Koutetsujou no Kabaneri is definitely a classic bubble series, at least in a season with this many candidates. There’s so much to like here, but an awful lot of real headdesk stuff too. I guess it’s not surprising that it’s so reminiscent of Attack on Titan in so many ways.
The funny thing, though, is that Kabaneri is really more of a classic zombie apocalypse story than Attack on Titan. In fact, I recall reading a zombie novel a few years ago (though not for the life of me the title) which involved a very similar train motif to this series. All that is fine – the zombie thing is so played at this point that I don’t think it’s fair to ask for anything really original to come out of it. As long the execution is good that’s enough, and it is pretty good with Kabaneri – the animation is beautiful and the pacing is relentless.
One issue here is largely the same as it was with Shingeki no Kyoujin, which is that the characters are so over-the-top and the dialogue so corny that it kind of takes you out of the moment. Then there’s also Mumei, and to be honest she’s a big problem. To see a character so blatantly be used as an otaku pandering device is just depressing more than anything. It’s hard to respect a story that’s so transparently crass and calculated.
As for Ikoma, I think the jury is still out here. I see him described as a cross between Erin and Armin but honestly, he comes off as more of a general hothead shounen lead than anything. If there’s hope here it lies in the premise itself as a vehicle to deliver adrenaline-fueled entertainment, and on that score Koutetsujou no Kabaneri is faring better. It’s a fun watch – so far no more than that, but maybe that’s enough.
Simone
April 15, 2016 at 6:25 amMay I ask you how’d you watch this? I thought the airing was delayed by one week due to the earthquake.
sonicsenryaku
April 15, 2016 at 6:40 amit was just delayed….as in a couple hours past it’s original release and not a whole week
Simone
April 15, 2016 at 6:46 amSomeone said on AnimeSuki it had been delayed to next week. Oh well. Plus I always forget that Enzo lives in Japan so he gets to see the shows directly on TV if so he wants to XD.
kayn
April 15, 2016 at 7:03 amThe chinese streams had the episode up for 5-10 minutes before taking it down and people had it downloaded. If you want to watch the episode now, you have to deal with bad subs, the chinese subs hardcoded underneath, and its censored.
kayn
April 15, 2016 at 7:09 amI won’t expect any depth from this anime. I see it the same as a fun zombie action flick and I’ve been loving it so far.
HoTaRu
April 15, 2016 at 2:17 pmThis show is quite a mess. I feel like it can’t decide what it wants to do with itself, making certain moments feel really out of place. Personally, I dislike so many of the characters that I’m not feeling all that stressed about the situation they are in. So far I really only like Ikoma, his friend, and Mumei despite the generic or cliché traits they possess. At least they are half-way interesting. If there doesn’t start to be some kind of character development soon, I feel like I will quickly lose interest in the story and move on. So far it has managed to keep me wanting to see what happens next, but the severe drop in the quality of the animation this time was incredibly distracting. I really want to give this show a chance since I feel like it has some serious potential, but I fear it will be like the Empire of Corpses movie and waste its opportunities and just be an over-the-top action piece that has no lasting impression in the long run.
sonicsenryaku
April 15, 2016 at 3:56 pmhow was that movie by the way? been meaning to watch it
HoTaRu
April 15, 2016 at 10:50 pmThe animation for the movie was quite beautiful and I appreciated certain aspects of the story (like using the undead to fight wars and do other tasks), but I feel like it tried too hard to be epic and wasted its potential. Characters suddenly appear at too-perfect moments which made certain scenes feel contrived, plus it failed to give you a solid connection to the main cast. I was waiting for them to explain the relationship between Watson and Friday in depth since they were such a compelling duo and they failed to do so. There were some parts that were so over-the-top that I felt disconnected from the story and stopped caring. I just wanted it to finish. I have to say I was disappointed in it. I was hoping I’d want to buy it some day, but I don’t think I’d actually watch it ever again to be honest with you.
sonicsenryaku
April 16, 2016 at 10:24 amyiiiiiikessss….iight ima check it out to see if i feel similarly or not
Pablo
April 23, 2016 at 11:30 pmThe serve drop in quality? You must be blind or watched a shitty rip. It was literally on par or maybe even better.
Smelling some bias here.
Passa
April 15, 2016 at 9:06 pmSorry, I can’t hear anything you’re saying cus the entertainment factor in this show is too loud.