KABANERI OF THE IRON FORTRESS: AN ATTACK ON TITAN RIPOFF

Hey guys what is up welcome back to my blog I’m so thankful that you guys took the time out of your day to read my blog post. Hope you all are safe from the COVID-19. This anime works on a formula similar to Attack on Titan and it still is really good to watch.

The story follows Ikoma a steam smith who is working on developing a weapon that can kill Kabane, beings that are like zombies except that their hearts are covered with a metal film that is impenetrable. A train arrives at his station which contains a peculiar girl called Mumei who shows extreme skill in fighting Kabane. The station gets overrun by Kabane and Ikoma gets bitten which he stops from reaching his brain turning him into a Kabaneri, someone with the body of a Kabane but the heart of a human. Teaming up with his friend Takumi and completing his weapon to take down Kabane, Ikome takes the fight to the Kabane. At the same time Mumei reveals that she is a Kabaneri herself and fights alongside Ikoma. Making it out of the station with Ayame, the heir of the Yomogawa clan, her protector Kurusu and a load of other characters. The story follows Ikoma on the train the Kotesu Jou making his way to the Shogun’s palace and on the way discovering his powers as a Kabaneri and coming to terms with his past trauma. A completely new plotline opens up when they meet hunter Biba who leads a group that kills the Kabane and frees up the land of the people who is also the man whom Mumei was trying to get to.

The series has some brutal combat and throws us straight into the action with the humans vs Kabane fights. The way Mumei and Ikoma fight is ruthless and will satisfy you if you are someone who loves to see blood. The series mostly focuses on human traumas that Ikoma, Mumei and the others have faced throughout their lives. Ikoma has lost someone to the Kabane previously and due to that he fights harder than ever as a Kabaneri to protect the people on the Kotesu Jou like Eren, (the parallels are so striking), Mumei on the other hand has learnt that only the strong survive and the weak die, this ideology is challenged by Ikoma as he tries to convince her with his words and actions that the weak can become strong and that they just need to keep fighting (like Eren). Mumei reveals that she is just a fighter and that all she wants to do is fight and kill Kabane and she kills like a badass (like Mikasa). There are others too who lose a lot throughout the show and Ikoma even after going through his turning to a Kabaneri learns what loss truly means and how even after being shunned as a monster by humanity he needs to fight to tell them that he is on the side of the humans (Like Eren’s trial). Ikoma also gradually learns fighting from Mumei and betters his skills which allows him to kill with ease and at one point makes a rash decision to gain more power. Biba, the man who taught Mumei that weak people die and strong survive shows that all he ever was was physically strong and his heart and mind were very weak because of the way he does things and accepts the consequences of his actions with the words, ‘so you have found the true coward.’ While actually doing his first good deed in life, showing that he too became strong like Ikoma said.

The desperation of humans shown is also greatly projected with humans always being scared of Kabane and killing suspected Kabane without a second thought and when true Kabane attack they cannot stand their ground and fight. The basic population also gets easily scared of the Kabaneri Ikoma and Mumei and have to be proved wrong with a lot of life saving, patience and rude awakenings. There is a scene where when Mumei asks for blood she is seen as the same as a Kabane by the people and they try to kill her though unsuccessfully. There is also Mumei’s maturity which shows when she says that she won’t force anyone to give their blood but will only ask. Then there is Ayame who takes charge and leads the people while also making them understand that Kabaneri can be treated as humans.

Over all the show contains loads of action, blood, animation, emotional scenes and also has a great soundtrack, a lot of world politics and a great cast of characters. This isn’t exactly Attack on Titan but there are a lot of parallels between the two shows. This show is also vastly different and actually sports a hopeful ending and has moments of happiness. There comes a point in the story where a conflict arises and you will question who is truly wrong but as the pot unfolds that line becomes clearer. There is a lot of symbolism and irony and the series is overall a very nice watch with only 12 episodes and a 3 part movie. Give it a watch and tell me what you feel about the show.

RAP:

Humanity lives in fear all safe and secure,
Kabane virus outside and we don’t have a cure,
I say that I’ll fight them and they call me immature,
Now I got bitten but the virus I endure.

Turned into something that we don’t understand,
Want me to kill myself that’s their demand,
I haven’t trained I rush into battle unplanned,
Think I’m like the ones outside they misunderstand.

Watch me as I fight to clear the people’s doubt,
Got another girl with me and she helps me throughout,
Don’t rush into battle all alone to her I shout,
But she doesn’t listen and alone she takes Kabane out.

They fear me sometimes so I’ll show all those who,
Doubt me that I will fight for humans so you,
Better prepare for my wrath let me show you,
My battle against Kabane shouting Rokkun Shojo.

So that is it for this post guys hope you got some value from this.  Thank you guys for reading to the end hit me up on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn with your thoughts and if you have any ideas which I should write about. Stay safe from the COVID-19. Thank you again and I’ll see you all next week.