कबनेरी ऑफ़ द आयरन फोर्ट्रेस

Surprisingly good, this anime grabs attention with ambivalent characters and an original work of scenario where nothing is never totally settled, brave and attractive personalities , the only concern is about the easiness how killing and mass destruction is used, like no concern for the masses, as long as one or two still safe. A question if a specialist might enlighten me, does some of the crew of drawning and animated department worked with Miyazaki ? Creatures and some face features strongly remind the master hand.

First off, many are comparing this to Attack on Titan, but they are completely different. The kabane are zombie-like creatures with less intrigue than titans from AOT. The anime focuses less on the threat of the kabane and more on the social tension. The animation and soundtrack are amazing, often similar to AOT but that's to be expected given they share the same studio. The apocalyptic Japanese-steampunk setting draws you in and captivates you. Every episode kept you intrigued and hooked you to keep watching. There's barely any filler in the show which makes it packed full of plot. The villain is truly despicable, developing a hatred for him in just a couple episodes. Overall well done. I would give it a 10 if there were more episodes since some it did feel rushed in some of the backstory and plot points.

There's not much (that I know of) in the zombie/steampunk world and Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is a sold, interesting and generally likable entry into this market.

Its helped in this effort by some interesting world-building, the zombie (Kabane) outbreak seems to have happened at the height of the Japanese samurai age, with survivors grouped in great walled cities protected by samurai musket-men. At the start in particular there is a good focus on class, honor and society. These cities are connected by great iron railways on which armored trains run, taking supplies and people from one to the next, running the gauntlet of horrific zombie hordes from which, a single bite proves entirely fatal..

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress starts strong with a great two part episode showing the horrific attack of the Kabane (basically fast zombies with flowing hearts, eyes and a nasty bite) on a walled survivors city. Its a great two episodes with a high body count, some terrific action and a desperate escape by armored train. Alas the series steadily looses it's way, but the ride is nevertheless enjoyable while it lasts.

Whats good?

• While it lasts, the story is quite enjoyable, being a sort of bizzaro 'Battlestar Galactica on rails' as our heroes and survivors try to reach safety aboard the great steam train. Its tense, interesting and fresh.
• The supporting cast is largely interesting and well voiced. You care for them more then our main characters anyway.
• The Kabane make for a horrific, interesting foe, a worthy entry into the zombie market.
• Mumei is...well for the first half of the series quite an interesting, watchable character, seeing how the survivors view her and Ikoma is quite interesting.
• The animation is generally excellent as is the character design, the use of CGI (for the iron trains) is solid and the Japanese voicework is similarly good.
• Excellent opening track, one of the best, a thunderous operatic ode.

Whats bad?

• Ikoma makes for a...well a fairly unlikable lead. He's not as bad as some might make out, but he is a little irritating and his character arc is fumbled.
• The second half makes a regrettable choice to focus on more human enemies. These enemies are both obvious, cliche and uninteresting, the second half is watchable but a notable drop in tension, interest and horror.
• This coincides with a notable change in Mumei from bad-ass mysterious warrior to the 'oni-chan' damsel in distress, hugely regrettable.

Conclusion This is a solid series, particularly for those into zombies, steamtrains and samurai, three things that don't normally appear together. While, yes, it probably never would have been made if Attack on Titan didn't exist it really is different enough to warrant a watch. Try it, enjoy it and don't watch the follow up (bleh)

This is a show that fails to deliver upon its rampaging and promising start, with a script and dialogue not on par with the animation quality accomplished by WIT Studio. For as good as the first episodes are, the moment the main villain is presented, everything turns sour, as the universe is pretty much unknown and none of the other characters are that enchanting or great to compensate for the failure of a character called to have that much weight in the story and who takes that much away from the Kabaneri and their ominous, fear-inducing portrayal when first introduced.

He is a stereotypical bad guy, with a cheap ass back story and purpose, with no nuance nor anything particular about him. He says ambiguous things with no real purpose or profound meaning, no subtext. It's nonsensical. There are no glimpses as to what great purpose or charismatic attributes would make him and his endeavor worth following. Are his followers driven by hate towards someone? What collective sentiments has he managed to channel and use? Things simply are and are so by repeating tropes in a poorly written manner. "The weak die, and only the strong survive". Really? Is that all that there's to it? That and the overall contempt for the general non-productive panic state that this world seems to be in? He just happens to be there to move the plot, aiming it to the dirt and mining whatever effort was there to make this universe interesting.

While the other characters also fail in a second half with its fill of cheesy, poor-writing moments that offer little explanation or sense for what is happening, the villain centers responsibility as he is the mayor contributor to the downfall of the series.

I see all these reviews stating this show is a COPY of attack on Titan. So does that mean every shounen of the past 10 years is a copy of dragon ball, one piece, naruto, or HxH? NO! This show shares similar points as attack on Titan as a Sienen show about survival, and it is incredibly fun and well animated. Do not listen to these reviews stating it's a copy - it is fun in it's own right. Watch it for yourself and see if you enjoy it, because others can vouch - it's a great time.