'Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress' Teases New Project

The manga adaptation of Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress will reportedly come to an end in just three [...]

By Michael Hein

The manga adaptation of Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress will reportedly come to an end in just three more chapters, but something else may lie in store when it's finished.

The manga is adapted from an original anime by the same name, but it may be cut short. The latest issue of Mag Garden's Monthly Comic Garden Magazine, which publishes the series, warns that the final chapter will likely be included in the November issue, according to Anime News Network. That means that there will be three more chapters of the monthly series, released in September, October and November.

However, there may be more to come from this unusual series, according to anime blogger Jrottjnr.

"Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress new key visual," they tweeted. "The franchise will have announcement August 30th."


It is unclear whether this tweet was referring to the report from March, stating that another movie and another video game were on the way, or to something completely new.

The manga has been running since May of 2016. Written by Shiro Yoshida, it adapts the story of the acclaimed anime to comic form. Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress was created as an animated series first. Written by ichiro Okouchi and directed by Tetsuro Araki, it had a short 12-episode run in spring of 2016. However, since then it has had numerous spin-offs and adaptations, including two movies and a video game.

The series has been praised within the industry and even won a couple of awards, and it is not hard to see why. It comes from some of the same creative minds as series like Attack on Titan, Gunbuster and Code Geass.

Meanwhile the manga has been compiled into three complete books, with another presumably on the way to finish the series. The print version of the story has been generally well-received, though it never scratched the same itch as its animated counterpart. In March, Wit Studio revealed that another movie is in production, as well as another video game.

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is set in a post-apocalyptic, steam punk-inspired world. In it, a mysterious virus emerged during the industrial revolution, transforming its victims into a type of zombie called Kabane. Rather than their brains, Kabane are kept alive by their glowing hearts, which are insulated by a layer of lead. To kill them, they must either be hit in this organ, or have their head completely severed.

The story takes place on an island called Hinomoto, where humans live inside of "stations" -- fortresses they've built for protection from the Kabane. They can move between these stations only with the help of armored, steam-powered trains. However, the Kabane eventually learn to hijack one of these trains, crashing it into a station.

In a desperate bid for survival, a young engineer uses a "piercing gun" of his own design to try to kill the Kabane. As a result, he is turned into a Kabaneri -- a zombie-human hybrid.

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is available to viewers in the U.S. through Amazon Prime Instant Video.

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