Takumi is Ikoma’s best friend and fellow steamsmith. At the beginning of the show there’s pretty much nothing cool about him. Takumi is the main character’s wimp friend who always keeps to himself and accepts being bossed around just so he won’t get in trouble. However, Takumi can be brave and feisty when it comes to standing up for his friends.

When Ikoma was thrown out of the Koutetsujou after his Kabane heart had been exposed, Takumi felt the need to save his friend even against everyone else’s will. Takumi may be chubby, lazy and ordinary, but he is capable of putting his own life on the line for the right cause. After all, it’s easy being a hero when you have exceptional skills, but it takes courage and balls to be heroic when you’re the average guy. That’s why Takumi is such a cool character who deserves all our respect. Plus, he’s the only funny guy in the show too. 😛

Uryuu is a very intriguing character. He’s one of Biba’s most loyal subordinates and the captain of the Kabane Hunters. We don’t really know how strong Uryuu is since we don’t get to see him fight that much, but we can get an idea based on his rank and his badass look.

This short bad-boy with blue hair exudes confidence and fears no enemy, no matter if it is human, Kabane or Kabaneri. Uryuu was in fact willing to take Ikoma when he first saw him in action, anticipating that he could become a threat to Biba later on. However Uryuu’s coolest characteristic is not actually his skills, his fearless attitude or even his awesome looks. What’s so cool about him is that, even despite the fact that he’s with the bad guys, Uryuu is completely against bullies and anyone who takes advantage of the weak. Bullies suck!

Yukina is a really cool character we’d love to see more in action. She’s a crew member of the Koutetsujou and the one in charge of driving it after the Kabane attack at Aragane. Yukina is a tough woman with nerves of steel who works great under pressure. Even though she’s just a trainee when she’s asked to take control of the Koutetsujou, Yukina is able to show right away how competent she is.

However, the reason why Yukina is such a cool character is because she looks amazing when she takes the top of her uniform off. This girl is buffed! We see this ordinary young girl with pink hair, not knowing what to expect and then… Boom! Yukina has the muscles, the attitude, and the sex appeal. As if driving a giant iron train wasn’t badass enough.

Sukari is that character who’s suspiciously smug, cynical and rude. He’s the kind of character we cannot know for sure if he’s good or bad, but we expect him to be good because we just love that bad boy attitude. Sukari is no expert in combat; actually he’s just another steamsmith who probably wouldn’t be able to defeat a Kabane, but it’s his personality that makes him so cool.

Sukari is a badass who doesn’t really care what people think of him, which is why he did such a good job at pretending to work for Biba in order to help Ikoma retake the Koutetsujou. Sukari also often appears to be cynical and pessimistic, when in fact there is usually a good reason for him to act like that. For instance, he was a bit of a jerk when he told a little boy that his father was dead, but Sukari actually did it because he deemed it was crueler to give that boy false hope. You see? Not everything is what it seems.

In the middle of this dramatic thriller filled with death and tragedy, Suzuki is the guy who makes us smile. Sadly, he’s just a supporting character who appears every now and then. Suzuki is the main steamsmith on the Koutetsujou, and a very experienced and knowledgeable one apparently. Suzuku’s background is a total mystery, since he speaks fluent Japanese but has several Westerner features.

Suzuki’s trademark is inserting perfectly pronounced English words in the middle of a phrase, which makes him sound so odd and captivating. But, as if Suzuki’s Japan-English wasn’t already cool enough, he wears the funniest British judge hairstyle. We don’t really know what to make of this guy, although we do know we love him!

Horobi’s part in the story is short but sweet. She’s an amazing character that makes the most out of her short screen time by putting on a hell of a show. Horobi is a Kabaneri just like Ikoma and Mumei, who works for Biba as one of his most trusted Kabane Hunters.

Horobi is fiercely loyal to Biba and she would do anything for him, even if that means letting him transform her into a giant Kabane monster known as a Fused Colony or Kuro Keburi (meaning “Black Smoke”). As a Kabane Hunter, Horobi is already scary enough, displaying badass fighting skills that are equal or perhaps superior to those of Mumei. However, as a Fused Colony she is absolutely dreadful and unstoppable. Horobi’s action scenes are definitely some of the coolest ones in the entire show.

Now, Kurusu is the real badass in Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress. Kurusu is Ayame Yomogawa’s personal bodyguard and he’s got the cool looks of a samurai. He has the traditional ponytail most of the time, as well as the boots, some of the armor pieces, the katana and the stance of a true samurai. Of course, Kurusu also has the most fundamental features of any good samurai; honor and loyalty.

Yes, yes, we’re not forgetting about his awesome fighting skills. Kurusu is deadly in melee combat with a katana, although an iron blade is not enough to defeat a Kabane. Luckily, Ikoma gives him a special sword that can pierce through Kabane hearts like butter and then we can see him fight these creatures like a total boss.

Biba is the main antagonist in the story. He’s the guy who roams from town to town eliminating Kabane but he also controls them and uses them as a biological weapon (haven’t we heard this before somewhere?). It’s never quite clear what exactly Biba’s ultimate goal is, other than taking revenge on his father who had left him to die ten years earlier. Then again, some men just want to watch the world burn.

As the big villain of this anime, Biba just had to be the coolest looking character, especially in order to contrast the nerdy low-born character. His looks are totally awesome, from his long pink hair to his big scary sword and his badass outfit. Of course, Biba is not just about the looks. This man behaves like a real thug prancing around with his gang killing everyone around him and talking trash like “only the strong ones survive”. Biba has got the whole bad guy package and we love that.

Mumei is the main highlight of the show. From the very first moment when we see her kicking Kabane ass and slitting throats with her sandals, we know she’s a big deal. She’s a mysterious girl who appears at Aragane during the Kabane attack and helps the locals to evacuate. Mumei is also the one who introduces Ikoma and us to the concept of Kabaneri, showing that she’s also one.

Mumei is a lovely and beautiful young girl who just gets more and more interesting in each episode. Mumei is not only deadly and ridiculously cute but she’s also scary and potentially dangerous since she’s half-Kabane and she needs human blood to survive. Obviously, she also has her soft side and she ends up being very fond of Ikoma, developing some sort of brother and sister relationship. Mumei’s got it all, she’s awesome!

Main characters are usually pretty basic and predictable, and even though Ikoma is not precisely the opposite of that, he has managed to constantly amaze us and to keep us coming for more. Ikoma is an average steamsmith who works at Aragane station and who completely loathes the murder of people out of fear. As such, he makes us of his high intellect to come up with weapons that are capable of piercing through the iron Kabane hearts.

Ikoma may start as a nerdy engineer but he immediately becomes a Kabaneri, calling everyone’s attention (to his disgrace). With this transformation, he becomes increasingly powerful. Of course, with great power comes great looks. A part of his already cool green hair becomes white and his skin turns a bit green, making him look more like those zombie-creatures.

However, Ikoma goes through the ultimate makeover during the last episodes of the show. By the end, we get to see Ikoma with a much shorter hairstyle featuring a very fashionable blinding bang, his weapon attached to his amputated right arm and the most badass expression on his face. Now he’s the fearsome main character we’ve been expecting.