One of Anime’s Biggest Zombie Series Has Released a New Anime Episode
Throughout the history of anime, horror has been a genre that many feel hasn’t received as much attention as it does in North America. Junji Ito, for example, has been a master of horror, and many of his creepy campfire stories have been brought to the screen. Many horror stories have carved a niche out for themselves with original stories, one of which has remained a premier example of zombies done “right” within the anime medium. Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress first arrived in 2016, and to celebrate ten years since the anime undead landed, a new anime installment has arrived.
The new Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress short episode sees Wit Studio return to the driver’s seat, focusing on Mumei Ranman as she attempts to discover a hidden threat within the train itself. While this new story doesn’t act as a sequel to the original series, it does bring back some of the fan-favorite characters who helped make this zombie anime resonate. As of the writing of this article, there are no new projects in this undead universe that have been confirmed, with the last example remaining Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress: The Battle of Unato, which was released in 2019. Alongside the new anime episode, which you can watch below, Kabaneri is also releasing a new figure of Mumei that will arrive in summer 2027.
The State of Zombies in Anime
While Hollywood is still returning to the undead well with offerings like The Walking Dead and Resident Evil, it seems that anime cannot wrap its head around highlighting the zombie universes in the same form and fashion. Kabaneri, for example, wasn’t originally based on a manga and/or light novel series, but was an entirely new property made by Wit. Even calling this original anime series a “zombie” series is debatable, according to many fans, as it features the undead who aren’t your typical “Romero-fare,” but rather, are ghouls that can move at a frantic speed and can only be killed by destroying their hearts. It’s a wild take on a classic undead trope, though Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress still found a major audience.
In terms of current zombie anime that does justice to the shambling dead, series like Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead and Zombieland Saga have carried the torch. Unlike Kabaneri, however, these premises blend far more humor into their undead universes, leaving scares by the wayside to propel their stories. Here’s hoping that both horror and zombie stories continue to gain traction in the medium so we can receive more anime like Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress in the future.
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