular detail. Her hair and Ayame's still looked great this episode. SidePonytail-chan's too.

It was the storytelling (and apparently the armpit detail) that was lacking.

[MFauli]

Ok, about the episode: My biggest complaint is still the lack of any tangible danger. This was the same with last week´s sword-kabane. This week, I see this weird, giant smoke monster. I should feel terrified, creeped out. But I´m not. All I do is wonder "hm, how will the get past it? Is it a real smoke monster or is it made of 10000 of kabane? Also Mumei will be all tsundere next week, for sure!"

Since this series is clearly related in spirit, Attack on Titan did this so much better. From the very first episode, the titans were terrifying. And any time later, they were terrifying again. Kabaneri fails to evoke a true sense of danger, ever after the first 2 episodes (that were fantastic).

Now I fear that the entire first season might be a train trip. Really hoped we´d reach the central city at the end of this week´s ep :/

[shinta|hikari]

Well, the show is named after the train... so...

I disagree about the sense of danger. Even Mumei almost died twice this episode. If you meant a sense of horror, then I agree. This show could use more classic horror surprise scenes and better use of music for suspense and thrills. Right now, it's just pure action.

[Ryllharu]

The sense of danger is more that the Kabaneri, the only true defense the rest of the train has, will slowly devolve into Kabane. Ayame, pudgy friend, grumpy friend, and side-ponytail-chan have given Ikoma and Mumei a pass, but this episode made it clear to the audience only, that Mumei is slipping. If she fights too long without rest, her infection grows.

Whatever she is, isn't as complete as Ikoma, his appears to have gone to completion. When he fights too long, he gets the blood thirst, but the infection doesn't spread to his head. It already failed to get there and apparently doesn't try to any more. Mumei's does. Every single time she fights.

She is also a lot more dangerous than he is. And even if she wasn't the true threat, the organization that her "brother" (unclear if biological or figurative) runs is something that even she fears.

The Kabane are a threat, but they're not the true danger. As Ikoma noted in the first episode, it's the Bushi and the other elites like them. Mumei is part of that non-Bushi elite group. She wasn't even inspected. That's pretty horrifying in terms of the common people. Even Ayame gets checked for exposure routinely.

[Kraco]

An episode full of unnaturally bad decisions and action. I hope the next episodes will be better again.

I agree on the danger feeling less than it should be and the horror being totally absent. But that often happens when the enemy is numbered in the thousands, is readily visible, and is cut down like weed. This is merely an action show, and not a super good one judging by this episode.

[MFauli]

Yeah, horror is probably more lacking than the feeling of danger, though I´m really longing for more of both. The latter maybe stems from the low death count of memorable characters. I remain that this series is a spiritual successor to Attack on Titan, but AoT did a much better job at making me feel "anybody can die at any given moment". Five episodes in, and we don´t have a single high-profile character dead. Even if somebody dies now, it´s almost too late, as it´s too typical to have built up towards the death of a character. AoT was less predictable. And really, we have so many kabane, there should be more casualties.

Worse, however, is the lack of horror. This was made clear to me last episode, when the sword-kabane was inside the train waggon. It was there, it was incredibly strong, fast, and it kept killing no-name characters. But while that happened, we saw more important characters hiding nearby behind a quickly built wall, talking to each other about their next steps. Then the asshole-samurai started fighting the sword-kabane on equal footing.
Take.More.Time. There should have been a slow introduction scene, the camera real slowly moving upwards, starting at the sword-kabane´s feet, going higher, higher, finally a shot of his head, with super-detailed shadings and whatever. Then we hear it making creepy, deep growling sounds. A group of noname characters is in the area around him, and we only see the air getting blurry, the sword-kabane having vanished from one moment to the next. Then the camera makes an abrupt swing to one side, and we see the sword-kabane, having skewered one of the nonames. On top of that, he´s taken a big bite from the poor guy´s neck. The poor guy still being alive, we see his eyes turn matte, and the sword-kabane stops eating. Instead, he pulls the dead body above his head and RIPS his body in two, blood and guts splattering everywhere, a bloody rain sprinkling the near vicinity, giving the sword-kabane a really gruesome expression.

That´s how it should have been done. Instead, the anime focuses too much on action, but that action isn´t exciting enough.

[Munsu]

Don't understand the complaint about lack of danger, but I'll leave you guys at it.

I'm here for the action though, not for the horror. If you're here for the horror, then yeah I can see a bit of that.

As for Mumei vs. Ikoma and their infections, keep in mind that Mumei is exerting a lot of more energy than Ikoma in these fights... further more she's removing the limiter (the ribbon) from her neck, something that apparently keeps the virus somewhat in check. But as that one scene showed, emotional distress/anxiety might also cause some effect.

As for Ikoma, since he hanged himself, he's always had that collar around his neck keeping pressure. So we don't know what effect that has on his status and what would happen to him if he removes it.

I'm not discounting that Ikoma might be a bit different, but the evidence as has been presented so far (particularly once you consider his reaction when he got hungry) doesn't lend truth to that idea.

I have no problem with Mumei closing herself off. Ever since the beginning it's been very evident that she has a very narrow vision when it concerns her "brother" and her mission. This wasn't out of nowhere, and seeing a reminder to people who have been cast-off merely brought her back to her natural stance, with a bit of distress of course when she began considering that she was distracted. First episode she ignored everyone and went ahead and did as she pleased. That she opened up a bit in an episode or two, doesn't mean that she can simply waive off the anxiety she's always shown when her "brother" is concerned.

I mean, has there been a single episode so far in which she didn't do as she wanted? That's pretty much her standard operating procedure. Not sure why anyone would be surprised by it other than her being a bit more cold and dismissive of everyone, which is fine. Everyone has moods.

[shinta|hikari]

I thought Mumei's development was warranted, but the execution was lacking. It felt like the episode forced the idea through our heads instead of building up to it. Then we have Ikoma shouting like a nutcase but achieving very little in convincing Mumei.

This episode just didn't have the elegance I expected it to have. Naturally, this standard of judging already throws most shows into the bin, so it's not really a big criticism to Kabaneri in particular.

[Buffalobiian]

Whatever she is, isn't as complete as Ikoma, his appears to have gone to completion. When he fights too long, he gets the blood thirst, but the infection doesn't spread to his head.

I don't think he has a time limit. When he loses blood he gets blood thirst.

[Munsu]

I thought Mumei's development was warranted, but the execution was lacking. It felt like the episode forced the idea through our heads instead of building up to it. Then we have Ikoma shouting like a nutcase but achieving very little in convincing Mumei.

This episode just didn't have the elegance I expected it to have. Naturally, this standard of judging already throws most shows into the bin, so it's not really a big criticism to Kabaneri in particular.

I'm very much fine with that observation as I agreed with that aspect of your earlier post.

My execution problem is not with the development though, but why was she suddenly feeling like she lost a step? I don't recall that ever being an issue earlier or foreshadowed. All we saw that there was a lack of blood supply so maybe she had a couple of bad fights, but that doesn't explain her sudden apparent "distraction", something that hasn't been of issue so far.

So if anything, I can understand if someone has a problem with that particular aspect.

Speaking of that, we need scenes where we see these guys drinking blood.

[Kraco]

The kabaneri need to drink blood because their kabane heart requires it, it seems to me. Hard to say if they need to drink no matter what they do or only if they really use their kabaneri powers, but it would make sense using more power means they get thirsty sooner. If they are still half human, they should be able to produce their own blood like human do, but it hasn't been verified yet. It also might not be enough.

I had a big problem with Mumei listening so keenly to someone she obviously despises. But that's how I always feel when in typical shounen the hero is always ready to listen to the words of the villain and even believe it all, no exceptions. This time Mumei took advice from a failed person so much to heart heart that she threw all that she had achieved so far away and proceeded to do dangerous and stupid things. Right. It also made no sense whatsoever, no matter how you look at it. No idea what kind of a scumbag this brother of hers is, but would he possibly care less about the train full of people than randomly killing random kabane in a lost town, not that he would ever hear of those slain kabane, but if that train ever reaches a safe town, he would hear about it. It's like Mumei totally lost her thinking faculties when the pirate talked to her.

Another annoying thing is Ikoma's attention span of a five years old. The moment something new catches his eye, he totally forgets what he was currently doing and for what purpose and runs for the new toy. It's like that every fricking single time.

[Buffalobiian]

She took the message to heart because the failed person still bested her. That's proof enough to her that she's gotten weak and complacent.

[Munsu]

She took the message to heart because the failed person still bested her. That's proof enough to her that she's gotten weak and complacent.

Further more, he was a cautionary tale.... high ranking dude. That she 'hates' him simply becaue he became some sort of failure, also means that she could just as easily be discarded. I don't see that as a problem.

[Kraco]

Further more, he was a cautionary tale.... high ranking dude. That she 'hates' him simply becaue he became some sort of failure, also means that she could just as easily be discarded. I don't see that as a problem.

Sure, if it was a failed person she obviously didn't hate and had reason to assume would be on her side. But she hates him and he was threatening her with a weapon. There's no way that he would be feeding her bullshit under those circumstances, right? Not that he would have said anything all that should have been new to her. It was like the usual "what you are playing at here and taking it easy?" speech. Despite the fact she was instrumental in saving a train, a noble, a bunch of bunshi, a foreign specialist, and finally some commoners. What had that dude achieved to be so high and mighty? He had lost an eye and a leg and apparently his position as well. That man knew nothing and achieved nothing since he was among the fleeing survivors of that overrun town. Didn't see him working hard to get to the crane, you know. All that was coming out of his mouth was the whining of a loser, and Mumei was stupid to lend an ear. She was doing perfectly fine before, not so much anymore.

[shinta|hikari]

I think Mumei was generally more mechanical before she began interacting with Ikoma and all these people. That was what the pirate was referring to. Mumei didn't "believe" him. She merely remembered what she forgot after being surrounded by unaccustomed warmth.

See, this episode makes sense after a LOT of deeper thought and analysis, and that's the problem. If delivered well, Kraco wouldn't be complaining, and the rest wouldn't need to defend it. I stand by my thought that this wasn't a content but an execution issue.

An easy way to fix this abrupt change in Mumei would've been to split this episode into 2. First one introduces pirate and Mumei's past, and then shows how soft she has gotten. Then the end of that episode shows pirate besting her. Then the next episode shows Mumei's gradual decline because of her fear of being thrown away. All that should be happening while the train and plot progresses in the background. Rather, that should've been the background to the greater plot, not the focus of the episode.

Because they crammed this all into 20 minutes, everything felt very artificial. The pirate existed just so he could babble a condensed version of Mumei's backstory. The debris blocking the tracks felt like it existed just so Mumei could go berserk and get herself in trouble. Mumei's stupid actions only happened so she could fall from the cliff and get some alone time with the hero (TROPE ALERT!!!). It felt ridiculously forced. Lazy. Wakiless.

[Munsu]

Sure, if it was a failed person she obviously didn't hate and had reason to assume would be on her side. But she hates him and he was threatening her with a weapon. There's no way that he would be feeding her bullshit under those circumstances, right? Not that he would have said anything all that should have been new to her. It was like the usual "what you are playing at here and taking it easy?" speech. Despite the fact she was instrumental in saving a train, a noble, a bunch of bunshi, a foreign specialist, and finally some commoners. What had that dude achieved to be so high and mighty? He had lost an eye and a leg and apparently his position as well. That man knew nothing and achieved nothing since he was among the fleeing survivors of that overrun town. Didn't see him working hard to get to the crane, you know. All that was coming out of his mouth was the whining of a loser, and Mumei was stupid to lend an ear. She was doing perfectly fine before, not so much anymore.


Well as I mentioned before, my problem with the situation was specific to her suddenly feeling distracted and seemingly weak, not up to the task; off mission. I have no problem with her taking to heart whatever this dude said, as I said he's a good cautionary tale. My problem was why did she suddenly feel distracted when nothing prior to that seemed to support that idea other than suddenly this guy able to pull a gun on her.

Maybe she's THAT much of a badass that something like that prior would've been such an impossibility that it "panicked" her, but I think that's a bit far fetched. But it can be rationalized I guess, whether I like it or not.

Again my problem is not that she listened to someone she hated, particularly if she can envision how easily he could've been her under different circumstances (and she could still be), and then add to that the flashback to that chick getting killed off added to it.

It's not bullshit what he was feeding her if she has seen the evidence of his claims personally, and there's plenty to suggest so far that lends truth through her experiences. So it isn't really that she was buying his bullshit, more so that he got her back recalling her precarious situation, something she already knows.

My main problem though is why does she feel unsuitable suddenly? That's my issue with it. Nothing so far shows that she's been distracted or not up to the task she's been handed, so why the sudden feeling of that? There's always been some inkling that she has some sort of master/slave relationship with this "brother" of hers, or at least some level of deep worship for him that could cause her some irrational anxiety (and maybe rational if we take to heart the warnings). So I can see how she could suddenly get a bit disturbed. Thought it went a bit too extreme and too suddenly for my tastes. But again, I have no problem with her taking credence to whatever that dude was feeding her, whether she hated him or not.

[shinta|hikari]

Like Buff said, she didn't feel up to the task because a peg-legged dude, who she has no respect for, got the drop on her and could've killed her. That was proof enough that she was getting soft, at least in her eyes. It makes sense, just rushed.

[Edort4]

Dunno if its the VA or the scripting but this show is painful to watch. Even for casual talk they use tones that feel desperate cries. I had to fastforward parts of the episode cause it was giving me headache.

[shinta|hikari]

I'm guessing both? Ikoma in particular is painful to listen to.

[Munsu]

I'm guessing both? Ikoma in particular is painful to listen to.

Yes, I hate Ikoma's VA... should've mentioned earlier but didn't bother.

He's the VA from Ushio & Tora, and he sucks balls. He brings the same kind of problems you guys are seeing here to that show.

[shinta|hikari]

I wish they cast someone better for him. It's making it hard to root for him to get into Mumei's non-existent panties.

As a break from all the negativity, I think the consistently good action animation bears mention. Mumei's badassery is always nice to see.

I'm guessing the zombies use normal vision because she bothered to create a smoke screen. She, on the other hand, made it very easy for herself to see the glowing targets on the zombies' chests.

[Munsu]

I wish they cast someone better for him. It's making it hard to root for him to get into Mumei's non-existent panties.

As a break from all the negativity, I think the consistently good action animation bears mention. Mumei's badassery is always nice to see.

I'm guessing the zombies use normal vision because she bothered to create a smoke screen. She, on the other hand, made it very easy for herself to see the glowing targets on the zombies' chests.

I'm here for the action, if something better comes along it'll be pure gravy.

As for Ikoma, I actually like his character a lot. Just hate the VA and his bleached bangs.

But it's a tendency, the better the overall anime is, the more critical we become.

[Edort4]

Yeah action thus far is pretty neat. But I noticed the art at the begging of this episode to be sloppy (or at least I got that impression). The setting and lore are very appealing to, dunno if the train travel will get old further into the show but until now it worked nicely.

I liked the cartridge "invention"/explanation even thou the sword thing seemed silly but I was spoiled since the first OP so had it discounted and it was the only way to make mister samurai cool against those steampunk guns.

Together with Re:zero is my favourite (wich is not saying much tbh) show and one of the only 3 I follow in a more or less weekly basis.

[shinta|hikari]

Only the action scenes look great. Half the time, the art is just okay, with the exception of certain close up face cuts, which look very detailed. When waki shows up, the art becomes utterly and inexplicably terrible.

What's your other weekly show? Are you following Kuromukuro?

[Kraco]

I have few problems with this show otherwise. It's just this episode that felt so forced and strange. It could have probably been fixed if they had done things like Shinta said. I don't even particularly hate Ikoma's VA's performance, even though I readily recognize the objectively poor acting you mentioned. The action is splendid, I like the train theme alot and I wouldn't mind if they kept travelling for a while, as long as they come up with interesting stuff along the way. I do think the author and the anime director should have gone a bit more in the direction of horror instead of hordes of relatively weak enemies. Standard horror works pretty well and isn't so hard to make. Combined with the general steampunk samurai setting it would have been rather novel, in fact.

But if this episode is a real sign of the author's limits of imagination, then things could be dire indeed.

[shinta|hikari]

You know, it's quite possible there are different people working on the first two episodes and the last three. Maybe the director got sick or something.

Or Annopressed.

[Munsu]

You know, it's quite possible there are different people working on the first two episodes and the last three. Maybe the director got sick or something.

Or Annopressed.

That's pretty standard, and there's also a budget to contend with so in on some episodes/scenes they splurge and in others they let go a bit.

I'd like to think that all shows have unlimited budgets, but sadly that's not reality... as much as we'd like for quality to be consitent (art/animation wise), it simply isn't feasible.

Of course, sometimes the low budget portions are unexplainably bad.

A term I've seen used around often is "sakuga", like scenes in which more budget to increase the quality of those particular scenes, and such or something along those lines.

But yeah, all can be explained by budget constraints, though of course some is laziness at times. One can be more understanding of these issues, but doesn't make them any less annoying when encountered.

That said, though I can appreciate great animation, poor animation often doesn't bother me. It's not a make or break issue for me unless this something incredibly substandard.

[KrayZ33]

But yeah, all can be explained by budget constraints, though of course some is laziness at times. One can be more understanding of these issues, but doesn't make them any less annoying when encountered.

I'd like to believe that it isn't lazyness, but time restrictions.

[shinta|hikari]

According to my vast knowledge of anime production obtained from Shirobako, animation companies outsource some of the animation work to smaller companies, who don't do quality work because they have a bunch of monkeys seated at the artist desks.

[shinta|hikari]

Ep 6 (http://magnet:?xt=urn:btih:D4CD5KHLAAZSX2BAQU5FPIE4GCFSW4 56&tr=http://open.nyaatorrents.info:6544/announce&tr=udp://tracker.openbittorrent.com:80/announce&tr=udp://tracker.coppersurfer.tk:6969/announce)






This episode was a step in the right direction. Ikoma admitted how stupid he was for letting go of the crane lever, and everyone overall just behaved more sensibly. Mumei's back to her cocky and cute self too.

The zombie congregation was more magical than I expected. They had some sort of core that pulled them in and allowed them to take shape. It wasn't just a random mass of bodies that suddenly look humanoid. And the core is a kabaneri. Interesting. WTF has Mumei's benefactor been doing?

Action was great again. Samurai guy was pretty cool despite my general hatred for him. I like how he and Ikoma can hate each other but still work together in a crisis.

However, the best part of this episode was this:
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/tc_zps95tysdaf.gif

[Buffalobiian]

Benefactor? As in the "mother" who protected Mumei from the bullet?

The heart looked more like an ex-Kabaneri colleague.

Yukari (hereby called Train Woman) releasing the limit was hilarious. I had no idea why she started stripping. "Is the cabin about to be filled with steam? Is that why it's about to get hot suddenly?"

No, it was just a great opportunity to show off some lats.

And you know what? The lead-up to that was entirely unnecessary. They want the colony to catch up. They didn't want to lose it (because they couldn't). They ultimately risked derailing and forced everyone to push right (pushing - equally pointless).

But hey, every girl got to contribute and they played some nice music, so why not right?

[160518] TVアニメ「甲鉄城のカバネリ」Original Soundtrack／澤野弘之 [FLAC+CUE] (https://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=812506)
[Mashin] [160518] TVアニメ「甲鉄城のカバネリ」Original Soundtrack／澤野弘之 [320K] (https://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=812507)

[shinta|hikari]

Benefactor = The "brother" who saved her after her mother got killed by fear-crazed dude.

Her bro is probably doing experiments on kabaneri that led to the creation of these giant zombie things, you know, like SnK's Eren.

Train woman had to take off her clothes. She couldn't move properly with so many layers on. It took like one second to remove them, so it's worth it to gain extra maneuverability and comfort. I, for one, don't exercise in the gym with a coat. It's an excuse for fanservice, but a decent one IMO.

And this:
1780

They needed the extra speed because the monster would've easily killed them if the cannon failed to kill it, which happened once. Baiting it then successfully killing it was one thing, but surviving a failed attempt was another. Timing/aiming a shot against a target moving close to your speed is also much easier than one moving much faster.

Was the "pushing" really illogical? The pushing motion is probably meaningless, but everyone sticking themselves as closely as possible to one side of the train should at least affect the weight balance, right? I don't actually know, so I'm asking.

If you ask me, you're crazy for even bothering to complain after seeing Mumei's face here:
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/KoutetsujounoKabaneri-Episode6-Omake-10_zpsnkdbtctb.gif

[Kraco]

Of course moving next to the right wall mattered, though pushing the wall action was funny. It's understandable, though, considering the time period. It probably made sense to the common people on board. It's not like the foreign expert would be there to explain how meaningless it was.

This episode was certainly a big step to the right direction. I had no complaints. Like has been said, even the giant was explained well enough. Above all I'm very happy Mumei is back to her previous relaxed self, albeit I imagine there might be even some positive changes in her personality. Perhaps another meeting with the pirate wouldn't anymore make her do stupid things.

[shinta|hikari]

Pirate X Mumei NTR scene incoming...

[Ryllharu]

Yukari (hereby called Train Woman) releasing the limit was hilarious. I had no idea why she started stripping. "Is the cabin about to be filled with steam? Is that why it's about to get hot suddenly?"

No, it was just a great opportunity to show off some lats.
At least call her Engineer-chan, because that's what she is. That scene made no fucking sense whatsoever. She wasn't restricted in any way. But she does have some badass muscles for a lady. That's some blacksmith muscles right there.

Why didn't the guy she send back to the gear use a fucking pipe to dislodge the meat? She says, "If you touch it, you're losing an arm at the least," and you don't take an object you can use from a distance?!

The English Aristocrat-Mechanic makes me laugh every time he says something. His mere presence is a mystery, a riddle wrapped in an enigma. Here I was thinking only Japan has this kabana issue. For a significant time period. Who the hell is this dude and where has he come from?

[Kraco]

The English Aristocrat-Mechanic makes me laugh every time he says something. His mere presence is a mystery, a riddle wrapped in an enigma. Here I was thinking only Japan has this kabana issue. For a significant time period. Who the hell is this dude and where has he come from?

The Japanese trains didn't appear out of nowhere. The first ones were imported from Europe. I guess he came with them, to familiarise the Japanese with the tech. Suddenly he couldn't get out anymore with the place being infested with flesh craving zombies. Maybe he married a Japanese woman or something and had decided to stay willingly much earlier.

[MFauli]

Lol, I´m glad everybody can agree that the train lady randomly stripping off her clothes was exactly that: random :D

And I agree, "a step in the right direction".

The chase scene felt intense, the way this giant swarm kabane kept running after the train had something truly creepy to it, a feeling this series had been lacking compared to Attack on Titan. What´s missing now are proper ways of fighting kabane and proper ways of introducing more dangerous kabane (that aren´t relying on shitty human-shaped swarms, really, that´s indefensibly stupid), as well as having a good mystery to it all.

One scene I really disliked, though: When Mumei looked at all the Kabane that Ikoma had slain and said "how is that possible, when we´re so weak?". Bullshit. Mumei would have killed all of these kabane with ease, had she not been trapped under a rock.

[shinta|hikari]

That's the point. Mumei's understanding of strength is result-biased. If you get trapped under a rock and are about to get killed, then you're weak. It doesn't matter if she could've beaten those fodder in her usual form because that's not what was happening. The strong don't get into such situations in the first place.

That's also why she was so shaken by pirate dude. It doesn't matter if she was underestimating him and that the gun was concealed (and that he couldn't shoot her anyway or get pawned by Ikoma and the gang). She was weak the moment he got the drop on her.

Basically, if you (or are about to) die, you're weak, not the other way around. That's why she got so confused when Ikoma saved them. Considering all the factors (Ikoma's lack of combat skill, Mumei getting trapped, them being surrounded), they were supposed to die, but all of a sudden, Ikoma shounen-hearted his way to victory.

[Buffalobiian]

WTF has Mumei's benefactor been doing?

I misread that as "WTF was Mumei's benefactor doing there?" (as the heart of the kabane colony).

As pointed out, pushing is useless if it doesn't move your center of gravity any more towards the right. The best thing to do would be to grab the right-bottom edge of the wall and lie against it. As Kraco said however, I guess not everyone did physics those days. Interestingly they actually folded those beds up - that's exactly what you should do.


The English Aristocrat-Mechanic makes me laugh every time he says something. His mere presence is a mystery, a riddle wrapped in an enigma. Here I was thinking only Japan has this kabana issue. For a significant time period. Who the hell is this dude and where has he come from?

We don't even know what he looks like with all those goggles. I'm hoping he plays more part than being around for lulz, but I'm okay if he doesn't.

@Shinta: Right now I'm seeing more parallels with this show (http://i.imgur.com/t0pAj7M.gif)than Titan, as far as "how zombies/half-zombies are made" goes.

As for as Titan comparisons go, Titan had better soundtracks. Both OSTs were filled with good songs. Kabaneri has around 3 on that CD.

[MFauli]

new episode is out
-----------------------

They finally went full-Attack on Titan, lol. If only it hadn´t taken half a season to get there, when AoT made it in episode 1 ;>

And holy batman, when did Mumei become such an annyoing fan-girl of Ikoma´s? This might the worst evolution of a character I´ve ever witnessed. Badass, cool, cold fighter in episode 1, to emotionally unstable, clingy, at times even cringy fan-girl. Ugh.

Anyway, the story finally gets going. Although I´d really like to know what makes this city safer than the first one that got overrun by kabane.

[Buffalobiian]

Anyway, the story finally gets going. Although I´d really like to know what makes this city safer than the first one that got overrun by kabane.

Not employing dumbasses that drop the bridge before confirming a train crew's humanity.

[shinta|hikari]

LOL.

Mumei's character development is ridiculously rushed. There's a good story in there, but they are going in leaps and bounds to tell it.

Other than that, it was a great episode where couples are formed, all of them worth rooting for.

Ikoma's VA is damaging this show more than Goku's damages DragonBall.

[KrayZ33]

Ikoma's VA is damaging this show more than Goku's damages DragonBall.

My view on his VA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ussCHoQttyQ

I like the character animation/style more and more each episode, the princess looked cute, so did Mumei and the rest.
Mumei did change quite a bit in the last two episodes, she's shifiting alot and it's seems so easy to sway her towards either side.

one ep she's all "The weak suck"
then she's "I must proof I'm not weak, ahhh *panic*"
and after that she's "I'm actually just a cute little girl *tehee :P*"

[Edort4]

Maybe this relationship/personalities "development" was needed, dunno, but it felt like a filler episode. All that happened in those +20 minutes could have happened in 4 divided throughout the other 6 or 7 episodes.

[Buffalobiian]

I just realised the opening parts of the OP are "Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress" sung in English.

[shinta|hikari]

The character episode felt like a good break from all the fighting. Anime is different from western TV series in that it doesn't try to impress the audience every episode. Some episodes are designed to be set up ones. It's just an inherent difference in the entertainment culture.

The biggest problem here, and throughout the series, is the abruptness of it all, especially Mumei's changes and Ikoma's voice.

[MasterOfMoogles]

Finally caught up on this with my friends. Pretty awesome so far, though the last few weren't quite as good as the opening few.

Regarding engineer-chan taking off her shirt, it was hilarious, but it also made sense. If you're pushing the boiler to the max, it is going to get pretty hot.

According to an interview, Mumei is 12 years old. This explains her character and actions a lot, in my opinion.

I actually kind of like Ikoma's VA. What's wrong with him? Thank goodness he isn't Yuki Kaji (who still manages to get a decent amount of lines for being a total side character!)

[shinta|hikari]

Ikoma's VA is one tone and shouts everything he says. The problem doesn't lie with his voice but with how he voice acts. Every single thing he says, he says the same way, no matter what emotion or content that line should normally have. It's definitely intentional for uniqueness, but it doesn't change the fact that it sounds like bad acting. This is especially grating if you can understand what he is saying and are not relying on subtitles.

WTF Mumei is 12? She doesn't look 12 \/. She's at least 13 \/. (lol.)

[Buffalobiian]

MY main issue is that Mumei's hairstyles don't look like they can be arranged from the same lengths of hair.

That's cheating.

[shinta|hikari]

That's called extensions.

[Kraco]

Mumei's change was certainly great, but it has been established she's not altogether stable and has had a somewhat detached personality, apart from the moment she met the pirate. So, she's never trying to act according to social regulations and is doing whatever she wants, again with the exception of what happened after meeting the pirate. In that light this episode wasn't so different, in the end. Her relationship with the brother is for sure guaranteed to give Ikoma a headache as it looks like he's like a god to her, which is why the pirate's words had any effect. I reckon for the brother Mumei is just a disposable tool.

[KrayZ33]

According to an interview, Mumei is 12 years old. This explains her character and actions a lot, in my opinion.



Oh wow... that's very young, I would've guessed around 16, 14 would've been my lowest. I thought she is just smaller than the others.

[shinta|hikari]

The value of her waki just tripled in my eyes, as detail-less as it is.

[MFauli]

Mumei is 12?!

sigh, please lock me up ...

[shinta|hikari]

Said interview:
――無名の12歳という設定については、描く上でどのように意識されましたか？

美樹本：気をつけてはいるんですが、描いているともう少し上の15～17歳くらいの感じになってしまいます ね。そこは江原さんにうまく修正していただいているところでもあります。あとは本編の演出や芝居などが魅力 的なので。

Interviewer: How do you approach the fact that Mumei is 12 when you draw her?

Mikimoto (Character Designer): I try to keep it in mind, but she ends up looking around 15-17 years old. I depend on Ebara (Chief Animation Director) to fix that up. The rest I leave to the fascinating direction and dramatization of the actual show.

The most appropriate image to summarize everyone's feelings:
1781

How she should actually look if she's 12:
1783

One more just because to emphasize my point about waki detail (and just because):
1782

[MasterOfMoogles]

She just had an early growth spurt!

Also, lol at your muscle train pic and sig. Those are great.

[MFauli]

Muscles on women aren´t sexy ;/

Also, lol @Mumei. I´m all for minors wearing somewhat sexy clothing, it happens irl, too. However, Mumei is clearly drawn in sexy positions, too, and that´s just dumb. Stop making a 12 year-old girl pose like a porn-actress, lol.

And now I feel bad again after seeing the pics that shinta posted ... and good, too ;/

[shinta|hikari]

Episode 08







More randomness.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g310/shinta617/insta_zps3fpmthjc.gif

They're really milking the muscles, not that I mind.

This episode was kinda cliche except for the sheer brutality of the villain. It's also good that I now know Mumei is 12 because she definitely behaves like it.

The action, as usual, was great. I hope more formidable enemies show up. Right now, they are just mowing down the kabaneri, making me wonder why they had such trouble in the first place.

[Ryllharu]

The action, as usual, was great. I hope more formidable enemies show up. Right now, they are just mowing down the kabaneri, making me wonder why they had such trouble in the first place.
Because they're not actually trying and they don't actually care. Mumei's "brother" uses children as disposable super-soldiers, indoctrinates them, and uses this crisis as cover to maintain his power (or even incite rebellion against those who oppose him).

Ikoma's usual screaming was correct as always. Her brother likes showing off to the little people, but he doesn't actually help them. He helps himself to their gratitude, takes what he wants or needs, kills his opponents, and moves on. He's just another aristocrat.

He wants their train either for its engine, or the people on it for recruits.

His people are thugs.

[Buffalobiian]

He wants their train either for its engine

Definitely the engine. His is breaking down.

[shinta|hikari]

And maybe the people as parts of the engine, too.

[Kraco]

He loses soldiers normally in every battle, as we saw, so he has to get new thugs somewhere. Of course he might make new kabaneri as well since there are children aboard Ayame's train. But I suppose he wouldn't make too many as they are harder to control. The rest he would get rid of as he couldn't very well leave a single witness behind.

I don't see Mumei being able to kill Ikoma. They have shared too much time together and it was Ikoma who got Mumei's head together again after the pirate incident. She might try after being told to, but she wouldn't be able to do it. If that Biba has any wits, he would realise it and have the other kabaneri and some ordinary soldiers do it. Unless he wants to get rid of Mumei as well, for being unreliable.

It was quite weird to see rather modern mortars in this episode. I reckon this zombie apocalypse happened later than I thought and thus these Japanese had even more time to import stuff from Europe and the USA. So, it's just that in the alternative history of this show the shogunate never fell and Japan continued to look like the old Japan, without westernisation. I was fooled by this initially and thought this is happening earlier, when the truth is that it's already the 20th Century and very much the modern times (in the West at least).

[Buffalobiian]

You remind me of the other weird thing this episode: motorbikes. I thought this world was devoid of petrol engines.

[Kraco]

You remind me of the other weird thing this episode: motorbikes. I thought this world was devoid of petrol engines.

I thought they were steampunk motorbikes. Thus likely running only for a kilometer or something on pressure canisters.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 09

-------------------------------











It's hard to feel sorry for Mumei. "Serves you right" is going a bit far when you remember that she's 12 years old and had her hero figure save her. "You were warned" is probably more in line.

Horobi by contrast feels much more tragic. Mumei's love for Biba comes from comes from being deceived. She knows his true nature, but loves him anyway. She really couldn't help it.

Ikoma being subdued feels wrong. All that super-strength would have manifested under the boot.

Ayame and Train Woman were the only two badass things this episode.

It's sad to see this slide back into "just another anime" territory.

[shinta|hikari]

Sadly, this story didn't have 25 episodes to flesh out its characters, which are mostly great, and develop the plot more naturally.

Ikoma getting booted to the floor was probably because the dude was also a kabaneri, but that's just my guess.

Horobi type characters make no sense to me. Why would you go so far for someone who clearly doesn't give a shit about you? It's different if you're like Mumei, being fooled in one form or another, but Horobi knew she was trash to him and yet still killed herself for his revenge.

What this episode did show was what kind of final battles we should expect. Zerker Ikoma vs Zerker kabaneris? At the very least, the zerker kabaneris are ridiculously powerful foes, much more exciting to watch than zombies.

[Kraco]

Ikoma getting beaten so easily was bullshit poor writing, nothing else. I hope the author will recover his touch in the next episode.

War criminal Mumei deserves anything bad that's going to happen to her. It would be cool if she was turned into another abomination like Horobi. She had plenty of time to realise what kind of a scumbag she's following, but she willingly chooses to ignore it. I don't care if she's 12; she has more life experience already than most 30 years olds even in that world.

[shinta|hikari]

Life experience with what? Killing zombies?

Mumei seems like a sheltered child brainwashed into believing everything Biba says. I don't blame her at all for what happened. If she didn't do it, Horobi would've done it in her stead, changing very little in the end. The kabaneri are so powerful they really didn't have to sneak in at all. They could launched a frontal attack on the bridge and still succeeded.

[Kraco]

She could have closed the bridge immediately when she noticed the zombie horde about to march in. Instead she did nothing. During the whole time afterwards she did nothing but mumble in self-denial, except for killing one random kabane when the trauma hit a bit too close to home. Even after Bibi slew Horobi in cold blood, Mumei didn't change her stance, which was made evident by the fact she didn't object to those soldiers arresting her. She could have taken them down before they knew what hit them, after all. I'm not even sure she's regretting what she did. Maybe she's merely baffled by it.

You don't blame her, I do blame her. It's cool.

[shinta|hikari]

She's clearly regretting it AND baffled by it. My argument is mainly that nothing would've changed, even if Mumei tried to close the slow-as-hell bridge, that got disabled with one rope-cut (ridiculously dumb design). The presentation was done in such a way to make that clear. Mumei was used for the plan, but in no way was she critical to it.

Biba didn't even know she was alive before arriving at the station.

[Kraco]

Sure, but like I said, she never tried to do anything after realising (?) her mistake. She was used only up to the point when she opened the gate. After that she was willingly cooperating because that's also where her instructions probably ended, and, like you said, Biba didn't really care if she comes back or not. Though I'm sure Biba is more than happy to keep her around to serve as the core of another abomination, should the need arise.

To be honest I expect Mumei to seemingly redeem herself by freeing Ikoma later, or something along those lines, but in my current mindset I'd prefer her to lose her mind and turn into a monster in the middle of an aggregate.

[shinta|hikari]

I actually don't think she needs redemption. She was used by the man who saved her life and raised her until now. Biba deserves all the blame.

[Ryllharu]

The shock of seeing the direct result what she had just caused was what finally broke Mumei's brainwashing.

She'd been doing it for years, but without the Kotetsujo crew, she never would have even questioned it.


Horobi type characters make no sense to me. Why would you go so far for someone who clearly doesn't give a shit about you? It's different if you're like Mumei, being fooled in one form or another, but Horobi knew she was trash to him and yet still killed herself for his revenge.
That is actually what made this episode not just good, but great. It explains what complete scumbag Biba has become for his own personal gain. This is obviously a fight he started with the shogun, and perpetuates by being a incredibly evil POS.

There is one key thing to notice is the composition of Biba's forces. All the regular warriors (and scientist) are male, and all of Biba's manufactured Kabaneri have been female. He charms and brainwashes girls from a young age to be loyal to him, worship him, maybe even love him. Horobi, by far the oldest Kabaneri we've seen Biba have, is still fairly young. We can presume he started with her.

Then he injects Horobi and her wonderful ass with the blue blood, turning her into a black cloud hybrid. She eventually loses control, and starts slaughtering their own forces, and stops right before killing Biba. She hesitates because he's formed the cult of personality around him, Horobi was still ultimately loyal to his greatness, and he kills her, face completely calm.

But that's not entirety of that scene. That's what his people see, but something else plays between Horobi and Biba. That single, perfectly animated bead of sweat. Brilliance in visual storytelling right there. Biba was scared. He assumes his female Kabaneri still love and are loyal to him, but he's not completely sure. Horobi, regaining control of herself in those final moments, notices that little drop. A knowing smirk plants itself on her face before she lets him kill her. He keeps it off his face, but she saw his weakness.

He could use men as Kabaneri, but they wouldn't worship/love him the way his brainwashed girls do. He'd lack that final safety net.

One he just lost with Mumei (thanks to the Kotetsujo's crew casual humanizing and deprogramming) and that he probably doesn't even realize (except that dumbass was speaking her final lines this episode out loud, so maybe, maybe not).

[shinta|hikari]

I agree with your analysis of the scene, including the bead of sweat. What I don't understand is how you can be brainwashed enough to do something like that. Horobi didn't look stupid. She knew she was being sacrificed by someone who doesn't give a shit about her but willingly did it.

[Kraco]

The shock of seeing the direct result what she had just caused was what finally broke Mumei's brainwashing.

One he just lost with Mumei (thanks to the Kotetsujo's crew casual humanizing and deprogramming) and that he probably doesn't even realize (except that dumbass was speaking her final lines this episode out loud, so maybe, maybe not).

You are just saying that because she's a main character and thus needs to survive and turn good.

In reality she didn't do a single thing to oppose that scumbag of a man. I believe he could still command her around, even despite the soldiers confronting her.

[Buffalobiian]

I agree with your analysis of the scene, including the bead of sweat. What I don't understand is how you can be brainwashed enough to do something like that. Horobi didn't look stupid. She knew she was being sacrificed by someone who doesn't give a shit about her but willingly did it.

Because things like brainwashing and imprinting are emotional rather than rational. If you start at a young age it's even more effective.

Your last line is is essentially the epitome of love.

[shinta|hikari]

No, it's not. That's a rather romantic way of defining love, unrealistic even.

Even real love in real life has conditions. Consider divorce rates and estranged parent-child relationships. I know, I lived through the latter.

Can you really state a real life example of someone doing the same thing Horobi did? That wasn't a battered wife not having an option or stupidly hoping for a change of heart. Horobi knew Biba was an irreversible fucking asshole and wanted to sacrifice her because he didn't give a fuck about her life.

[Kraco]

Didn't Mumei believe kabaneri will die young, no matter what, by turning into kabane eventually? I seem to recall her talking about it. Whether it's true or another of Biba's plots, who knows, but nevertheless it would allow Biba far more easily make the kabaneri serving him sacrifice themselves since they believe they don't have much time left anyway, yet could make a big difference by a final act.

[shinta|hikari]

Big difference for a dude who doesn't give a fuck about them?

That's the problem I have with this development. Most (logical) fanatic plot devices require some form of deception or rationalization to explain why the fool plays the fool, much like how Mumei got tricked. Here, Horobi knows everything yet still kills herself for what? Nothing! That's the problem. Biba isn't cornered or anything. There are a number of ways she wouldn't have had to sacrifice herself. Yet she willingly did so. Why? Plot!

Biba is clearly showing his true colors, making it weird how anyone would willingly follow him, much less someone as apparently intelligent as Horobi.

[MFauli]

Ignoring shinta´s gross signature ...

This episode was REALLY dumb. I´ll focus on two things:

1.) Why did Horobi suddenly turn into Kyuubi level 4? Fighting on all four, shooting energy blasts, .... WAT?! Surely that is typical for an evolved kabane, eh? lol

2.) Is Biba´s masterplan to eradicate all of mankind from the planet´s surface? Because if not, HOLY COW IS THAT DUMB. Sacrificing an entire town makes no sense, whatever the reasons. As far as we know, there´s only a hand full of safe locations left in this world. So unless Biba is set on killing everybody, this is just nonsensical and insane.

[Buffalobiian]

Essentially, Biba thinks the Shogun is a coward because he does no fighting himself, hides behind multiple cities/walls and reaps the rewards as the commander.

He's here to "liberate" everyone from this unfair social structure. In his free world, the strong survive. The strong live at the top. It matters not whether you are a shogun or a pheasant.

That's the type of picture he's painting. It's chaotic and dangerous, but it's free.

[MFauli]

I´m pretty sure he had the power to just assassinte the shogun and his loyal fellows then, instead of ruining an entire town for good ;/

[Ryllharu]

I don't know what Buff is smoking. That's what Biba says he wants. He's a known liar.

He just wants to be in power instead of his uncle. That's all there is to it. Biba is a lot more depraved in how he goes about it too.

Biba enslaves people through fear and lies.

[Kraco]

Big difference for a dude who doesn't give a fuck about them?


You think all those extremist islamist leaders give a single fuck about the men and women who blow themselves up in Middle East and elsewhere? Nah, they don't. It's just that it's easy to make people who have got nothing to look forward in life to think they will magnificently serve some greater purpose by making a suicide attack against their opponents. If it wasn't so easy, it wouldn't be a part of the normal warfare in parts of the world. It ought to be even easier in fiction, especially when love is involved to boot.

Other than that, I fully agree with Ryll. Biba wants nothing but to claim power for himself. And he's not too shy to use any means necessary, cause as much death as necessary. With every city that falls, the shogun's power will drop. Perhaps Biba thinks he can repopulate the cities later, perhaps he doesn't even care if it's a land of zombies he's going to rule. He's also clearly exceptionally bitter the other side outsmarted him by delivering the first strike, even if it failed to kill him.

[shinta|hikari]

My problem is Horobi wasn't fighting for a greater cause or 1000 virgins. She was fighting for the man who practically tells her she doesn't matter to him outside of being a disposable weapon.

If there's some past there, they should've shown it or alluded to it in a conversation. This episode felt like Horobi showed up and then died just for the heck of it.

I think that's the biggest problem with this show despite the enormous potential it has: abruptness. Everything just suddenly happens with very little foreshadowing or sense, some to good effect like Train Woman, but some, like Kyuubi laser, just feel lazy. Sure, they can be rationalized, but good stories don't rely on rationalization to make sense. They have to flow into events, not jam all the characters into slightly misfitting plot holes (pun intended).

[Buffalobiian]

I don't know what Buff is smoking. That's what Biba says he wants. He's a known liar.

He actually goes about it by sidestepping the truth rather than outright lying about it.

In effect, what he says makes sense. That's why the MC didn't have much to say back when they had their debate.

He may not give a shit about all of that and just want power, but this is the world he's creating while he's doing so.

This is his "plan", in response to MFauli's "wtf is he doing?" question.


2.) Is Biba´s masterplan to eradicate all of mankind from the planet´s surface? Because if not, HOLY COW IS THAT DUMB. Sacrificing an entire town makes no sense, whatever the reasons. As far as we know, there´s only a hand full of safe locations left in this world. So unless Biba is set on killing everybody, this is just nonsensical and insane.

[Kraco]

They are only fighting in Japan. Of course Japan is, in a sense, these people's whole world, but it would still be an exaggeration, for the time being, to say the dude wants to destroy the whole world. It's quite evident they have been buying weapons from the West all the time, so it's not like the West wouldn't know about the situation in Japan. It wouldn't be quite that easy for the scumbag prince to dream of the whole planet. Most likely any ship trying to leave Japan would be sunk no questions asked.

[MasterOfMoogles]

I like to think that dart they threw at train girl would have pierced anyone else's chest, but she blocked it with her pecs.

[shinta|hikari]

It did pierce her chest, and she did survive because of her pecs. What are you talking about? No need to think anything.

[Buffalobiian]

It did pierce her chest, and she did survive because of her pecs. What are you talking about? No need to think anything.

'cept pecs.

Think Pecs.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 10

---------------















Ikoma being so physically normal sucks balls. I guess that steaming hot pipe wasn't so heavy after all and was just hot.

That stone really didn't have much significance for Mumei. Having it trigger her memory won't sound convincing. They should have developed Mumei x Ikoma more romantically and had they exchange a gift or similar.

Giving the stone purifying powers would also come out of nowhere. Let's see how they'll approach this.

[shinta|hikari]

Ikoma will become a berserk zombie giant and pawn that train.

[Kraco]

The author sucks hairy balls. Fluctuating power levels are normal in manga/anime, but rarely you see a superhuman monster suddenly become weaker than a normal human just for the sake of plot convenience. Didn't the author check his own writing at all? Asking about an editor would be useless since obviously there was none.

I hope Ikoma died and Mumei will be turned into an abomination in the next episode. The last ep could then be Ayame being betrayed by Biba, while Biba himself is pretending to rule a land of zombies. That would be quite a stylish ending (that wouldn't sell too many BDs).

[shinta|hikari]

This went Guilty Crown on us. Lo and behold, same writer.

[KrayZ33]

Just watched ep 10, the music sounded like it was straight out of C&C or some primal fight in FFXIV :D

[kmkze04]

I'm not entirely convinced that blond guy isn't also Kabaneri. It seems like Biba himself might be as well. I wouldn't be surprised if most of his unique looking crew have more than just skill. But there was a slight hint about male Kabaneri being rare.

So Mumei got "repaired", I don't know how significant the stone will be but seems like it's going to play at least some part. And fat guy is still at least somewhat alive, seems like something might come out of it. Maybe he'll be a test subject like the guy with his arm lopped off looks like he will be.

Overall, I haven't actually felt any major holes in the authoring. The varying power levels I don't have a problem with because there are too many unknowns about Biba's crew. And Ikoma hasn't been a sad berserk type so it's justifiable that he was so down after his friend being shot that he really couldn't do anything. Look at all his previous depressed moments, he sort of just plods on and breaks down. Or to put it differently, he's tough and can take a beating, but he's still not a fighter type. The only times we've seen him throw a beat down is against the mostly mindless Kabane.

I think it's more likely he's going to end up being found by Kurusu, who will force that mad doc (Soue?) with the white blood that fell into the ruined station to fix up Ikoma, maybe uber power him a bit, and they'll try to chase down the train.

Personally, it was nice for me to see a smart villain, not just uber powered but thinking ahead of the game. He has all his pieces just lined up. Akame to get into the capital, the crew as feeders, he predicted Mumei and Ikoma, he's playing mind games even with Ikoma. Everything is not just unlucky for Ikoma, he's actually being beaten. I can appreciate that.

[shinta|hikari]

This show isn't horrible or anything. The Guilty Crown link is mainly because it didn't turn out to be a masterpiece despite having all the pieces (see my sig) to be one at its disposal. Wasted potential.

[Kraco]

Just what kind of a world do you suppose Ikoma has been living in if he still has a rendered unable to move by his friend's death bone left in his body? I reckon the average life expectancy must be 30 years max in that world, and it's 99% due to violent deaths. He has been watching people die left and right all his life. Furthermore, he still had plenty of people left to care for even after this death. No, it doesn't make sense. If he was really like that, he should have dropped dead a long time ago himself. But instead he didn't freeze or despair even when he himself was bitten. He's that sort of a guy, not the kind we saw in this inexplainable episode.

[Buffalobiian]

I think it's more likely he's going to end up being found by Kurusu, who will force that mad doc (Soue?) with the white blood that fell into the ruined station to fix up Ikoma, maybe uber power him a bit, and they'll try to chase down the train.


The white blood appears to be a cure for Hybrid Colonies, and likely even against a Kabane viral infection itself. It shouldn't make anyone stronger, but they might get to keep any physiological adaptations that have already taken place.

[kmkze04]

Not sure if it's a cure for the colonies or to reverse the virus reaching the brain. Might be some kind of medical equivalent to the collar Ikoma strangled himself with.

[Buffalobiian]

Not sure if it's a cure for the colonies or to reverse the virus reaching the brain. Might be some kind of medical equivalent to the collar Ikoma strangled himself with.

It's definitely a "cure" rather than a preventative. Ikoma's collar works because it prevents the virus from entering the brain. Hot chick's has already been infected. If the white blood is supposed to be doing something, it must be curing or reversing the process. Supposedly that White Blood's "precious", which makes me think that it's a cure. If it's just a colony-reversal drug then it shouldn't be so valuable that you wouldn't reverse a colony with it.

[kmkze04]

Episode 11

----------------

I don't believe I'm actually saying this, but I think I'd actually have enjoyed this episode more if they slowed it down and made two episodes out of it. A lot of jumps and not enough building. I got a bit bored not because there wasn't enough happening but because it felt like nothing really happened since they didn't develop any of it enough.

At least now we know there are some distinct differences between male and female Kabaneri. The whole steam gun arm adaptation was interesting also, but like I said before, everything too rushed.

[shinta|hikari]

That sums up how I feel about this series. If given twice the number of episodes, it would've been much better. It is very clunky and awkward in its current state.

Ikoma's transformation from nerd to shounen hero to monster happened in like 1 minute...

And why the fuck was he leisurely cutting his hair AFTER finding out that Mumei is gonna be turned into a steampunk equivalent of a mosh pit like five minutes ago?

[MFauli]

Really had to force myself to keep watching the last two episodes. Will be glad once it´s over. Biggest disappointment in a long time.

[Ryllharu]

The guilty crown comparison is quite apt. We'll go from one episode to the next, and there's no continuity in the lore. Rules change all the time. Threads they started that are interesting get abandoned the very next episode. It's like multiple writers are doing odds and evens episodes.

I personally am disgusted that they are even trying to make Biba even remotely sympathetic. The guy is an power hungry asshole to the core, and none of the, "I was mistreated by my crazy paranoid father," will change that.

Only good part of this episode? Ayame's figure in her white clothing.

[Buffalobiian]

I can bitch all I want about how Ikoma cutting his hair is completely ridiculous, but you can't argue with the results. He looks way better with it short.

Going berserk is a stupid move though. Surely there must be a way to use your Kabane powers while maintaining a virus-free head.

So.. what's next? Ikoma saves Mumei, and right when he's about to turn, she returns the "magic stone" that transforms him back (because it's somehow a crystalised version of White Plasma)?

That actually sounds about right.

Also, Ayame screwed that city up pretty badly. I hope she at least realises that.

[KrayZ33]

Ayame is so hot.

[Kraco]

Also, Ayame screwed that city up pretty badly. I hope she at least realises that.

It's pretty safe to say not a single person in this story ever realises anything at all. Biba a chronic liar and intends to destroy the whole capital killing all the people indiscriminately. Ayame knows that since she saw what he did in the previous town and all the way along the way to the capital. Yet she chooses to believe that apocalyptic man's empty promises that he would for some reason spare her few remaining people while he's busy watching tens of thousands of others get slaughtered. Yeah, right. Maybe Biba has a sense of humour and won't directly kill Ayame's folks but will instead simply kick them into the streets filled with kabane and tell them to survive the best they can.

It's unbelievable how this capital fell right after they boasted of their impenetrable defences. Defences we saw were worth shit. It's a miracle the place stood as long as it did.

This story turned into shit. Good riddance and jolly good it's almost over. If absolutely everybody, of course including Ikoma and Mumei, die in the last episode, I will have some sort of small satisfaction. Ayame preferably needs to die right after seeing her precious folks getting eaten by kabane.

[MFauli]

What made this story so stupid from the start, is how little anybody cares about those cities! This is a world overrun by zombies, by invincible zombies to boot from the perspective of normal folks. So what are we being shown? Beginning city is destroyed. We see another ruined city. And then Biba intentionally breaches another city so zombies can enter it. Shit like this doesn´t make sense. It´s about as intelligent writing as Cell in Dragon Ball. You know, Cell wanted to beat and eat everyone ... then what? Sit on planet earth in hope for an enemy to visit from space for all of eternity? That´s how stupid destroying cities in the world of Kabaneri no Koutetsuyou is. And I don´t care about any pseudo-reasoning like "Biba wants to show that only the strong survive" or whatever bullshit. If you intend to keep living at all, keep those cities alone!

The second big bs point is that instead of making the kabane into menacing enemies, we now have all this in-fighting between humans/kabaneri. This kinda follows the above, but STOP FIGHTING, the world is full of murderous, infectuous zombies! Fight those!

It also didn´t help that I didn´t care for any of the characters. Everybody is so shallow. This kinda culminated in ep10, when as soon as Ikoma proceeded with ONLY his fat friend, I thought "yeah, okay, his friend is coming along so he can die for some drama". And ofc that happened.

I´m glad it´s almost over and I Shingeki no Kyoujin to return, don´t bother with these cheap stand-ins.

[KrayZ33]

Maybe this is your first post apocalyptic anime/game/movie/series?

"Some men just want to watch the world burn" fits Biba's case rather nicely. It's not about him wanting to make the strong rule the world, its about him wanting revenge on every freaking coward there is. I doubt it matters to him if he has somewhere to live or not after doing that.

That being said, Attack on Titan is no different. You'd see people gladly sacrificing the outer walls, they don't care. No one cares, it's the same in any movie that's similiar to this one. Bandits will use it to their advantage too. Infighting will always be normal, we even have real-life examples of this happening right now. It's not the writing that's fucked up, it's humanity.

Kinda odd that you'd gladly have Attack on Titan, which is pretty much 1:1 the same. Some biased and baseless babbling right there imho.

[shinta|hikari]

Kinda odd that you'd gladly have Attack on Titan, which is pretty much 1:1 the same. Some biased and baseless babbling right there imho.

The difference being numbers, specifically number of episodes and Mikasa not being 12 years old.

[MFauli]

Maybe this is your first post apocalyptic anime/game/movie/series?

Could do without the cheap stab.


Kinda odd that you'd gladly have Attack on Titan, which is pretty much 1:1 the same. Some biased and baseless babbling right there imho.

I don´t think that is true. The most outtest outer wall is sacrifized, but there´s 2 reasons playing into this: 1.) the king truly doesn´t care at that point, and 2.) these people do not know how to fight back! It´s not for naught that recapturing the 2nd inner wall marks a big change in the story. Also, after losing the first wall, even royalty started feeling the consequences.

Besides that, Shingeki no Kyoujin has infintely more interesting characters and truly frightening enemies. And in-fighting only happens within the context of titan-danger.

[KrayZ33]

The Attack on Titan maincast is just as shallow as this one's, they are all one trick ponies.. The main character is actually the *same*.
Mikasa isn't much different from Mumei either, with the exception that Mumei followed the bad guy while Mikasa went full MC support.


I don´t think that is true. The most outtest outer wall is sacrifized, but there´s 2 reasons playing into this: 1.) the king truly doesn´t care at that point, and 2.) these people do not know how to fight back! It´s not for naught that recapturing the 2nd inner wall marks a big change in the story. Also, after losing the first wall, even royalty started feeling the consequences.

After they lost the first Wall, corruption still ran deep, the population still didn't want to fight and even started to see the walls as "god's gift" (they always did though) and I don't remember what it was, but the priests considered doing something to them as blasphemy. Nothing changed at all.
Also, in Kabaneri's case, the population doesn't know how to fight back either, they never do... that's why it's post apocalyptic in the first place, something unmanageable has to happen to get it into that state.

On a side note, we have humans turning into Titans in Attack on Titan that somehow believe it's cool to destroy the gates and walls, sacrificing the population that part of the population that is actually not infested by fat men holding the strings, to trigger something. Similiar to what is Biba is doing actually...meh, pretty much all the same for me.

[shinta|hikari]

Mikasa isn't much different from Mumei either, with the exception that Mumei followed the bad guy while Mikasa went full MC support.

You made some good points, but this one just doesn't work. It's too reductive.

Everyone complained when Mumei went polar directions in terms of her character with each passing episode, and I think the general consensus was that her emo brat scenes were so bad even the fact she was 12 couldn't save her.

Compare that to Mikasa, who is like the epitome of consistency. She just loves Eren, period. She doesn't ever whine, is bad ass without being emo, and actually thinks!

So I disagree. Mikasa is very different from Mumei. The only things similar are their combat prowess and the M in their romanized names.

[KrayZ33]

I was more or less refering to their mindless stalking.
Mikasa doesn't think on her own, she does what Eren wants and she'll do what's necessary to both follow and protect Eren.
Mumei is a drone too. Though she changed sides somewhere in between just to be talked into someone who has absolutely no trust in herself by someone who, how we found out later, was considered a traitor/or unworthy of Biba (that was os stupid). I'm not even sure anymore how it all happened, she was afraid of being thrown away or something... which is also somewhat similiar to how Mikasa acted when she thought Eren dead. No longer were they calm and calculating etc.

[Kraco]

"Some men just want to watch the world burn" fits Biba's case rather nicely. It's not about him wanting to make the strong rule the world, its about him wanting revenge on every freaking coward there is. I doubt it matters to him if he has somewhere to live or not after doing that.

Biba can be as crazy as he wants, but that doesn't explain all the people following him. Did he just tell them that lets kill all humans and leave the world for the zombies, and everybody was all "Sure, why not? Super cool!" There's no way that could happen. Most of the fuckers with him would want to have women and booze and an easy life when all is said and done. Biba never really hid anything from his troops since he needed them to pull off parts of his plans independently, including the plans of decimating human cities.

That being said, I still can't help but think that this wasn't his final goal, and thus he's not a crazy bastard who wants to destroy the world (he's still a crazy bastard wanting something else). The poor writing just didn't help to deliver any message.

[KrayZ33]

The people following him seem rather crazy themselves.
The doc, that guy "making deals"...
They were also portrayed as rather fanatic.. maybe actually believing that Biba will bring change to the world and fight back the infestation and corruption.
See "The Ear" for example.

And he clearly did not tell his troops everything. Otherwise Mumei wouldn't have been so suprised.

I'm not really defending this show btw, I'm just suprised that people would think this show would turn out much different than how it currently is.
The only significant flaw I'd point out would be Mumei's absurd behavior, but once I found out she's 12... and kids are fucking stupid and annoying as fuck in movies/tv shows.. it didn't suprise me that much either.
I've yet to see a show doing it much better tbh. I'd even love to see it. It's really generic, just like the shows it tries to/does copy.
It's still cool for the atmosphere and steampunk stuff though.

[shinta|hikari]

From the start I've said, and it bears repeating because it's true and important, that the problem is the lack of development. Mfauli's complaint that the characters are shallow is because they haven't had the time to develop or grow on the viewers. Mumei's randomness is because there was no build up to her personality fluctuations. Biba's seemingly nonsensical plan was never explained all that well, and the loyalty of his subordinates, especially Horobi, was never given background.

I imagine if the execution had been much better, even if the plot arrives at the same exact spot as right now, no one would be complaining.

For example, why the heck didn't Ikoma use the berserk drug as a last resort? It would've been more fun to watch him look like a shounen hero for half an episode at least before he takes the zerk drug when cornered. That's a simple change that would make that development flow better.

[MFauli]

I´d be able to accept Biba´s behavior if one of two things happened:

1.) There´s actually like a hundred more cities that we simply haven´t been shown, yet. So sacrifizing 2-3 cities is not as devastating to the whole of mankind as this anime has made it look atm.

or

2.) Biba is in possession of a magical sure-fire weapon of mass destruction that, once activated, kills all kabane at once. And everything he´s doing right now is just a sort of cleansing the world from certain figureheads he doesn´t like.

If he´s just set to ruin everything, then he´s a villain on Dragonball-levels of stupid, except DBZ has the benefit of being a rather silly anime at its core anyway. Also what Kraco said, convincing so many people to help him ruin the world is just dumb.

And Mumei´s behavior simply didn´t make sense in how it changed. Her being 12 doesn´t help it, it only makes her sexy body creepier.

[Munsu]

From the start I've said, and it bears repeating because it's true and important, that the problem is the lack of development. Mfauli's complaint that the characters are shallow is because they haven't had the time to develop or grow on the viewers. Mumei's randomness is because there was no build up to her personality fluctuations. Biba's seemingly nonsensical plan was never explained all that well, and the loyalty of his subordinates, especially Horobi, was never given background.

I imagine if the execution had been much better, even if the plot arrives at the same exact spot as right now, no one would be complaining.

For example, why the heck didn't Ikoma use the berserk drug as a last resort? It would've been more fun to watch him look like a shounen hero for half an episode at least before he takes the zerk drug when cornered. That's a simple change that would make that development flow better.

I agree with this context.

But yeah, the anime has become a huge disappointment. I'm shutting off my brain, and I'm ready for it to be finished. The action hasn't been as elegant as it was earlier either with very few exceptions.

Plot and development... well nothing to say more on that regard.

Anyways, aside from the more gayish haircut for Ikoma, bonus points for going all Ash on us:

http://i.imgur.com/Psf2x5N.jpg

[shinta|hikari]

That's exactly the guy I imagined when he did the gun hand thing.

[neflight86]

Episode 12

____________________

Well, thats over. I'm just gonna pretend like this never aired, because thinking about it any more would only be frustrating.

[Buffalobiian]

Anyways, aside from the more gayish haircut for Ikoma,

They say gays have better taste. Looks like it's true.

The episode itself was alright. There's no real satisfaction with the ending since all the development was either inconsistent or rushed, as previously discussed. There's no message to take out of this, and no sense that anything's changed in their world.

Biba's motivations are all over the place. It's interesting to see how Boku Hero Academia did so well by following an old formula while this trainwrecked so hard despite its solid start. Props to being an anime-original story I guess, since those are always encouraged.

[shinta|hikari]

I can never understand how tragedies like this can happen. If even a semi-competent person was present in its production, this waste of ideas and yen would've never been allowed to exist.

I could dismantle this last episode to lego pieces, but I have better things to do with my time.

Everything done, all I can say is train woman and Ayame FTW.

[Ryllharu]

Everything done, all I can say is train woman and Ayame FTW.
Ayame and Kajika were really the only two characters who came off looking good through the whole series. Ayame was willful enough to stand up to people with more power than she had, but also strong enough to forgive people for being assholes. Same with Kajika, but to a lesser degree. She just kept moving on with life and getting things done rather than succumbing to tragedy and despair.

I'd include Yukina as well, but she didn't really have any character development whatsoever.

[MFauli]

Episode 12

____________________

Well, thats over. I'm just gonna pretend like this never aired, because thinking about it any more would only be frustrating.

Lol, pretty much what I was going to see. Glad it´s over and I can go forward.

Just one thing: It´s frustrating that all the effort (animations, artstyle, music) was wasted on such a story. Think about any great manga you´d like to see in anime-form - it could have been that one, had it not been for Kabaneri. Ma nee ...

Question time: Do we know if Hiroyuki Sawano is doing music for any of the summer season´s anime? Yeah, Kabaneri turned out badly, but anime with Sawano music are always worth checking out at the very least.

[shinta|hikari]

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn RE:0096 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Suit_Gundam_Unicorn)
2016
Composer, Opening and Ending theme song composer


The Seven Deadly Sins: Signs of Holy War (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Deadly_Sins_(manga))
2016
Composer
(other tracks by Takafumi Wada)

[MFauli]

Hm, cannot watch this Gundam-series because I haven´t finished the original Unicorn-series. And ... somehow "The Seven Deadly Sins" feels familiar. Isn´t this ... old? But it´s starting in August, hm. Weird. Artstyle doesn´t look like Sawano fits, though.

[shinta|hikari]

The Unicorn one is a re-air with new scenes of the Unicorn movies, I believe.

Seven Deadly Sins might be the second season.

[MFauli]

Yeah, just looked it up, second season.

So no entirely new Sawano-anime then, eh?

[shinta|hikari]

Dunno, I just googled his wiki and copy pasted. That's probably faster than typing your replies in this thread.

[kmkze04]

Well, got to the final episode, and while some nearly non-stop action was nice, along with of course the soundtrack, still definitely rushed as we all pretty much brought up before. Specific example is the white blood being given to Biba then miraculously ending up being hinted as given to Ikoma by Biba. I rewatched the fight and really couldn't determine logically or even reaching for a spot where Biba could have injected Ikoma, unless he turned the white blood into a bullet (that last shot that made the same sound and lighting effect of when every time before it killed the kabane). Beyond that, though I maybe could explain this as another difference between male and female Kabaneri, the effect of the white blood on Mumei was quite flashy and instantaneous. Ikoma... not until they get onto the train? And lastly, there's no logic to giving Biba the white blood UNLESS he was injected with the black blood, which he pretty obviously wasn't or he'd have royally buttraped Ikoma.

Vastly agreed, amazing start, got rushed midway, flopped out ending. There's a lot of blanks that could've had amazing subplots that could build up and tie into the main with just another season's worth of episodes. Why they didn't, who knows...

And just to weigh in a little on the Titan debate, I definitely also see the resemblance in the characterization and storylines, but if we were to make comparisons, I wouldn't tie up Mumei and Mikasa, I'd actually put together Annie and Mumei. Both who seemed like good gone bad or otherwise damaged but have some kind of possibly good intentions, or at least don't seem beyond saving. Both have a more similar tie to the MC, where hell if we were to compare Mikasa to someone I'd think it would be Kurusu, with their skills and loyal natures. Unless we're talking about the Titan movie, which man did they fuck that up IMHO...

[Kraco]

What a Hollywood ending. This was such a trainwreck show. It's always a damn pity to see a promising end turn into a catastrophe by incompetents.

[Buffalobiian]

Yeah, just looked it up, second season.

So no entirely new Sawano-anime then, eh?

Thunderbolt Fantasy (https://www.gotwoot.org/showthread.php/23653-Thunderbolt-Fantasy?p=556938#post556938)

[Munsu]

And now it's my turn to be finished with the series...

Mixed feeling all about. I got over-hyped after the first episode, was incredibly excited for this series. Everything seemed perfect, and then the rest happened. Just a bad series in all, and a shame since it had incredibly high production values. That all said, I can honestly say that I was never bored with the series, and was entertained by it, so not everything wasted in all; good action, good music, and AT TIMES, good characters. Just a big big disappointment.

Mumei had an opportunity to become one of the coolest and most badass characters in the history in anime, and then she got ruined. Everything was ruined.

It would've been nice if the series was longer, like say 24 episodes with more room for the story, plot, and characters to develop. But considering how poorly everything was written, maybe it's for the best that it didn't happen.

And wow, was that last Biba fight incredibly bad and dumb?

Oh well, on to the next one. Just sad the series lead to nowhere, and became this bad after it showed so much promise for me.

And PLEASE! can someone ban Hatanaka Tasuku from voicing characters in anime for all eternity? Thanks, that shouldn't be too much to ask.

[Munsu]

So... we're getting an anime film sequel.
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-03-08/kabaneri-of-the-iron-fortress-unato-kessen-sequel-anime-film-revealed/.128711

The film will take place half a year after the story of the original television anime series. Director Tetsuro Araki stated that the film isn't a spinoff but a sequel. The official website for the anime lists the film as the "middle volume."

I hope it can redeem itself somehow. And I wonder what they mean by "middle volume", I take it to mean that we'll get another sequel afterwards. Or does it mean that it falls between the series and the game announced.