Kantai Collection: KanColle (KanColle: Kantai Collection)

With the seas under constant threat from the hostile "Abyssal Fleet," a specialized naval base is established to counter them. Rather than standard naval weaponry, however, the base is armed with "Kanmusu"—girls who harbor the spirits of Japanese warships—possessing the ability to don weaponized gear that allows them to harness the powerful souls within themselves. Fubuki, a young Destroyer-type Kanmusu, joins the base as a new recruit; unfortunately for her, despite her inexperience and timid nature, she is assigned to the famous Third Torpedo Squadron and quickly thrust into the heat of battle. When she is rescued from near annihilation, the rookie warship resolves to become as strong as the one who saved her.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Kantai Collection is based on a Japanese free-to-play web browser game of the same name, launched in 2013.

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Sequel:

KanColle: Itsuka Ano Umi de, KanColle Movie

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Kongou

Main

Touyama, Nao
Japanese

Yuudachi

Main

Tanibe, Yumi
Japanese

Kaga

Main

Iguchi, Yuka
Japanese

Fubuki

Main

Uesaka, Sumire
Japanese

Akagi

Main

Fujita, Saki
Japanese

Mutsuki

Main

Hidaka, Rina
Japanese

Shimakaze

Supporting

Sakura, Ayane
Japanese

Hibiki

Supporting

Suzaki, Aya
Japanese

Haruna

Supporting

Touyama, Nao
Japanese

Yamato

Supporting

Taketatsu, Ayana
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Cook, Justin

Producer

Motonaga, Satoshi

Producer

WEST GROUND

Producer, Theme Song Composition, Theme Song Arrangement

Amano, Shouta

Producer, Production Manager

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Opening Theme

"Miiro (海色)" by AKINO with bless4 (eps 2-12)

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Ending Theme

	1: "Miiro (海色)" by AKINO with bless4 (eps 1)
	2: "Fubuki (吹雪)" by Shiena Nishizawa (eps 2, 4-12)
	3: "Let's not say "good-bye"" by Akagi, Kaga, Zuikaku, Kongou, Shimakaze, Fubuki (Saki Fujita, Yuka Iguchi, Iori Nomizu, Nao Touyama, Ayane Sakura, Sumire Uesaka) (eps 3)

Reviews

Dec 10, 2023

princegi888

Recommended

The concept of using shipgirls equipped with weapons from the Second World War to combat sea monsters is a novel idea that I personally found interesting. The unique aspect of these shipgirls is that each of them represents a warship model from a different country, which is particularly fascinating to me as a fan of WWII warships, and more specifically, IJN warships. However, it is worth noting that the fate of each ship is not always a desirable one.

The plot of the anime is also noteworthy. I recall an episode that highlights how the Akagi aircraft carrier required a significant amount of oil for fuel, ...

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Aug 20, 2018

SCLFI

Mixed Feelings

I shall preface this review by stating the fact that I have not played KanColle, and have extremely poor knowledge of World War II era planes, as well as events during the Pacific Theatre of that war, and this may have potentially detracted from my experience, but I digress.

KanColle is a SoL about the browser game of the same name, involving a group of anthropomorphised Japanese WWII-era warships who must fight against some alien creatures. The story for the most part takes place from the perspective of Fubuki, who is not as skilled as her comrades, but is determined to improve herself, largely out of ... admiration for Akagi. However, here lays one of KanColle's predominant shortcomings - there is a very large cast of characters and it is safe to assume a player of the game would like to see their favourite ship in action, but this is the problem. When you've got 12 episodes, and a very large cast of characters, the end result is a small amount of characters who retain a large amount of screentime, whereas the rest see next to none, and this is quite problematic due to the fact it often becomes a bit of a jumbled mess of characters, none of which the viewer comes to particularly care about. Additionally, the characters that are given significant screentime aren't the most in-depth either, with the show often relying on simple catchphrases and uninteresting formulaic quirks, rather than anything particularly substantial. I can't really think of anything major about any of the characters, beyond Kongou speaking in Engrish a lot and Yuudachi ending all her sentences with 'poi'.

But this isn't all KanColle rests on, it's a story of two halves - the moe and character interactions, but also the action, so how does the action fare? All things considered, I'd say quite well. The show does make considerable usage of CGI (which I found less intrusive than I normally do, I theorise due to the fact all the fighting takes place in water, so it doesn't look as out of place). The action isn't anything to write home about, it's serviceable, but also a bit forgettable, and I'd say this could apply to the entirety of KanColle. It's not bad by any means, but it's just all too average to really keep you excited or emotionally invested or anything. Oddly enough, the finale, which should be expected to be the strongest episode, I'd wager to be the weakest. Climaxing with a recreation of the Battle of Midway, no doubt the most important battle for the IJN or Japan as a whole during the war, it was all a bit underwhelming. You really don't get a strong feel for the huge scale of the battle, and I'm not going to critique the lack of historical accuracy, as ultimately the only thing KanColle has in common with actual naval battles of WW2 are the names of the ships, but it just seemed an awfully poor missed opportunity. It's just so commonplace for any action series to have a huge battle at the end, wherein the main character(s) emerge victorious and celebrate, but it hardly felt any different to the minor skirmishes they'd engaged in beforehand.

The film, titled KanColle: The Movie, is unfortunately more of the same. Perhaps a little more organised than the anime in terms of usage of characters (i.e. who gets placed in, and when) and more action-oriented than the original, but it too isn't anything special.

All in all, KanColle's just average. I'd say that whatever it is you want to see, you've probably got a stronger alternative, but if it does look as though it appeals to you, then you'll most likely get what it is you expect, if you are who I presume the main target audience for this to be, and players of the game, and just want to see your favourite ship in animated form, then I think it's good enough, you'll get what you want. But for everyone else, it's not got much of a saving grace.

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Aug 31, 2022

Shirogari

Not Recommended

Kancolle is an anime that seems to be made solely for the game it is based on. If you play(ed) the game or are just here for cute girls then it might be satisfactory but don't expect much more. You will not see naval combat that makes sense but instead see fleets of six ships shooting at planes with their main guns and "instant repair buckets" which are probably a mechanic from the game.

The story itself is okayish. There is somewhat of a storyline but it is interrupted by random events. At some points the anime takes itself very seriously while at other points ...

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Poll: Kantai Collection: KanColle Episode 9 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Mar 4, 2015	115 replies	by Foreall908 »» Sep 5, 2023 2:20 AM
Poll: Kantai Collection: KanColle Episode 6 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Feb 11, 2015	130 replies	by Deazu »» Aug 1, 2023 6:53 PM
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Kantai Collection: KanColle

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

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