First Impression: Koutetsujou no Kabaneri

Okay, so I'm off for some first impression. During these past few weeks (when I had some time working on school requirements), I saw a nice trailer about this series called Koutetsujou no Kabaneri or Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress and I was forming an impression that this show will be promising.

The general synopsis of this show is simply about humans living in a dangerous world with zombie-looking monsters called Kabane. These Kabane drink blood mainly for survival or as food so the danger now is that Kabanes will continue to hunt for humans for blood. Therefore, these stations were built with walls to keep humans safe from these Kabanes. In the first minute of the episode, it shows that there's a train continuously running towards some station. The existence of these trains are put to question because it does not only contradict the main point of survival theme of the series but it also makes humans prone to danger. So, this scene was meant to be a flashback before the current timeline runs. It shows that there are Kabanes who are climbing the side parts of this train. Some were destroying the steel walls while some are attempting to enter in the train through windows and doors. The fact that this happen shows that these trains are too vulnerable for humans to ride because these trains are running outside of the safe zone, making it exposed to danger while its material is not strong enough to safeguard the passengers. In the current timeline, it also shows that these trains were the main reason why the Kabanes entered the walled area. Remember, walls are now built to safeguard humans but then these trains are bypassing this area by travelling outside of the safe borders. It is really bothersome because it just shows that these trains should not exist in this show.

Now, this young man named Ikoma just recently developed a weapon that he believed will defeat the Kabanes. Moving on with the scenes of the episode, it shows that there's this small group of people who are known as aristocrats in that area. This young lady who was the Princess of the area asked who will fix her father's gun. No one attempted to raise a hand of course because it's very awkward for a popular person to visit a hub for trains while asking for someone to fix her father's gun. Then, there were these short dialogues about two men talking about this girl's beauty. Yes, there should be at least an impression regarding this character but the fact that they suddenly came out of nowhere is very bothersome.


There are so many logical flaws to point out and it saddens me that the fact that there's a great expectation for this show to be as memorable as any series out there like Shingeki no Kyojin, etc. Since this is a first impression post, I will save the rest of detail for later. Let's move to the worldbuilding and execution. This is where everything leads to confusion. The worldbuilding introduced very nice concepts that appeal to the eyes of the audience but then how the terms were stated, the logic and significance behind every part of the world doesn't particularly make any sense. It decreases the chance for the audience to expect more of the show, especially for those who are particular into these details. Of course, it is important that the show is entertaining but then again the logical flaws and gaps in the storyboard, including the bad scriptwriting doesn't give a nice impression for those who are already exposed to other similar animes out there. The dialogues are too weak to lift the personalities of the characters. There is a part in that episode where the father of this Princess said that "Defending order is a man's duty"; it doesn't make a complete sense. How can you defend order if there are no laws; There's a misconception between the Law and Order. the Order should be the outcome of the existence of laws, therefore, it is a man's duty to defend the law that SHOULD be promoting order. Now, there are so many inconsistencies here and there but let's move to the music part.

The music is good, as expected of Sawano Hiroyuki. However, there are some pieces that don't match with the scene itself, especially in that scene where Ikoma was trying to control the spread of the Kabane infection in him. I appreciate the beauty of the music itself but if you're going to combine it with poor animation, it will not necessarily work. There should be consistency between the storyboard, animation and the dialogues, and the show fails to demonstrate a better outcome with those combined.

Overall, I was rooting for this show so much due to its appealing concepts and themes, but the execution makes it weaker; the dialogues, transition of scenes and animation are not strong enough to lift the hype. There were problems regarding the logic and soundness of everything in the episode that leads to confusion. Since this is still the first episode, I will be expecting more in the upcoming episodes.