Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress: The Battle of Unato

I will try to keep this review as succinct as the movie itself: this one-and-one-fourth hour movie is well-worth the time, even for those who were (like me) disappointed by Kabaneri's initial outing 3 years ago. Unato Kessen is a direct sequel to the 12-episode season Kabaneri had in 2016, and as the title indicates, revolves around a battle at Unato. In terms of content, Unato Kessen breaks no new ground. What makes it a positive addition to the series is how it maintained the strengths of the series while being more deliberate in its storytelling. The art and soundtrack were both as impressive asone would expect with this series, and the many action sequences were fluid and entertaining to watch. Being roughly 3 regular episodes worth in length, the movie did not have a lot of time to work with, but instead trimmed away the hedges to squarely focus on the story and the development of Ikoma and Mumei. Frankly, I thought this was a massive improvement over how the 2016 season--which often felt a little out-of-focus--was handled. Nothing felt overdone or un-explored, it ended right when it should have, and it even gave us a very nicely animated ending song to boot. In all, this was a content-packed movie and a must-watch if you enjoyed the 2016 season, but even if you didn't, there is still a lot to like about this continuation of Ikoma and Mumei's journey. Note, however, this is not a standalone entry, so those who have not yet watched the 2016 season should dive into that first.

I seem to be one of the only people who liked the original series but hate this movie. This movie is a distillation of everything bad in the series, with some added garbage for flavor. The only reasons I can see that people like this more is that it's almost nonstop action and Mumei is now a useless waifu. In the previous series Mumei was the power house, who basically carried everyone for most of the show. Sadly, she's now Ikoma's main love interest and as such she can no longer be good at anything. A proud tradition carried on from Orihime, Asuna, and manyothers. While she still manages to get some shots in, Ikoma must rescue her literally every battle, twice in one of them. She spends most of her time fawning over her attempt to confess her feelings to him and being rescued by him. A previous complaint people had about her was that she kept 'stealing the spotlight', so I guess that's an improvement for some people. I miss when she would punch people in the crotch. The actual plot is almost a moment by moment repeat of the previous series. Ikoma is part kabane, and part human, so no one trusts him even though he's right! He gets thrown in solitary for 3 days to prove he's human even though he's not. If you guessed that he will also have to break out and prove he's right as the place descends into chaos under an attack, requiring him to save everyone, well then you've seen the original series! This is trash. It's also full of characters who are basically rehashes of characters from the original whom couldn't be brought back to be minor antagonists because they're dead. The solution then, was to make nearly identical characters. However since the characters behavior is identical to the ones they're based off of, most of what they do doesn't make sense in the situation. You'd almost have to believe that they're literally trying to get killed. At least one of them disappears with no conclusion on what happened to him or his men. This is despite the fact you're repeatedly intended to care about these characters who have all of 10 minutes of screen time. The series also finally goes the full way into making Kabaneri coordinators/newtypes. Before they certainly occupied the role of Coordinators from SEED in some respects. Ikoma was the ace fighter new to the situation, in a conflict where he was of the same breed as the enemy. A super human above everyone, who didn't trust him for it or wanted to use him. The train went from colony to colony seeking refuge and supplies on its way to the main base. Eventually the show even went as far as to turn Kabaneri into cyber newtypes who more or less piloted giant Pschcho Kabaneri. That not being enough, they can now also see into each other's hearts and minds. The movie also works to finish pairing off every character it possibly can, once again prioritizing this over a meaningful epilogue. I mean, it's 6 months later and they're still planning to do the exact same thing that they were planning to do at the end of the series. What happened? Why haven't they? How did they get involved in this at all? Nothing is explained, no one cares, nothing matters. There is no resolution to this series, the characters are all worse, the plot is worse, the events are worse. The art and animation are great, however it takes the superfluousness to the next level. Everyone spins all of the time. There's so much unnecessary spinning. Even bodies spin in air. It gets comically over the top, even in this franchise. Mumei spends fights twirling her weapon because she can more or less. A lot straight up doesn't make sense too, or you're asked to really suspend your disbelief. Ikoma is shot like 5 times and it doesn't affect him, but 1 bullet from the same type of gun takes out his leg. It's nonsense. If you liked the music, it's literally all the same music except for I think one new song. It's nice, but I don't care about that nearly as much as everyone else does. All around this just exemplifies why I hate OVA/Film sequels. This was an unnecessary, even harmful additional to the story, and I didn't enjoy watching it.

Wit Studio no doubt they prove how great they are with the presentation of this series. The third Kabaneri of the iron fortress focused on Mumei and Ikoma after half a year of what happened to them. Their adventure continues and this time they have to fight Kabane once more. The storyline goes fast. I am sure those of you who have watched this movie will know how to tell. Once again I emphasize even though the storyline runs fast but this film has a fairly long duration and the power is sure you won't be disappointed to watch it. Everysecond they offer is felt. This action-themed movie also has a romantic feel between the main character and heroine. I am sure that with this theme young people will be interested in watching it because the romantic theme is a theme that is very popular with most people and they also experience it. Not only is the interesting storyline of art in this movie also very good especially during the battle scene. The character design is also pretty good especially with Mumei's main heroine which is very tempting. The background nuance is the same. The depiction of the background is very supportive of what else when the fight. Speaking of battles the effects of swords and shots are also very good. But what needs to be considered here is the design of characters from Kabane or enemies who are in this story. I mean they are very extraordinary depiction and selection of colors also impressed realistically especially when heading to the giant Kabane fight even when juxtaposed with monsters that are in Ultraman and Evangelion maybe this is also appropriate with them. Egoist is one of the most popular female singer groups. They play a very important role in this movie because they fill a lot in between scenes with supporting music and one of them is the closing theme entitled "Ninelie". Voters are equally important, they also have worked quite well. The sound of the Kabane monsters that came out was also good, it felt like a real monster. Of the many characters out there Mumei is one of them how not to design attractive characters and the nature that they have makes everyone interested in him. Taking the concept of zero to Hero where the main actors who were initially unreliable now changed dramatically. The two main characters are not humans but half-human beings called "Kabaneri". Even so, I also don't like the design of other characters like Ikoma, which I think is bad, if you notice the design of Ikoma's hair isn't a bit strange? But I don't hate it. I honestly look forward to this movie for a long time. After finishing watching the TV series I became more interested in this series. Exciting battles and stories that are not too heavy are suitable for free time. Of the whole series is also not so good and also not so bad. Maybe there are still many people out there who think differently.

Ever wondered how unfair it is that certain series recieves hype they don’t deserve? Ever wondered why bad shows recieve tons of sequels and why people like them? Yes, I have as well... Well in Koutetsujou no Kabaneri‘s case, I had to do the oposite. Why there’s almost no hype for it? Why the hell people compare this with Attack on Titan and thus giving it low score? Why there’s no proper sequel for it? Well, I still don’t have the answers for my first two questions (even though I have some sort of idea) but now my third question got answered with the third Koutetsujouno Kabaneri movie. So, Let’s take a look at it, shall we? Setting,theme Post-apocalyptic steampunk stories are really rare thing in the world of anime. Putting aside my possible bias for steampunk (I used to be into it in my early teens and I still kinda am) it‘s a welcomed breath of fresh air. Even though the story about humanity being on the verge of extinction thanks to ,,zombies“ is something we have seen thousand times before (especially in western media), this steampunk thing makes it remarkable. And the giant trains, don’t forget the giant trains! Story The story takes place after the events of the series. And no, compared to the series, this one is not rushed at all. It revolves around a battle of a certain town and nearby castle. Of course, both of our protagonists will have to face enemies among both undead and humans (again). Characters We will see good old Koutetsujou crew, along with some new faces consisting mostly of crews from other trains, soldiers and workers. Also new villain appears. And finally,finally the relationship between Ikoma and Mumei has some space to develop slightly (not gonna run into details tho, don’t wanna spoil it). Other characters(beside the main villain) sadly show little to no development at all. Visuals and sound It’s made by Wit Studio, so expect same kind of artstyle as Attack on Titan and epic action fight sequences. The fighting scenes are just sight to see. The CGI used here is on non-Berserk 2016 level (so it’s good). And in terms of sound? Well, nothing negative to point out here. Overall Don’t worry, it’s not rushed like the series, it’s packed with action while giving us some space for Ikoma x Mumei relationship development. We get to see a brand new city and a new type of opponent. And we get more of those steel monsters wandering the rails while crushing tons of undead. There’s only one negative thing I’ve found: It’s too damn short!!!