Kantai Collection: KanColle

Kantai Collection: KanColle is an Action, Comedy, Slice of life, Military, Sci-fi anime based of the web browser game created by Kadokawa Games. The anime was created by Diomedéa Studio and was aired on January 8, 2015 to March 26, 2015 and lasting for 12 episodes.

Plot
The plot follows Special Type Destroyer Fubuki, a young girl who is a Kanmusu, girls who possess a spirit of a naval vessel within themselves and use these spirits to fight the Abyssal fleet who are threatening humanity from the sea. These girls live at naval bases, where they are taught to fight the Abyssal. Fubuki is a new ... recruit at one of these naval bases upon her arrival she joins the Third Torpedo Squadron and is sent into battle despite having very limited combat training. While in battle, she is saved by Akagi, An Aircraft Carrier, and afterwards Fubuki decides that she needs to become stronger so she can fight at Akagi’s side.
The Show does a good job of explaining its story to the viewer by explaining the different kinds of Kanmusu and what the job in the fleet are. While the fighting is keep at a minimal, the focus of the show is based on Fubuki and her comrades while they train at the naval base which is interesting and funny at the same time. Now, because of the anime having so many character and character building, I going to only give the names of girls and what type of Kanmusu they are:
Fubuki, Voiced by Sumire Uesaka – Special Type Destroyer, a part of the Third Torpedo Squadron
Mutsuki, Voiced by Rina Hidaka – Destroyer, a part of the Third Torpedo Squadron
Yūdachi, Voiced by Yumi Tanibe – Destroyer, a part of the Third Torpedo Squadron
Sendai, Jintsū and Naka, Voiced by Ayane Sakura – Light Cruisers, a part of the Third Torpedo Squadron with Jintsū as Flagship.
Akagi, Voiced by Saki Fujita – Aircraft carrier, a part of the First Carrier Division
Kongō, Hiei, Haruna and Kirishima, Voiced by Nao Tōyama – Battleships, a part of the Second Fleet
Nagato and Mutsu, Voiced by Ayane Sakura – Battleships, Secretaries of the fleet.
Kitakami and Ōi, Voiced by Yuka Ōtsubo – Torpedo Cruisers

Presentation
KanColle art style uses a bright blend of colors to breathe life into the show for the viewer. Each of the characters have been given a unique personality, making them stand out compared to one another and easily recognizable to the viewer. The show uses two different animation styles: one for the action scenes and the characters every day life. The use of a different style for the action scenes helps making them more beautiful and interesting to the viewer, thus making them some of the best parts of the show. The voice acting in this is very impressive because of some voice actresses doing multiple characters especially Ayane Sakura, as some of her characters have conversations with each other and the viewer is able to tell which character is talking by their voice.


My Opinion
KanColle is an anime where I did not know much about before watching, that has made me interested in the Kantai Collection game series. The story, while it not one of the best I've seen was still enjoyable. The characters have been designed with a lot of care in terms of looks and personality, and because of this care the art style over all was appealing to me. The message I got from KanColle is that as long you keep trying your hardest, you can achieve anything you put your mind and heart to. Finally, I love the character development of Fubuki over the course of the show as she always tries her best and doesn't give up.

Verdict
KanColle is one of the anime that while looking at each part separately, like basic story or characters, is nothing special; however, when combined together makes a very interesting show. Anyone, both fans of Kantai Collection or newcomers, can enjoy its characters, art style and story. While there is better stories out there, I still recommend people to give KanColle a go as it takes a common idea and makes it something unique and new to people watching.

Finally, we get to see our shipfus animated.

Kantai Collection, or kancolle, is a browser game on DMM where you play as an admiral in charge of a number of ship girls based on WWII ships. You send the ships on sorties and expeditions in your campaign against the abyssals who has taken over Earth's ocean, all while praying to RNGesus that your construction or sortie reward yields the ship you want. Its a nice timesink and appeals a lot to its target audience, with a strong fanbase that rivals that of Touhou. With such a large and dedicated fanbase, its extremely tempting to create an ... anime adaptation to not only provide fanservice, but to also make a quick buck on its popularity. So they yielded and produced this anime. And how does it fare?

Condensed version:
Why you may pick this up:
-Plenty of fanservice (ero and non-ero) for those who have played the game
-Poi
-Kongou
-Shimakaze
-Nagamon
-Ship waifus are now animated
-OP and ED (though to be fair, if you only want the OP and ED you can just search on YT or hikari no akari)

Why you may skip this:
-Anime does a poor job of introducing game to newcomers or to people who never played kancolle.
-Newcomers and people who never played kancolle will not get the references and fanservice
-Poor plot direction and pacing
-Insufferable CG

Long version:
Story-5: This is the weakest part of the anime. The story is best described as going through an existential crisis; it does not know its purpose for existing. Does it want to tell a gripping tale about a young maiden's perilous journey through Earth's Ocean with her fellow shipgirls, or does it want to be a Madoka clone, or a SOL comedy, or to introduce newcomers to the game, or to provide fanservice for current players? It has the distinction of being all of the above, and yet somehow being none of the above at the same time. It constantly switches between those identities, like at one point the anime is trying to push the fact that a shipgirl has sunk, and at the next the Akatsuki sisters are entering a curry competition, as if that sinking never happened. It should pick an identity and stick to it. We would have been fine with the anime if all 12 episodes were just the shipgirls seating around the Teitoku's office drinking tea and eating cake, and maybe have cameos from the abyssals as well. They may as well call themselves Headquarters Tea-Time. It’s simple, cheap, fun, provides fanservice for current players, while having many opportunities to introduce the game to newcomers.

Art-7: The art is decent during the non-combat scenes. The managed to make most of the shipgirls look moe enough to keep you going. Artillery designs are all based on art from the game and WWII ships, while all the girls themselves look cute enough, unlike some of their in-game counterparts. The main problem is the CG used during the combat scenes, or when they are water skating. It is extremely jarring to watch. The framerate does not make the animation smooth, and this makes the combat scenes very hard to digest, which in turn, makes admiring the shipgirls difficult. The Character designs somehow gets downgraded as they move in a 3D plane, and ruins the entire experience. Fortunately, these scenes are not prolonged, and we quickly return to the moe 2D girls.

Sound-8: One reason you may pick up this anime. Both OP and ED are enjoyable, and the ED is one of my personal favourite ED. The soundtrack used are enjoyable to hear when used during the scene is meant for, but are ultimately forgettable. Artillery firing packs a nice explosive punch to them, and all the VAs do their jobs well enough. The VAs in this anime deserve special mention, as they actually voiced multiple ship sisters, each with their own distinct pitch and tone you could’ve sworn were completely different voice actors. Honorable mention goes to Nao Touyama, who voiced the Kongou sisters, Atago and Takao. Her voices can be extremely different from each other, from Kongou’s Engrish to Atago’s playfulness, and yet she manages to do make all 6 characters sound like they have 6 different VAs.

Characters-8: Probably the main reason one might pick up this anime. Fans of the game should ALL have a ship they are extremely fond of, and Kadokawa has recognised this, even giving players the ability to marry the ships that they like. To see them animated, with their VAs saying new unique lines and interacting with other shipgirls, is like a wet dream come true to the player base. The story follows Fubuki, one of the special-class destroyers and a starter ship in the game, as she joins fellow destroyers Yuudachi (poi) and Mutsuki in taking the Ocean back for humanity, one abyssal at a time. The character development in this show suffers because of this, as these three are the only characters that receive any development, the rest being there to provide the viewers a chance to see their shipfus animated. While the other characters are lively and fun to watch on screen, they receive little to no character development. Backstories are left in history books since these shipgirls' history are based on their WWII counterparts, like Sendai's love for night battles since she fought most of her battles at night in WWII, or how Yamato's aversion to the word 'hotel' is based on her being used mostly as a hotel in WWII and barely used for combat. Enjoyable, but unless you have played the game, they are not memorable.

Enjoyment-8: As a huge fan of the game, my enjoyment of this anime is, of course, biased, since I understand all the jokes, fanservice, and references made in this anime. To see the shipgirls that I often used in the game animated is glorious eye candy, but was shattered when they transitioned to the CG. I also found that I enjoyed the SoL moments more that the action ones. Just 2 episodes of them making curry and looking for Shimakaze are better than 10 episodes of them fighting the abyssals.

Overall-7: If you are a fan of the game the anime is based on, feel free to watch this. While the CG is painful to watch, one can get over it through the love for their shipfus. For newcomers who wants to know more about the kancolle craze or wants to know more about the game, the English Kancolle wiki the kancolle forums, Himeuta, has FAQs and general information about the game. IF you are a newcomer, play the game and fall in love with the game or a shipfu first before watching, or else most of the jokes, references and cameos will lose its appeal. For people not interested in Kancolle but is a huge anime fan, do not bother with this. A poor story focus and lack of character development in a large cast of characters brings down the anime, with an ending not worth your time. If you want to investigate what the kancolle craze is about, himeuta or the kancolle wiki is more than enough. If not, you are better off spending your precious time watching other anime.

The "Mecha musume" genre of anime (Which turns WWII weaponry and vehicles into cute girls because why not) has been becoming increasingly popular within the last half-decade or so. With that being said, the idea of turning naval combat ships into adorable fap-mater...I mean waifu-material...seemed like an idea that could not possible go wrong. And so one fateful day, Kadokawa Games created a free-to-play browser game featuring over 9000 (Give or take around 8900) different ship-girls that would go on to live in the dreams of otaku everywhere. Following this explosion of moeboats, Diomedea quickly grabbed the premise of Kantai Collection and set sail toward ... creating an anime adaptation, knowing that the fans of the game would be immediately "On board" for seeing their favorites ships fully animated.

Keizo Kusakawa (Dog Days/Asura Cryin') came on to direct the series which would immediately receive an influx of mixed reviews. Some viewers hated the anime because it was nothing but cute girls doing cute things. But, on the other hand, that was the exact reason that so many other viewers were praising it. So now, critics are split down the middle in deciding whether or not KanColle is worth watching. And the answer to that really depends on what you are looking to get out of it. If you came for a story, go somewhere else -- this show is most definitely not for you. BUT, if you want to watch adorable boat girls just doing their thing, then get the hell on deck.

The first episode of KanColle introduces you to Fubuki, a destroyer class ship-girl who will go on the be the main character of the series. Fubuki, unlike the other ships, is incredibly clumsy and has zero combat experience whatsoever. Tired of being the weakest of them all, Fubuki goes on to practice day and night in an attempt to not weigh down her fellow boats. After a solid mix of naval combat and fan-service scenarios, Fubuki gains many new friends who will go on to shape the experience of what Kantai Collection really is -- a fun show. But are fun and good interchangeable? That's something you must decide for yourself. But I'm sure you'll get a grip of how I feel about it after I break it up over the next few paragraphs and weigh in on each aspect of the show.

Music: 7/10
The music of KanColle is actually pretty good. The soundtrack blends traditional Japanese styles with fast-paced and dramatic rock music riddled with miniature guitar solos. The music becomes essential for expanding the atmosphere of the fight-scenes (Which there are a handful of in the show). And the music in KanColle doesn't function the same way that a lot of soundtracks do, meaning it doesn't really blend in. You can always tell that it's there, the impact is not subtle at all. This is both good and bad, considering it can also work as a distraction. One other thing though, is that when the music ISN'T playing, something seems amiss. Like the scenes are too bland without it. And unfortunately, this happens more often than you would think.

Characters: 10/10
The sheer amount of characters you come across in Kantai Collection is extravagant. But that is to be expected when the game has a total of 156 playable girls (That number is still rising, by the way). Obviously, not all 156 of the girls get screen-time in the anime. But even without that, it will still be easy to choose a favorite considering how different they all are from one another. However, if you don't choose Kongou as your favorite, you obviously don't know what you're doing. Character development really isn't a factor for anyone other than Fubuki. But the thing with Fubuki is that her development seems a little rushed. Her transition from "Insanely weak and useless" to "Overpowered and unbalanced" comes along rather quickly. And even though this is a problem, it does not overshadow how delightful and varied the boatgirls in KanColle are.

Art: 8/10
I think it's safe to say that Diomedea has outdone themselves with the artwork in Kantai Collection. Out of all of the series they've done that I have had the chance to watch, this one is far superior. Character design is great and stays loyal to the source material. The enemies are dark and gloomy which contrast with the bright and vivid atmosphere of the rest of the show in a way that is basically impossible to ignore. Frankly, I was extremely impressed. When I got myself into this show I wasn't expecting anything phenomenal in the art department, but I quickly retracted those thoughts as the show progressed. HOWEVER, the one thing I really disliked as far as art went was when 3DCG was brought into the mixture. Adding dimension to the girls during floating (Or swimming? Sailing? I don't know what to call it) really took away the detail of their character just seconds prior. It created an inconsistent situation where I could love the image of a character in one scene and then go on to hate it in the next. In my opinion, the art should have just stayed 2D through the entire show.

Story: 4/10
I wouldn't go as far as saying there is no story in KanColle. I would, however, say that literally no one cares about it. Not even the writers. Everyone was just more concerned with watching all the moeboats interact with each other. And those scenes of interaction were great. But every once and a while, KanColle tried to slip some naval battle you didn't care about under the radar in an excuse to further develop Fubuki. I get what the writers were going for, but it really just didn't work. KanColle was unsuccessful in creating a story line that viewers cared about. When that happens, there really isn't much hope for its progression. The story starts to "sink" in a way. Ha. Ha ha. Anyway, like I said earlier on in the review -- if you came here for a story, you might as well go watch something else. But if you want to watch different groups of girls act all cute and funny, register for a Crunchyroll account and go check this out. You won't be let down.

The one thing I wan't to add before I finish up this review is the amount of enjoyment I got out of this show. We can sit here all day and talk about "What makes a show good". But as far as I'm concerned, enjoyment has a harder impact on that than anything else. KanColle looks great, sounds great, and a ton of laughs for anyone that is just looking to have a good time. I highly recommend it for anyone that has room left in their "Favorite characters" column on MyAnimeList.

Kantai Collection or KanColle is an anime adaptation of a hit web browser game. I haven't played the game or seen it. But what I did see before this anime came were pictures, lots and lots of pictures of girls with guns. Not just any guns, torpedoes, missiles, cannons and what not. And of course, I was intrigued as to whether this game would ever become an anime. When the anime was announced, I put it at the top of my list since I wanted to see what awesome action we would get.
The series started off good, it didn't give as much action as I ... thought but the animation and art was splendid except for the CGI part (no one likes CGI). But still, this anime was really good and as a slice of life, military, action style anime, it does a good job.

Story 7/10:
Low score because there isn't much of a story. It's just girls who are ships fighting abyssals or enemy ships/girls. The whole anime surrounds Fubuki, a Destroyer ship who joins the Naval District. She makes friends, trains to become stronger and has senpai's she looks up to. That's the slice of life part. For those who think this is gonna be a dark type war with blood, gore, deaths and some psychological stuff, don't be mistaken. The war barely puts a dent in the happy atmosphere that surrounds the series. Yeah, they do go fighting but that's all there is. The effects of the battle wear off as soon as they return and live like normal girls going to class etcetera etcetera.

Though near the end of the series, stuff gets a bit serious and the war takes a higher importance than the slice of life.

Art 8/10:
Aside from the CGI, the artwork was pretty amazing. Each and every character is awesomely designed. I've seen artworks all over the internet but I think this anime did a pretty good job in the art department. I couldn't find a single character that I can say has a bad design. As for the abyssals, only some have a humanish figure whereas the others are just fish type things with cannons.
The backgrounds are also really pleasing. So don't worry about the animation in this anime. But you'll have to make it through the battles which mostly take place with CGI which I do not understand why they did.

Sound 10/10:
The opening "Miiro" is epic. Loved this song. Good enough to download and listen to all the time.
The ending "Fubuki" is also good. Rarely have I seen anime having great opening and endings. The sound gets a 10/10.

Character 8/10:
There are different types of ship in the navy. Each having it's own abilities, arsenal and tasks. The same is with KanColle. Each girl has a different ship to her. Some are Destroyers, carriers, battleships etc. But they are not alone. In the Naval District, there are tons of Destroyers, carriers and other ships. Each having her own duty. Some are teachers, some manage the district while others study, train and go into battle.
Aside from their roles as ships, they are like any other character from an anime. Just think of the girls as from a school slice of life anime. Friends, rivals, senpais and teachers. That's how the characters are. And each has her own unique personality to contribute to the show.
Our main lead, Fubuki is a hardworking girl who doesn't know much at first, but trains to become stronger. Alongside her, are her friends who also take part in training and who worry for her when she gets in trouble or gets injured. Fubuki and her friends are sort of like the first years of a school.
Then come the seniors. Veterans in warfare and having amazing skills, they are the senpais everyone looks up to. Of course, rivalries exist and some grudges too but not so much to spoil the warm atmosphere the Naval District has.

Enjoyment 9/10:
I don't know how can one not enjoy this series (aside from the CGI parts). You've got some fillers to lighten up the mood and your average slice of life just to give this military anime a warm feeling. When the battles start, stuff gets intense, with planes flying around, cannons firing, ships sinking. But like any other slice of life anime, KanColle tends not to kill off many girls even though it is a war.
The mechanics of the anime are figured out as it progresses. As I didn't play the game, it took some time for me to know how these girls are ships and why the rest or eat as they do.

It's a good anime. A really good anime for this season. If you've seen pics of any KanColle characters on the net, I'm sure you would want to see this anime too and go ahead, it's worth it. And the best thing is that it's getting a sequel. So many new characters yet to see in action.

Don't take my score rating at face value. Kancolle (the anime) is a mesh of conflicts which makes it difficult to rate, also because of its target audience.

The anime, before it aired, was announced to be crafted to exhibit a slice-of-life/battle ratio of 70%/30%, and that is where the problem lies. The anime basically hands you a platter of samples from the Kancolle universe but doesn't quite put in the effort to ensure that each sample is well crafted and fully developed.

Let us start with the slice-of-life part first. Here's a warning to those who don't play the game: You won't get much of it ... at all. Most of the slice-of-life humour and interesting points stem from puns (like the Curry Operation) from the game and real history, to the characters' personalities which are well-exhibited in the game. Even for people who play the game, unless you know your waifus well (i.e. you understand the Japanese lines they say), you will also not be able to catch much. The scripts have the game's lines well weaved in in most parts, and almost every other line you hear will be either an exact or slightly modified line from the game. To fans, this is probably the most appealing part, because it brings out the personalities of each shipgirl and makes them come alive. Some people might dislike the overuse of in-game lines, but I'd say it's most of the time done quite appropriately, and is likely the best way to show the character's personality that we're familiar with.

Bonuses are included as well. "Unexpected" character behaviours like Nagato (aka Nagamon) and Zui-Kaga are included too, which are based off the fanfics. Good effort! Apart from that, the slice-of-life plot, is typical: entertaining, relaxing, and nothing much happens. Well done!

The battle scenes are on the whole not too bad, apart from the awkward CGI here and there (and my friend spotted a single frame render error as well). Problem is, it's split as well. About half the battles, mostly at the beginning of the anime, are pretty exciting and nice to watch (they feature the fairies in the planes too!), but then after that it falls stale towards the later part of the anime. By the time you get to the end, it's really nothing new, apart from just more and more ships getting involved and starts to feel cheesy. The battle scenes are the part of the anime which doesn't really require you to know the game since the game battles are not very similar, but it doesn't impress both audiences, which is a shame.

Drama in the show is also very awkward. There are some heartfelt scenes, and I must say I thought the anime (hint of a very slight spoiler here) was going to build up nicely from about ep 3 and ep 4, but it doesn't. The drama doesn't flow from one episode to another well, if any at all. While that's not a problem for slice-of-life, the writers decided to (try to) inject lots of seriousness in certain places, and because it just fizzles out by the next episode without a hint to its previous existence, the whole thing feels contrived.

Character development is practically zilch, except for the main character, Fubuki, who gets a bit. But I can understand that because it wants to stay true to the game, the characters can't change much. Also, some personalities (like Kongou) are based off the history of the ship itself, and so can't be changed much. With such a wide cast of characters, you'd be hard pressed to find enough time (for the slice-of-life segments) or impact (for battle and drama scenes) to develop any character in particular.

So on the whole, the anime is just very awkward because all the elements cancel each other out. You get heavy scenes of drama and battles only to be totally forgotten by light-hearted ones later as though none of that happened. They are not particularly well executed either.

OP and ED of the anime is great, and I think, if it was more focused on battles, these songs would fit it very well.

To conclude, you'd have to be in to this show for the characters to enjoy it, I'd say, and thus, you'd need to know the characters WELL either by seeing lots of fanfic or playing the game (or both!), otherwise the good parts will just fly past you leaving you with only the bad parts, which is likely why there's a whole lot of people bashing the show. Please be aware of that if you're taking up this series!

PS: I gave it a 7/10 because the 70% slice-of-life part was basically done right.

Hi, this will be my second review. Includes light spoilers, may or may not be properly done.

Kantai Collection is obviously, about the game of ship girls or fleet girls, whatever. It's enjoyable.

Aight, soooo let's start.

========
Story: 6/10
The story here is pretty much similar to some anime series out there. Things happen where MC was weak and then they get experience from the things they do blablabla. There's also the 'sudden problems that appear' trope I just made up for this review. The anime also contains some cheesy dramatic stuff on some parts which made me, uh, cringe a little. I wonder how I got past ... such cringey drama when I watched (now to bring an unrelated anime here) Love Live back then. Damn, that show was great but the drama on some parts were, ugh. There's also the 'sudden rescue' trope I also just made up, in this show.

TL;DR: Story is the same shiet you can get from OK shows, drama is kek.

Art: 10/10
Here's where it gets real; The art is amazing, the water animation is so smooth, CG is great. I like the battle scenes in 3D. tbh the only show I've seen having CG shown for over 30 seconds is Love Live. I like the art style here. The game art is, well, diverse (you may interpret this in a good or bad way, up to you :P).

TL;DR: Nice art style, CG, bla.

Sound: 9/10
Ayy. Miiro is one of the best OPs I've heard this season. Along with Flyers from Death Parade. I like how they kept the VAs from the game. Also some sound effects. It's all good. I never wanted to listen to the ED though. topkek.

TL;DR: Great sounds, voices, etc. yeah.

Character: 7/10
Those who don't play the game would probably hate this.

Not much character development, understandable due to the large cast, and the time given for the show (1-cour). Hopefully S2 does better here.
Anyhow, the personalities of the characters from the game are retained (yay) and how they say the same stuff from the game too >Atago, Tama, etc. etc.

TL;DR: Not enough character dev. But it's all good.

Enjoyment: 9/10
I'd say I really liked this show despite some problems and how the system of the game is not similar. (I wish I could send multiple fleets to a mission at once :P). I believe the fanservice here is a-okay, could've been too much, but eh. Plot is mediocre.

TL;DR: It's good. LOL.

Overall: 8/10

Yes it's an average. Here's the TL;DR of the whole review, including the TL;DRs for each section:

It's great, if you know the game. If you don't, it could be okay.
It's enjoyable, to say the least. Could've been better. :D

11/10 Would watch season 2. Needs more Shimakaze lolz.

Story: 6
Art: 10
Sound: 9
Character: 7
Enjoyment: 9
Overall: 41/50 = 82%

Aight, that's how I score stuff. Hopefully this review helps. :D

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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, ... and in the anime, the girl who represents the Akagi aircraft carrier is portrayed as consuming large quantities of food. Although this portrayal is historically accurate, it is presented in a different manner. Additionally, I appreciated how the first episode introduced the oxygen-torpedo as their trump card, which is not visible on the surface and leaves no trace. This depiction is also accurate, albeit represented differently.

The graphics of the anime are visually appealing, and the music is undoubtedly its best feature. The composition of the music for each episode and critical scenes is brilliant, and the tone fits the mood perfectly.

However, I found myself disappointed with the direction the anime took after the third episode. The IJN ships were supposed to meet their historical fate of being drawn to the sea. Instead, the show deviated from historical accuracy and took a strange, alternative direction. I had hoped to see hard-fought battles in each episode, with one ship sinking per episode and the IJN fleet suffering losses and misfortune.

Overall, the anime was entertaining; however, the divergence from historical accuracy was disconcerting.

The show is supposed to be an adaptation of the popular online game and the show is presented through Fubuki, a pretty normal destroyer. You then meet all the other girls ( they are all great but its hard to keep track of all their names). The show is really cute and falls under the genre "cute girls doing cute things". There is a lot of yuri subtext ( I was surprised, though its not unusual since all the characters are girls besides the admiral). The show is pretty enjoyable.

I don't know why people are saying bad things about the anime, I find it great. It gave previews and used mechanics that originated from the game. I honestly think that 12 episodes were a bit too short due to the large amount of shipgirls that are in the game and the plot rushed a bit. It was great that they gave a spinoff on episode 6 to give a break on all the drama and action. This is the reason that made me into this game and one year, still enjoying the game along with the anime.
Still can't wait for season 2 ... and the movie :)

Kantai Collection -KanColle- is an anime that tell us a story about how the humans lost the control over the sea because a new enemy known as the Abyssal Fleet conquered it...

The story of KanColle begins with a short battle showing what are de "Kanmusu" or Shipgirls, that are girls with the power of ancient ships of the Japanese Navy (It's based on a Browser Game where there're ships from USA, Italia, German... too but in the anime only appears the Japanese, for the moment I hope)
And then the plot begins, the first that we saw after this it's a plane flying by the ... sky and a girl, Fubuki, seeing the plane. The anime will be narrated by the point of view of Fubuki. The first episode is the typical episode that introduce you the anime. The problem is the lack of development of Fubuki, she has development but it's null... I mean, we will know that in so moments she is a brilliant person who could know what it's going on only because a warning that the secretary ship gave to her. But this fall it's forgotten because the anime doesn't care about her. The anime only care about HER GOALS. Or this is how I interpreted it.

The characters... well in this anime we have a lot of cute shipgirls, like Akagi, Kaga, Kongou... they're very interesting characters, the relationships in this anime are so important, for example Kaga has a kind of senpai over the 5th Division of Aircraft, we're Shoukaku and Zuikaku, and it's based on historical references. The First Division have jokes over the Fifth Division. And Kaga always has some dialogues like "I don't want to be near the fifth division" but in the end it show that Kaga feel like the first division must have a senpai role over the Fifth. Other relationships are in more "romance" tone, probably because the historical counterpart fights along or because the historical counterpart was worried abount her in the last battle... This "romance" are ok, because you can see that they're humans. There're a moment where the Secretary Ship, Nagato blushes because Mutsu (Her sister ship) says that NAGATO it's important to her.

The sound well... I can only remember the Opening and the Ending... and a few parts of the OST...

The Art it's... well there're part very well animated but others have a weird CGI that could make to close the episode, because in some points it's a very annoying CGI.

But in the end this could be one of my top 10 favorites animes. It's because KanColle was the first anime what made me interested the characters instead the battles.

This show was ridiculous, but it's because of its outrageous nature this show can carry on an entertaining story. In this crazy show, each character has the fire power of a battle ship, and they go to seas and battle enemy ships. Along with that it also has funny moments in between the battling. This show is based of of a video game, but even if you have never played the game the show can still be fun to watch. The show as designed to be silly and fun, and in no way supposed to be taken as a serious series. The beginning of the ... show was just as silly as I'd hoped it to be, it made me laugh and enjoy the characters. As the show continues the jokes begin to be a tad bit more serious, making it so you can enjoy a character for what they are. The music and the sounds were outstanding, the music really brought out the naval combat, as well as the sounds bringing out the action. Lastly, the show was entertaining all throughout the twelve episodes, I was never bored at any moment of the show. In the end, I enjoyed every bit of the show for what it was. I would highly suggest going into the show with the mind set that this show should not be taken seriously.

I'd like to first say, getting to see my fav KC waifu animated isn't exactly the most thrilling experiences of my life so to say. It was a more, cringe-y, excited feeling and I was more or less like 'WTF IS HAPPENING XD'.

I will be referring to the game a lot, since I am a player of KC. I am though, a bit passive on it tbh. Much like CoC players. (Waiting Simulator; 2015)

Those who are like "Eh, TL:DR", please, ctrl+f the following for the TL:DR review:

- TL:DR Story
- TL:DR Art
- TL:DR Sound
- TL:DR Characters
...
Anyways, Kantai Collection. Those who know and play Kantai Collection (KC) should know what the characters are like in the game. Each 'ship', so to say, have their own set of lines that they utter during for example, combat, or idling as your secretary. My problem is, how hard the animators tried to incorporate said lines from the game, into the anime. I love it when Kongo screams "Burning Love!!" when firing shells at enemies, IN THE GAME. In the anime however, it feels so horribly out of place. Not to mention how the Kongo class battleships were portrayed in the anime. Gehh.

Jumping ahead, the story. It only really deserves a 6 in my opinion. They try really hard to make the anime as much like the animated game as possible. Those who again, play the game will also wonder how the admiral has certain ships that are a b**** to get in the game. Not to mention, the game once in a while, hosts events that are correlated to actual events that occurred during WW2. TL:DR Story - The anime pulled one of the bigger events from the actual game and animated it. How it looks and feels to those who don't play the game, I'm not sure. But, those who play the game like I do, will probably make little sense of it.

The art gets a nice 7 here. Again, referring back to the game, the characters that portray the different warships are often done by different artists. Even some characters that receive their Kai-ni (Upgrade), sometimes or rather, most of the time get their in-game art changed rather drastically. For example, Hibiki kai receiving her kai-ni to become Verniy. Her art changes. (Not an anime spoiler, chill). Back to the art, it's a refresher for me, to be honest. Coming back to the game to play day after day and seeing the small amount of progress and then comparing it to the mountain of exp you need to remodel them is a pain in the a** really. So getting to watch this anime and see what they did with the characters is a nice breather. TL:DR Art - It's a nice change of pace to players, and personally, I don't have much against it even if I weren't so used to the in-game art.

The sound also gets a 7. The in-game sounds are so repetitive that I just mute it because f*** me if I'm gonna sit through 3-2 grinding with it. Also, in-game music is the same. For the anime though, there are multitudes of different sounds and music that -kind of- bring the anime across to the audience. There are few, if no times where the anime wasn't moving forward. The music enriches and enhances the anime and really helps it move along. At the same time though, there are one or two times where the music didn't help create the atmosphere needed to for example, present a big, bad guy. A lot of cheery bits, really. A LOT, of cheery bits. TL:DR Sound - The anime's music and sounds are a massive change of pace for players of the game, at least that's what I think. If you don't play the game though, it's still really good. One thing I wish they'd add though, the groaning of metal once in a while would be nice, for example, when they're evading, or getting hit.

Characters in this anime, I have to give a 9. It's my biased point of view, and I refuse to change my scoring of it for any reason at all. My reason for giving this anime's characters a 9 is, simply, because I finally get to see the KC girls become animated. I was pretty hyped when they announced the anime was finally going into making. If I were unbiased, and watched this from a point-of-view of someone who hasn't played the game, there really is very little character development at all. The primary characters, sure, get a bit of development but it doesn't really go far at all. I get a sense that this anime was made to satisfy the hunger of KC players who wanted to see their premium ship waifus become animated. I am, sadly, a part of that group. TL:DR Characters - Fantastic to see them become animated, really. My only wish would have to be to give them each a better background and development. Really, some pretty important ships in the game become background characters in the anime. It sucks. (Here's to wishing your favourite waifu is animated.)

I didn't enjoy the anime as much as I wish I could've, so I give it a 7. I'm not exactly saying that it was s*** either. It was fantastic fun to get to watch the girls become animated but at the same time, I was bummed that they didn't have their original art from the game. I understand that it'd be pretty out-of-place if their art styles differed from each other, so I'll leave it at that. One final thing that really kind of gets me in the nerve. The planes that the carriers, aviation cruisers, etc, are piloted by 'fairies'. Google 'Kantai Collection Fairies' for a preview. Their little chibi characters with slits for eyes and are about only as tall as your hand. Back to the fairies. They are the ones that fly the aircraft presumably, because even the PV of the anime showed so. Right about now, you're probably thinking, 'Oh, what a cute little addition they added!'. Then, you see the aerial combat of the anime and watch as the Zeroes and Torpedo Bombers get shot down by those alien things, THEN the realization hits you. I'll leave it to you to imagine what's happening inside those cockpits. TL:DR Enjoyment - Pretty fun, though the anime does sometimes slap you in the face with hidden brutalities the animators stealthily hid this 'cheerful' game adaptation.

Overall, 7. Really. I've not much else to say about it. My point of view on this anime would really differ from those who didn't watch it but then again, there are people who play the game like I do and just give it a straight 10 because it's an adaptation of their 'assumable', favourite game.

KanColle has an even dumber concept than Strike Witches. As if pantsless lolis with boot propellers wasn't stupid enough, here we have Fleet Girls™ which are basically qt 3.14s with assorted ship apparatuses that magically summon from the ethos (or variously must be equipped) and transform the grills into some vague reference to WW2 Japanese ships while they maintain their qt-ness.

And yet it works. It works really well.

Each ship (or grill) has a distinct personality. Some, like the Yamato, are hilariously tied to the IRL circumstances of their namesakes, but others are just...silly. We have lesbian ship sisters, the boisterous Kongo quartet, wizened fleet ... carriers, and naturally there are loli torpedo boats with the gamut of anime tropes. Fubuki is the star of the series, a Fleet Grill™ who starts as a clumsy good-for-nothing but grows into a hero who saves everyone (not really a spoiler, since this is an anime and that happens in literally every single anime ever).

All that's fine, but it's the details that made KanColle so good for me. The carriers use bows to fire arrows that poof into planes piloted by doll things (???), destroyers fire groups of torpedoes from their legs like some caricature of a boy doing the humping motion, and battleships make a grand gesture of giving the enemy a full salvo. The ship/grills heal from damage by soaking in a hot spring, when a ship is ready to be refitted they start glowing, the carriers and battleships eat about 400 tons of food per day. Even the seaplane tender girls have fantastic details with their setups. The best part is that it's presented with a nod for magic realism: nothing is explained, it just *is* and that's that. I know this is based on some vidya, and that's super obvious, but even though I haven't played said vidya I still appreciated the entire package.

I know I'm a sucker for all things naval (except the soul-draining leech that is WoWS....ugh) and that definitely predisposed me to enjoy this, but I absolutely recommend KanColle for anyone searching out a great time.

One anime that has been a hype for the Winter Season has been Kantai Collection, usually shortened to KanColle. The anime is based on a game of the same name which involves using battleships that are given the female gender targeting the "moe" aspect of anime in my opinion. This review would be based solely on the anime experience without knowledge of the mechanics and the storyline of the game itself.

Story - 6
You could say that the story was less interesting compared to the art, animation, and sound of the anime.

It follows the storyline of "Main character meets senpai ... whom she tries to catch up to, trains hard and suddenly gets noticed by senpai, joins senpai on a final mission, and they succeed." What's so different about the plot is that by the last few episodes of the anime, there was this forced idea injected into the characters that was nowhere to be seen during the first half. Although it is implied that there are many mysterious things that are happening. Overall, the story was average without real plot twists and a hell lot of Yuri moments.

Looking at the flow of the episodes, one filler episode could be seen halfway that sorta shifted the momentum into a slower state but prepared the introduction of a thrilling arc.

Art/Animation- 9
Diomedea has been a studio that produced very fluid animation effects. Now, given the complexity of the idea of the anime, I can say that they delivered pretty well. There is no mistake that the characters are all beautifully drawn. All of them have their own appeal and have typical aspects that a moe character should contain. The involvement of planes, cannons, bullets, and torpedoes still continued my amazement with the anime's art. I can say that KanColle has one of the most amazing art and animation for the Winter lineup.

Sound- 9
Opening and ending themes have always been an integral part of the anime. And I can say that KanColle has an amazing soundtrack. Bullet sounds and torpedo sounds are as close to the real deal as they can get and I have no complaints with the sound quality. Given the nice art of the anime, the sound did not fail me as well. One of the best opening and ending themes for the season.

Character- 7
The characters of course are a major part of the anime. And this anime has given the characters specific attributes that make it hard to forget them. I have never seen an anime that put together a lot of individually based speech disorders and mannerisms in different characters. Well, they really aren't speech disorders but I like to call it that. There may be appeal in that but it sort of annoyed me halfway. A few of those were Yuudachi who always ended with "Poi", Naka who is the self-proclaimed idol of the fleet, Akatsuki who is obsessed with becoming a lady, Kongou who gives the Japanese language slang due to her British vibe. I swear, each of them has this unforgettable attribute that could either annoy you or make them cute in your positive. Props to their voice actresses for their skill and talent to create personas that are hard to forget.

Enjoyment- 8
I can say that I enjoyed the anime despite it giving me a bad impression halfway due to the lack of its content. But then again, this isn't one of those anime that you hope to have a very deep plot. You can't deny the fact that the anime delivered well in terms of action, suspense, and a little bit of drama. I'm not a particular fan of historical and military themed anime but I have enjoyed this. I am not aware whether the game has a similar plot or what, but this delivered a statement on how the game may be engaging as I suspect it to be.

Overall- 8
Personally, I don't think that this would be an anime that you would really want to finish in an all-nighter due to the lack of a well-defined plot. Given the fact that all the characters are very attractive girls, I guess it can capture the male audience easily.

Most people who came across this probably thinks this is one of the worst first episodes they have ever seen. The game lines reference is overused and everything seems to be so out of place and has no flow.

They obviously set out to make this anime aimed at those who played the game which they just did that. So if you aren't a fan of kancolle this anime is not for you, simply because the anime is targeted at those who are interested/ playing the game and not for casual anime viewers.

Now should you watch Kancolle? The answer is simple,if you are one of ... the people who are playing the game, this might be for you. However If you are here looking for some good anime, with good plot, good character development and awesome story. Unfortunately, this is not for you. Simply because the story literally has no plot, just like in the game, where the girls keeps on going to do operations after one another and capture new islands.
As the story goes on there will probably be alot of new ships being introduced to us, now if you haven't played the game at all you will probably have no clue who those Kanmusus are. there won't be any major character development since the game itself has over a hundred ships, with a variety of classes etc.

This anime is based on real life WW2 ships, with some ships involved in warcrimes during WW2. This time Japan and Germany (Germany is in the game) are like the good guys who fight against the Aliens to protect humanity. Now where did the Americans go? Perhaps they all end up being the abyssal fleet since all the battle that took place especially events are based on IJN vs USN. Don't take it too offensive though.

the anime could have been better unfortunately it did not meet many people's expectation therefore as a result is a failure in many people's eyes.

Conclusion: I would not recommend this anime to those who have never played the game before/ have no interest

Being original doesn't necessarily mean its noteworthy. Such is Kantai Collection. It's premise may seem absurd but that hasn't stop millions of fans of playing its game. Due to this popularity, it was adapted into an anime a lot of hype was placed on it. Here I am to see if that hype was worth it.

STORY:
There's really nothing much to say about the story, since it's not meant to be taken seriously in the first place. Despite the theme surrounding the show being all war-like, the story usually leans to the slice-of-life genre and therefore, all the drama, all the friendship, all the fun ... and enjoyment going on and not giving shit about the war that's plaguing their seas. Anyway, what I do like about the story is how the naval battle scenes are referenced to real-life events such as the Battle at Midway, if I recall correctly. Also, the story has some dark-theme to it and I was surprised to see one of the fleet girls actually die and how it affects the other characters.

Anywho, if you are familiar with the game this show is based on, you probably already have the gist of what's to unfold here. If not, you'll probably get lost. The producers did throw in some originality of their own in regards to the storyline but they seem mostly to appeal to the moe-ness of the characters.

CHARACTERS
If you can name any famous World War 2 IJN battleship, expect them to be present in the show, cutesy and battle-ready and all. By and large, KanColle has a huge roster of characters in the video game, but in a show consisting of only 12 episodes, only handful made the cut to be animated and given character.

The main character is a destroyer named Fubuki. Despite the show trying to make her as interesting and lovable as possible, in the end I don't see Fubuki as an interesting main character. Her personality is generic and while there is a sense of character development, in the end it all falls flat. That said, the side-characters seem to have more personality than the MC. My personal favorite, and probably some as well, Kungou, a hyper-active, tea-loving, Engrish speaking battleship; her strong personality even matches her raw power as a war machine. There also exists Yuudachi, who always ends her sentences with a "poi", and that's it.

Aside from all these, these characters were carefully made to match that of their real-life counterparts. For example: battleships and air-craft carriers are personified as more mature women, in contrast to the loli destroyers and dreadnoughts. To give them some variety, some characters have their own special personality while others just seem to fade in the background.

Of course, it goes without saying that the clothing of most of the characters seemed skimpy and impractical for battle and even everyday interactions. This is mostly for the fan-servicing and while that surprised me, in my eyes it's not really a welcoming sight for the most part.

AESTHETICS & AUDIO
Before it started airing, the visuals is where most of my worries lie for the show. Diomedia is in charge of the animation and by basing to their previous shows, I was rather skeptical about the resulting quality of KanColle. Fortunately, I was rather surprised and impressed of how the studio kept everything consistent for the most part. Overall the visuals were decent and the characters designs were faithful to their in-game counterparts. The fast-paced scenes were exchanged for CGI ones and while some scenes may make it look quite out of place and awkward, for the most part it did it job decently.

The outlying soundtrack is also good, fairly complementing every scene. The opening and ending themes were good, despite sounding quite generic.

FINAL VERDICT
While KanColle's appeal mostly apply to that of those who have invested into the video game, I for one, think that KanColle is an interesting concept. One thing it has going for is its huge roster of colorful characters, if some of them are not as interesting as others. While presentation is quite mediocre and predictable, I can see some direction going for it. I also applaud it for having a second season in production already and I'll be glad too see how it presents itself once more.

Visually stunning!!!

I never wrote a review before, but I saw a really low ones notes in this anime so I decided that maybe I can share my point of view. First at all, if you like guns, military issues, comedy, action, and animes with just girls on it, this is for you! Isn't perfect but, is very well done, excellent drawing, nice characters, and is not pretending to be something else, simply is a good slice of life with adrenaline and shoujo ai, you're gonna enjoy with Akagi and Buki and all it takes be a little hero in the seas, battles between ships with ... a brilliant variety, so much fire, good funny scenes and not lame at all. Is almost like a perfect balance between Strike Witches and Girls und Panzer, is really worth to take a look.

In spite of what people say about not seeing this if you haven't played the game, I would recommend this anime for the non players. I haven't played the game, and I probably won't and I haver really enjoyed Kantai Collection. In any case, as this anime is based on a game of WWII ships it won't make any harm knowing a bit of history and the kind of ships that were used. A bit of Wikipedia will help you understanding certain things and enjoying the anime.

Story (4/10)

This is one of the main weak points of the anime, the lack of story. I ... wouldn't say that there is no plot, but is too ambiguous and bad connected. Most of the things are not explained at all, so you'll have to deal with it and imagine things on your own or checking them in Wiki's. I give it a 4 just because at least they didn't invented a complex story and if you take it as a some kind of slice of life it isn't so bad.

Art (10/10)

I can only thing of the art as superb. It's difficult to review it just because everything in this regard is just perfect. Character design, animation, light, color... all of them are of the highest level. This anime uses a lot of CG, even on the characters, but in a such a good way that enhances the animation without making the characters look bad. I specially liked how the planes were animated. I love WWII planes (more than ships, I'm sorry) and I want to marry the people that animated them for this anime.

Sound (10/10)

Same goes here. I don't usually like the opening and ending songs of animes. I know there are people that like them but I don't. But in this case the opening was, in my opinion, even good, which is a lot to say coming from me. Apart from that the voice acting is really impressive and the sound of the battles just amazing. I would recommend to see this anime with a nice sound system (or good headphones) so you can fully enjoy the battles.

Characters (5/10)

There are a lot of characters. Really, a lot. I find this both good and bad. On the one hand you won't get bored of the same characters all the time, mainly because they are to plain, but on the other hand is impossible, at least for me, to know all of them.There were times when they were talking about somebody and I didn't know who. In any case there is almost no development on the personalities, and I give them a 5 because most of them are funny and different.

Enjoyment (9/10)

I really enjoy seeing this anime. It is very funny with a lot of jokes, a lot of stupid characters... It made me laugh plenty of times. The battles are really well made and I also enjoyed them. There is even a bit (or more than a bit, but nothing hardcore) of yuri which is always well received in my case.

Summary

My overall mark is 8/10. The lack of plot and the simplicity of the characters contrast with the outstanding art and sound. From a technical point of view this anime is just amazing but it won't change your life in the slightest. In any case is funny so if you have some free time it's a nice idea to give it a try.

Some people start watching this because there is a game this anime is based on. Some others watch as a recommendation and yet others just stumble upon this anime.

Either way, to enjoy this anime, all you need to do is suspend all your beliefs on reality and common sense and just watch this for the pure entertainment it is. The anime is rather enjoyable if you can just enjoy it for what it is, and not constantly ponder the reasoning behind anime girls wearing scaled down weapons from WW II fighting vessels.

This anime reminds me of Strike Witches a lot, but without panty ... shots every few seconds. So far the anime is also a bit "darker" that Strike Witches in its story. Its a fun anime to watch if you wanna see something that is absurd, but with a lot of well-drawn stereotypical anime girls.

First Review i ever write!

so what is Kantai Collection?, it's a Card collecting browser game, featuring WW2 Japanese Warships
and somehow they made this into an anime.

I haven't played the game and it doesn't matter anyways, because all i know when watching an anime with cute girls and WW2 weapons (im looking at you Girls und Panzers) is that they don't suck, i see lots of bad review for this anime and it's fine, it's their opinion.

now the anime has a good story, but it lacks detail like, Why do Abyssals has to be killed?, where do they come from? why does girls has a "WW2 ... Ship soul" that doesn't even exist? and the BIG question is WHO IS THE ADMIRAL???!!!(Literally i want to know, he's the only man in that anime, unless they made the admiral to be a girl which then it sucks)

first, let's see another WW2 girls nonsense called Girls und Panzer, basically they are (cute) girls that drive tanks and shoot other tanks which then doesn't kill the crew, instead they smoked them.
why does Girls fight in tanks? why they have a martial art for it? why do people recruit girls to be a tank crew?

basically for the two of them, IT DOESN'T MATTER!!

it's not supposed to be a detailed war anyway, not like Gundam or Code geass which explains why they fight!, apparently i know a lot of people who enjoys this anime, just because they have (Cute) Girls.......

now i ask you Anime-Senpais , is there any anime that has WW2 Vehicles and Weapons, that doesn't involve (cute) Girls? and it's almost realistic?, Kantai Collection name their character from the WW2 Ships name and they have the exact weaponry in the outfits, and i'm personally love WW2 weapon details, i don't come for the cute girls, i come for the Thrill Battles and Story plot.

if there is been an anime that has WW2 Vehicles and Weapons, realistic, doesn't involve (cute girls), has a good story plot, 2010+ Art and not too detailed, i would love the anime FOREVER!

that is all, sorry for any mistakes (my first review)