First Impressions / Koutetsujou no Kabaneri

“The Attacking Weak”


「攻め上ぐ弱者」 (Semejougu Jakusha)

Mumei and Biba:

Poor Mumei. Poor everyone, really. But mostly poor Mumei. I never expected to feel so sorry for her after being cold to her character for the first few episodes, but here I am, defending her from those who initially liked her badassery and are now shifting the blame to her. She’s certainly got a part to play in this horrible turn of events, but I’d consider it minuscule when compared to her brother. Mumei is young, naive, and wants to believe in the best possible outcomes for her friends. We even see her cowering from Biba when he reaches over to her, which is perhaps the most obvious sign that she’s loosening from his grip. After being surrounded by decent people – people who just wanted to survive this chaotic world – she’s tried to do everything she could to make sure they didn’t suffer. Sadly, her attempt at making promises with Biba go sour as he turns against her and forcibly changes her back to that stoic war machine that we expected her to be in the earlier episodes; though this time around she seems to have little to no humanity in her. The Mumei that was grown and warmed to her surroundings is no more. Before I complained that her shifting from personality types felt like the writers wanting her to be every otaku-pandering archetype there is, but in hindsight her development has been intriguing and way smarter than I initially would have given Kabaneri credit for. Her turning against Ikoma was inevitable, but it’s especially sad after watching her relationship with him blossom – now it feels like a proper betrayal.

Let the Bloodbath Commence:

On the flip side, Ikoma and his gang fail at getting back at Biba for the war crimes he committed last week. With two more episodes left to go I knew nothing would be resolved this week, but it was still painful to see them fail so miserably. I called it that there would be a bloodbath ahead, and it makes sense that Takumi would be the first to fall. His self-sacrifice wasn’t unexpected, but it proved that the good guys have well and truly lost (for now). Ikoma trying to fight back was pitiful, but in a believable way that had me rooting for him even more. But I’m honestly surprised at how badly he was beat down – possible even killed if he wasn’t the main character. Getting his arm blown off and then Mumei stabbing him through the chest and sending him flying from the train had me shocked. The silence during that scene was what made itespecially powerful, right up until the credits rolled as they force us to wait another week to see how Ikoma is going to come back from this.

Overview – What’s Next?:

Apologies for the brevity of this post, but this was an episode that mainly spook for itself, but what an episode is was. Things are getting bloody, and it’s exactly what the show needs. We’ve humanised the characters that matter most, have a despicable villain in Biba, and the turn of events we saw here are sure to set up for a dramatic conclusion. At first I was disheartened to know this wouldn’t be full-cour, but it appears we’re going to get more than enough with the 12 episodes on offer. So far the journey has been entertaining and each episode has been tightly written – there’s nothing dragging it down (except for Ikoma sinking into the ocean), so I expect it to be all guns blazing from here on out.

47 Comments

  1. An anime magazine spread published some detailed info on why Biba wants revenge. A Redditor was kind enough to translate it.
    http://yaraon-blog.com/archives/8629…%E3%83%AA#more

    Biba was the sacrificial pawn in a power play between 2 opposing government factions 10 yrs ago. The militarists wanted to wage war and destroy the kabane, while the moderates thought it dangerous and wanted to hide out in their fortresses.

    The shogun was part of the moderates, and to strengthen his faction’s cause he created a 400,000 strong army squad to fight the kabana with the intention of ensuring the squad would be killed by denying them necessary reinforcements. This was to convince the militarists of the futility of fighting the kabane. 12 yr old Biba was chosen as the squad commander, and Kurusu’s dad was part of that squad.

    The plan worked – everyone but Biba died, and the moderates were able to gain their political leverage. Biba was made a scapegoat and exiled to the Hunters. For 10 years he’s been investigating who betrayed him, and as of the current timeline he’s discovered the truth and wants bloody vengeance.

    zztop
    Reply

      2. On the other hand, Biba is doing the same he hates his father for. The Shogun let thousands of innocents die to prove a point. Biba’s making thousands of innocents die to prove another point. Even worse since he’s doing it with his own hands.

        Despite the shogun’s betrayal, you have to wonder how come an army that big was lost. The Kabaneri aren’t precisely master strategists.

        Mistic
        Reply

      3. In my opinion, they’re both scumbags. The shogun let 400k people die just to prove his point. They weren’t sacrificed; they were bled out to dry, including his son. And then we have Biba who wants revenge. While I can understand that, the way he goes about it is completely monstrous. He’s consuming entire towns with his forces, sacrificing innocents and even his own men. To me he seems like an immature child lashing out at the entire world because he’s suffered. What he went through was beyond terrible, but does that give him the right to kill innocent people? How is he different from his father? If he just targeted the people responsible for the betrayal, I’d probably be sympathetic, but Biba is indiscriminate.

        Wizard_Marshall
        Reply

      2. Read this (from this early post –> https://randomc.net/2016/06/19/koutetsujou-no-kabaneri-10/comment-page-1/#comment-2128010)

        “Biba was the sacrificial pawn in a power play between 2 opposing government factions 10 yrs ago. The militarists wanted to wage war and destroy the kabane, while the moderates thought it dangerous and wanted to hide out in their fortresses.

        The shogun was part of the moderates, and to strengthen his faction’s cause he created a 400,000 strong army squad to fight the kabana with the intention of ensuring the squad would be killed by denying them necessary reinforcements. This was to convince the militarists of the futility of fighting the kabane. 12 yr old Biba was chosen as the squad commander, and Kurusu’s dad was part of that squad.

        The plan worked – everyone but Biba died, and the moderates were able to gain their political leverage. Biba was made a scapegoat and exiled to the Hunters. For 10 years he’s been investigating who betrayed him, and as of the current timeline he’s discovered the truth and wants bloody vengeance”

        That’s how politics work, the moderates faction thought hiding in the fortresses (stations) and fighting off any Kabane that attack is the best course of action, but to silence the militaristic faction (who wanted to field armies to fight the Kabane in the open) they had to fabricate this incident to gain the support of the people and kinda show them “it’s stupid to fight the Kabane in the open”, and for all they know the plan worked.

        It’s kinda like in Attack of Titan how some people believed the Survey Corps are a waste of lives and money and it’s just better to cower inside the walls and hide from the titans instead of going out and fighting them in the open.

        Hunter-Wolf
        Reply

    6. As I said on animesuki (Gerbera here, lol), this could’ve made Biba into a much more understandable character in the series (wouldn’t make his actions right, but you’d at least have a deeper understanding for his motive of vengeance) if such a thing was explained in the series itself rather than in completely separate material that people like me and others who stream the series can’t easily get for one reason or another. Sadly, his own current actions and excuses for them really negate any sympathy I can have for him.

      Like how the Principality of Zeon and those closely associated with them seem like they could be sympathetic on some level…until they start dropping colonies/asteroids onto Earth and kill millions of innocent people…

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      Reply

    8. Well, hey, at least we can understand his actions now. I certainly don’t sympathize with him, but I at least understand why he’s doing what he’s doing. In the end, though, he’s exactly like his father.

      This is definitely a thing that should have been better explained in the anime, as everyone seems to find him a shallow villain.

      Mormegil
      Reply

  2. Am guessing Ikoma survives the fall (seem like he was stabbed in stomach given Mumei) and links up with Kurusu and attaches his jet gun on his right arm (turning him into a mekboy!) XD

    Devastator001
    Reply

  4. https://randomc.net/image/Koutetsujou%20no%20Kabaneri/Koutetsujou%20no%20Kabaneri%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2032.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Koutetsujou%20no%20Kabaneri/Koutetsujou%20no%20Kabaneri%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2033.jpg

    Besides Ikoma’s plot armor being too thick, I’m guessing Mumei stabbed him off the mark to save him, so he could come back later, as she’s either just pretending or subconsciously still there to control her actions enough to save him. And someone mentioned it’ll be like AoT where he’ll regen his arm like Eren did.

    Bamboo Blade Cat
    Reply

    1. The shot of her looking away from the camera view at the end definitely hints to the possibility that she was aware of what she was doing and perhaps isn’t as lost as she appears. We’ll see…

      Samu
      Reply

  9. Did Koutetsujou no Kabaneri just become the new Guilty Crown?! The show lost its world-building, Biba is ridiculous, and Mumei lost her badassery (but still tolerable, she’s just being manipulated).

    One Pinch Man
    Reply

    1. Should we be surprised, given that both series are helmed by the same people:
      Araki Tetsurou (Director)
      Okouchi Ichiro (Script)
      Sawano Hiroyuki (Music)
      Asano Kyoji (Animation Director)

      Magnus Tancred
      Reply

    3. Did you mean you did not like the world building? This episode expanded the history and gave Biba a believable motive and a believable reaction people seeking revenge often become what they hate.

      I always understood this to be a fast paced action adventure with typical zombie movie themes. So I did not expect deep characterizations there is not the time for that but they have done a good job within the limits of the type of story.

      Story is still quite popular so not a Guilty Crown which I hear did poorly.

      RedRocket
      Reply

  11. Was I the only one that found it a little dumb that Takumi shielded Ikoma from Biba’s shot in the first place? Only a shot to the heart would’ve killed Ikoma, and judging from where Takumi got shot and the fact that Takumi is shorted than Ikoma… I think Biba missed Ikoma’s heart by a mile. XD

    Also while it didn’t happen, there had to be at least a chance that the bullet would’ve shot right through Takumi and hit Ikoma anyway. It’s actually surprising that it didn’t… perhaps suggesting that Biba’s faction isn’t using the jet bullets Ikoma developed? Sure Takumi’s got some fat on him, but a jet bullet would’ve pierced him no problem.

    PurpleBomber
    Reply

    1. I doubt anyone on Biba’s train even knew what jet bullets are, and even if they did they probably wouldn’t be bothered to make use of them. Especially considering the fact that they were doing just fine against the Kabane even without the jet bullets.

      Mincemaker
      Reply

    2. Split second decision you have no ability to tell how good a shot you opponent will pull off if you wait for it to be clearer you can’t get in the way. Basically you have to decide to greatly increase the chance of your friend dying and not get in the way or get in the way. Second your in revolt there is no reason to expect the other side to spare you might as well try to save the person who could win.

      RedRocket
      Reply

  12. Ikoma is still a punching bag for anyone/anything outside of lower level Kabane it seems.

    And really Mumei? After everything you saw, you STILL believed Biba that last time? x_x

    Ikoma will most likely be saved by a still-alive Kurusu (following on horseback probably).

    HalfDemonInuyasha
    Reply

  13. As a Kabaneri, Ikoma seems hilariously weak. Can he not do anything without his steam-powered weapon?

    Now that Biba’s “tragic” backstory is revealed, now you would wonder if he deserves that sympathy. Any 12 year-old would have snapped under that war stress and betrayal, especially if it’s from family.

    Now I wonder what is that significance of that stone in Ikoma’s hand. It was focused heavily several times in the series (and also highlighted in the ED).

    Azsurance
    Reply

    1. Ikoma didn’t have any military training and pretty much had to copy moves he had seen or experience before. The only thing he did have going for him was his durability.

      Mincemaker
      Reply

  14. KnK has become really disappointing ever since they brought Biba in. I would’ve been perfectly happy with a pure action anime with just Ikoma and the others against the zombies.

    ET
    Reply

  16. I love the story and the action, seams many upset plot went a way different than the one set up first two episode. Mumei existence demanded a source for her and thus a human element to the story. The fact that Mumei was on a mission with a escort had a reason thus one was in the plot.

    I was expecting a government plot element from the beginning. And this plot is a fairly normal one for this type of story, pure monster stories normally go horror with everyone dying, not exactly what I wanted.

    RedRocket
    Reply

  20. Kabaneri turns out to be a disappointing substitute for Attack on Titan Season 2 in terms of action, characters and storytelling, especially more so after the introduction of the boring villain, Biba to the show. The first 10 episodes of AoT S1 is clearly better.

    fripsidelover9111
    Reply

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