Kabane Instead of Titans

"You cannot lose your humanity to fear." - Ikoma

***Contain some spoilers***

I'll be honest, guys! Koutetsujou no Kabaneri is the first steampunk anime I've ever watched. Well, there aren't much out there, in my knowledge, at least. I've been too caught up with the feelsy and romantic side of the spectrum to give these kinds of anime a chance.

But both my classmate and boyfriend gave good feedback about this anime so I decided to try it for myself, and I have to say, I am not disappointed. In fact, I think I just turned into a steampunk fan. *sweats*

Episode 1 -  Bad-ass Mumei and her awesome slippers

So, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is a 12-episode anime, made by the same people who animated Attack on Titan. It's another post-apocalyptic anime, with horror and action as its secondary genres.

When I dived into this one, I didn't expect anything. I didn't even know the people who made AOT did this one too, until I came across our first lovely main character, Eren Junio-- er, I mean, Ikoma.

Ikoma (Long-lost brother of Eren Jaeger?)

And thus, I drop the first spoiler bomb. Yes, our main character got bit on the first episode. Just a heads up guys, our reckless, impulsive Ikoma did this to himself. Sound familiar?

Just the typical Eren Jaeger here

No? Okay... :(

Let's move on! :D

Story ♚♚♚

I'll start with this one: the storyline is a bit similar to that of AOT. 

Aragane Station - KIF (left); Walls - AOT (right)

I'm not gonna pick apart the whole story and criticize this and that, but...

There ARE similarities, and that really affects my overall appreciation of the whole thing.

I couldn't watch the whole first episode without suddenly bursting out, "AOT reference!" but, in a much more positive note, Kabaneri was able to transform into a different type of anime, and survive alongside the big boss AOT after the second episode and beyond.

Episode 2 - Mumei explaining the true nature of the Kabaneri

For one, it didn't make hatred for the Kabane its main focus, as it typically should. Instead, it made fear, and how our humanity is affected by it, the central message of the anime.

And that's pretty cool than, "I will kill all the titans aAHHHHHH-"

No, I'm just kidding, please don't hurt me. ;n;

Characters ♚♚♚

All of them are uniquely made and had quite the character developments.

Ikoma had similarities with lovely Eren, though. Mom/Sister died, did reckless things in order to stop the enemy, had anger issues...

Dead corpse of Hatsune; Ikoma's sister (Top); Carla Jaeger, with a titan; Eren's Mama (Bottom)

Ikoma had a knack to plan things ahead though (the device he used to stop the virus from traveling up to his brain and the plan to lift the wrangled iron from the train tracks.)

 

Episode 1 - Ikoma stopping the virus from spreading to his brain

Mumei/Hozumi is another piece of work. A child presumed to be 12 years old, this fiery girl has fought Kabane since her mother died. She was raised up by Biba to believe that only the strong lives, and the weak will die, thus, adapting a mindset that it was her mother's weakness that caused her to die, and not her motherly sacrifice.

Mumei "The Claw" (Real name: Hozumi)

In the end, she realized that humans are weak, but they have every right to live. Her belief completely died along with her adoptive "brother", Biba.

Other notable characters in the story are Ayame, Kurusu and Takumi.

Our Little Madame here first appeared as delicate and weak, but after experiencing a lot for 12 long episodes, she built the courage and backbone to stand firm and even fight back to those who mess with what's right.

Ayame being brave and explaining who the real enemy is

 Kurusu still retains what he is since the first episode: loyal and self-sacrificing for his 'Ayame-sama'. He also had a deep aversion for the Kabane and anything related to it. Now, he has this deeper understanding about the Kabaneri though, which leads him to support Ikoma in the last episode.

Kurusu's sick moves

Takumi and the others are good enough as supporting characters. They didn't outshine any of the main characters, but didn't fade away in the background, purposeless.

Friendship doesn't care if you're Kabane or not.

Shout out to Takumi for being an awesome friend! 

Setting ♚♚♚♚

I have no idea as to what era this anime is set in. I won't pretend to know, and I won't even look it up because it'll become inaccurate either way. What I do understand though, is that it's a good choice.

Granted, they placed it in a modern setting, the story would consist technology finding a cure, isolation, even explain where the virus came from.

Ikoma @ 17 (His first Kabane)

But this era had no tech, just instinct to survive and kill, and that's cool. Viruses don't have to be cured by a potion, or injection. Using Ikoma's method of stopping the virus (painful way of doing it though) can already be a way to control the virus.

Ah, but I digress. 

In conclusion, the setting is suitable, no question about that.

 Music ♚♚♚♚♚

The music is on point in this one. From the operatic opening song to the lullaby-like ending, it wrapped the anime neatly, much like an elegant box topped by a silk bow.

Album cover of the Opening song "Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress" by EGOIST.  

The soundtracks were also perfect support to build up tension and suspense in the anime. One of my favorites is "Through my blood" Hiroyuki Sawano. It's an English song with powerful lyrics (mostly about blood but it's symbolism darn it!)

Impression ♚♚♚♚ 
 

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress certainly has a lot to say regarding fear

Some people lose their humanity due to fear.

Suspected Kabane pointed at by guns

Some people blame fear for their wrongdoings.
 

Biba's father blaming fear for hurting his son

Some people are victims of fear, and antagonize it in their lives.

Biba's deep hatred for his father

Some people see fear as a weakness.

Denial is bad, Mumei

And some people accept weakness, but refuse to let fear get into their heads as a crutch, or an inner monster, or a foe.  

Well said, Ikoma

Kudos to this anime for making me reflect on things more than I should.

Which is kind of a bad thing because when I start contempalting...

I don't go back.

O-O)"

 

 

Final Judgement
♚♚♚

This anime is awesome. SHHH! Your opinion is invalid! This anime is awesome okay!? *sniffs*

 

And no matter how low my rating is, I encourage everyone to give it a try. It's one of the better animes out there. It's not just fighting zombies or violence. It's a neatly tied gift for all of you to open and appreciate (or not, still depends on preference!)

 

Well, that's all for my review of this! Stay cool, my subjects.

It Can't Get Any Worse Than This

"School Living Club members are not only to attend classes but live their whole lives at school, to grow closer to the school's many departments, and with them foster self-governance and independence and set an example for all to follow." -School Living Club members

***Contains some spoilers***

Well, here you go. The very first post of my blog and... TA-DA!! It's an anime review.

I haven't finished any of my planned books to review, and I just watched all 12 episodes of this... rather unique anime, so I thought, heh, why the hell not?

Gakkou gurashi! or in english, School-live! is a japanese animated series with 12 full episodes. Produced by Lerche, who gave us our personal favorites such as Persona 4: The animation and Danganronpa, Gakkou Gurashi doesn't stray far from its sister animations, ranging from comedy to horror genres. So don't be fooled by the kawaii-ness vibe this anime gives off. Seriously guys, you need balls to watch this anime.

The first time I saw this anime in another Anime Reviews page, I thought, Oh? This falls on the Psychological genre. *evil grin*. Being an avid fan of Psychological anime and manga, it caught my attention at once. Also, because the admin rated it 5/5 stars, which, she rarely does. I gave it a try, of course. I took some snacks, lay stomach-flat on my bed and started streaming it at once. 

At first, I cringed. 

Takeya Yuki

 This lovely girl's voice greeted me. It was ear rape, I swear. Sugary, child-like and... moe, that was Yuki Takeya's voice. Personally, I thought it was trying hard, unnatural, but along half of the anime, I got used to it. And when that girl got serious at the last part, ooh boy, her voice got strong and solid and I was loving every bit of it.

But I'm not about to spoil what happened, to you, peeps. This is a review, not story-time!

All I have to say to those who are interested is: Don't judge this one  based on face value. I dare you to watch even just the first episode, and tell me if it's your typical girly-girl anime.

Well, onto the criteria! 

Story - 4/5 ❤❤❤❤

The story was good in and of itself. The way it was presented on the first episode-- sugar-coated-- only made the reality of the whole thing a lot more chilling. The story was two-faced, and oh, how I love ironies. With a dash of comedy and just the right amount of drama, you get this mixed feeling of happiness, relief, and fear for the characters.

Although they don't go into full detail about the background story of the experiment, the characters, or even the school, this just adds to the mysterious atmosphere of the anime

It just need a bit more of everything, horror and tragedy mostly, since its main story flows along with the Living Dead concept. 

 

Characters - 5/5 ❤❤❤❤❤

I mainly focus on how the characters are individualized, and for me, it was done impeccably. Yuki was presented as a genki type of person, contrasting Miki, who was serious and cautious. Kurumi was one of the most traumatized characters, but also the strongest of will and physical ability. Yuuri stood as the big sister of the group, but was also psychologically frail (as seen in the 10th episode, when Kurumi lays on the couch, suffering from the infection).

Episode 10 - Yuuri covering her ears while Kurumi writhes on the couch

But I wouldn't rule out Yuuri as the most weak in psyche here. Yuki takes the crown, as she uses illusions and hallucinations to cope with their reality.

Megu-nee was also well hidden as just Yuki's imagination. It never stsuck to me that she might be dead... well, not until later into the series, anyway. She acted as their beacon of light, and was the main catalyst of Yuki's fall and rise from psychological stress.

It's a solid 5 hearts for this. 

 

Setting - 5/5 ❤❤❤❤❤

It's usual to use school as a setting for zombie apocalyse (High School DxD), but this one had done it on purpose. Easily accessible resources? An emergency underground panic room? Hmm... something's VERY fishy here...

Solar Panels; Source of Electricity

I didn't see that coming. Although I DID wonder about the solar-powered electricity and underground water supply...

Though a change of scenery would have been nice, the reason Megurigaoka was chosen was for a good purpose. The club members wouldn't have survived anywhere except that school, and the secret of the school's weird abundant resources was there too.

 

Music - 4/5 ❤❤❤❤

 Every soundtrack had a personality to fit every scene and every dialogue perfectly. They weren't obnoxious (except for the opening, of which I really don't think fit the anime).

My personal favorite is Kyou wa Oyasuminasai, which is the soundtrack that is the music-box type. This is the only soundtrack that has a distorted version, played at the end of the ninth episode when Megu-nee is shown as one of the Undead.

 

Impression - 5/6 ❤❤❤❤❤

The impression left by this anime was considerably deep, but not as deep as the anime that really touched my heart(Angel Beats, Hanasakeru Seishounen). I personally like tragedy and feelsy anime myself, ontop of horro and Psychological, so this is just a biased opinion. This anime just lacked a bit in those genres, and isn't really a major flaw. It was perfect the way it was, but basing on the impression it left on me, it won't be the first anime I'd give if ever someone would ask for recommendations.

 

Overall, the anime is four hearts our of five! ❤❤❤❤

It has a hooking element that will keep you guessing from episode to episode, not to mention the surprise at the beginning. It's an anime that has a lot to tell, and you would personally ask for more once you've finished all 12 episodes, like I had!

NOTE: I am aware there is a manga, and I'm planning to read it soon~!