KanColle - Master FAQ / Kanmusu List (up to Episode 4)

Welcome to the Master FAQ thread for the anime series Kantai Collection -KanColle-.



Thanks to its huge popularity in Japan, many western anime fans are curious about the franchise but due to how the game isn't easily accessible for a foreigner, a lot of questions have arised over time.



Here is an FAQ and kanmusu lists for your convenience.



1) What's exactly Kancolle?

Kantai Collection -KanColle- is a browser game involving moe anthropomorphic version of naval warships from the Pacific War, called Kanmusu, literally Fleet girls / Ship girls. The player takes the role of the admiral who is responsible of the fleet management. Several tasks are performed like forming fleets, sending kanmusu to sorties/expeditions, tuning them with equipement and modernization etc.

While there isn't any specific plot whatsoever, players have to fight against a mysterious enemy known as the Abyssal Fleet. The game is split in worlds that contain several maps, and the goal is to clear the maps by sending Kanmusu there. Pretty much like the concept of the Kanmusu, some maps, especially event maps, are actually references to naval battles of the Pacific war.



As the admiral, the player has very little control over the combat system, as fights are dictated by your ships type/stats and RNG. However, the player contribution is quite important prior sortie as they can make critical decision such as choosing certain Kanmusu type for the sortie fleet, as well as equipping their fleet with the appropriate armaments or modernizing them. This is why the game is often described as a "management game" instead of a "tactical game".



The game is online since 23rd April 2013 and recently reached the 2.5M users cap.

Currently, the game has an oustandingly large cast: 147 unique characters as of 12/26.

They are designed by 19 different artists, and voiced by 28 seiyuu.



2) Why is it so damn popular anyway?

There are a lot of factors to consider. While I'm certain many people caught wind of it because of Shimakaze's design popping everywhere, especially during cosplay events in Japan, it is more elaborated than that:

Spoiler for Reasons for its popularity. Non exhaustive list.:

-Not difficult to play

While its interface isn't completely user friendly, the game has no complex gameplay whatsoever. The tutorial itself doesn't last more than 10 minutes, and there isn't any intricate input required either.



-Time investment

KanColle is a browser game, not a mobage. As such, it doesn't use any stamina system that would force the player to play in order not to waste such points. Depending how the player is invested in the game, they can either play several hours per day or only a short period once per week.

The game system doesn't punish players who play very casually, and there isn't any core element that would force players to play more. Even the events are set on long periods so players can take it easy.



-Absence of "pay to win"

Unlike many free to play games, KanColle hardly incite players to make microtransactions whatsoever. While there are paid items, most of them have merely a cosmetic purpose or are not really cost efficient at all.

In general, any player can get the most powerful ships without spending any real money on the game, and item purchases do not give an edge to beat certain challenges.



-Characters

Even upon its release, KanColle had a very large and unique cast, with basically no clones in term of characters. They have distinct design and personality that appeal a very large audience.

Not only it obviously has its appeal for moe fans, but these characters do have their design, personality and quirks based on the original ship which also appeal military Otaku. In fact, a lot of jokes require history knowledge about the Pacific War in order to understand them.



-Collection

Following the characters' own quirk, the large cast contributes also a feature that is particularly well received in Japan: collection.

Like any other game about collection, some girls are rarer than others, which also give a certain lasting appeal.



-Seiyuu

As stated already, the characters are voiced by many seiyuu, and some of them are quite popular to boot: Touyama Nao, Fujita Saki, Higuchi Yuuka, Sakura Ayane, Taketatsu Ayana, Endou Aya, Horie Yui, etc...

All the girls have at least 30 unique lines for actions taken in the game, which contribute even more to their personality.



-Permanent Death

In KanColle, everything isn't bright and sunny. After all, Kanmusu are fighting against ruthless and unknown enemies who are also using lethal armaments.

Under certain circumstances, it is possible for a Kanmusu's HP to drop to 0, and therefore sink. This mechanic is pretty much a permanent death similar to Fire Emblem series: once a Kanmusu is lost, she cannot be revived at all .

While the triggers for such occurence are known and some counter-measures exist, the risk is real and falls directly under the responsability of the player, as sinking a Kanmusu is not dependant of RNG at all.

Of course, it is possible for players to drop/craft the fallen kanmusu (assuming she is available with such means), but they would have to start from scratch as the new kanmusu is merely a "fresh copy". This means they have to grind her back from lvl1 and re-equip them.



This mechanic naturally make players care about their Kanmusu, even moreso in combination with their personality and rarity.

3) Isn't that an Apologia dedicated to Japan imperialism and the likes?

Far from it. The developpers of KanColle are known for being interested in the ships alone.

This is quite evident as the game gives a lot of details regarding the ships, but do not have any warmongering message at all, as battles are never portrayed as a "fun thing to do".

Also, the vast majority of the Kanmusu do not enjoy war at all, and the "Great Empire of Japan" is never mentioned. Even "Japan" is only mentioned once as a mere country, and there is arguably no glorification of the country nor any antagonization for the Allies, who are plainly absent in the game. In fact, more often than not, the game pokes fun at the weird tactical/ship design decisions done by the Japanese.

The game doesn't have any peculiar politic message behind its conception and presentation, and it quite obvious since it only refers to history from a trivia and technical perspective.



4) Do I need to play the game to understand the anime?

No, but many points might fly over your head since the adaptation is not destined for complete newcomers. You can still understand the overall plot if you have watched series like Arpeggio of the Blue Steel - Ars Nova, but bear in mind it is quite different, so don't expect it to be a "moe carbon copy". I'm referring to Arpeggio as a series with some shared features, nothing more.

Knowledge of the Pacific War sure helps to understand some quirks of certain characters.



5) What is the anime about then?

Simply put, it follows Fubuki, a destroyer who recently got transferred to the naval base. The story focus on her everyday life as a kanmusu, which isn't completely peaceful as an unknown enemy is threatening the seas. As Fubuki is learning and practising in order to become a reliable ship that can protect everyone, she will have to take part of battles against the Abyssals with other kanmusu.

The series is intended to balance the Slife of Life and the fights, which were confirmed to be set as the following ratio: 70% SoL and 30% fights, the latter being more numerous over time, particularly at the latter part of the series.



6) Isn't that simply Strike Witches and/or Girls und Panzer but with ships?

Yes and no. It indeed does involve girls in a military environment with a much less gritty presentation than their respective source.

However, please bear in mind that unlike SW and GuP, the characters ARE the ships (and not girls piloting/equipping the said ships parts), which means that their design, personality, quirks etc are roughly inspired by the original ship (i.e Kongou speaks gratuitious Engrish because she was built in England).



This also means that the series delivers some jokes that either require game knowledge or history knowledge about the Pacific War. This point is the main reason why the anime is a bit hard to grasp, since the presentation and execution are based on the aforementioned knowledge, which makes immediate understanding a bit harder than SW and GuP, as the latter deliver their overarching plot without direct references to the planes/tanks.



That said, please note the overarching plot of the anime is plainly explained with the narration at the start of episode 1. There is nothing more to add considering the franchise context, so it is mainly a matter of whether you appreciate the characters or not.



7) Destroyers, Light Cruisers, etc... I don't have much warships knowledge. Any quick description for them?

Here is a quick description for the different ship types present in the anime from history and game context. I've added their naval classification just in case.

Spoiler for Ship type descriptions:

*Destroyers (DD): these are small warships that boast high maneuverability while being not resource heavy. They were used as escort for larger vessels or convoy, serving as first line of defense. Because of this, they are the most numerous type of ships in any navy, and this is also why most characters in Kancolle are Destroyers.



Game wise, Destroyers are pretty much like their real life counterpart, being mostly not too expensive to deploy or repair. They are fragile, but it is compensated by their high evasion and the cheap repairs. Also, while they don't boast high firepower, they become extremely effective at night. They are also used for route requirements.







*Light Cruisers (CL): these are small to medium warships which are often used for scouting, raiding or escort. They are bigger than destroyers and thus, their range of actions is a bit larger, being able to make more independant actions. Due to this, they were often the flagship of a fleet for the IJN, especially for torpedo squadrons.



Game wise, Light Cruisers are more or less "bigger destroyers" with every stat being higher, although they have less evasion and are a bit more expensive to supply and repair. Similarly to destroyers, they shine during night battles.







*Heavy Cruisers (CA): these are medium warships that are focused on long range attacks while maintaining high speeds. The difference between Heavy and Light cruisers is mostly their gun caliber according to the the Washington Treaty. That said, while Heavy cruisers are sort of "better armed", Light Cruisers were much more beneficial due to being easier to maintain.



Game wise, Heavy Cruisers are much stronger than Destroyers and Light Cruisers, being able to deal decent to great damage against medium/armored unit. While Destroyers and Light Cruisers can only equip 3 equipments (save 2 exceptions), Heavy Cruisers can equip 4 of them which dramatically change their damage output depending of the equipment set. Also, they are pretty resilient with a much higher HP and armor value compared to smaller ships. Of course, their supply requirements and repairs bills are much harsher than the former two ship types, and they cannot attack submarines. Similarly to destroyers and light cruisers, Heavy Cruisers potential is even more notable at night.

Note that there is a variant of this type, Aviation Heavy Cruiser (CAV) who are a bit less powerful and less resilient, but gain the ability to launch bomber seaplanes, making them able to assist in initial air strike and attack submarines to a certain extent.







*Battleships (BB): these are large warships that are considered to be the most powerful vessels due to their battery consisting of high caliber heavy cannons. Although they often served as symbol of power, they quickly lose their prominence to aircraft carriers due to the importance of air superiority during the war. Also, even though they were powerful capital ships, they became more and more vulnerable to much cheaper weapons like torpedoes and mines, which shifted nations strategy during the Pacific War.



Game wise, they are the most powerful kanmusu, able to deal major damage while sustaining punishment from most Abyssals. Conversively, they are pretty gluttonous in term of resources for both supplies and repairs. They also have a special feature: if there is at least 1 battleship in battle (be it a Kanmusu or an Abyssal), there will be 2 shelling phases instead of one.

While they have an impressive firepower, they don't have any major power boost at night unlike the other 3 ship types.

Note that there is a variant of this type, Aviation Battleship (BBV) who are a bit less powerful and less resilient, but gain the ability to launch bomber seaplanes, making them able to assist in initial air strike and attack submarines to a certain extent.







*Aircraft Carriers (CV and CVL): these are medium to large warships which served as sailing airbase. They all have a flight deck and facilities in order to arm, resupply, desploy and recover aircrafts. These became the primary capital ships during the Pacific War as air domination dictated the tides of battle. As they were very expensive to build, they had to be protected at all cost. This also explains why the Battle of Midway is the most disastrous battle for the IJN as losing Akagi, Kaga, Hiryuu and Souryuu completely destroyed their chances to even regain the air domination during the war.



Game wise, Aircraft Carriers are very important to seize air superiority/domination which gives multiple benefits such as allowing Cruisers and Battleships to deal more damage while limiting damage from enemy aircrafts. They also have an additional attack compared to other ships, which is the initial airstrike right after engaging the enemy fleet. However, not only they are quite expensive to deploy and repair, they also have shortcomings in battle: their accuracy during regular shelling phases is a bit iffy, and they cannot attack if they are half damaged or at night.

There are 2 type of carriers: standard (CV) and light (CVL). The latter is, as its name suggests, less expensive to maintain but is more fragile and less powerful. However, unlike the standard carriers, light carriers can attack submarines.

8) Is it me or some characters sound a bit the same?

From the very beginning, the game developpers have assigned a seiyuu not just for a character but for a specific class (for instance, Kongou, Hiei, Haruna and Kirishima are all voiced by Touyama Nao). This makes sense, since ships of the same class are often considered as siblings as they are sister ships. Note that this rule isn't always true and that many kanmusu of a given class do not share the same seiyuu.

That said, even with that setup, there are still too many characters, so certain seiyuu were asked to do several kanmusu classes altogether (taking the aforementioned example, Touyama Nao voiced the Kongou Sisters, but also the Takao Sisters, some ships among the Ayanami-class etc).



Since the characters got their popularity due to their design, personality but also voice, the anime staff kept the original seiyuu cast.



Episode-related Questions

Spoiler for Episode 1:

-What are the abyssal, exactly?

The abyssals are the mysterious enemies that are threatening the seas in Kancolle franchise.

In most source materials, their origins and objectives are completely unknown, even to gamers. There are a lot of theories about them, one of them is that they are the "kanmusu form of the Allies' ships". This theory is due to their cannons caliber being in imperial units, but recently, a lot of ships are obviously "corrupted" forms of Kanmusu, denying the assumption that they are Allies ships.



Thus far, the consensus is that Abyssals are the manifestation of ships from the Pacific War (be it IJN or Allies ships), which are the embodiements of the grudge and sorrow of the said ships and crew after sinking during war time.





-Why is Naka acting as if she was an idol?

Naka's entry number in the ship index is 48. Due to this, they designed her as an idol as a reference to the idol group, AKB48.





-What are these Kanji during Fubuki's arming sequence? And why are they reversed?

These are the kanji for Fubuki's sister ships: Shirayuki, Hatsuyuki, Miyuki, Murakumo and Isonami.

The kanji (and also hiragana and katakana) order is reversed as during WWII, Japanese was read from right to left.





-Why are arrows transforming into planes?

This is a direct reference to the game. Many aircraft carriers like Akagi and Kaga are designed as kyuudou practicioners. So it feels natural to see them shooting arrows that serve as their airplanes.





-Wait, these planes are manned?

Yes. In the game, the kanmusu equipments are maintained by some sort of fairies. These are pretty much the workers at the base, but also those that are manning the Kanmusu's cannons and the likes.

Therefore, they are also pilots of the planes.





-Why didn't the boss move when Akagi started bombarding her?

Remember that the Abyssals have settled bases around to control the seas. That boss, known as the Anchorage Princess, is there as a "base of operation" for the Abyssals of that area. Please note that Abyssals also have structures like Harbors and Islands among their ranks, not only ships.

Spoiler for Episode 2:

-Why did Atago and Akagi assume that Fubuki is damaged?

In the game, when a ship is damaged, you have to put her in a dock so she can be repaired and the way the girls reacted to it in the game painted it as having a bath. Thus the bath serve as the repair facility, hence why Atago and Akagi thought Fubuki was damaged.





-You say damage, but it looks like they just have their clothes ripped off... they can't sink, right?

Bear in mind that while they look like girls, they are actually resilient as they are acting as ships, so don't expect any gruesome dismemberment or wound whatsoever. That said, it isn't really a complete fanservice gimmick, since they really sustain damage to their body and gear.

As I explained earlier, Kanmusu can actually sink under certain circumstances, and it is pretty much a permanent death without any phoenix down gimmick possible after the fact.





-What the hell... 15 hours?!

Indeed. For big ships like Battleships and Aircraft Carriers, even a scratch can take hours to repair. The repair time is also longer if the Kanmusu has a higher level.

Assuming Akagi is high leveled enough, even if she isn't in a critical condition, half of her HP can almost take half-day to repair. Since she got critically damaged, she probably was in the bath ever since that battle the day prio the events of episode 2. This does explain why she had some bubble wrap to kill time, somewhat.





-Did the bucket really cut short the repair time?

Pretty much. This is a direct reference to the game: by doing specific quests and expeditions, you get buckets that are used to instantly complete a repair process, no matter how long it originally was. This is one of the most important items in the game since using advanced ships have a very long repair time and having kanmusu out of comission for several hours impair the admiral progression (there are only 4 repair docks available at most, 2 of them are locked unless you pay a special key to unlock them).

For instance, A lvl 99 Yamato require approximately 32 hours to be repaired if she is critically damaged to the point she only has 1 hp left.



Note that Akagi is often considered a crit magnet, hence why you often see her with a bucket in many fanarts.





-It is already episode 2, but the admiral is still not visible. Why is that?

This is a deliberate decision from the anime staff. The reason is simple: the admiral is actually the player, and thus you are making the decisions when it comes to the fleet management.

Since there are many types of players around, the admiral was imagined and portrayed in various fashion, be it an old veteran, a young greenhorn, an adult woman etc... Therefore, this choice is the least risky at their disposal and contribute to the imagination of the fandom.

Spoiler for Episode 3:

-Why didn't the Admiral and Nagato dispatch Akagi or other large ships for this operation?

Torpedo Squadron forte is their mobility: they were used by the IJN for their ability to be deployed within a quick notice. Due to their mobility, fuel consumption efficiency and also size, Torpedo Squadrons were part of an effective hit-and-run tactic but also for scouting, which is exactly what they needed: luring the island patrols in order to ambush them. This strategy isn't exactly viable with Battleships and especially the Aircraft carriers (even moreso in Kancolle as players' Aircraft Carriers cannot attack at night).

Since it is a night cover attack, this is even more relevant in term of "game mechanics", since Destroyers and Light Cruisers are queens of night battles in Kancolle, easily outperforming bigger ships.



Also, due to how slower and bigger Battleships and Carriers are, it would be much easier for the Abyssals to spot them.

Finally, if we were to consider every game mechanic, there are maps that force you to engage it with a light fleet, otherwise you will never reach the boss node.





-Why does Yuubari ask her squadron not to leave her behind?

The Light Cruiser Yuubari wasn't really fast as its boiler was a destroyer type, in order to avoid overweight. Also, the Yuubari was also a ship that was used to test a lot of experimental systems and weapons, which is the reason why the weight was a concern.

As result, Yuubari is often portrayed as a light cruiser who has the short end of a stick, being always late due to either her engine or overgeared (she is one of the only 2 light cruisers in the game that can equip 4 equipments, whereas standard Light Cruisers can only equip 3. The other one who can do that is Ooyodo).

This joke was already visible in episode 1: Yuubari actually had trouble to follow Kongou's squadron.





-Kisaragi sunk due to a single bomb?! Isn't that a bit exaggerated? How is it handled in the game?

This is a reference to the fate of the actual Destroyer Kisaragi: a bomb from an Allies aircraft landed on her stern where her depth charges were stored. This created a major explosion, sinking her.

Of course, this kind of occurence isn't possible in the game, otherwise it would be absolutely frustrating since the battle system is RNG dependant. There is a single condition that would make a ship sink: if a Kanmusu engages a new battle while already in a danger state (below 25%: 大破 - heavily damaged ). Otherwise, even if they were already half damaged or heavily damaged -during- the battle, a Kanmusu cannot sink at all as long as they initially started the fight with more than 25% HP.



Simply put, the anime staff took a more logical approach, because in the game, Kanmusu who weren't heavily damaged are simply invincible and would never drop below 1hp, even if they were attacked consecutively by Battleships and the likes.

This is why I stated earlier why sinking a ship is not due to RNG: it is the player's responsibility alone. Of course, this is not valid for the anime.



Please note that it is possible to craft/drop another "copy" of the fallen Kanmusu, but in term of game mechanic, the player recover a fresh duplicate and is by no mean the fallen Kanmusu somehow rescued.

Whether or not the anime staff plans to reintroduce Kisaragi is yet to be confirmed.

Spoiler for Episode 4:

-Why are Fubuki and Shimakaze dispatched for that kind of mission? Aren't Destroyers quite weak in general?

Historically, Destroyers are pretty much escorts to capital ship. Not only they are much faster and smaller for scouting, they also serve as "shield" against close range threats.

As for Kancolle, they are needed for certain maps where there are ship requirements for certain routes (I will cover this later on).

In term of the anime, Nagato probably designed Fubuki and Shimakaze for their spec: as explained before by Nagato, Special Destroyers are more suited for battle, and Fubuki is pretty much the first one of such generation. She also needs more experience, even if she can handle herself now.

Meanwhile, Shimakaze is a one kind of super destroyer, boasting a speed close to 41 knots thanks to her engine. In comparison, Fubuki can only go as fast as 38 knots. This is why she is often portrayed prideful when it comes to her speed (she actually boasts about it during her intro).





-So this is Kongou.. wait, is it me or her design is a bit different compared to her sisters? (hair band, top of the sleeves, socks, boots, etc)

Kongou's design in the anime is actually based on her remodel, Kai ni, wherea Hiei, Haruna and Kirishima are in their basic/kai form. There isn't much explanations about why they made such distinction, except to put more emphasis that Kongou is the elder sister there.





-I see some drums and all... resources?

These represent the 4 kind of resources used in the game. Fuel is represented by green drums, ammo is represented by brown bullets, steel is represented by grey ingots and bauxite is represented by orange ore.

They have a very specific use in the game and admirals must keep in mind when they want to make sortie or constructions (be it ships or equipments):

*Fuel is used for resupplies, repairs and constructions.

*Ammo is used for resupplies and constructions.

*Steel is used for repairs and constructions.

*Bauxite is used for resupplies for carriers and constructions.





-Is there any weather issue in the game?

No. The situation involving the squall is pretty much anime exclusive, although it does make sense when you consider plane operations.





-Zekamashi?

On the Rensouhou-chan buoy, there is a ぜかまし written on it, which is the reversed hiragana reading of Shimakaze. This became a recurring joke when people discuss about her.





-Rensouhou-chan? You are talking about these little... cannons? What are they?

These are 12.7cm twin gun mount, similar to what Fubuki is using. Instead of using regular weapons, these are... well, "alive" I guess. There isn't really any specific explanation about this, except these are pretty much mascots.





-"Compass fairies"?

This is a reference to the fairies that are manipulating the compass. The compass is the gimmick that dictates where the fleet is going on the map. However, the compass direction is mainly decided by the RNG which can lead the fleet to dead end and undesirable routes.

Because of this, the compass and its fairies are often subject of jokes as they are the major bane of the players, to the point they can be stalled for a very long time on the same map.



That said, in some maps, if the fleet has a specific compositions (i.e at least 2 destroyers etc), the compass will always give the expected direction or at least a higher probability to get the desired direction.





-Kongou talking about the admiral touching her?! What the...?

This is a direct reference to her line when she is "poked too much". In the game, you can click on the flagship of the first fleet who serves as the admiral secretary, and the latter will have some responses. One of them is triggered if you click her too much, which is the one Kongou said.

While it does look completely random here, Kongou actually tried to relieve a bit Fubuki's stress and went a bit too much with her imagination.





-Why is the camera making a close-up on Kirishima's head when they spotted the enemies?

That is because the Kongou sisters' hair band are actually based on the mast of the real Kongou battleships, which is where the surface radars were placed.





-Why did Fubuki stop moving all of a sudden?

As implied by that scene, Fubuki was pretty much disabled. During the Pacific War, many ships got their engine room hit by a shell or torpedo, which stopped them cold. Here, Fubuki was heavily damaged and could have sink if it wasn't for Kongou's intervention.





-Wait, did Kongou really knocked off that battleship shell?

Battleships are reputed for their very thick armor, and this is reflected in Kancolle by their much better resilience (Armor and HP). Considering Kongou is in her remodel form and the Ru-class was a regular one, it isn't surprising that Kongou could brush it off easily.

Note that the game has some similar feature, but only for Flagship protection: any non-flagship that isn't heavily damaged can intervene and take damage instead of the flagship. Usually the damage taken is reduced or completely nullified.

KanColle - Master FAQ / Kanmusu List (up to Episode 4)