Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj with this week’s guest Seras. We all know that Attack on Titan is a big hit. After the first anime aired everyone was hungry for a second season with many believing it would premiere in 2015 only to get told that due to production issues the second season wouldn’t be ready until 2017. Fans were pissed so they gave us something to feed our craving for Attack on Titan.
(Seras): And that something was Kabaneri of The Iron Fortress. Created by Wit Studios in 2016 (Attack on Titan), this series combined the most popular things at the time, zombies and Attack on Titan. This was an original work created by the team of Wit Studios with a good number of people who worked on Attack on Titan working on this project as well including the director himself, Tetsuro Araki. The series was meant to give a new take on the zombie genre where instead of the story taking place in modern times it would take in the past as well as in alternate timeline.
(Nitsuj): While the series sounded interesting and even won a few awards in 2016 a large chunk of people didn’t like it and just saw it as an Attack on Titan rip-off while also giving it low scores. Is this just a crappy anime trying to cash in on Attack on Titan’s fame? Let’s find out.
(Seras): All aboard! Next stop, Kabaneri: The Iron Fortress.
Opening and Ending Theme
(Nitsuj): The opening is “KABANERI OF THE IRON FORTRESS” by EGOIST and by God is this opening awesome. Seriously, this is one of the most badass openings I’ve ever heard. The vocals, the instruments, it’s a great combination from both ends that come together to give us an amazing song.
The ending is “ninelie” by Aimer with chelly. Once again we get a good ending just like the opening. I admit, when I first watched this anime I didn’t really care for this song, but after listening to it again I realize that this was a very good and inspiring song about not losing hope and to keep on pushing forward. One of the major themes in this anime.
Episodes 1-4
(Seras): We begin on a steam-powered train which is under attack by the kabane these zombie-like creatures who can’t be killed because the guns being used by the bushi (the police force of this world) aren’t strong enough to pierce the heart of the kabane. Also, if you get bit by them you become one of them (Nitsuj: Man, this anime really is like Highschool of the Dead meets Attack on Titan). Because of the kabane the remaining citizens of this alternate rural time period hide themselves inside a city where they send out trains to gather supplies all while fighting off the kabane should they attack. In this city we focus on an engineer named Ikoma voiced by Tasuku Hatanaka (Ushio from Ushio to Tora) who’s tired of living in fear of the kabane and watching innocent people die from the fear of them. When the bushi try to kill a man who might be infected Ikoma steps in and tries to save him but gets beaten up and the bushi kill the man who they believed was infected only to find out he wasn’t infected at all (dumbasses. We’re in a society ruled by dumbasses). Ikoma gets arrested and thrown in jail under the suspicion of being infected himself (Nitsuj: He hasn’t left the city how the hell could he be infected you paranoid jackasses?) where he gets approached by a girl named Mumei voiced by Sayaka Senbongi who takes an interest in him. Tragedy strikes when one of the trains heading to the station gets overrun by the kabane and it crashes into the west gate destroying it and the kabane begin attacking everyone in sight (it’s Attack of Titan all over again). Ikoma escapes his prison (um wouldn’t it have been better to stay locked up. (Nitsuj): Oh sure, let’s just stayed locked up while the killer zombies overrun the place and then kill us in prison. (Seras): Good point). Ikoma lures one of the kabane to his hut where he’s been working on a nail gun which according to him should be powerful enough to pierce through the skin of the kabane and kill them. His gun works however he got bit but he doesn’t freak out because he knows it’s not a curse it’s some kind of virus, all he has to do is stop it from reaching his brain. He manages to accomplish this by tying himself up to a machine that nearly kills him (I’m a little bit confused by this. (Nitsuj): As am I). Back with Mumei she runs into a kabane where she kills the thing by kicking its head clean off (best character. No arguments. Scene here: https://youtu.be/vTO1yqBBm8w).
So in episode 2 we start with a majority of the characters being stuck on top of a hill and they can’t get to the train. Ayame the daughter of the lord of this station says they should wait for her father’s signal (yeah that’s not happening. (Nitsuj): Agreed. We’ve all seen enough zombie movies to know what comes next) but Mumei shows up and has another idea, slay them all herself (Nitsuj: I’m cool with that). Sure enough she takes the field and kills all the kabane within the area in 110 seconds (new record). They begin rushing to the trains where Ikoma meets up with everyone hoping to show-off his nail gun but Mumei comes in and steals all of his momentum (like I said before best character). They all board the train and take off where one of the kabane try to get in but Ikoma shoots it showing off his nail gun however his chest begins to glow like the kabane (Nitsuj: Well this was a short-lived main character). He tries to tell them he’s not a kabane (Nitsuj: Your chest says otherwise) and he gets shot off the train and left for dead. As the train continues along the tracks we see that Ayame’s dad has become a kabane (Seras and Nitsuj: Called it) and they do the only honorable thing, run him over (it’s what he would have wanted). The train unfortunately comes to a stop when they begin to lose speed because something is stuck in the gears, the bridge is up, and they can’t reach the lever because of the kabane overrunning the area (https://youtu.be/Vau2hG22DoQ). Luckily, Ikoma is there (Nitsuj: He survived a gunshot to the chest. Badass) and fights through the mob of kabane to flip the lever and let the train pass. As he lies there waiting to die his friend and Mumei pull him aboard the train where the bushi order him to commit suicide in order to save them (again, you’re pointing your guns at the wrong person). Mumei stops them saying that Ikoma isn’t a kabane nor is he human, he’s a kabaneri a being who is both human and kabane and he’s not the only one Mumei is also a kabaneri (scene here: https://youtu.be/IHjX4GWZOXU).
Episode 3 is a rather slow episode as everyone is scared by Mumei and Ikoma and want to throw them off the train before they get attacked but Ayame stops them and Mumei convinces them to let them stay on the train in the boiler room where Mumei begins training him in combat as a meat shield since after fighting for a period of time she gets sleepy (training begins now *Seras throws a punch at Nitsuj but he dodges it* (Nitsuj): Nice try. I already learned how to dodge from Yin-Yang’s lessons. (Seras): Good. Then we’ll move on to lesson 2, countering. (Nitsuj): What now? *Seras trips Nitsuj and puts him in the ankle lock* (Nitsuj): Ahhhhh~ *Nitsuj taps out in pain* (Seras): You didn’t counter). After discovering that their water tank is busted, they stop to repair and refuel at a nearby water station which will take about a day. That night, they hold a prayer ceremony for everyone who died in the last episode. We also learn about Ikoma’s past such as him having a sister who he loved until the kabane attacked his village and got his sister. Rather than trying to save her, he instead ran off making the excuse of looking for help but no one would help him (nothing personal kid, just trying to stay alive). When he returned to his sister, she was already becoming a kabane so Ikoma took it upon himself to end her life vowing to never run away again and act like a coward (Nitsuj: In his defense him running away was probably the right decision). While everyone is praying a few of the male passengers overcome with fear try to kill Mumei and Ikoma but Ayame stops them. She then pulls out a knife and stabs Ikoma to see if he would attack back but instead he doesn’t and just says his goal is to kill the kabane (and then gargle on their blood as they beg for mercy). This convinces everyone to leave them alone and Mumei goes to play with the kids and asks for food which for her is blood. Even though kabaneries still have the minds of humans their bodies are kabanes and thus they feed on blood to survive. This starts to scare the other females and as they begin throwing rocks at her (Nitsuj: Yeah because that’s going to stop the kabane-killing ninja girl) Shino a pregnant woman becomes a kabane in front of them and Mumei takes her down to save everyone. Back on the train Ikoma faints from not having any blood and as Ayame tends to him he throws her to ground to end the episode on a cliffhanger.
At the start of episode 4 before Ikoma can bite the Japanese kanji into Ayame, Kurusu a young Bushi who serves Ayame and is the wariest of the kabaneries comes in to stop him. Ikoma returns to his senses and just in time because the kabane have appeared and everyone gets on the train and leaves (alright time to go, anybody who wants to die is free to stay). On the train everyone becomes scared of the kabaneri and they relieve Ayame of her key (Nitsuj: Oh sure, let’s give the irrational and paranoid people control of the train. That always turns out well). Against the better judgement of the conductor they take the mountain route to reach Kongokaku where Ikoma’s friends are placed in the same room as him and Mumei for being kabaneri supporters (Nitsuj: It’s called being thankful to the people who saved your assess. Try it sometime. Just because we’re in a zombie apocalypse doesn’t mean you can forget your manners). Just when their cart is about to be detached the kabane attack the train and a wazatori gets inside which is very bad. Unlike a regular kabane these things have enough knowledge to know how to fight (Nitsuj: Oh shit they can learn! They can learn! We are so fucked). The kabane soon enters the carts and everyone begins dying one by one. Ikoma and Mumei decide it’s time to take action and they head outside the train to reach the others however they have to wait until they’ve cleared the tunnel to move. While they wait the Bushi take on the kabane with Kurusu killing the kabane with a sword (Nitsuj: Nice) and takes on the wazatori where he gets stabbed in the stomach but survives. After clearing the tunnel Mumei and Ikoma mow through the kabane on top of the train (Nitsuj: In a very kickass fight scene with excellent music) where Mumei reaches her limits leaving it up to Ikoma to take out the wazatori himself. After receiving blood from Ayame (yeah drink that blood you dirty boy) Ikoma fights the wazatori where his training with Mumei pays off as he makes quick work of the wazatori opening the eyes of everyone (scene here: https://youtu.be/M8JxmqsQArs. (Nitsuj): Do you trust him? Do you not trust him? Is this not why you are alive?). With this Mumei and Ikoma earn the trust of everyone on board and they all agree to take turns giving blood to them.
Episodes 5-8
In episode 5 Ikoma and some engrish speaking engineer have created some more nail guns as well as a sword that can pierce the skin of the kabane (geez I wonder who’s that for? (Nitsuj): Me obviously). They pass by the Yashiro station where the road is obstructed by a watchtower and they can’t get by. They believe the station has been overrun by the kabane so they pull in and find some survivors who say a black smoke came over the walls and engulfed the whole area where all hell broke loose. While tending to the injured Mumei speaks to a guy named Enoku an old ally of Mumei who tells her to stop playing human and fulfill her duties which is killing kabane. While that’s going on Ikoma and the others have come up with a plan to operate the crane and move the watchtower out of the way. All they need is Mumei’s strength to keep them safe and they’re good. Mumei agrees to help them but she won’t fight beside them (Nitsuj: Don’t do this. Don’t give me that shit, I don’t care how strong or what emotional shit you’re going through. Don’t put our lives in danger just because you want to impress some douchebag). The plan begins where Mumei goes directly to the boiler room which is the heart of the kabane nest and kills all the kabane inside clearing the way for everyone (badass. But reckless). Once Ikoma activates the switches to operate the crane the kabane from below begin to climb up the tower to attack them (Mumei fucked up). So a fight begins with the kabane as everyone rushes to clear the path. Mumei continues to act stupid and gets thrown down into the ditch forcing Ikoma to stop the crane and go rescue her where the machines operating the crane explode and Ikoma and Mumei get trapped in a collapsed cave and we end by getting a glimpse of the black smoke creature (scene here: https://youtu.be/-DH39yQuXdE).
Episode 6 starts with the train hiding inside a station from the black smoke creature for safety. While that’s going on Ikoma tries to rescue Mumei who’s trapped under some rocks. She says to leave him saying she’s weak but Ikoma says just because your weak doesn’t mean you have to accept your fate and lay in the ground (exactly. You rise up, find the strongest bastard and consume his heart to gain his power. (Nitsuj): I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works but whatever floats your boat). The kabane show up and Ikoma has to take them on himself where against all odds he beats them all and survives just as everyone has come to save them and obtain the Type 48 cannon from underground. The plan is to use the cannon against the black smoke creature which according to Mumei is a fused colony a collection of kabanes that have fused into one giant creature and continues absorbing other kabane and humans wherever it goes and the only way to destroy it is by destroying its heart (Nitsuj: This is where the cannon comes in and solves all the world’s problems). The plan is to use the cannon to expose the heart and then Mumei will come in and finish it off. The first time they fire way to early but the second time they succeed and destroy the fused colony and escape the station alive with the cannon (scene here: https://youtu.be/xJuR4dKRZ2I. (Nitsuj): Well that place was fun we should go back again).
(Nitsuj): In episode 7 the group takes a sigh of relief as they arrive at the Shitori station which is kabane free (best news all day) and the station is celebrating Tanabata so everyone decides to hold their own Tanabata festival at the station. While everyone gets ready for the festival we get a few mini-stories throughout the episode such as Mumei joining the women as they go shopping and haggling (Seras: Haggling. Going strong even in a zombie alternate reality). Ikoma and his friend try to get a deal on materials needed to create jet bullets, the driver of their train as well as another steam smith meet the child of a father who’s train crashed into their station, and Ayame goes to negotiate with the minister of the station in the hopes that he’ll give them food for their journey as well as look after their sick and wounded where they show them the jet bullets and offer to give them the blueprints. Unfortunately, the time spent of the mini-stories is done poorly. Which is a real shame, this could have been a good character development episode. We do get a little character development with Ikoma who makes his wish known that he’s going to destroy the kabane, take back the stations, and revive the rice paddies (the kabane took your rice? (Seras): Those sons of bitches). He also makes a promise with Mumei that he’s going to find a way to make her human again because unlike him Mumei wasn’t bitten by a kabane she was turned into one by her master at her consent. The next morning the Hunters arrive an independent force assigned to exterminate the kabane (they need to expand and be placed in every station). They’re led by Biba the son of the shogun as well as Mumei’s master.
Episode 8 focuses on Biba and the Hunters. As soon as Ikoma meets him he demands to know why he taught Mumei a messed up moral about the strong living and the weak dying (in his defense he’s not wrong). But their talk will have to wait as the kabane have reached the station and it’s a whole horde of them (alright Seras, you take 500 on the left. I’ll take the 500 on the right. (Seras): Screw you! I’ll take the ones on the right while you get the left! (Nitsuj): That’s the spirit). We get a cool fight scene as we see Hunters live up to their names and are pretty badass. They also introduce to us to steam-powered motorcycles (Seras: We just keep getting further and further away from that historical tag) and the steam-powered gunblade used by Biba himself (I still say it’s better than the gunblade from FFVIII). Another cool moment comes where Mumei and this other female kabaneri double team this giant kabane which is composed of three kabane (a mini colony). After that an assassin appears on the field who used to be a soldier of Biba until he abandoned him. Biba kills him all while smiling (Seras: Evil character confirmed) and the Hunters find the men who hired the assassin. We do get a little backstory such as how 10 years ago Biba was disowned by his father the shogun and left for dead on the battlefield (no wonder you’re pissed). Ikoma now clearly sees that Biba is bad news but everyone else chooses to give him the benefit of the doubt and Biba offers to escort them to the capital since they’re also heading there as well. On the train ride there, lines begin to be drawn as Biba tells Mumei to get the master key from Ayame but gets tricked by Yukina into taking the boiler room key. Biba begins to plant the seeds of doubt in Mumei’s head by saying Ikoma and the others never trusted her (Seras: No. We trust you Mumei. We just don’t trust the prick you call brother). Ikoma senses the kabane on Biba’s train and he’s right, Biba is transporting kabane on his train for research but Ikoma believes something is up and goes to have a word with Biba but gets turned away by Mumei who argues with Ikoma and sides with Biba (understandable. He’s the only family she has left and the person who gave her purpose, of course she would side with him).
Episodes 9-12
Episode 9 opens up with the group in the Iwato station the last station before Kongokaku. Under the orders of the shogun they can’t pass through, but Biba has prepared for such an occasion (you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t possibly do something that stupid). He has Mumei knock out the guards, lower tracks to allow Biba’s train to gain access into the station and unleashes the kabane on everyone (that son of a bitch). Soon the whole station becomes overrun with kabane as people are dying left and right and Mumei sees it all first-hand (Seras: This is all on you Mumei. Their blood is on your hands). Biba kills the shogunate of the station, captures Ayame and Yukina, Kurusu falls into some abyss trying to save them and Biba tells his soldiers to start killing the soldiers of the station. But his biggest asshole moment comes in the form of Horobi when he turns her into a fused colony where in her rampage, she destroys the gate, turns into some beast-like kabane, and then gets killed by Biba who doesn’t bat an eye right in front of Mumei. After this he captures all the remaining survivors in the station and tells them what he plans to do. He wants to overthrow the stations and force everyone to fight including men, women, and children. He now sets his sights on Kongokaku where he plans to kill the shogun who he calls the symbol of cowardice (Seras: From my perspective the biggest coward is him).
So in episode 10 everybody gets captured by Biba’s squad and are forced to give blood for some reason. But despite being captured Ikoma and the others work out a plan to escape and take over the train before arriving in Kongokaku. The night before they arrive in Kongokaku they set their plan in motion where they take out the guards in each of the carts one by one (Seras: What are you waiting for shoot them). Biba wants Mumei to kill them but she says no and decides to side with Ikoma and the others (a little late to that party but good). She tries to escape from Biba but her shortage of blood takes effect and they inject her with some mind-controlling drug. Ikoma and Takumi reach the engine cart but can’t get in because they don’t have the key. It turns out Biba knew they would stage an attack tonight and kept the engine key himself. He kills Takumi right in front of Ikoma and a fit of rage Ikoma tries to avenge his friend but fails, loses his hand (and yes, it’s the same hand that Luke lost in the Empire Strikes Back), and gets kicked off the train by a brainwashed Mumei (scene here: https://youtu.be/cebTut90i9E).
Episode 11 picks up where episode 10 left off and everything pretty much goes to hell. First off, Ikoma blames himself for Takumi getting killed and Mumei becoming a brainwashed servant, to the extent that he loses his will to fight and turns into a crying coward for Kurusu and the scientist he fell down with to see. As all that’s going on, back in Kongogaku, Biba injects his father with kabane blood and kills him in front of everyone (well that was easier than I expected). He then unleashes the kabane upon the city and injects Mumei with that same stuff he injected into Horobi meaning Mumei is going to meet the same fate as her (dude! You killed your father. Revenge is yours so stop killing people). Kurusu convinces Ikoma to get off his ass and fight again and once he finds out there’s a way to save Mumei using the white blood to counter the black blood now coursing through her he decides to cut his hair and prepare for one final fight where he plans to kill Biba and save everyone. He attaches his nail gun to his arm (Seras: That is so badass) and injects himself with the same stuff as Mumei (Seras: What!?). While he won’t transform into a colony he’ll instead unleash the full powers of his kabane side (and then we’ll have to kill him in order to protect ourselves).
In the final episode Ikoma and Kurusu arrive in the station where they get to work eliminating a group of kabane and make their way to Mumei hoping to save her. However, there’s only enough white blood for one of them meaning only one of them gets to live (so it’s either get rid of the badass nerd or the badass girl. Life can be so unfair at times). After fighting through more kabane and Biba’s men where Ikoma causes a train de-rail with just a push of his hands (Seras: Okay, it’s official. Ikoma must live) he and Kurusu get separated so he’s forced to go alone where he finds Mumei collapsed in her colony form in the garden of the palace where Ikoma has his fight with Biba. While Biba manages to get a few good shots in (Seras: He stabbed him through the chest and broke his arm. Those aren’t a few good shots those are great shots) Ikoma’s will to kill keeps him going and pushes Biba into a corner where just when it seems Ikoma is about to finish him the black blood takes affect and he goes blind (now is the worst time). As Biba tries to sneak up behind him for the finishing blow, Mumei senses Ikoma nearby (must be love) and drops a pebble in the water which alerts Ikoma that Biba is behind him and he manages to turn around in time to shoot Biba in the heart and kill him (Seras: I think he’s still alive shoot him again). Ikoma rushes to Mumei and injects her with the white blood saving her life. Once Mumei wakes up she sees Ikoma collapsed on the ground and Biba still alive heading towards them (Seras: I told you to shoot him again). He still wants to fight Ikoma (that’ll be hard cause I’m pretty sure he’s dead) but before he can reach him Mumei delivers the final blow and kills Biba (she’s entering her rebellious phase). Kurusu meets up with Mumei and together they take Ikoma’s body and make their way to the others to escape. Once on the train we see that Ikoma is still alive thanks to Biba who had a spare tube of the white blood and injected Ikoma with it so he gets to keep on living (alright we got to keep our two badass characters).
Final Thoughts
(Nitsuj): Kabaneri is an interesting anime. When it does its own thing it can be great but when it’s trying to be like Attack of Titan it starts to fail. Fortunately, the anime for the most part does its own thing and delivers a solid story that fans of Attack on Titan, zombies, horror, and anime can enjoy. The animation is very good, the music phenomenal, and the fight scenes are cool. The camera work on these fights is amazing. You actually do feel like you’re there fighting beside them. I especially like the world they’re in. It’s during a time where a lot of people were paranoid and with people returning back from the dead it’s understandable why everyone would be so scared and paranoid. On top of that the technology isn’t as advanced so their fighting abilities are somewhat limited but they work through it to beat the kabanes. Speaking of kabanes, I liked them. Unlike previous zombies who are slow these guys actually showed some level of intelligence and coordination. I especially like the various forms they have and wish we could have seen more of them. Especially the wazatori, I would have loved to see a swordfight between one and Kurusu or Mumei.
(Seras): While I agree with everything with you said about this anime being awesome it does have a few problems. Like you said this anime does at times try to be like Attack on Titan which can get annoying. While the world they’re in is interesting they really don’t take the time to explain it fully such as where the kabane came from or doing much development with the characters in their relationships with each other. They also do a few cliché moments such as a character abandoning the team for no particular reason only to return. They did that with Mumei way too much. Or how about trusting complete strangers over your comrade only to get screwed over. Probably my biggest complaint comes in the final third of the anime with Biba as his whole revenge is stupid. He killed his father, great, so why kill everybody else if you want to build an army to fight against the kabane? It was just a stupid way to end an otherwise impressive anime. However, they do end on a good note by letting us know that the story isn’t finished and will continue. Maybe.
Final Score
(Seras): My final score for this anime is a 7/10.
(Nitsuj): I’m also gonna the anime a 7/10. It’s a solid anime over all and those who are giving it low scores are too hung up on the fact that it’s an Attack on Titan rip-off and yes, I don’t blame them for thinking that, but at the same time it does do its own thing and gives an action-packed and interesting story into the zombie genre of anime that I wish Wit Studios would continue.
(Seras): Actually, they did.
(Nitsuj): They did?
(Seras): Yeah, they created a 3-part mini movie series.
(Nitsuj): Really? Well I think I know what I’m reviewing next week. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj. MUHAHAHAHAHAH-
(Seras): Training continues!
*Seras does a reverse hurricanrana on Nitsuj where he lands on his head and gets knocked out*
(Seras): Man, you really suck at counters.
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