Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress (TV)

[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:
12.png

How she should actually look if she's 12:
111.jpg

One more just because to emphasize my point about waki detail (and just because):
d8010a5a0a3d160794aad5fc27916f9b.jpg

[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.


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

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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.