, abbreviated as , is a Japanese
free-to-play
Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...
web browser game developed by
Kadokawa Games Kadokawa may refer to:
* Kadokawa Corporation, the holding company of the Kadokawa Group
**Kadokawa Content Gate and Kadokawa Mobile, both former names for BookWalker
**Kadokawa Future Publishing, a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation and the publ ...
and published by
DMM.com
is a Japan-based electronic commerce and Internet company with a diversified group of businesses that includes online shopping, eikaiwa, and video on demand service. The company manages DMM.com, an online entertainment site that allows users to ...
.
The central theme of the game is the representation of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
warships
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and ...
personified as teenage girls and young adult women with personality characteristics reflecting the history of each ship. Originally, all of these were Japanese, but ships from other nations have also been added as the game has developed. Gameplay involves all aspects of naval warfare, including not only combat but also maintenance, repair, upgrading, resupply, morale, logistics and mission planning.
The game was launched on April 23, 2013. As of April 2015, the game is available in Japan only and has 3 million registered players.
An
Android client of the original game was released in 2016. The game has developed into a much larger media franchise; various media including multiple
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series and
light novel
A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...
s have been released, in addition to an officially licensed
tabletop role-playing game
A tabletop role-playing game (typically abbreviated as TRPG or TTRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a form of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech. Participa ...
. A
PlayStation Vita
The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...
game was released in February 2016,
[ and an anime television series aired its first season from January to March 2015,] with an animated film[ released in November 2016, and a second season that will premiere in November 2022.
]
Gameplay
The gameplay is centered upon building squadrons composed of individual characters represented as cards with different attributes, and then sending said squadrons out on missions. Each of the characters are moe anthropomorphism
is a form of anthropomorphism in anime and manga where '' moe'' qualities are given to non-human beings (such as animals, plants, supernatural entities and fantastical creatures), objects, concepts, or phenomena. In addition to ''moe'' feature ...
s of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
naval warship
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...
s which are depicted as cute girls, known as . These personified warships are based on real-life vessels which are explained in detail within the game; the physical characteristics, appearances and personalities of each of the girls correlate in some way to the real-life vessel (for example, ships with a larger displacement tonnage
The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...
such as cruisers, battleships and aircraft carriers are usually depicted as young women, while smaller ships such as destroyers and coastal defense ships look and behave like pubescent girls, with a few exceptions). The vast majority of these fleet girls were based on the ships of Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
along with few that were based on other navies' warships instead, including three from Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
. So far foreign navies represented in the game are include Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
, Regia Marina
The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...
, United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
, Soviet Navy, Marine Nationale
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in th ...
, Svenska Marinen, Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
and Koninklijke Marine
The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...
. The player takes on the role of an and organizes their fleets in battle in order to win. Combat is largely automated, and manual actions by the player include micromanagement such as building and repairing.[ The player can organise up to four different fleets.]
The player progresses through the game by advancing through maps, gaining experience points through grinding
Grind is the cross-sectional shape of a blade.
Grind, grinds, or grinding may also refer to:
Grinding action
* Grinding (abrasive cutting), a method of crafting
* Grinding (dance), suggestive club dancing
* Grinding (video gaming), repetitive and ...
, obtaining new fleet girls whilst repairing and resupplying existing ones, and fulfilling quests to obtain resources. New equipment can be crafted, allowing the fleet girls to equip different armaments depending on the situation.[ Acquisition of new ''kanmusu'' by the player can occur via drops on map or via crafting, and is heavily RNG-based; randomization is also a key component of the battle mechanism, map progression and equipment development.][ Construction, resupply and repair of ships is reliant upon four types of resources, namely ]fuel
A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...
, ammunition
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
, steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
and bauxite
Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...
; these supplies will gradually increase automatically as time passes. Players can choose to engage in expeditions, sorties, and quests to further increase their supplies as well.[
Ships can be customised through the addition of various equipment within their empty slots, which add attribute bonuses and even provide special effects in some cases;][ such equipment include ]naval gun
Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for naval gunfire support, shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firi ...
s, anti-aircraft gun
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
s, torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
es, torpedo bomber
A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight ...
s, dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...
s, fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
, seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
s, recon plane
A surveillance aircraft is an aircraft used for surveillance. They are operated by military forces and other government agencies in roles such as List of intelligence gathering disciplines, intelligence gathering, Airborne ground surveillance, b ...
s, radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
s, steam turbine
A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
s, special artillery shells, depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
s, sonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...
s, drum canisters, searchlight
A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direc ...
s and anti-torpedo bulge
The anti-torpedo bulge (also known as an anti-torpedo blister) is a form of defence against naval torpedoes occasionally employed in warship construction in the period between the First and Second World Wars. It involved fitting (or retrofitting ...
s. The effectiveness of ships in combat depend on its attribute parameters, namely hitpoints, armour, evasion, aircraft capacity, speed, attack range, firepower, torpedo, anti-air, anti-submarine, line-of-sight, and luck.
''Kanmusu'' are capable of becoming stronger as they gain experience and level up after battles, and can also be remodeled into more advanced models once they reach a certain level. Unwanted ''kanmusu'' can also be "fed" to other ''kanmusu'' through a process known as , which grants attribute bonuses to one ship in exchange for losing another.[ Ships can become fatigued once it accumulates after sorties; fatigued ships have decreased attributes, whilst sparkling ships have increased attributes. Fatigue can be alleviated by allowing ships some time to rest, or by recovering the fleet's morale using . As ships become damaged, their icons begin to blow off smoke and their clothing become visually torn and battered; in the event when a ship's durability drops down to zero, it is considered sunk, and the player will lose the fleet girl.][ Players cannot resurrect fleet girls that have been lost unless they are in possession of an emergency repair item, and are only able to re-train ships that have been lost from scratch.
Whilst the game is free-to-play, special premium bonuses can be obtained through prepaid game money and credit card ]microtransaction
Microtransactions, often abbreviated as mtx, are a business model where users can purchase virtual goods with micropayments. Microtransactions are often used in free-to-play games to provide a revenue source for the developers. While microtransact ...
s, such as repair dock expansions, home shipyard furniture tokens, ship possession limit increases, and special consumable items. Although each ship in the game has an experience level cap of Lv.99, the player is able to obtain the "marriage papers and ring" item with a monetary purchase priced at 700 yen or via a one-time special quest, which allows the player to "marry" the girl, thereby breaking the original level cap and allowing a new maximum of Lv.175, in addition to other perks such as stat boosts and decreased operating costs; this process can be repeated as many times as the player wishes, and there is no limit to the number of girls that can be "married".
Players can choose to battle against the fleets of other real-life players on the same game server via the exercise maneuvers menu. Players are also able to compete with each other's scores via in-game ranking boards, with periodical prizes for top ranking players. As of January 2016, there are 20 servers that can be played on, each named after a World War II-era Japanese naval base.[ The game is currently intended to be played by a Japanese domestic audience only, with the interface exclusively in the Japanese language. As of present, the game cannot be played outside Japan without the use of a ]VPN
A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. The be ...
; utilisation of such methods to circumvent country IP restrictions and access the game breach the DMM.com online game terms of use, however. From August 2013 onwards, new player registrations were only available via periodic lottery, due to the servers being overloaded by large numbers of new registrants. After July 2015, new registrants were able to join the 20th server without the need to partake in a lottery; due to excessive player numbers, however, the new server has closed on multiple occasions.
Fleet girls
Upon the debut of the game, there were a total of 94 different fleet girls available. Within an update introduced May 15–17, 2013, additional fleet girls were added. On September 11, 2013, the first non-Japanese vessel, Soviet destroyer ''Verniy'' (Верный), was introduced into the game. There were plans during the early stages to eventually bring additional ships from other countries, and in March 2014, three German Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
vessels were added. Two Italian ships were added as part of the 2015 Spring event in April 2015, with one more added in August. The first fully non-Axis ship, the American USS Iowa (BB-61)
USS ''Iowa'' (BB-61) is a retired battleship, the lead ship of her class, and the fourth in the United States Navy to be named after the state of Iowa. Owing to the cancellation of the s, ''Iowa'' is the last lead ship of any class of United S ...
, was introduced with KanColle Kai on February 18, 2016, later becoming available in the browser game's 2016 Spring event. Presently there are 164 original girls in addition to 72 upgraded variants, bringing the total number of fleet girls to 236. The game currently holds spaces for 250 different types of fleet girls. Different fleet girls are illustrated by different artists; artists involved in the drawing of various characters include Shibafu, Yoshinori Shizuma, Konishi,[ Kūrokuro,] Akemi Mikoto[ and 16 other artists. ]Fumikane Shimada
, is an anime and video game illustrator and character designer from Okayama Prefecture.
Biography
Well known for sparking the popularity of the mecha musume boom within the 2000s, Fumikane was involved in various dōjin activities as one of the ...
, who was previously the lead character designer for ''Strike Witches
is a Japanese media mix originally created by Fumikane Shimada via a series of magazine illustration columns. The franchise has since been adapted into several light novel, manga, and anime series and various video games. ...
'' and ''Girls und Panzer
, abbreviated as ''GuP'' or ''Garupan'' , is a Japanese anime franchise created by Actas which depicts a competition between girls' high schools practicing tank warfare as a sport. The series was directed by Tsutomu ...
'', created the designs and illustrations for Japanese armored aircraft carrier ''Taihō'' and the five German vessels.
The traits of each fleet girl are based on aspects of the historical ship they are based on; for instance, frequently adds English words and phrases into her dialog as a reference to her British origins, whilst is depicted as a speedy girl in artworks and official print media, since ''Shimakaze'' was one of the fastest destroyers of World War II. Characters which share particular links also have similar physical traits: ships of the same class may have similar accessories or clothing, whilst all Imperial Japanese Navy submarines are depicted as wearing sukumizu.
Voice actors
Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...
have been employed to voice the fleet girls, with anywhere around 10 fleet girls being voiced by one actor.
Development
Prior to ''Kantai Collection'', the majority of games published by DMM.com were R-18+ adult online games. In an effort to attract customers from a wider audience, DMM.com experimented with ''Kantai Collection'' in partnership with Kadokawa Games; by November 2013, ''Kantai Collection'' accounted for 30-40% of DMM.com's total online game business.
Unlike other online games in Japan, ''Kantai Collection'' was designed with the intention of not forcing the player to spend money or participate in "gacha" lotteries. The purpose of this stems from Kadokawa desiring a larger target market and to establish the game as a well-known name, eventually allowing for merchandising and sales of franchise works.[
Kensuke Tanaka, who prior to ''Kantai Collection'' was involved in the production and public relations for '']Final Fantasy X
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square as the tenth main entry in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Originally released in 2001 for PlayStation 2, the game was re-released as ''Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster'' for PlayStat ...
'', '' XI'' and ''XIII
XIII may refer to:
* 13 (number) or XIII in Roman numerals
* 13th century in Roman numerals
* ''XIII'' (comics), a Belgian comic book series by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance
** ''XIII'' (2003 video game), a 2003 video game based on the comic b ...
'', wished to create a game which involves historical elements while still appealing to the regular fans of DMM.com, namely fans of anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
and manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
culture, and this led him to the idea of developing a game centered on anthropomorphisms of warships.
Media
Print media
Manga
A bi-monthly online web manga by Ryōta Momoi began serialization from April 23, 2013, in the '' Famitsu Comic Clear''. The manga follows a 4koma
, a comic strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom. They also sometimes run right-to-left horizontally or use a hybrid 2×2 style, depending on the layout requirements of ...
format, and features a storyline with the fleet girls enrolled in schools, where senior girls teach battle techniques to their juniors. It has been updated weekly since October 2013. Ryōta Momoi's 4koma manga will be released in print book format under the title beginning from December 14, 2013.
''Famitsu Comic Clear'' has introduced an additional manga adaptation by Shōtarō Harada under the title beginning from July 9, 2013.
The Famitsu website also hosts a webcomic titled by Tadashi Mizumoto which focuses on gameplay aspects of ''Kantai Collection''. It began serialization from August 23, 2013. In addition, illustrations column with multiple illustrators at the same time as the manga has also been serialized.
A manga by Kensuke Tanaka and illustrated by Sakae Saitō titled began serialisation in ''Monthly Comic Alive
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Media Factory. The first issue was released on June 27, 2006.
Serialized titles
*''Absolute Duo''
*''Alice or Alice'' (until 2015, part of the supplement magazine ''Comic Cune'')
*'' Ano Ko ni Kis ...
'' in the December 2013 issue (released October 28, 2013), with a focus on an original story revolving around Tenryū and Tatsuta.[
In addition, another manga series by SASAYUKi featuring the title was serialized in '']Comptiq
is a Japanese computer game magazine, first published in 1983, by Kadokawa Shoten. The name "Comptiq" came from combining the words "computer" and "boutique". Originally a PC magazine, its focus shifted from computers to computer games. As of S ...
'' from the December 2013 issue (released November 9, 2013) onwards,[ with a story based on the adventures of battleship Kongō.] It began serialisation within the May 2014 issue of ''Comptiq'' (released April 10, 2014) and was later terminated within the November 2014 issue (released October 10, 2014).
A manga titled and illustrated by Yasuhiro Miyama began serialisation in the January 2014 issue (released November 9, 2013) of ''Comp Ace
is a Japanese PC game, computer game and manga magazine published by Kadokawa Shoten. ''Comp Ace'' began as a special edition version of another one of Kadokawa Shoten's magazines, ''Comptiq''. The first issue was released on March 26, 2005, and ...
'', with the plot focusing on the Akatsuki sisters.
'' Age Premium'' featured a manga publication by Nanaroku titled starting from the January 2014 issue (delivered December 9, 2013), with Inazuma as the main character. It was serialized until the May 2014 issue (delivered April 9, 2014).
A manga series titled by Kazuma Yamazaki, Hyōbu Madoka later Kaname Yokoshima and illustrated by Kazuma Yamazaki began serialisation within the ''Dengeki Maoh
is a Japanese seinen magazine published by ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks). It first went on sale on October 27, 2005, and is sold every month on the twenty-seventh. The magazine features information on video games, manga, and light nove ...
'' magazine in the February 2014 issue (released December 27, 2013).
A manga series by Hiroichi titled began serialisation in the July 2014 issue (released May 27, 2014) of ''Dengeki Daioh
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks) under the ''Dengeki'' brand. Many manga serialized in ''Dengeki Daioh'' were later published in ''tankōbon'' volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Co ...
'', focusing on a storyline revolving around the heavy cruisers Kumano and Suzuya.
Kadokawa website also hosts a webcomic titled by Sau Nitō and illustrated by Sōta Wakui which focuses on gameplay aspects of ''Kantai Collection''. It began serialization from March 22, 2014, in Comic Walker.
A manga series by Miki Morinaga titled began serialization in the December 2018 issue (released November 10, 2018) of ''Comptiq'', focusing on a storyline where Gambier Bay, Tashkent, and Commandant Teste discover an old bar on the naval base they're stationed at, eventually learning the skills of being bartenders and the history of cocktails. Gambier Bay uses the opportunity as a way of learning to get over her fear of the Kurita Fleet, as well to pull herself out of being too self-deprecating. Two volumes of the collected chapters have been released, and the third volume is scheduled to be released in September 2020. Currently it's also available on Comic Walker since July 10, 2019.
Kadokawa has also announced a manga series titled , created by Ōto Taguchi who was previously responsible for the ''Mobile Suit Gundam 00
is a Japanese anime television series, the eleventh installment in Sunrise studio's long-running ''Gundam'' franchise comprising two seasons. The series is set on a futuristic Earth and is centered on the exploits of the fictional paramilita ...
'' manga. However, the project was cancelled after a disagreement between the author and publisher.
''Famitsu Comic Clear'', ''DNA Comics'', ''Comptiq'' and ''Dengeki Comics'' have also published numerous series of comic compilation books which each contain a collection of various one-shot
One shot may refer to:
Film and television
* One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so
* ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake
* ''One Shot'' (2 ...
manga.
Light novels
A short story series featuring aircraft carriers Zuikaku and Shōkaku written by Hiroki Uchida
is a Japanese footballer who plays for Yokohama Fortress Football Club in the Kanto Football League 1.
Career Cerro Porteño PF
In 2012, Uchida was present with Cerro Porteño Presidente France in 2012 and was part of their squad for the 20 ...
and illustrated by Matarō, titled , began serialization within the January 2014 issue (released November 20, 2013) of ''Dragon Magazine
Dragon Magazine may refer to:
* ''Dragon'' (magazine), an American magazine for ''Dungeons & Dragons'' players
* ''Dragon Magazine'' (Fujimi Shobo), a Japanese light novel magazine
{{disambig ...
''.[
A light novel based on the game with the title ,] written by Toshihiko Tsukiji and illustrated by NOCO, was released on November 30, 2013.[
A novel project featuring aircraft carriers Kaga and Akagi involving the illustrator Koruri and the authors Kei Shiide, Kazuyuki Takami and Dai Akagane has been announced,][ with the title . It was serialized in ''Comptiq'' between the January 2014 (released November 9, 2013) and August 2014 (released July 10, 2014) issues. A novel to share the view of the world, written by Kazuyuki Takami and illustrated by GUNP was released on November 2, 2014.
A novel series featuring light aircraft carriers Zuihō written by Yukiya Murasaki and illustrated by Satoru Arikawa, titled was released on February 1, 2015.
]
Video games
''KanColle Kai''
A single-player turn-based strategy game titled was announced for the PlayStation Vita
The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...
during Kadokawa Games' 2013 Autumn media briefing, and following two launch delays, was finally released on February 18, 2016. The game is the second title independently created by Kadokawa Game Studio, after ''Natural Doctrine
is a 2014 tactical role-playing game by Kadokawa Games for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.
Development
The game was announced at the SCEJA Press Conference in September 2013. It is the first title that is solely developed b ...
''. ''KanColle Kai'' introduces various strategy elements such as hexagonal world maps, a new resource transfer system involving the escorting of supply ships over each game turn, player-selected difficulty settings, enemy counterattacks against the player's bases, control of over up to eight fleets on the world map, and the ability to simultaneously operate two separate fleets within some sortie maps. Existing functions from the original web browser game are also present, with major user interface changes. Menu screens feature Live2D
Live2D is an animation software developed by Live2D Ltd. It can be used to generate real-time 2D animations, usually anime-style characters, using layered, continuous parts based on an illustration, without the need of frame-by-frame animation ...
character animations, and the player will encounter a "game over" state if all of their territories are destroyed by the enemy. The Vita game contained the original debut of USS ''Iowa'' (BB-61) as a playable ship, prior to her seasonal event implementation within the browser game.
In March 2014, financial analyst Fukuda Sōichirō of Citigroup Global Markets Japan
is a financial services firm in Japan. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Citigroup Japan Holdings Corp., the main Japanese holding company of American financial firm Citigroup.
Nikko Cordial and Citigroup first established a joint venture in J ...
made the prediction in a stock investor report that the PS Vita game would ship 500,000 copies, and expects that a profit of 1 billion yen be made. He also cites the ability to charge players for in-game premium items on the PS Vita platform as an upside for Kadokawa Corporation business-wise. ''Famitsu
formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...
'' gave the game a review score of 29/40. The game sold 140,757 physical retail copies within the first week of release in Japan, placing first within the Japanese software sales rankings for that particular week; '' Dengeki Online'' and ''Famitsu'' both report that between 80-100% of the initial retail batch stock was sold out within the first week.
Kadokawa Games has announced that the game will be no longer sold physically in retail stores or digitally in the PlayStation Store by the end of January 2017.
''KanColle Arcade''
is a trading card
A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other ...
arcade game
An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...
developed by Sega AM2
previously known as is a video game development team within the Japanese multinational video game developer Sega. Yu Suzuki, who had previously developed arcade games for Sega including ''Hang-On'' and ''Out Run'', was the first manager of th ...
and launched on April 26, 2016. The game features fully modeled 3D characters, and involves the player taking control of the direction and speed of their ship in combat against Abyssal ships, in addition to collecting different shipgirls. The game charges players with a GP system akin to that of ''Border Break
, is a third-person mecha action arcade game developed by Sega. It is the first title to run on Sega's RingEdge arcade system board, and was released on September 9, 2009 in Japan, in Hong Kong on January 25, 2010, and in Taiwan on April 1, ...
'', where money is converted into GP at a specific rate, with these points consumed for each second of play or converted in exchange for various other game elements. The game is controlled using a steering wheel and speed lever, and the player is able to organize their fleet using ''kanmusu'' cards ejected by the arcade machine. While in combat, the player can choose between using primary and secondary armaments, torpedoes and airstrikes against foes.
Tabletop RPG
An official KanColle tabletop RPG
A tabletop role-playing game (typically abbreviated as TRPG or TTRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a form of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech. Participa ...
has been developed; the introductory rulebook for the game was published by Kadokawa and Fujimi Shobo
, formerly , was a Japanese publisher that specialized in light novels, manga, role-playing games and collectible card games. Founded in 1972 and reorganized three times, it was at times an independent company and at times an imprint of Kadokawa F ...
, and released on 18 March 2014. A first rule book written by Tōichiro Kawashima and illustrated by Yukio Hirai, titled was released on March 18, 2014.
A replay series written by Shiei Akatoki and illustrated by Yebisu Daikanyama, titled was released on July 19, 2014.
A lonely replay series written by Tōichiro Kawashima and illustrated by Chino Yukimiya, titled was released on January 20, 2015.
Anime
An anime television series aired from January to March 2015. The series is animated by Diomedéa
, previously known as , is a Japanese animation studio located in Nerima, Tokyo, Japan. The company was founded on October 5, 2005 after a split from Group TAC.
Productions Television series
Original video animations
Films
See also
* Group ...
, and features as the main character, with the storyline based on her point of view. The show is directed by Keizou Kusakawa, with the script written by Jukki Hanada
is a Japanese anime screenwriter and light novelist. His grandfather is essayist and literary critic Kiyoteru Hanada, who also gave him his first name.
Screenwriting
* series head writer denoted in bold Television series
*''Jankenman'' (1992)
...
. The anime series features the voice cast from the original game.[
A second season that features Japanese destroyer Shigure as the main character was announced on January 4, 2019. The series is produced by ]ENGI
, also known as Entertainment Graphic Innovation, or Studio ENGI, is a Japanese animation studio founded by Kadokawa, Sammy Corporation, and Ultra Super Pictures, and is a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation.
History
On April 4, 2018, Kadokawa e ...
and directed by Kazuya Miura, with scripts written by Kensuke Tanaka, the game's original writer, character designs handled by Chika Nomi, and music composed by Kaori Ohkoshi. It premiered in November 2022 and will run for 8 episodes.
Audio CDs
An original game soundtrack was released on August 3, 2014. Second original game soundtrack was released on August 5, 2015.
Two vocal music collection CDs and have also been released on August 3, 2014.
Limited edition versions of the ''side:Kongō'' and ''Torpedo Squadron Chronicles'' manga series ''tankōbon'' were bundled with drama CDs featuring original dialogue stories from the characters' original voice actors, titled and .
An anime television soundtrack was released on March 25, 2015. An anime television vocal music collection CD was released on March 25, 2015.
Film
An animated film, titled , was released on November 26, 2016.
Plot and setting
Whilst the original game does not have a particular storyline, and largely focuses on "gameplay", each of the official media works feature various settings with separate and differing canons. Not only do the stories differ, but also the depictions and interpretations of fleet girls and the manner in which they engage in combat. The game does not strictly define anything relating to its setting, allowing for a greater diversity of secondary literary adaptation works which cater to different audiences, and more artistic freedom among secondary works which can approach the setting of ''Kantai Collection'' differently.
Kadokawa has not officially announced whether any secondary work is absolute canon, nor have they released significant quantities of canonical material, with some official works even contradicting one another. For instance, some manga anthology depictions show the ship girls as ship-sized giants, while other serialized manga show them as human-sized. The television animation explains the ship girls as humans born with the ability to possess the spirits of World War II warships, while within the ''Bonds of the Wings of Cranes'' light novel, the girls refer to themselves as actual warships, and that their origin is unknown.
2015 anime television series
Season two of the anime is still in the works.
''KanColle: Bonds of the Wings of Cranes''
Within the story of the light novel ''Bonds of the Wings of Cranes'', the setting is within an alternate universe where World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
never took place. The fleet of the Abyss, consisting of monster ships, lock down access to the seas and indiscriminately fire upon vessels and aircraft, and feed on the corpses of dead sailors in the water. The large number of abyssals, along with their regenerating ability, allowed them to easily defeat the conventional navies and modern militaries of the world. Ship girls are the guardians of humanity and human-weapon hybrids that are summoned using , with female forms as the ships they represent have female souls. ''Zuikaku'', having taken a humanoid form, remembers a time where she was once a ship, however, does not know the reason behind her human form.
The fleet girls live within an old-fashioned Japanese-style hotel which doubles as the girls' dormitory and is close to a nearby factory which services combat equipment. The admiral of the fleet is a young man who behaves like a pervert, fond of groping the ship girls and playing with their skirts, although his personality does become serious when commanding the fleet. As the ship girls and abyssal fleets engage in combat, both sides are guarded by a protective barrier. The aircraft carriers ''Akagi'' and ''Kaga'' are depicted as firing archery arrows from a bow which then transform into fighter planes. Armaments are detachable equipment, and when not in combat gear the ships otherwise appear as ordinary girls.
''KanColle: Kagerō, Setting Sail!''
This light novel is set within a universe based on the real world, where normal girls undergo training to become ship girls. Hundreds of warships were destroyed by abyssal forces which spontaneously emerge from anywhere under the sea, and as a result, ship girls are employed to counter the threat.
''KanColle: Someday as the Seas turn Calm''
A series of mini-arcs connecting a ship girl to her existing counterpart by gradually introducing characters and rotating the leads. Within this manga, ship girls are depicted as flying on the water surface whilst in combat against the abyss fleet of monster ships, and launch aircraft managed by tiny fairies in a conventional takeoff manner from their body attachments. Artillery and torpedo combat is shown to be performed at long range, whilst anti-submarine warfare takes place in close quarters.
''Torpedo Squadron Chronicles''
This manga adaptation focuses on the adventures of the Tenryū class and Akatsuki class, as it follows the newly assigned Tenryū and her new squadron in solving the mystery of the Abyssal Fleet.
''KanColle: Shimakaze Whirlwind Girl''
This manga depicts the story of a newly appointed, rookie officer by the name of Ensign Akai who arrives at the Maizuru Naval Base for duty as the assistant to the vice-admiral, however has to deal with a stubborn and difficult ''Shimakaze'' who spends most of her time alone, and does not have any friends. Multiple nations around the world have developed ship girls for their navy power, and Maizuru is one of the major bases of Japan responsible for managing them.
''KanColle: Fubuki, Ganbarimasu!''
This slice of life
Slice of life is a depiction of mundane experiences in art and entertainment. In theater, slice of life refers to naturalism, while in literary parlance it is a narrative technique in which a seemingly arbitrary sequence of events in a character ...
4koma depicts the everyday life of the ship girls at the fleet training school, where newly manufactured ship girls spend one year learning knowledge before setting out to sea. Most of the scenarios are taken from the point of view of ''Fubuki'', and feature the girls doing fun things with one another, which include attending school, drinking tea, celebrating various holidays like Tanabata, Halloween and Christmas, in addition to the occasional sortie. The ship girls retain memories of their previous lives from World War II, at times displaying signs of post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...
. References to their personal histories and characteristics are common and usually used to comedic effect. This manga depicts the ship girls as being able to walk on the surface of the water in a manner akin to ice-skating, just like in the anime series.
2016 film
Merchandise and other collaborations
Merchandise based on the game have been launched as a result of the success of the online game, proliferation of derivative works, and strong interest in the franchise. PVC figurines have been released, including Nendoroid
The series is a brand of plastic figures created by the Japanese Good Smile Company in 2006. They typically depict characters from anime, manga or video games and are designed with a large head and smaller body to give them a cute appearance. Th ...
and Figma figurines of both Shimakaze and Akagi, in addition to a 1/7 scale PVC display figurine of a severely damaged Kongō designed and manufactured by Max Factory. An expansion for a trading card game Weiß Schwarz
is a Japanese collectible card game created by Bushiroad. The game is separated into Weiß-side and Schwarz-side. "Weiß" and "Schwarz" are German language for white and black, respectively.
Gameplay
The game focuses on two main aspects: c ...
based on Kancolle theme was released on March 28, 2014, and reportedly sold 1.7 million packets within its first shipment.
In September 2013, a collaborative project between ''Kantai Collection'' and the ''Arpeggio of Blue Steel
is a Japanese manga series produced by Ark Performance and serialized in Shōnen Gahosha's '' Young King Ours''. Twenty-three manga volumes have been released and an anime series by Sanzigen aired from October to December 2013. The same s ...
'' anime was announced. Illustrators for ''Kantai Collection'' are responsible for drawing some of the anime end cards for ''Arpeggio of Blue Steel'', which feature crossovers with ''Kantai Collection'' characters. An ''Arpeggio of Blue Steel'' in-game special event for ''Kantai Collection'' also took place from December 24, 2013, to January 8, 2014.
Reception
Player population
Due to the high popularity of the game within Japan, game operators created larger numbers of servers in early 2013 to cope with the influx of players.[ During August 2013, the number of new players spiked by 100,000 people within one week, to a total of 600,000 people, with 350,000 daily active players.][ By September 2013, it was reported that there were more than 800,000 players regularly active.][ The total number of players broke 1,000,000 on 9 October 2013. As of April 2015, there were 3 million players.][ One commonly cited explanation behind the success of the game is that players aren't forced to spend money to play, unlike other popular Japanese online games; the free-to-play nature of ''Kantai Collection'' makes in-game purchases optional, and not a necessity.][ It is estimated that on average, ''Kantai Collection'' players spend less money on the game compared to the popular Japanese games '']Puzzle & Dragons
is a puzzle video game with role-playing and strategy elements, developed and published by GungHo Online Entertainment for the iOS, Android, and Amazon Fire platforms.
''Puzzle & Dragons'' is a match-three puzzle game, requiring players t ...
'', ''The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls
is a Japanese free-to-play simulation video game co-developed by Cygames and Bandai Namco Studios for the Mobage social network platform for mobile phones. It was first released on November 28, 2011, for feature phones, and compatibility ...
'' and ''Love Live! School Idol Festival
(often abbreviated as ''LLSIF'' or ''Sukufesu'') is a Japanese rhythm game series. The original game, developed by KLab and published by Bushiroad's Bushimo, was first released in Japan on April 15, 2013 for iOS and June 8, 2013 for Android. Th ...
''.
Cultural trends and industry reception
Interest in ''Kantai Collection'' has significantly risen over the months following its release, to the point where it has often been compared with the fandom of ''Touhou Project
The , also known simply as , is a bullet hell shoot 'em up video game series created by one-man independent Japanese ''doujin'' soft developer Team Shanghai Alice. Since 1995, the team's member, Jun'ya "ZUN" Ōta, has independently developed ...
'' as an emerging viral fandom. There has been a large increase in online activity and fan-created material relating to the game, such as fan-made artworks, doujinshi
, also romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of '' doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of existing works and created by ...
and other derivative content. As of April 2015, there are over 345,000 different artworks on Pixiv
is a Japanese online community for artists. It was first launched as a beta test on September 10, 2007, by Takahiro Kamitani and Takanori Katagiri. Pixiv Inc. is headquartered in Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. As of April 2020, the site con ...
tagged with "KanColle" created by 67,000 individual artists, and KanColle-related videos on Niconico were watched 460 million times.[ During ]Comiket
, more commonly known as or , is a semiannual ''doujinshi'' convention in Tokyo, Japan. A grassroots market focused on the sale of '' doujin'' (self-published) works, Comiket is a not-for-profit fan convention administered by the volunteer-ru ...
85, there were 1,136 dōjin circles producing works for ''Kantai Collection'', placing third behind ''Touhou Project'' (2,272 circles) and ''Kuroko's Basketball
is a Japanese sports manga series written and illustrated by Tadatoshi Fujimaki. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2008 to September 2014, with its chapters collected in 30 ...
'' (1,462 circles), and ahead of ''The Idolmaster
is a Japanese media franchise that began in 2005 with a raising simulation and rhythm video game series created by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The series primarily centers on the career of a producer who works with a group of p ...
'' and ''Vocaloid
is a singing voice synthesizer software product. Its signal processing part was developed through a joint research project led by Kenmochi Hideki at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain, in 2000 and was not originally intended to b ...
''; this is a significant increase over the previous Comiket 84 event, which only had just over 100 circles with ''Kantai Collection'' works. Dōjin material relating to the game have also gained traction overseas; KanColle-exclusive dōjin events have been held in Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
on 22 February 2014, and Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
on 29 March 2014.
On 12 December 2013, Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
officially released the top hashtags of 2013; #艦これ was the most used hashtag among Japanese Twitter users. The game was also the eighth most searched term within Japan on Google in 2013. On 30 December 2013, GameSpark named ''Kantai Collection'' as the online game category title for its game of the year awards of 2013, ahead of runners-up ''League of Legends
''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for War ...
'', ''World of Tanks
''World of Tanks'' (''WoT'') is a massively multiplayer online game developed by Belarusian company Wargaming, featuring 20th century (1910s–1970s) era combat vehicles. It is built upon a freemium business model where the game is free-to- ...
'' and '' Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn''. A survey of 151 different prominent Japanese game developers conducted by 4gamer asked what each developer considered to be the best game of 2013; nine of these developers selected ''Kantai Collection''. Among these developers, Naoki Yoshida
, also known by the nickname Yoshi-P'','' is a Japanese video game producer, director and designer working for Square Enix. He is best known for his work on massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), mainly as director and produc ...
of Square Enix
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
, who produced and directed ''Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn'', stated that ''Kantai Collection'' is Japan's answer to ''World of Tanks'', and that he was impressed by the business model; meanwhile, '' Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA'' director Seiji Hayashi of Sega
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
referred to the game as "innovative". ''Kantai Collection'' was named "Rookie of the Year" during the WebMoney
WebMoney is an online payment settlement system established in Russia in 1998. It is one of the largest electronic payments processors in Russia by number of users, with the company reporting 45 million registered accounts and 300,000 active week ...
2013 Awards, as a new entrant to the games market.
Financial reception and sales figures
Speaking at a symposium held by Kadokawa ASCII Research Institute on 27 September 2013, the chairman of the board of directors of Kadokawa Group Holdings
, formerly is a Japanese media conglomerate that was created as a result of the merger of the original Kadokawa Corporation and Dwango (company), Dwango Co., Ltd. on October 1, 2014.
History
The holding company known today as Kadokawa Corpo ...
, Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, stated that despite the game's popularity, ''Kantai Collection'' is nearly unprofitable for the company, in part due to the game being funded by various company partnerships, such as the profit-sharing agreement made between Kadokawa Group and DMM Group, given that none of the game's development fees were paid for by Kadokawa. Kadokawa's stock price rose by 1000 yen within June 2013, following the initial rise of the game. It is expected that Kadokawa will need to rely on sales of intellectual property media works such as books and manga in order to raise profits. Kadokawa Games president Yoshimi Yasuda affirms that the free-to-play business model of the game will not change despite reports of a lack of revenue gain.
Meanwhile, game distributor DMM Corporation
DMM.com, formally , is a Japanese joint stock company involved in the distribution of adult videos (AV) and adult toys. The firm, founded in March 1990, is headquartered in Tokyo at the Ebisu Garden Place Tower. By late 2008, DMM was handling pr ...
gained 7 billion yen from the game as of June 2014, which is equivalent to 140 times the value of the game's development costs.
Toshihiko Tsukiji's light novel ''Kantai Collection: Kagerō, Setting Sail!'' sold 16,624 copies within its first week of release, placing 11th place within the Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...
book ranking charts. Also debuting the same week were the ''Sasebo Naval District Compilation Vol.1'' and ''Maizuru Naval District Compilation Vol.1'' comic anthologies, which sold 59,552 copies and 58,110 copies respectively. In mid-November 2013, ''Yokosuka Naval District Compilation Vol.1'' sold 48,909 copies during its first week, placing 10th place among all comic sales. The first manga volume of ''Fubuki, Ganbarimasu!'' sold 28,324 copies within its first week in December 2013. The ''KanColle White Paper'' official book published by Kadokawa placed third overall within the Oricon book charts during its debut week in October 2013, selling 46,039 copies.
Political commentary
An editorial within the South Korean ''Hankook Ilbo
''Hankook Ilbo'' () is a Korean-language daily newspaper in Seoul, South Korea. As of 2017, it had a daily circulation of about 213,200.
It was previously published by the Hankook Ilbo Media Group, however following an embezzlement scandal in ...
'' on 4 November 2013 accuses that the strong popularity of the game is due to a conservative political shift amongst young people in Japan following long-term economic recession and political instability, and that the game glorifies the wartime Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
. Addressing the ''Hankook Ilbo'' allegation, Akky Akimoto writing for ''The Japan Times
''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo.
History
''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...
'' disagrees with the idea that the game's design deliberately facilitates any political shift, and argues that the 1970s anime series ''Space Battleship Yamato
is a Japanese science fiction anime series produced and written by Yoshinobu Nishizaki, directed by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, and produced by Academy Productions. The series aired in Yomiuri TV from October 6, 1974 to March 30, 1975, ...
'' was subject to similar criticisms despite having little effect on domestic politics.
Another opinion piece from the ''Asahi Shimbun
is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...
'' suggests that the game's unforgiving mechanics, such as ships permanently sinking, with some of them even tracing their grandparents' military service history, help players understand the brutality of war given the desperate situations, so that they can gain a more positive understanding of history or even oppose conflict itself.
Intellectual property infringement outside Japan
In January 2015, allegations arose that the company Beijing Longzhu Digital Technology (), which runs an unofficial pirated KanColle server in Mainland China, spent () in purchasing various Chinese-language KanColle internet forums such as the KanColle subforum on Baidu Tieba
Baidu Tieba () is a Chinese online forum hosted by the Chinese web services company Baidu. Baidu Tieba was established on December 3, 2003 as an online community that heavily integrates Baidu's search engine. Users may search for a topic of int ...
; online discussion boards intended for discussing the original Japanese game were closed down or placed under new management, while the forums of the pirated bootleg Chinese KanColle remained online. This led to widespread unrest amongst Chinese players of the original game, resulting in large-scale internet raids on forums and social media, distributed denial-of-service attack
In computing, a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) is a cyber-attack in which the perpetrator seeks to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users by temporarily or indefinitely disrupting services of a host connec ...
s, and website defacing via SQL injection
In computing, SQL injection is a code injection technique used to attack data-driven applications, in which malicious SQL statements are inserted into an entry field for execution (e.g. to dump the database contents to the attacker). SQL inj ...
by hackers against those running the bootleg server. An article published by China Central Television
China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...
referred to the incident as the largest online mass boycott and protest against intellectual property
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
infringement in China, and a wake-up call for the Chinese gaming industry as a whole to strive for integrity and refrain from creating copycat works.
See also
* ''Azur Lane
''Azur Lane'' () is a side-scrolling shoot 'em up video game created by Chinese developers Shanghai Manjuu and Xiamen Yongshi, released in 2017 for the iOS and Android operating systems. Set in an alternate timeline of World War II, pl ...
'', a shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs
) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of chara ...
game also utilizing the concept of warship moe anthropomorphization, mainly featuring anthropomorphized American, British, Japanese and German warships of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
* ''Girls' Frontline
''Girls Frontline'' () is a mobile strategy role-playing game for Android and iOS developed by China-based studio MICA Team, where players control echelons of android characters, known in-universe as T-Dolls, each carrying a distinctive ...
'', a strategy role-playing game
Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (Turn-bas ...
centred upon moe anthropomorphizations of firearms
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions).
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...
* ''Tōken Ranbu
is a free-to-play collectible card game, collectible card browser game, browser video game developed by Nitroplus and DMM.com, DMM Games. The game was launched in Japan in January 2015, and worldwide in April 2021.
The franchise has inspired and ...
'', a clone of ''Kantai Collection'' anthropomorphizing historical swords as attractive young men
Notes
References
External links
;Official pages of the game
Main site at DMM
KanColle at Kadokawa Games
"KanColle_STAFF" on Twitter
;Licensed web manga
KanColle manga "Fubuki, Ganbarimasu!" at Famitsu Comic Clear
KanColle manga "Chinjufu tsūshin" at Famitsu Comic Clear
KanColle manga "Kankan Biyori" and Illustrations Column at Cominy
KanColle manga "Fubuki, Ganbarimasu!" at Comic Walker
KanColle manga "Kankan Biyori" at Comic Walker
KanColle manga "Someday as the Seas turn Calm" at Comic Walker
KanColle manga "Torpedo Squadron Chronicles" at Comic Walker
KanColle manga "Shimakaze Whirlwind Girl" at Comic Walker
KanColle manga "Naval base of the perch" at Comic Walker
KanColle manga "Yuru Kan" at Comic Walker
;Official sites of secondary works
Official Vita game website
Official anime website
Official arcade game website
Official Tabletop RPG website
{{Authority control
2013 Japanese novels
2014 Japanese novels
2015 Japanese novels
2013 manga
2014 manga
2013 video games
2016 video games
Android (operating system) games
ASCII Media Works manga
Browser-based multiplayer online games
Browser games
Digital collectible card games
Card games introduced in 2013
Construction and management simulation games
Dengeki Comics
Enterbrain manga
Free-to-play video games
Fujimi Shobo manga
Fujimi Fantasia Bunko
Ichijinsha manga
Japan-exclusive video games
Kadokawa Dwango franchises
Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko
Kodansha manga
Light novels
Kadokawa Shoten games
Mass media franchises
Military science fiction
Military science fiction video games
Moe anthropomorphism
One-shot manga
PlayStation Vita games
PlayStation Vita-only games
Raising sims
Fiction about robots
Science fiction video games
Seinen manga
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Superhero video games
Video games about mecha
Video games about robots
Video games about World War II alternate histories
Video games developed in Japan
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Video games set in Oceania
War video games
War video games set in Asia
Yonkoma
DMM Games games