Kantai Collection

Kantai Collection
Developer(s)	Kadokawa Games
Publisher(s)	DMM.com
Director(s)	Kensuke Tanaka
Producer(s)	Kensuke Tanaka (Kadokawa Games) Michio Okamiya (DMM.com) Yoshimi Yasuda (Kadokawa Games)
Designer(s)	Kensuke Tanaka
Artist(s)	at least 15
Composer(s)	Hiroshiusami, Kaori Ohkoshi, Michio Okamiya[1]
Platform(s)	Adobe Flash
Release date(s)	JP April 23, 2013
Genre(s)	online card battle game
Distribution	Web browser Note: For personal computers only with at least 1GB browser cache; access via smartphones or tablets is explicitly forbidden by DMM.com staff, due to excessive server load resulting from repeated downloading of the game's client files whilst using such devices.

Kantai Collection (艦隊これくしょん, Kantai Korekushon, lit. "Combined Fleet Collection"), abbreviated as KanColle (艦これ, KanKore), is a Japanese free-to-play online social card game developed by Kadokawa Games.^[2][3] The game was launched on April 23, 2013.^[4] A television anime series and PlayStation Vita game has been announced.^[5][6][7]

Gameplay

The gameplay is centred upon a mobage-type card battle game, with individual characters represented by various cards with different attributes. Each of the characters are moe anthropomorphisms of World War II naval warships which are depicted as cute girls, known as "Fleet girls" (艦娘, kanmusu). These personified warships are based on real-life vessels which are explained in detail within the game; the physical characteristics, appearances and personalities of each of the girls correlate in some way to the real-life vessel (for example, ships with a larger displacement tonnage are often depicted with larger breasts, with the notable exception of a few aircraft carriers). The player takes on the role of an admiral (提督, teitoku) and organises their fleets in battle in order to win. Combat is largely automated, and manual actions by the player include micromanagement such as building and repairing.^[2][8] The player can organise up to four different fleets.^[9]

The player progresses through the game by advancing through maps, gaining experience points through grinding, obtaining new fleet girls whilst repairing and resupplying existing ones, and fulfilling quests to obtain resources. New equipment can be crafted, allowing the fleet girls to equip different armaments depending on the situation. Acquisition of new kanmusu by the player can occur via drops on map or via crafting, and is heavily RNG-based; randomisation is also a key component of the battle mechanism, map progression and equipment development.^[9] Construction, resupply and repair of ships is reliant upon four types of resources, namely fuel, ammunition, steel and bauxite; these supplies will gradually increase automatically as time passes. Players can choose to engage in expeditions, sorties and quests to further increase their supplies as well.^[9]

Ships can be customised through the addition of various equipment within their empty slots, which add attribute bonuses and even provide special effects in some cases; such equipment include naval guns, anti-aircraft guns, torpedoes, torpedo bombers, dive bombers, fighter aircraft, seaplanes, recon planes, radars, steam turbines, special artillery shells, depth charges, sonars, and anti-torpedo bulges. The effectiveness of ships in combat depend on its attribute parameters, namely hitpoints, armour, evasion, aircraft capacity, speed, attack range, firepower, torpedo, anti-air, anti-submarine, line-of-sight, and luck.

Kanmusu are capable of becoming stronger as they gain experience and level up after battles, and can also be remodeled into more advanced models once they reach a certain level. Unwanted kanmusu can also be "fed" to other kanmusu through a process known as "modernisation" (近代化改修, kindaika kaishu), which grants attribute bonuses to one ship in exchange for losing another.^[9] Ships can become fatigued once it accumulates after sorties; fatigued ships have decreased attributes, whilst sparkling ships have increased attributes. Fatigue can be alleviated by allowing ships some time to rest, or by recovering the fleet's morale using Japanese food supply ship Mamiya. As ships become damaged, their icons begin to blow off smoke and their clothing become visually torn and battered; in the event when a ship's durability drops down to zero, it is considered sunk, and the player will lose the fleet girl.^[9] Players cannot resurrect fleet girls that have been lost unless they are in possession of an emergency repair item, and are only able to re-train ships that have been lost from scratch.

Players can choose to battle against the fleets of other real-life players on the same game server via the exercise maneuvers menu. Players are also able to compete with each other's scores via in-game ranking boards. As of December 2013, there are 15 servers that can be played on,^[10] each named after a World War II-era Japanese naval base.^[9] Whilst the game is free-to-play, special premium bonuses can be obtained through prepaid game money and credit card micropayments, such as repair dock expansions and special consumable items.^[11] The game is currently intended to be played by a Japanese domestic audience only, with the interface exclusively in the Japanese language. As of present, the game cannot be played outside of Japan without the use of a VPN; utilisation of such methods to access the game breach the DMM.com online game terms of use, however.^[12] From August 2013 onwards, new player registrations are only available via periodic lottery, due to the servers being overloaded by large numbers of new registrants.^[13]

Ship types

• Battleship (戦艦): Have strong power and defense, whilst requiring large quantities of resources. A battleship on either side grants a second attack turn for both the player and enemy fleets.
• Aircraft carrier (正規空母): Allows for preemptive aerial strikes before battles. Have long repair times, are expensive to maintain, and the planes require bauxite. Cannot attack at night.
• Light aircraft carrier (軽空母): Have better fuel consumption than standard aircraft carriers and are able to damage submarines, however have lighter armour. Cannot attack at night.
• Armored aircraft carrier (装甲空母): Capable of combat operations even with medium damage.
• Seaplane carrier (水上機母艦): High enemy formation detection stats. Largely weak. Can be equipped with midget submarines and seaplanes, and can attack submarines. Can also be remodeled into light aircraft carriers.
• Heavy cruiser (重巡洋艦): Able to deal significant damage, and are fuel efficient. Have decent overall stats, however does not excel in any particular areas.
• Light cruiser (軽巡洋艦): Strong anti-submarine type, effective during night combat. Have low endurance, and serve as a support role. Though slightly stronger than destroyers, firepower and armour is still limited. Cheap to maintain.
• Destroyer (駆逐艦): Good for night battles and anti-submarine warfare, in addition to being cheap to maintain with their good fuel and repair rate. Boasts a high evasion rate, however also have low armour and firepower.
• Torpedo cruiser (重雷装巡洋艦): Remodeled from certain light cruisers. Capable of deploying midget submarines, allowing a preemptive torpedo strike.
• Submarine (潜水艦): Have low health and limited damage output from its torpedo attacks, however use very small amounts of resources, and can only be attacked by certain ship types. Have a high evasion rate, however are weak against ships equipped with depth charges or sonar. Capable of attacking preemptively.
• Submarine aircraft carrier (潜水空母): Capable of carrying seaplanes.
• Aerial battleship (航空戦艦): Remodeled from certain battleships. Deals less firepower than standard battleships, however can avoid becoming T-crossed via aerial observation and the planes have a low bauxite usage. Seaplanes are able to attack submarines.
• Aerial cruiser (航空巡洋艦): Remodeled from certain heavy cruisers. Deals less firepower than standard heavy cruisers, however can avoid becoming T-crossed and the planes have a low bauxite usage.
• Amphibious warfare ship (揚陸艦): Largely useless during combat. Autogyros play an anti-submarine role, whilst equipped landing crafts add a resource bonus to expeditions.

It is planned for coastal defense ships (海防艦) to be eventually added to the game in future; the developers anticipate that these ships will play an anti-submarine role, and will feature a more cute and childish character design, reason being that coastal defense ships are smaller in size compared to destroyers.^[14]

Fleet girls

Upon the debut of the game, there were a total of 94 different fleet girls available. Within an update introduced May 15–17, 2013, additional fleet girls were added. On September 11, 2013 the first non-Japanese vessel, Soviet destroyer Verniy (Верный), was introduced into the game.^[15] There are future plans to add additional ships from other countries.^[16] Presently there are 125 original girls in addition to 27 upgraded variants, bringing the total number of fleet girls to 152. The game currently holds spaces for 200 different types of fleet girls. Different fleet girls are illustrated by different artists; artists involved in the drawing of various characters include Shibafu,^[17] Shizuma Yoshinori,^[18] Konishi,^[18] Kūrokuro,^[19] Mikoto Akemi and 9 other artists.^[1] Fumikane Shimada, who was previously the lead character designer for Strike Witches and Girls und Panzer, created the designs and illustrations for Japanese armored aircraft carrier Taihō.^[20]

The traits of each fleet girl are based on aspects of the historical ship they are based on; for instance, Japanese battleship Kongō uses gratuitous English words in her speech within the game since she was built in England, whilst Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi is depicted as a heavy eater and Japanese destroyer Shimakaze is depicted as a speedy girl in artworks and official print media, since the Akagi consumed large amounts of fuel and the Shimakaze was one of the fastest destroyer ships of World War II.^[21] Characters which share particular links also have similar physical traits: ships of the same class may have similar accessories or clothing, whilst all submarines are depicted as wearing sukumizu.

Voice actors have been employed to voice the fleet girls, with a maximum of 10 fleet girls being voiced by one actor. The complete list of voice actors involved has not yet been published.

Voice actors

Voiced by: Saki Fujita
Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi[22] Japanese battleship Fusō[23] Japanese battleship Yamashiro[23] Japanese destroyer Kagerō[24] Japanese destroyer Shiranui[24] Japanese destroyer Kuroshio[1] Japanese destroyer Yukikaze[1]
Voiced by: Yuka Ōtsubo
Japanese light aircraft carrier Hiyō[25] Japanese light aircraft carrier Jun'yō[25] Japanese battleship Ise[22] Japanese battleship Hyūga[22] Japanese light cruiser Kitakami[18] Japanese light cruiser Ōi[22] Japanese heavy cruiser Furutaka[25] Japanese heavy cruiser Kako[25]
Voiced by: Nao Tōyama
Japanese battleship Haruna[22] Japanese battleship Kongō[26] Japanese battleship Hiei[27] Japanese battleship Kirishima[28] Japanese heavy cruiser Takao[23] Japanese heavy cruiser Atago[29] Japanese heavy cruiser Maya[23] Japanese heavy cruiser Chōkai[23] Japanese destroyer Shikinami[22] Japanese destroyer Ayanami[1]
Voiced by: Aya Suzaki
Japanese light aircraft carrier Hōshō[1] Japanese heavy cruiser Mogami[22] Japanese heavy cruiser Aoba[1] Japanese destroyer Akatsuki[23] Japanese destroyer Hibiki / Soviet destroyer Verniy[23] Japanese destroyer Ikazuchi[23] Japanese destroyer Inazuma[23]
Voiced by: Risa Taneda
Japanese light aircraft carrier Shōhō[1] Japanese heavy cruiser Myōkō[22] Japanese heavy cruiser Nachi[23] Japanese heavy cruiser Ashigara[30] Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro[23] Japanese destroyer Samidare[23] Japanese destroyer Suzukaze[1]
Voiced by: Yuka Iguchi
Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga[22] Japanese light cruiser Tatsuta[22] Japanese light cruiser Tenryū[22] Japanese heavy cruiser Tone[31] Japanese heavy cruiser Chikuma[1] Japanese light cruiser Nagara[1] Japanese light cruiser Isuzu[1] Japanese light cruiser Natori[1]
Voiced by: Sumire Uesaka
Japanese aircraft carrier Sōryū[32] Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryū[33] Japanese destroyer Fubuki[22] Japanese destroyer Isonami[22] Japanese destroyer Shirayuki[23] Japanese destroyer Hatsuyuki[23] Japanese destroyer Miyuki[23] Japanese destroyer Murakumo[23]
Voiced by: Rina Hidaka
Japanese light aircraft carrier Ryūjō[23] Japanese destroyer Mutsuki[22] Japanese destroyer Kisaragi[23] Japanese destroyer Satsuki[23] Japanese destroyer Fumizuki[23] Japanese destroyer Nagatsuki[23] Japanese destroyer Kikuzuki[23] Japanese destroyer Mikazuki[23] Japanese destroyer Mochizuki[23]
Voiced by: Ayane Sakura
Japanese battleship Nagato[23] Japanese battleship Mutsu[23] Japanese light cruiser Kuma[1] Japanese light cruiser Tama[1] Japanese light cruiser Kiso[1] Japanese light cruiser Sendai[1] Japanese light cruiser Jintsu[1] Japanese light cruiser Naka[1] Japanese destroyer Shimakaze[23]
Voiced by: Ayana Taketatsu
Japanese battleship Yamato[26] Japanese destroyer Yūgumo[1] Japanese destroyer Akigumo[1] Japanese destroyer Makigumo Japanese destroyer Naganami[1]
Voiced by: Megumi Nakajima
Japanese heavy cruiser Mikuma[34] Japanese heavy cruiser Kinugasa[1] Japanese submarine I-58[17] Japanese submarine I-168[17]
Voiced by: Sarah Emi Bridcutt
Japanese light cruiser Yūbari[35] Japanese destroyer Maikaze[34] Japanese destroyer Hatsukaze[1] Japanese heavy cruiser Suzuya[1] Japanese heavy cruiser Kumano[1]
Voiced by: Iori Nomizu
Japanese aircraft carrier Shōkaku[1] Japanese aircraft carrier Zuikaku[1] Japanese light cruiser Kinu[1] Japanese light cruiser Abukuma[31]
Voiced by: Mana Komatsu
Japanese light aircraft carrier Zuihō[1]
Voiced by: Kozue Hayasaka
Japanese destroyer Sazanami[1] Japanese destroyer Oboro[1] Japanese destroyer Akebono[1] Japanese destroyer Ushio[1]
Voiced by: Motoko Kobayashi
Japanese destroyer Hatsuharu[1] Japanese destroyer Nenohi[1] Japanese destroyer Wakaba[1] Japanese destroyer Hatsushimo[1]
Voiced by: Wakana Miyakawa
Japanese seaplane carrier Chitose[36] Japanese seaplane carrier Chiyoda[1] Japanese destroyer Asashio[1] Japanese destroyer Ōshio[1] Japanese destroyer Michishio[1] Japanese destroyer Arashio[1] Japanese destroyer Arare[1] Japanese destroyer Kasumi[1]
Voiced by: Yumi Tanibe
Japanese light cruiser Yura[1] Japanese destroyer Shigure[37] Japanese destroyer Shiratsuyu[1] Japanese destroyer Murasame[1] Japanese destroyer Yūdachi[1]
Voiced by: Mariya Ise
Japanese submarine aircraft carrier I-401[38]
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto
Japanese amphibious warfare ship Akitsu Maru Japanese submarine Maru-yu Japanese armored aircraft carrier Taihō
Uncredited
Japanese light cruiser Agano Japanese light cruiser Noshiro Japanese light cruiser Yahagi Japanese battleship Musashi Japanese submarine I-19 Japanese submarine I-8 Japanese destroyer Yayoi Japanese destroyer Uzuki

Development

Prior to Kantai Collection, the majority of games published by DMM.com were R-18+ adult online games. In an effort to attract customers from a wider audience, DMM.com experimented with Kantai Collection in partnership with Kadokawa Games; by November 2013, Kantai Collection accounted for 30-40% of DMM.com's total online game business.^[39]

Media

Print media

A bi-monthly online web manga by Momoi Ryōta began serialization from April 23, 2013 in the Famitsu Comic Clear. The manga follows a 4koma format, and features a storyline with the fleet girls enrolled in schools, where senior girls teach battle techniques to their juniors. Momoi Ryōta's 4koma manga will be released in print book format under the title KanColle: Fubuki, Ganbarimasu! (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- 4コマコミック 吹雪、がんばります!) beginning from December 14, 2013. Famitsu Comic Clear has introduced an additional manga adaptation by Shōtarō Harada under the title Naval Base Communications (鎮守府通信, Chinjufu tsūshin).^[40]　The Famitsu website also hosts a web comic by Mizutaki which focuses on gameplay aspects of Kantai Collection.^[41]

In addition, another manga series by Sasayuki featuring the title KanColle side:Kongō (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- side:金剛) was serialized in Comptiq from December 2013 onwards,^[18] with a story based on the adventures of battleship Kongō.^[42][43] A manga illustrated by Sakae Saitō titled KanColle: Someday as the Seas turn Calm (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- いつか静かな海で, Itsuka shizuka na umi de) began serialisation in Monthly Comic Alive on November 27, 2013, with a focus on an original story revolving around Tenryū and Tatsuta.^[40][44][45]

A manga titled KanColle: Torpedo Squadron Chronicles (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- 水雷戦隊クロニクル, Suirai sentai kuronikuru) and illustrated by Yasuhiro Miyama began serialisation in the November 2013 issue of Comp Ace, with the plot focusing on the Akatsuki sisters.^[46] Age Premium will feature a manga publication by Nanaroku titled KanColle: nanodesu. (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- なのです。) starting from January 2014, with Inazuma as the main character.^[47]

A manga series titled KanColle: Shimakaze Whirlwind Girl (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- 島風 つむじ風の少女) by Yamazaki Kazuma is planned to begin serialisation within the Dengeki Maoh magazine in February 2014.^[48][49]

A light novel based on the game has been announced under the title KanColle: Kagerō, Setting Sail! (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- 陽炎、抜錨します！, Kagerō, batsubyō shimasu!),^[50] written by Tsukiji Toshihiko and illustrated by NOCO.^[51][52] It was released on November 30, 2013.^[50] A short story series featuring aircraft carriers Zuikaku and Shōkaku written by Hiroki Uchida and illustrated by Mataro, titled KanColle: Bonds of the Wings of Cranes (艦隊これくしょん ‐艦これ‐鶴翼の絆, Kakuyoku no kizuna), will begin serialisation within the January 2014 issue of Dragon Magazine.^[42] A novel project featuring aircraft carriers Kaga and Akagi involving the illustrator Koruri and the authors Siidekei, Kazuyuki Takami and Bakagane has been announced,^[42] with the title A day at a certain naval base: Clear weather today, but there's nothing around (とある鎮守府の一日「本日天気晴朗ナレドナニモナシ」).

Comptiq, Dengeki Comics, DNA Comics and Famitsu Comic Clear have also published numerous series of comic compilation books which each contain a collection of various one-shot manga.

Publications

Supplementary media
2013-09-30, Kantai Collection: Chinjufu Seikatsu no Susumu, Volume 1 (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- 鎮守府生活のすゝめ Vol.1). Enterbrain. ISBN 978-4047292338. 2013-12-06, Kantai Collection: Chinjufu Seikatsu no Susumu, Volume 2 (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- 鎮守府生活のすゝめ Vol.2). Enterbrain. ISBN 978-4047293830. 2013-10-18, KanColle White Paper: Kantai Collection Official Book (艦これ白書: 艦隊これくしょん オフィシャルブック). Kadokawa Shoten. ISBN 978-4047318755. 2013-12-18, Kantai Collection: Taishinkai seikan famima kantai sakusen yōkō (艦これ 対深海棲艦 ファミマ艦隊 作戦要綱). Famima.com. ISBN 978-4907292126. 2014-03-26, Kantai Collection: Ship Girl Catalogue (艦隊これくしょん ‐艦これ‐ 艦娘型録). Kadokawa Shoten. ISBN 978-4041106341.
Comic anthologies
Comptiq 2013-11-26, Kantai Collection - Comic à la Carte: Maizuru Naval District Compilation, Volume 1 (艦隊これくしょん‐艦これ‐コミックアラカルト 舞鶴鎮守府編 壱). Kadokawa Shoten. ISBN 978-4041209714. 2013-12-10, Kantai Collection - Comic à la Carte: Maizuru Naval District Compilation, Volume 2 (艦隊これくしょん‐艦これ‐コミックアラカルト 舞鶴鎮守府編 弐). Kadokawa Shoten. ISBN 978-4041209899. 2014-02-26, Kantai Collection - Comic à la Carte: Maizuru Naval District Compilation, Volume 3 (艦隊これくしょん‐艦これ‐コミックアラカルト 舞鶴鎮守府編 参). Kadokawa Shoten. ISBN 978-4041210192. Dengeki Comics NEXT 2013-11-27, Kantai Collection - Dengeki Comics Anthology: Sasebo Naval District Compilation, Volume 1 (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- 電撃コミックアンソロジー 佐世保鎮守府編(1)). ASCII Media Works. ISBN 978-4048661867. 2014-01-27, Kantai Collection - Dengeki Comics Anthology: Sasebo Naval District Compilation, Volume 2 (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- 電撃コミックアンソロジー 佐世保鎮守府編(2)). ASCII Media Works. ISBN 978-4048663427. DNA Comics 2013-10-25, Kantai Collection - Comic Anthology: Kure Naval District Compilation (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- コミックアンソロジー 呉鎮守府編). Ichijinsha. ISBN 978-4758007832. Famitsu Comic Clear 2013-09-14, Kantai Collection - Anthology Comic: Yokosuka Naval District Compilation, Volume 1 (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- アンソロジーコミック 横須賀鎮守府編(1)). Enterbrain. ISBN 978-4047291348. 2013-11-15, Kantai Collection - Anthology Comic: Yokosuka Naval District Compilation, Volume 2 (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- アンソロジーコミック 横須賀鎮守府編(2)). Enterbrain. ISBN 978-4047292833. 2014-01-14, Kantai Collection - Anthology Comic: Yokosuka Naval District Compilation, Volume 3 (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- アンソロジーコミック 横須賀鎮守府編(3)). Enterbrain. ISBN 978-4047294103.
Manga series (tankōbon)
Fubuki, Ganbarimasu! 2013-12-14, Momoi Ryōta, Kantai Collection: Fubuki, Ganbarimasu! Volume 1 (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- 4コマコミック 吹雪、がんばります! 1). Enterbrain. ISBN 978-4047293335. Someday as the Seas turn Calm 2014-03-22, Sakae Saitō, Kantai Collection: Someday as the Seas turn Calm, Volume 1 (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- いつか静かな海で 1巻). Media Factory. ISBN 978-4040662916. side:Kongō 2014-05-26, Sasayuki, Kantai Collection side:Kongō, Volume 1 (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- side:金剛 (1)). Kadokawa Shoten. ISBN 978-4041210024. Torpedo Squadron Chronicles 2014-06-10, Yasuhiro Miyama, Kantai Collection: Torpedo Squadron Chronicles, Volume 1 (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- 水雷戦隊クロニクル (1)). Kadokawa Shoten. ISBN 978-4041210017.
Light novels
2013-11-30, Tsukiji Toshihiko, Kantai Collection: Kagerō, Setting Sail! (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ-　陽炎、抜錨します!). Enterbrain. ISBN 978-4047292666. 2014-02-28, Tsukiji Toshihiko, Kantai Collection: Kagerō, Setting Sail! Vol.2 (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ-　陽炎、抜錨します! 2). Enterbrain. ISBN 978-4047294615. 2014-02-01, Kazuyuki Takami, Kantai Collection: 1st Carrier Division, Heading Off! (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- 一航戦、出ます!). Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. ISBN 978-4041011980. 2014-02-20, Hiroki Uchida, Kantai Collection: Bonds of the Wings of Cranes (艦隊これくしょん -艦これ-　鶴翼の絆). Fujimi Shobo. ISBN 978-4040700328.

KanColle Kai

KanColle Kai
Developer(s)	Kadokawa Games
Publisher(s)	Kadokawa Games
Producer(s)	Kensuke Tanaka
Platform(s)	PlayStation Vita
Release date(s)	JP 2014

A PlayStation Vita game titled KanColle Kai (艦これ改) was announced during Kadokawa Games' 2013 Autumn media briefing, and is due for a 2014 release. The game will be the second title independently created by Kadokawa Game Studio, after Natural Doctrine.^[5][7]

Anime

A television anime series has been announced, and is scheduled to air in 2014.^[5][6] The series will be animated by Diomedea, and will feature Fubuki as the main character, with the storyline based on her point of view.^[53][54] It will be directed by Keizou Kusakawa, and the script will be written by Jukki Hanada.^[55] The anime series is planned to feature the voice cast from the original game.^[40][56]

Plot

Whilst the original game does not have a particular storyline, and largely focuses on gameplay, each of the official media works feature various settings with separate and differing canons. Not only do the stories differ, but also the depictions and interpretations of fleet girls and the manner in which they engage in combat.

KanColle: Bonds of the Wings of Cranes

Within the story of Bonds of the Wings of Cranes, the setting is within a universe where World War II never took place. The fleet of the Abyss, consisting of monster ships, lock down access to the seas and fire upon aircraft. Japanese soil is invaded, and the battlegrounds are littered with destroyed vessels. Zuikaku, having taken a humanoid form, remembers a time where she was once a ship, however does not know the reason behind her human form. The fleet girls live within an old-fashioned hotel which doubles as the girls' dormitory, and is close to a nearby factory which services combat equipment. The admiral of the fleet is a young man who behaves like a pervert, fond of groping the ship girls and playing with their skirts, although his personality does become serious when commanding the fleet. As the ship girls and abyssal fleets engage in combat, both sides are guarded by a protective barrier. The aircraft carriers Akagi and Kaga are depicted as firing archery arrows from a bow which then transform into fighter planes.

KanColle: Someday as the Seas turn Calm

This manga adaptation focuses on the adventures of the Tenryū Torpedo Squadron as they engage in search and destroy patrols and respond to distress calls. Within this manga, ship girls are depicted as flying on the water surface whilst in combat against the abyss fleet of monster ships, and launch aircraft managed by tiny fairies in a conventional manner from their body attachments. Artillery and torpedo combat is shown to be performed at long range, whilst anti-submarine warfare takes place in close quarters.

KanColle: Shimakaze Whirlwind Girl

This manga depicts the story of a newly appointed, rookie officer by the name of Ensign Akai who arrives at the Maizuru Naval Base for duty as the assistant to the vice-admiral, however has to deal with a stubborn and difficult Shimakaze who spends most of her time alone, and does not have any friends.

KanColle: Fubuki, Ganbarimasu!

This slice of life 4koma depicts the everyday life of the ship girls at the fleet training school, where newly manufactured ship girls spend one year learning knowledge before setting out to sea. Most of the scenarios are taken from the point of view of Fubuki, and feature the girls doing fun things with one another, which include attending school, drinking tea, and celebrating Halloween and Christmas. The ship girls retain memories of their previous lives from World War II, at times displaying signs of posttraumatic stress disorder. This manga depicts the ship girls as being able to walk on the surface of the water.

Merchandise and other collaborations

Merchandise based on the game have been launched as a result of the success of the online game, proliferation of derivative works, and strong interest in the franchise. PVC figurines have been announced, including Nendoroid and Figma figurines of both Shimakaze and Akagi,^[57][58] in addition to a 1/7 scale PVC display figurine of a severely damaged Kongō designed and manufactured by Max Factory.^[59] There have also been reports of Kadokawa filing trademarks for KanColle-themed arcade systems.^[60]

In September 2013, a collaborative project between Kantai Collection and the Arpeggio of Blue Steel anime was announced.^[61] Illustrators for Kantai Collection are responsible for drawing some of the anime end cards for Arpeggio of Blue Steel, which feature crossovers with Kantai Collection characters.^[62] An Arpeggio of Blue Steel in-game special event for Kantai Collection also took place from 24 December 2013 to 8 January 2014.^[63]

Reception

Due to the high popularity of the game within Japan, game operators have created larger numbers of servers within early 2013 to account for the influx of players.^[2] During August 2013, the number of new players spiked by 100,000 people within one week, to a total of 600,000 people, with 350,000 daily active players.^[13] By September 2013, it was reported that there were more than 800,000 players that were regularly active.^[15] The total number of players broke past 1,000,000 on 9 October 2013.^[64] As of January 2014, there are 1.5 million players.^[65] One commonly cited explanation behind the success of the game is that players aren't forced to spend money to play unlike other popular Japanese online social games; the free-to-play nature of Kantai Collection makes in-game purchases optional, and not a necessity.^[9] It is estimated that on average, Kantai Collection players spend less money on the game compared to the popular Japanese games Puzzle & Dragons, The Idolmaster: Cinderella Girls and Love Live! School Idol Festival.^[66] From an aggregation consisting of 18,000 participants analysed by 4gamer, Kantai Collection was the most played online game in Japan during Winter 2013.^[67]

Interest in Kantai Collection has significantly risen over the months following its release, to the point where it has often been compared with the fandom of Touhou Project as an emerging viral fandom. There has been a large increase in online activity and fan-created material relating to the game, such as fan-made artworks, doujinshi and other derivative content.^[68][69] As of September 2013, there are over 30,000 artworks on Pixiv tagged with "KanColle",^[52] and by October 2013, KanColle-related videos on Niconico were watched 36 million times.^[70] During Comiket 85, there were 1,136 dōjin circles producing works for Kantai Collection, placing third behind Touhou Project (2,272 circles) and Kuroko's Basketball (1,462 circles), and ahead of The Idolmaster and Vocaloid;^[71][72] this is a significant increase over the previous Comiket 84 event, which only had just over 100 circles with Kantai Collection works.^[73]

On 12 December 2013, Twitter officially released the top hashtags of 2013; #艦これ was the most used hashtag among Japanese Twitter users.^[74][75] The game was also the eighth most searched term within Japan on Google in 2013.^[76] On 30 December 2013, GameSpark named Kantai Collection as the online game category title for its game of the year awards of 2013, ahead of runners-up League of Legends, World of Tanks and Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.^[77] A survey of 151 different prominent Japanese game developers conducted by 4gamer asked what each developer considered to be the best game of 2013; nine of these developers selected Kantai Collection.^[78] Among these developers, Naoki Yoshida of Square Enix, who produced and directed Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, stated that Kantai Collection is Japan's answer to World of Tanks, and that he was impressed by the business model;^[79] meanwhile, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA director Seiji Hayashi of Sega referred to the game as "innovative".^[80] Kantai Collection was named "Rookie of the Year" during the WebMoney 2013 Awards, as a new entrant to the games market.^[81]

Speaking at a symposium held by Kadokawa ASCII Research Institute on 27 September 2013, the chairman of the board of directors of Kadokawa Group Holdings, Yoshihiko Kadokawa, stated that despite the game's popularity, Kantai Collection is nearly unprofitable for the company, in part due to the game being funded by various company partnerships. Kadokawa's stock price rose by 1000 yen within June 2013, following the initial rise of the game. It is expected that Kadokawa will need to rely on sales of intellectual property media works such as books and manga in order to raise profits.^[82] Kadokawa Games president Yoshimi Yasuda affirms that the free-to-play business model of the game will not change despite reports of a lack of revenue gain.^[83]

Tsukiji Toshihiko's light novel Kantai Collection: Kagerō, Setting Sail! sold 16,624 copies within its first week of release, placing 11th place within the Oricon book ranking charts.^[84] Also debuting the same week were the Sasebo Naval District Compilation Vol.1 and Maizuru Naval District Compilation Vol.1 comic anthologies, which sold 59,552 copies and 58,110 copies respectively.^[85] In mid-November 2013, Yokosuka Naval District Compilation Vol.1 sold 48,909 copies during its first week, placing 10th place among all comic sales.^[86] The KanColle White Paper official book published by Kadokawa placed third place overall within the Oricon book charts during its debut week in October 2013, selling 46,039 copies.^[87]

An editorial within the South Korean Hankook Ilbo on 4 November 2013 accuses that the strong popularity of the game is due to a conservative political shift amongst young people in Japan following long-term economic recession and political instability, and that the game majestifies the wartime Imperial Japanese Navy.^[88]

References

External links

• Main site at DMM
• KanColle at Kadokawa Games
• KanColle manga at Famitsu Comic Clear
• Official Vita game website
• Official anime website