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Kantai Collection

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Developer(s)Kadokawa Games
Publisher(s)DMM.com
Genre(s)online card battle game

Kantai Collection (艦隊これくしょん, Kantai Korekushon, lit. "Combined Fleet Collection"), abbreviated as KanColle (艦これ, KanKore), is a Japanese free-to-play online social card game developed by Kadokawa Games.[1][2] The game was launched on 23 April 2013.[3] A television anime series and PlayStation Vita game has been announced.[4][5][6]

Gameplay

Examples of kanmusu cards used within the game.
Top: Home shipyard interface screenshot.
Bottom: In-game battle interface screenshot.

The gameplay is centred upon a card battle game, with individual characters represented by various cards with different attributes. Each of the characters are moe anthropomorphisms of World War II naval warships which are depicted as cute girls, known as "Fleet girls" (艦娘, kanmusu). 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 are often depicted with larger breasts, with the notable exception of a few aircraft carriers). The player takes on the role of an admiral (提督, teitoku) and organises 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.[1][7]

The player progresses through the game by advancing through maps, gaining experience points through grinding, 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 be remodeled. Acquisition of new kanmusu by the player can occur via drops on map or via crafting, and is heavily RNG-based. Construction and repair of ships is reliant upon four resources, namely fuel, ammunition, steel and bauxite; these supplies will automatically increase as time passes. Players can choose to engage in expeditions, sorties and quests to increase their supplies as well. Kanmusu are capable of becoming stronger as they gain experience and level up after battles. Ships can become fatigued once it accumulates after sorties; fatigued ships have decreased attributes and an increased chance of sinking, whilst sparkling ships have increased attributes. 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 micropayments.[8] As of present, the game cannot be played outside of Japan without the use of a VPN.

Ship types

  • Battleship (戦艦): Has strong power and defense, whilst requiring large quantities of resources.
  • Aircraft carrier (正規空母): Allows for preemptive strikes before battles. Have long repair times, and the planes require bauxite.
  • Light aircraft carrier (軽空母): Has better fuel consumption and is able to damage submarines, however has lighter armour.
  • Seaplane mothership (水上機母艦): High enemy formation detection stats. Largely weak.
  • Heavy cruiser (重巡洋艦): Able to deal significant damage, and are fuel efficient. Have decent overall stats, however does not excel in any particular areas.
  • Light cruiser (軽巡洋艦): Strong anti-submarine type, effective during night combat. Have low endurance.
  • Destroyer (駆逐艦): Good for night battles, and have good fuel and repair rate.
  • Torpedo cruiser (重雷装巡洋艦)
  • Submarine (潜水艦)
  • Submarine aircraft carrier (潜水空母)
  • Aviation battleship (航空戦艦)
  • Aviation cruiser (航空巡洋艦)

It is planned for coastal defense ships (海防艦) to be eventually added to the game in future; these ships will play an anti-submarine role, in addition to being useful for missions. These ships will feature a more cute and childish character design, reason being that coastal defense ships are smaller in size compared to destroyers.[9]

Fleet girls

Upon the first public debut of the game, there were a total of 94 different fleet girls available. Within an update introduced 15–17 May 2013, additional fleet girls were added. On 11 September 2013 the first non-Japanese vessel, Soviet destroyer Verniy (Верный), was introduced into the game.[10] Presently there are 112 original girls in addition to 22 upgraded variants, bringing the total number of fleet girls to 134. The game currently holds spaces for 150 different fleet girls. Different fleet girls are illustrated by different artists; artists involved in the drawing of various characters include Shibafu,[11] Shizuma,[12] Konishi[12] and Kūrokuro.[13]

The traits of each fleet girl are based on aspects of the historical ship they are based on; for instance, Japanese ironclad Kongō uses gratuitous English words in her speech within the game since she was built in England, whilst Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi is depicted as a heavy eater and Japanese destroyer Shimakaze is depicted as a speedy girl in artworks, since the Akagi consumed large amounts of fuel and the Shimakaze was one of the fastest destroyer ships of World War II.

Voice actors have been employed to voice the fleet girls, with an average of 10 fleet girls being voiced by one actor. The complete list of voice actors involved has not yet been published.

Voice actors

Media

A bi-monthly online web manga by Momoi Ryota began serialization from 23 April 2013 in the Famitsu Comic Clear. The manga follows a 4koma format, and features a storyline with the fleet girls enrolled in schools, where senior girls teach battle techniques to their juniors. Comic Clear has announced a manga adaptation by Shotaro Harada.[23]

In addition, another manga series by Sasayuki has been announced, and will be serialized in Comptiq from December 2013 onwards.[12] A manga illustrated by Sakae Saitō will begin serialisation in Monthly Comic Alive from 27 November 2013 onwards.[23]

A light novel based on the game has been announced,[24] written by Tsukiji Toshihiko and illustrated by NOCO. It is due for release in November 2013.[25]

KanColle Kai

KanColle Kai
Developer(s)Kadokawa Games
Platform(s)PlayStation Vita
Genre(s)Strategy

A PlayStation Vita game titled KanColle Kai (艦これ改) was announced during Kadokawa Games' 2013 Autumn media briefing, and is due for a 2014 release. Producer Tanaka Kensuke commented that the game will be a full-scale naval strategy simulation game. The game will be the second title independently created by Kadokawa Game Studio, after Natural Doctrine.[4][6]

Anime

A television anime series has been announced, and is scheduled to air in 2014.[4][5] The anime series is planned to feature the voice cast from the original game.[23][26]

Reception

Merchandise based on the game have been launched as a result of the success of the online game.[27][28] Due to the high popularity of the game within Japan, game operators have created larger numbers of servers within early 2013 to account for the influx of players.[1] 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 concurrent active players.[29] By September 2013, it was reported that there were more than 800,000 active players.[10]

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 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 and other derivative content.[30][31] As of September 2013, there are over 30,000 artworks on Pixiv tagged with "KanColle".[25]

Strong interest in the game has also paved way for various related merchandise; PVC figurines have been announced, including Nendoroid figurines of Shimakaze and Akagi,[32][33] in addition to a line of cycling jerseys featuring KanColle designs.[34]

References

  1. ^ a b c 2013-07-19, Japan's Latest Popular Online Game Has Anthropomorphic Battleships, Kotaku
  2. ^ 2013-09-07, 「提督といっしょに創り上げていきたい」『艦隊これくしょん 艦これ』キーマン・田中謙介氏インタビュー【前編】, Famitsu
  3. ^ 2013-04-19, 「艦隊これくしょん -艦これ-」正式サービスが4月23日にスタート, 4gamer
  4. ^ a b c 2013-09-26, 【速報】『艦これ改 (仮)』PS Vitaで2014年発売決定　『艦これ』アニメ化企画も進行中！, Famitsu
  5. ^ a b 2013-09-26, “Kantai Collection” Game & Anime Confirmed, SeventhStyle
  6. ^ a b 2013-09-26, PlayStation Vita Will Get A Game About Girls Personified As A Naval Fleet, Siliconera
  7. ^ 2013-08-13, 新サーバー開設！これから始める『艦隊これくしょん』のススメ, ASCII.jp
  8. ^ 2013-08-12, 「艦隊これくしょん」ブレークの背景　ソーシャルゲームの新しい可能性とは？, THE PAGE
  9. ^ 2013-09-30. "艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- 鎮守府生活のすゝめ Vol.1". Enterbrain. ISBN 9784047292338. Quote: "海防艦は早く出したいが戦局の最終フェーズなので出すのを我慢... 海防艦は対潜作戦や輸送船団護衛任務に適した形で出したい 排水量的に駆逐艦より小さい船ですから、さらに可愛げのある形になるんじゃないかと"
  10. ^ a b 2013-09-19, 「艦隊これくしょん -艦これ-」はいかにして生み出されたのか。その思想から今後のアップデートまで，角川ゲームスの田中謙介氏に語ってもらった, 4gamer
  11. ^ a b c 2013-09-08, 「アニメ化も夢ではないかもしれません」『艦隊これくしょん 艦これ』キーマン・田中謙介氏インタビュー【後編】, Famitsu
  12. ^ a b c d 「運営鎮守府司令長官が語る 「艦これ」誕生秘話」、『コンプティーク』2013年10月号別冊付録「艦隊これくしょん -艦これ- 提督が鎮守府に着任しました」、角川書店、2013年9月10日、 74-79頁。
  13. ^ 「特別企画 今話題の「艦これ」ってどんなゲーム？」、『MC☆あくしず』第30号、イカロス出版、2013年9月21日、 112-113頁。
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i Note: Announced on the official DMM.com website
  15. ^ a b c Note: Announced on the official KanColle Twitter feed
  16. ^ a b c d e f 2013-04-22, 『艦隊これくしょん -艦これ-』美少女に擬人化した戦艦「艦娘」でオリジナル艦隊を編成! 艦娘のボイスには日高里菜さんや井口裕香さんといった人気声優陣が続々と参加, Animate
  17. ^ a b Note: Announced on Nomizu's Twitter (341489775385141248)
  18. ^ Note: Announced on Komatsu's personal blog: おたんじょーび♪と、ご報告。
  19. ^ ブリドカット セーラ 恵美, Production Ace
  20. ^ Note: Announced on Hayasaka's personal blog: 久しぶりに告知
  21. ^ Note: Announced on Kobayashi's Twitter (349830749849010178)
  22. ^ 宮川若菜（みやかわ わかな）, Space Craft co. ltd
  23. ^ a b c 2013-09-26, Kantai Collection Moe Card Battle Game Gets Anime, New Manga, Anime News Network
  24. ^ 2013-09-18, 艦これ ： 初のラノベ化　アンソロコミックは早くも重版, Mantanweb
  25. ^ a b 2013-09-19, Battleship Girl Game Phenomenon "Kantai Collection" Inspires Light Novel and Manga, Crunchyroll
  26. ^ 2013-09-26, 声優はそのままに『艦これ』がTVアニメ化決定！さらにPS Vita版は『艦これ 改』として2014年にリリース予定, Inside
  27. ^ 2013-9-6, タカラトミーアーツ、「艦隊これくしょん」グッズをギフトショーに出展, GAME Watch
  28. ^ 2013-08-28, 「艦隊これくしょん ～艦これ～」ラバーストラップが12月に発売決定！, ASCII.jp
  29. ^ 2013-08-29, 『艦隊これくしょん -艦これ-』1週間で登録者数が10万人増え、合計60万人突破！アクティブユーザーも35万人規模に, インサイド
  30. ^ 2013-08-15, “ポスト東方”との見方も浮上した「艦隊これくしょん」　情報アプリ「艦これまとめ」もDL数が急増中, Excite
  31. ^ 2013-08-15, 東方＆艦これ！ニコ動と同人界を騒がす二大タグに迫る, Ascii.jp
  32. ^ 2013-10-01, 「艦これ」の「島風」ねんどろいど登場　次は「赤城」！, ITmedia
  33. ^ 2013-10-02, New Kantai Collection Nendoroid from Good Smile Company, Anime News Network
  34. ^ 2013-10-02, 「艦これ」のサイクルジャージ第1弾（全8種）がamisportsから！ 自転車ホイールステッカー（全1種）と刺繍ポロシャツ（全4種）も, Akiba Souken
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