Vamp or Not? Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is a 2016 anime series directed by Tetsurō Araki and it is steampunk in tone and setting. Ian contacted me and suggested it as a “Vamp or Not?” and it was a good call.

The primary creature within the series are the kabane and, on the surface, these fit the mould of the zombie and we have essentially a z-apocalypse in a feudal Japan that was just passing into the industrial revolution. This has led to walled cities (or stations) linked by a railway line with travel between the outposts by steam train only.

steampunk

So, zombies then? Well it isn’t that simple. Whilst most in the series think of the kabane as a curse, it is recognised by some in the series that a virus is to blame. The virus is virulent being passed by bite (and later through blood), takes control of the host, killing it to rise as an undead carrier. These kabane then seek out the non-infected, attacking them aggressively, feasting on the flesh and passing on the plague. Survivors of attacks, who don’t appear bitten, are quarantined for three days to ensure that they aren’t infected. So far, so zombie.

Kabane

However there are some differences. The kabane can only be killed by losing their heads or being stabbed in the heart – the heart leading us more towards vampires. The heart is protected by a glowing iron shield and the steam guns of the bushi (soldiers) and swords have a hard time penetrating it. In fact, someone who is definitely bitten is expected to use a suicide device that destroys their heart before they turn. This iron heart, along with “Veins” and eyes all glow in a wonderfully stylised way. We also notice that some of the kabane seem to develop fangs and some later are shown to have learnt how to use swords effectively. Blood can be used to draw the kabane.

attack

If we were to concentrate solely on the kabane then we would recognise that (beyond the steampunk element) we have a core that resembles the vampires developed by Richard Matheson in I am Legend, which then fed in to the zombie genre via Romero/Russo. In short we might have edged towards zompires. However the show is called kabaneri and not kabane. In the first episode we meet a steamsmith called Ikoma (Tasuku Hatanaka). As well as working on locomotives that come into his station he is secretly developing a steam gun (or more properly the ammunition) that can penetrate the kabane’s heart with a single shot. He is also studying the kabane as a species.

Ikoma infected by black blood

When the station is attacked he proves his ammunition works but is bitten in the process. He manages to stop the spread of the virus to his head by iron braces that block his carotid arteries. He then transforms into something between human and kabane. Mumei (Sayaka Senbongi), a young girl similarly transformed, tells him they are kabaneri. They are artificially produced (we get her back story later) and keep their memories and personalities – though they live with the fear of eventually becoming kabane. Male kabaneri are very rare, it transpires, but both sexes heal quickly (though they do not regenerate and therefore lost limbs are forever lost) and both need to drink blood to survive.

the Black Smoke

Later we see the “black smoke” a hive of kabane that becomes a creature in its own right. The heart of the black smoke (which again must be destroyed to stop it) is a female kabaneri who has been treated with so called black blood. A male kabaneri, so treated, would just become more powerful and burn out quickly. Both could be cured by being injected with white blood. These blood serums have been developed by scientists in the employ of the show’s primary villain.

apocalypse, streampunk style

And this is the crux of any issue around the show. The animation is excellent but the plot is thin. It is essentially a steampunk apocalypse and whilst we known that there is a virus at the core it doesn’t explain why the undead have glowing iron parts, we must take that on trust, and it doesn’t even attempt a pseudoscience explanation around the serums – they just are. The main villain’s motivations are almost puerile and struggle to withstand scrutiny. That said the fighting is excellent and the action engaging. But is it Vamp?

If there were just the kabane then I think we’d lean towards zompires but the kabaneri are definitely vampire. They are stronger and faster than humans, they need blood to survive and they are derived from something that produces the undead. The imdb page is here.