Koutetsujou no Kabaneri Episode 1 Discussion

Kalisto said:
They let the train in because not only did it arrive on schedule, but the dead guys' hand was pulling the whistle, which I'm guessing is the signal to alert the fortress that the train is "safe.'

Ryuugamono said:
Is it just me that I sense some Hayao Miyazaki-like style of art?

I don't know---it feels so refreshing, even for a bloody show.

XHellScytheX said:
I thought that this was quite epic. My main problem was the fact that they took precautions and thoroughly examined the train that arrived during the day before letting down the gate/tracks, but when the night train was approaching the guards simply lowered the gate/tracks. That was incredibly stupid.

I love the art, sound, and characters so far.

15poundfish said:
The science in the anime is bad, there is no argument there. I don't think the show is meant to be realistic but a lot of the criticism of this first episode could be applied to any zombie show.

MysteriousBanana said:


I just realized this myself, so I understand why people are missing it, but the bridge was left up for the Koutetsujyo because they weren't ready to let it in, not because they were inspecting it first.

Notice that Ikoma is part of the decontamination team? Said team being busy staring at the princess when word of the early arrival came? The Koutetsujyo had to wait for the quarantine area to be prepped and staffed because nothing was scheduled to arrive at that time. It wasn't until it was inside the quarantine area that they did the inspection and decontamination.

The Husoujyo was expected, so the quarantine area was ready to receive them, which is why they were ready to lower the bridge as soon as the conductor signaled the train's safe arrival. At that point the Husoujyo would have gone through the same process as the Koutetsujyo.

If there was anything lacking, it was proper procedures to deal with runaway trains. Trying to raise the bridge was stupid, even if it didn't defy gravity and flip a bunch of cars through the defenses, the collision would have crippled the bridge's mechanism and left the station exposed until they could dislodge the engine and repair the bridge. What they should have done was leave the bridge down, set the tracks to direct the train out of the station, and let it continue past (just like how the Koutetsujyo was able to go through the abandoned station). At most the bushi would have had to deal with a handful of kabane that jump off, but it would be a lot more manageable than an entire train full of them.

Pen3 said:

Really no point explaining anything to MAL anymore, majority of the users watch Anime to to find things to hate, not things to enjoy. They will go by first impression and not think why it happened or go back and make sure. They compare it to a lab controlled environment where no mistakes are possible or abnormal circumstances and judge on that. Most of them already rated the series after one episode with 2-3/10. No matter how logical your explanation is, they stick to their first impression. Just accept it and move on sir.

Kalisto said:
They let the train in because not only did it arrive on schedule, but the dead guys' hand was pulling the whistle, which I'm guessing is the signal to alert the fortress that the train is "safe.'

CC9ers said:
Stunning visuals, incredible soundtrack, interesting-enough story, entertaining action.. 8/10 first episode. Ikumo is the worst part of the show so far. It would have been 9/10 were he not so annoying. Hopefully he gets better.

Sonicfanx1 said:


Try hard Eren? Yeah he was pretty annoying.

Sonicfanx1 said:


Try hard Eren? Yeah he was pretty annoying.

Thats like saying the US military should get rid of everyone that isn't in the special forces because those other fucks might make mistakes. I doubt those stuck up elite Bushi guards would even want to guard doors.

Just like the Swedish people protecting your country from invaders. Why are you still keeping them in office?

The problem with your interpretation of the scenario is that you're assuming leaving the bridge up is standard procedure for receiving unscheduled trains, except the scene stressed how everyone's taken off guard by its arrival, so it's just as likely that leaving the bridge up and the train stranded outside was the actual procedural screw up. Edit: actually, no, after watching it again I realized there was no mistake. You know why the bridge was up for the Koutetsujyo? Because the inspection and decontamination teams weren't ready. The entire decontamination team was gawking at the princess in the train yard when word of the early arrival came, that's why they delayed lowering the bridge.

That being said, we'll have opportunities to see what the standard procedure really is like when the Kotetsujyo makes it to another station, but currently what it looks like (assuming the latter half of receiving the Kotetsujyo and the first half of receiving the Husoujyo are the actual standards) is something like this:
* Train sounds its horn to announce it's arriving and that the situation onboard is normal.
* Lookout visually confirms which train it is (given they're coming out of a mountain tunnel they probably identify by the engine head) and relays this to the bridge staff.
* If the conductor or bridge staff want to relay detailed information, they use light signals (using their equivalent of morse code).
* Knowing that the train's conductor has signaled the train's okay and that it's on time (thus implying they haven't run into any serious problems), the bridge is lowered right before the train arrives to minimize the time it's stuck outside.
* Guards stationed around the gate shoot any kabane joyriders off the sides/roof as it passes through.
* The train is routed to quarantine, where inspection and decontamination are performed. Passengers inside can only exit through the docking airlock where inspections are held.

So at first glance it looks reasonably secure for the technology of the time: the train tells the station if it's okay and bridge procedure minimizes the chances of attack by minimizing the amount of time the train is stuck outside and how long the bridge is down. Their procedure did not account for the conductor to be a complete dick who compromises security by having a death grip on the pull chain when the engine is overrun by kabane, nor did it account for that particular kabane's eating habits (lean in to take a bite, lean back to chew, lean in to take a bite, rinse, repeat).

There's no plot hole and no procedural failure, just a really convoluted reason why the procedure was compromised.

ShaneM said:


I don't know, maybe it's my perspective; I thought Ikumo was very cool and much much much different than Eren. Eren was absolutely obnoxious and didn't say anything aside from "I must kill all the Titans." Ikumo actually has intellect behind his dialogue.

Maledict said:
Okay, what kind of virus just gives up when it's unable to reach the brain for like 10 seconds and then completely disappears?

Orion_Gospel said:
Btw, why did the anime starting airing before the manga?

Sokah said:
Feels like I'm watching The Walking Dead where they're trying to make something that isn't very much of a threat appear far far more deadly... and failing miserably.

Seriously, when a little girl with a weapon that is nowhere near as effective as a sword can one-shot them... yeah. This is dumb.

Sadh said:
I enjoyed it for what it was worth BUT:



Kabaneri is probably going to be enjoyable if you turn your brain off. Nothing wrong with that but episode 1 gave me sooo many headscratch moments, lol.

Fai said:


Did you somehow entirely miss all the hints about the girl not being normal at all, including the fact that her eyes freaking glowed?

Also trains explode. And the more strain is put on the engine, the bigger the explosion is.

Sadh said:


Anime flicker / anime eye shine happens all the time in action anime. Won't back down from this point.

Artistic licensing: Explosions. (Combustion does not work that way.) However I'll refute my own point and say, "Animu".

shanimebib said:

No salts here. Just stating the pudding. In open broad daylight, they make a train stop to make sure it's safe and even inspect the people on board stark naked for injuries and in the darkness of night, they lower the bridge to let it in without a second thought when the train was not even on sight. You may justify with the dumb nobody who lowered the bridge though but yeah, there was his superior giving instructions as well.

Sadh said:


Anime flicker / anime eye shine happens all the time in action anime. Won't back down from this point.

Artistic licensing: Explosions. (Combustion does not work that way.) However I'll refute my own point and say, "Animu".