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EP. REVIEW: Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress


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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 11:01 am Reply with quote
Honestly, I think the show so far is on the right track. Will it keep up the momentum? I'm not sure but the premiere episode was great.

Nice soundtrack, artwork, action, etc as as well. I am definitely reminded of Attack on Titan when watching the show but I think it does have a few parts that makes the series stands out by itself. The main protagonist also seems intelligent. Quite impressed by this show so far Very Happy
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crosswithyou



Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 2892
Location: California
PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 11:09 am Reply with quote
The first two episodes had me on the edge of my seat. I was literally leaning closer to the screen. Very excited for the upcoming episodes!
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darkchibi07



Joined: 15 Oct 2003
Posts: 5459
PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 11:13 am Reply with quote
I've surprisingly enjoyed the 1st 2 episodes of Kabaneri quite a bit for its crazy blockbuster-ness and appreciated the guy lead Ikoma to be more active to the situations than reactive unlike most other "shounen male leads" with similar types. Now the question remains what will the female co-lead Mumei will bring to the table; god, her action scenes was a sight to behold! I pray to GOD the two are in equal footing with each other, and she doesn't succumb to any one of these:

- Becoming "useless" later on
- Becoming "too badass" to a point the writers have no idea what to do with her (ex. I feel like Mikasa in Attack on Titan fell into that trap)
- Subjugated to something controversial (don't need another Saki incident like in Valvrave)
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robertbaldie



Joined: 17 Mar 2014
Posts: 154
PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 11:15 am Reply with quote
Definitely great so far.
You can see the obvious similarities with AoT, but the main character in Kabeneri is a hell of a lot more interesting than Eren ever was, in my opinion.

Hopefully is sustains the quality.
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Pipoko



Joined: 13 Jun 2014
Posts: 165
PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 11:23 am Reply with quote
[Generic comment about how much better lead Ikoma is compared to Eren because he is just so much more badass, not annoying, not weak and not stupid.]

Twist: love both, for different reasons. Ikoma's a precious dork, while Eren is a little shit.

It's so hard to not compare the series. It's not that it's the same premise (that's nothing new), it's that the series specifically takes inspiration from AoT.

But that's not a bad thing at all, as said in the review! I'm just about as on board with the series as the review. Seems to be shaping up to be a great hold-over for Attack On titan season 2.

Now, please stay good!
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Themaster20000



Joined: 05 Aug 2014
Posts: 863
PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 11:37 am Reply with quote
I kinda enjoyed the first episode, but episode 2 was some of the dumbest shit I've seen in awhile. The scene with Muimei flipping around for 2 mins was the definition of schlock(not the good kind either). Araki can't seem to decide if he wants fast zombies or shamblers. My biggest issue with the action other than it being overstylized are the characters. Am not invested in any of them (Ikoma is just generic action-man who yells terrible lofty dialogue) which in turn makes me not give a shit about any of the action.

Strong points so far is the production values and fantastic art direction are the strong points so far.
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 11:37 am Reply with quote
Personally I feel at this point that the production value is the locomotive of this train and without it, it would go nowhere. It would just be another one of these millions show with zombie that tries to be badass but where you can't distinguish one from the others. The way the villager alternate between paranoid to the extreme to just turn around and have security be incredibly lax is really pushing my suspension of disbelief.

The main character just really grates me, he's an idiots but the show doesn't admit it, which makes him look like even more of an idiot. "Hey guys I've been bitten, but it's cool I'll just tell you that it's okay and you'll believe me cause I'm super special awesome!". It's like after seeing a bunch of people get killed because they were bitten he never realize *being bitten = getting killed*, something which takes the audience about 2 minute to find out. The way he just slash his wrist to attract the zombie was a laugh out loud moment for me, which really took me out.
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getumbuck



Joined: 15 Feb 2008
Posts: 197
PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 11:51 am Reply with quote
Not gona lie, after watching 2 episodes of this show, it really does feel like an Attack on Titan ripoff. Just replace Titans with Zombie, add in some trains and they're more or less the same show.
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jroa



Joined: 08 Aug 2012
Posts: 537
PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 12:04 pm Reply with quote
I think the review has done a good job in terms of providing concrete examples that illustrate why Ikoma, while he might not have the most welcoming and attractive personality you could think of, certainly has an interesting one for a fictional character. He's still an action hero, to be sure, but also a nerd. That angle gives him a certain dorkiness which also reflects some human imperfections, rather than only cold and calculating aloofness or battle prowess, and this establishes a pretty good starting point for a protagonist.

meiam wrote:
The way the villager alternate between paranoid to the extreme to just turn around and have security be incredibly lax is really pushing my suspension of disbelief.


And yet I could think of multiple real life examples where extreme paranoia can directly co-exist with negligence, precisely because the regular practice of paranoia can be very exhausting and give rise to moments of sloppiness, desperation or false confidence, so it doesn't bother me. Aside from the fact that this same combination is quite common in Hollywood blockbuster films, including but not limited to the zombie and slasher genres.

Quote:
The main character just really grates me, he's an idiots but the show doesn't admit it, which makes him look like even more of an idiot. "Hey guys I've been bitten, but it's cool I'll just tell you that it's okay and you'll believe me cause I'm super special awesome!". It's like after seeing a bunch of people get killed because they were bitten he never realize *being bitten = getting killed*, something which takes the audience about 2 minute to find out.


This is always going to be a matter of personal preference, but I'd still want to question your description. The show isn't totally condemning everything about Ikoma, of course, but it does make light of his overt confidence and has proven some of his initial conclusions to be wrong or at least misguided. For that matter, Ikoma is aware that people will normally die after being bitten. That's not even in question. But given he has discovered an alternative, the guy simply felt that he could explain his way out of things now.


Last edited by jroa on Sat Apr 23, 2016 12:10 pm; edited 1 time in total
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TD912



Joined: 28 Nov 2010
Posts: 274
PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 12:06 pm Reply with quote
The only negative I have about the production so far is that it seems like they're trying a bit too hard with the opening theme, which makes it feel just a tad too cluttered and busy despite all the frames and CG they are using to animate it.

And yeah, there's a ton of obvious similarities to Attack on Titan, but thats sure not a bad thing. Now if only my friends would stop complaining about how this isn't AoT S2...


Last edited by TD912 on Sat Apr 23, 2016 12:18 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Valhern



Joined: 19 Jan 2015
Posts: 916
PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 12:08 pm Reply with quote
My only nitpick so far with Kabaneri is the convenience of the Green Stone. The fact that it's never properly adressed makes it seem as if Ikoma is carrying a bazooka on his hand and nobody notices it, it's just too batlant.

It's even worse when now we can't tell what saved Ikoma from the virus, since Mumei is also a Kabaneri and doesn't seem to have any special stone. If it was supposed to be his choking machine, well, it's technically impossible. If you need to choke yourself to stop the virus from getting to your brain, you also need someone to help you bleed out the virus. Your brain dies in 5 minutes without oxygen, if you manage to survive that, then good luck with the total lack of blood. I suppose we'll have to believe it worked just because it worked, no more no less.

Other than that, I'm loving the characters and the show overall.

meiam wrote:
The way the villager alternate between paranoid to the extreme to just turn around and have security be incredibly lax is really pushing my suspension of disbelief.


If I had a dollar for everytime I see both incompetent and meticulously exhaustive security at the same time in the same place I'd be rich. Most of the time the screw up in a security system is the belief of "Nah, nothing has happened in years, it's not gonna hapen n-oh shit" or because they don't literally have any real fighting experience. It's true that the show uses it conveniently to drive a scene after the other, but so far the military does retain a sense of active role instead of just being there for show like in God Eater.
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Zin5ki



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 6680
Location: London, UK
PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 12:15 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Rating: A+

And there we have it, ladies and gentlemen! This season's cream of the crop also bears the largest caveat to its accessibility. Grazie, Amazon Prime!
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 12:36 pm Reply with quote
I agree that people can slip out and not follow the security protocol, but this isn't the case in the show. It's flat out there protocol that sucks. They don't even bother making sure that the zombie aren't on the train (both inside and outside, when we always see them grabbing onto it) before letting them come in the wall. And then when it's inside they have a room specifically made to check the passenger, except it doesn't even have an outside door so that if a zombie is on the train it can just walk out of it, at no point did someone go "Hummm maybe we should install a door on the quarantine room". This isn't occasional incompetence, this is something that's repeated on a day to day basis.
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Valhern



Joined: 19 Jan 2015
Posts: 916
PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 12:51 pm Reply with quote
meiam wrote:
I agree that people can slip out and not follow the security protocol, but this isn't the case in the show. It's flat out there protocol that sucks. They don't even bother making sure that the zombie aren't on the train (both inside and outside, when we always see them grabbing onto it) before letting them come in the wall. And then when it's inside they have a room specifically made to check the passenger, except it doesn't even have an outside door so that if a zombie is on the train it can just walk out of it, at no point did someone go "Hummm maybe we should install a door on the quarantine room". This isn't occasional incompetence, this is something that's repeated on a day to day basis.


To be honest, the least I would think is that a FULL train got raided by Kabane, and the infected people kept driving just out of vague memories. If I do NOT see the train coming after a day or so, I would surely think that everyone died, if I see it coming (on schedule, even!), the most logic thing is that everyone survived. Sure, it's not a fail proof since there is no platform to allow for them to check on the trains; but then again, humanity never took measures against problems that never happened.

Think about how many people died of the black plague, even knowing it came from the rats (well, their fleas), they didn't realise that the main cause was lack of good hygiene conditions almost everywhere in Europe. Curiously enough, Jewish were accused of it because they didn't seem to get infected, why? Because they took baths, something so many people do regularly these days.
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Pidgeot18



Joined: 19 Jul 2015
Posts: 101
PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 1:29 pm Reply with quote
Valhern wrote:
Think about how many people died of the black plague, even knowing it came from the rats (well, their fleas), they didn't realise that the main cause was lack of good hygiene conditions almost everywhere in Europe. Curiously enough, Jewish were accused of it because they didn't seem to get infected, why? Because they took baths, something so many people do regularly these days.


Actually, people in Medieval Europe were fairly obsessed with bathing. Here's a good rule of thumb about the Middle Ages: everything you've learned about it is wrong. It's only in the past several decades that historians have started realize that most of what the Enlightenment and Renaissance-era scholars wrote about the Middle Ages was basically rampant propaganda to make the later eras look better (we brought you back into civilization). Incidentally, there's room to argue that the Black Death caused Medieval Europeans to bathe less (it makes sense if you subscribe to the miasma theory of disease).

It's unclear if Jews actually did suffer less from the Black Death, but Jews were always a favorite scapegoat for anything in history. Given that, if anything, Christian Europeans would have been bathing more frequently than Jews, claiming that Jews didn't get infected because they bathed more regularly is completely at odds with all available historical evidence.
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