Ikoma

Ikoma (生駒, Ikoma) is the main protagonist and a young steam smith who makes a living in Aragane Station working with steam engines. He and his friend Takumi developed a steam weapon called "Tsuranuki Zutsu" which Ikoma believes is the best way to fully destroy a Kabane.

Appearance
Ikoma is a bespectacled young man of average height and build. He has golden-brown eyes, and messy, light green hair. After being first bitten by a Kabane, his hair partially turns white due to the virus. His glasses are missing a lens on the left frame while the lens on the right frame is tinted green.

Ikoma often wears his steam smith uniform, which is considerably torn after his first encounter with the Kabane. In order to stop the Kabane virus from spreading to his brain, he bolts and brands a shoddy harness to his body, which encompasses his right shoulder and some of his right torso. He also wears a tight collar around his neck, which helps keep the virus at bay.

Personality
Ikoma is determined and foolhardy, his eyes set on making a difference in humanity's fight against the Kabane. His outstanding willpower to fight the Kabane and do the right thing often puts him in tough situations, but is also his best survival mechanism.

His greatest desire is to destroy the Kabane once and for all, which began after he witnessed the death of a loved one at their hands five years ago. However, he also maintains a keen sense of justice, prioritizing the lives of others before his own survival. After he survives being infected, he is elated at the fact that he could help others who are bitten as well.

Ikoma is a proud character who maintains his honor in spite of adversity, which clashes with his inherent desire to help others. It is because of this that he lives on to protect others aboard the Koutetsujou, despite the danger his existence poses for everybody.

Ikoma is also a tinkerer, born from his work with steam engines. He develops the Tsuranuki Zutsu with help from Takumi, which is the only known weapon that is able to pierce the caged heart of a Kabane in a single shot.

West Gate Breach Arc
Ikoma works for his imperfect steam gun, at that trial his gun failed to broke a bar of metal which is almost hard as a Kabane's heart.

He goes to his job as a steam smith and met his friend and partner in developing the steam gun and researching Kabane, Takumi. Soon, Ikoma tells Takumi how the trial was and Takumi suggested to add the explosive power. Princess Ayame Yomokawa arrived and asked her father's steam gun to be fixed. The chief called Ikoma, and he was called as "hero" by his workmates. The princess asked if he wanted to be a hero, he replied he just hate running away. The Kotetsujyo arrived the station early because of the Kabane invaded another station. Ikoma do his work cleaning and repairing the Kotetsujyo and collects Kabane's carotid artery and explains that it was bigger. He first saw Mumei here. A person was accused of being bitten by a Kabane and Ikoma exclaims that the man was not to be killed but he was to be under supervision. Ikoma was beaten by the bushi and the man was killed and Ikoma was thrown to jail.

Mumei visited Ikoma and asked him if he knew if the man was a Kabane. Ikoma explains that humanity cannot escape fear.

The Housoujyo arrives carrying nothing but Kabane, it crashes and enters the station with Kabane. As the Kabane manifested the station, Ikoma escaped from the jail and went to finished his steam gun. He uses his blood as bait. He managed to kill a Kabane but he was bitten and the virus started to infect is body. Ikoma strangled himself using a belt and a machine to stop the virus from reaching his brain. A part of his hair was changed to light green to white after the process to stop the virus.

Takumi, arrived in Ikoma's workshop and Ikoma explained that his weapon was a success but he was bitten by a Kabane and he didn't transform to one. They traveled to meet up in Kotetsujyo. They were stopped by guards. Kabane appears and Mumei kills the Kabane near the Kotetsujyo. Mumei asks Ikoma if he change his looks and smelled him and tells him that he is not normal. He was stopped by Kurusu and Mumei tells them that he is not a Kabane.

Another horde of Kabane attacks Kotetsujyo. Ikoma saved some civilians from a steam pipe, he stopped the pipe with one hand and was able to withstand the heat. A Kabane was able to penetrate the metal door, Ikoma fights off the Kabane with his new weapon. He killed the Kabane but to realize he exposed the inner of his robe; exposing his Kabane of a heart. Kurusu shot him and he was thrown out.

Soon a problem went, the switch bar for the bridge was not working so they need to use the manual bar to lower the bridge, the problem was it was outside and is swarming with Kabane. Ikoma fights off the Kabane, bitten a lot of times but he doesn't mind the pain. He lowers the manual bar and the Kotetsujyo was able to move on.

He cried due to frustration, Takumi threw out a hook. Mumei went to Ikoma's side and hooked Ikoma's feet and was dragged by Takumi. He was soon given by Kurusu a suicide bag. Mumei explains that he was not a Kabane, nor a Human. He was neither. That he was a Kabaneri.

Powers and Abilities
As a human, Ikoma is rather intelligent and thinks well on his feet. He is a good enough engineer to design the Tsuranuki Zutsu, and thinks quickly enough to stop the Kabane virus from spreading with scrap parts around his smithy. He also exhibits some skill as a lock pick as he managed to unlock his cell while Aragane station is overrun with just one hand. When under pressure, Ikoma is shown to have high pain tolerance, as he withstands bolting his metal restraints to himself and slicing his wrists.

As a Kabaneri, Ikoma's strength, physical resistance, and endurance is greatly increased. He is able to hold and bend a scalding hot pipe with his bare hands with no indication of pain. He then takes a bullet to the chest, but goes on to fight through multiple Kabane. His wounds also appear to regenerate quickly as a Kabaneri. Similarly to Mumei, he wears a restraint around his neck in the form of scrap metal, which presumably helps restrict the virus from entering his brain.