Oct 29, 2017
Kabaneri has a reputation as an AOT clone which is very justified given the plot,director,composer and studio. While some people say Kabaneri is better than AOT they are an extremely small minority while most proclaim it as a version that does basically everything wrong. I'm in a relatively grey area. I do think Kabaneri is worse than AOT but I think it does SOME things better. Let's talk about what it does wrong.Firstly is the horror aspect of the show or even if you wouldn't call it that the tension or sense of dread that is needed for any action drama.AOT despite its flaws is
...
great at creating tension at least in the first season. Firstly is the setting. The idea of being enclosed in a wall surrounded by giants driven by the sole motive of murdering you with no way out immediately strikes you with a sense of claustrophobia and oppression,an idea explored frequently in the show itself.Kabaneri has a world where multiple stations exist removing much of the crushing feeling of being trapped. Also the show kind of treats a station being destroyed as no-biggy while AOT always treats even a breach as groundbreaking development with devastating effects.There also aren't any unpredictable chaos factors like the Armoured or Colossal Titan and most of the breaches either happen because humanity is completely retarded or (spoilers from this point on) someone wants it to. The Kabane also just aren't as effective monsters as the Titans lacking the uncanny valley effect the Titans have,nor the ginormous retard strength the Titans always display and also lacking a commanding presence.The Kabaneri this show's version of Titan shifters have about three main problems.One is that the method their created begs the question of why everyone doesn't become one.Two is they are much much stonger than the Kabane with the Kabane only posing a threat when they make stupid decisions or when they're that weird fused colony thing. Three is that they're powers get really out there as the show progresses with the aforementioned colonies,a goddamn laser beam and even better superhuman strength with very few established limitations.Then is the whole Kabaneri are evil conflict that goes on for far too long instead of like how it went for one scene in AOT.
Now what does it do better than AOT. Well I liked the characters more. They certainly have more I can say about them unlike that one Marco dude.However,unlike the AOT characters(at least the suppporting characters) who will probably develop down the line I can't see that happening for the characters of this show. It all feels more processed and like they're just there to fill roles. I like Ikoma and Mumei for the first seven episodes. Ikoma unlike Eren who pretty much just screams is a lot more settled and optimistic which is refreshing to say the least. Mumei starts of as bootleg Mikasa but I like how the power dynamic between the mains begins to tilt and they aren't afraid to show her as vulnerable.
However, some pink haired twink comes along and ruins everything. Mumei becomes a damsel in distress in one of the most trite ways possible, Ikoma loses his likability and his motives are muddier than the river I find 4 slippers in every day.And that final episode is one of the biggest clusterfucks(pardon my language) I've ever seen.
About the production I can't say much most don't already know. The show looks gorgeous with a semi retro aesthetic and beautiful character and world design and that Sawano soundtrack is just MMMMMMMMHHH.
Although I like Kabaneri it has a lot of wasted potential and while I like it I'm afraid I can only give it a 5/10.Its a fun action romp that becomes less fun after episode 8. Make sure you keep your brain turned off all the way though
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
