Fubuki is the protagonist of the anime who brought herself to the naval district. There was not any clear goal she had until she tried out her first battle with her fleet that she wanted to be stronger and be with Akagi’s fleet. Yes, this is all in the first episode of KanColle. From then on, we see not only the progress of Fubuki’s goal but as well as a ton of ships interacting one another and living their normal lives in the naval district. But danger looms in these girls’ eyes and they have to face their worst.
Firstly, I feel that this anime is unfortunately not geared towards a group of audience who do not play the game. The anime contained humour mostly known for those who played game and knew more about the ships through many sources, whether official or not. To be honest, having watched the anime, I learnt a lot of such humour, and I was amazed by how the fans reacted to them through Twitter. I do not know if many who never played the game will understand the humour, but I think they will just pass it off. Speaking of humour, most of the time they are funny and cute. At least you are given some moe time in the anime.
The major problem of the anime is the lack of setting details. I know that there are two sides fighting each other, the Kanmusu and the Abyssal, but what are they fighting for? Land? Resources? What are Abyssal? The story basically lacked about what the girls are fighting against. Also, the timeline can be confusing. I think that the timeline is based on a modern year, however the fighting between the two sides are loosely based on the sea battles during World War II, which the Imperial Japanese Navy fought against the United States Navy. I really hoped the writers can expand this whole event in detail so it can be a lot more understanding. The anime has a lot of potential throughout then which blew all away.
Inconsistent pacing can be another problem in the story. Many complained for rushed scenes, especially towards the ending. Sometimes the battles felt rushed because something terrible happened, and things need to be taken cared of. Also, I do not really like how the composition plays within the story. At one moment, you see girls having a lot of fun, then later enemies fly past and a few them might have gotten themselves in trouble. The mood gets ruined and there is just too much emotions running at once.
Many have tried predicting the story through major events in World War II, however the writers pretty much ‘baited’ a lot of people into seeing who dies in the anime. Many passed it off as a one-time thing, but another bunch think otherwise. Anyway, the whole World War II was just a loose adaptation. Strategic plans in the anime are okay, although the faults lie on the ships’ decision.
Adaptation-wise, I would say it did not work out well. However because of the limitations the game has, it cannot be helped but to break them. It’s not really a big issue but it can certainly be frustrating for some people who watched the anime and tries the game afterwards only to know that they can’t do certain functions.
You should know that Kantai Collection has a massive collection of ships that takes their names and abilities from past-time Japanese warships. Hence, the anime has a very huge cast of ships. Apart from Fubuki, there are focal characters as well from episode to episode. Of course, with a large cast, this means it is hard to know all the ships, especially for people who never played the game yet. I know most of them, which is a relief.
Fubuki, being the protagonist of the story, has a nice steady character development that managed to get the goal she wanted. Throughout her stay in the naval district, she learns a lot from various ships who support her into becoming strong. Despite being moody at times, as well as saving whoever’s life on stake and getting herself in trouble instead, I think she is a nice character to watch. Indeed, she has grown stronger from start to end.
Not much character development I see in all ships but Fubuki. Some of them drive Fubuki’s development, while the rest are just for the character interactions. I feel that some of the characters should have a more detailed background story which probably make the story more interesting. Also, there are a very few characters that just show up for something without any depth.
I have to be honest here but I really do not like the admiral (many fans call him teitoku) in this anime. He does not get a physical appearance and also his actions are just merely bad or confusing. It is just bland.
Being one of four Diomedea’s anime that aired this season, budget can be a main concern. But looking at this anime, I must say that I am impressed by how it looks as compared to its other anime. But this does not mean the animation is outstanding. As per normal, there are nice sceneries to look at. I like to see how the sceneries matches the mood of the scenes, for example during most of the battles, there is a stormy atmosphere on top. The character designs follow mostly as how it looked like in the game, since the game have different designers working on different cards, at least this anime is standard. It is cool how they don their own equipments, although one can complain these equipments are too heavy for a girl.
The action scenes are awesome to look at. A lot of CGI is used in many action scenes and I think it is great since it gives the animations nice and smooth. However there are times when CGI should not be used, such as interactions of characters during battles. I like the visual effects that they made as well.
I really love the opening and ending songs a lot and they are one of my favourite songs of this season. AKINO came back after AmaBuri’s Extra Magic Hour with Miiro, a very energetic song which is great to rock at. A newcomer, Nishizawa Shiena, performs Fubuki which I find it really emotional to hear. At first I was not fond by hearing it but after a while, it just clicks to me. I shall be expecting more of her voice in the future!
The background music is okay, not too outstanding as well. I like some of the battle tracks that makes the battles more interesting to hear. Basically the background music has a wide variety of tracks from battle music, to slice of life music, to emotional music. Finally, I really want to give praise to all the voice actresses, especially Sakura Ayane and Touyama Nao, for voicing a lot of roles in the anime. The voice actress roles in the anime are as identical as the game, so there should not be any worry.
So, did Kantai Collection live up to my expectations? Not really, but I’m just disappointed with the story as I wish it can get better at some point. Meaningless to say, I also enjoyed most of the anime, mostly being comedy and cute ships doing cute things. I have also been shipping quite a number of ships lately, and I know Ooi and Kitakami is one of the best shippings ever.
A sequel was announced after the final episode ended, and I’m not surprised to see that. It’s obvious that Diomedea and Kadokawa wants to milk more money from us viewers. I really hope the sequel gets better. And certainly, with this season, there can just be more KanColle players in the game, so I really hope they are enjoying themselves.
