Review of KanColle

My first ever review on MAL goes to my favorite fandom to be a part of. This is not just a review of the Kancolle anime, but Kantai Collection as a franchise, because in order to understand why the anime is good, you must understand Kancolle in its entirety. Don't worry- Ill be sure to explain everything and how it pertains to the anime. I hope to those who read this it will allow you to look over all the hate this anime receives and understand why it can be a good show. First, a preliminary. If you don't know, Kantai Collection (Kancolle) is based offof a Japanese web browser game of the same name where anthropomorphic WWll era warship girls (called Kanmusu) are the main cast. The game was launched in 2013, and has had an extremely large following since then, growing to over 3 million players. The game is solely based on micromanagement of your fleet in attacking bots, PVP, and going on expeditions. The game has no strategic gameplay, and focuses heavily on RNG.

The reason why this anime receives so much unwanted hate is simple: it is a show for the fans and playerbase of Kantai Collection.

Kancolle is only available to play in Japan and it would make sense why almost no one in any other part of the world likes the anime. There are some like me who have done the necessary requirements to be able to play the game outside of Japan, and as an avid player and follower of the fanbase I realize this anime would look like something that was haphazardly thrown together. It is extremely surprising that they would actually do a dub for the show, as most of Kancolle's players are situated in Japan. To a dedicated Kantai Collection player however, this anime is a godsend to the fanbase in so many areas.

Lets begin with the game, and why it makes the anime so good. As stated before, there is almost no gameplay in Kancolle. The majority of the fun comes from collecting the over 150 fleet girls. As an admiral, the best part of the game is collecting my ship girls and getting to know each and every one of them. Yes- each ship girl has their own personality. Though some are generic anime stereotypes, it is still fun and exciting to meet the many girls and witness their characteristics and varying personalities. Every admiral grows attached to their shipgirls, and the game even allows marriage to them. When watching the anime, we are finally able to see our favorite shipgirls and theyre personalities in action, from Naka's mini concert to Kongou's burning love, and even to Sendai's spastic love for night battles. After interacting with the girls for so long on a computer screen, it would make sense that longtime fans would be in an uproar over seeing their favorite characters and how they act on TV.

One of the best things I commend Kancolle for is the fact that they gave all the original shipgirls in the game a cameo in the anime. Whether it be as a main character, a character in a battle, or someone in the background, every original shipgirl was in the anime. It is very nice to see that Diomedea was able to give the luxury of seeing all the characters the players have grown attached to in the show.

Next is the artstyle. Kancolle's artstyle varies heavily due to the many artists employed. Some of the characters who were released at the start of the game have VERY low quality artstyles compared to characters that come later on. Fubuki, Akagi, and Kaga are prime examples of this. They're artstyle is amazing in the anime compared to how they look in the game. Much more detailed hair, eyes and features are much more clearer than on the game, making the characters really appeal to those who care very much for their ship girls. Even characters whose artstyles aren't that bad look amazing in the anime, such as Nagato and Mutsu.

The story of this anime can be seen to most people as quite lacking, though this is far from the case. The anime puts context to the game. When beginning the game, you are literally thrown in without having any context of what is happening AT ALL. I believe without a doubt almost all of the people who have scored low for this anime and given it bad reviews are regarding it solely as a military anime. This is not true. As Kancolle grew, it became widespread in many areas, including manga, light novels, and such. Though the game focuses solely on combat, most other media like the manga make the franchise out to look like a slice of life. This is the missing part that most people forget. Kancolle should be regarded as both a Military AND a Slice of Life. The manga and other media tell the tales of the girls at the naval base- doing their own things, interacting with each other and the admiral, playing, and having fun. Those who say that the anime "doesn't have enough battle scenes" don't recognize that Kancolle is not just a mecha musume anymore, but a slice of life about the naval base as well. For example, the Fubuki Ganbarimasu! manga tells of the training the new shipgirls undergo when they reach the naval base. This is the plot of the beginning of the story for her, a part that many find boring.

Finally, the anime caters to the player fan base with many small nuances. Almost everything from the game is present in the anime, from one time use items, to character poses resembling their damage states, to the formations. Its the small things that the players notice that make the anime enjoyable.

So in retrospect, this anime does not deserve the hate it has been receiving. If you get the chance, look at game play, read the manga, get invested into the Kantai Collection franchise for a couple of days before diving in, because instead of falling in love with the characters and such during the anime, being to like them beforehand, so you can really see how the game and manga influenced everything that happens in the anime.

The biggest problem is that everyone is judging the show because they have no idea what is happening.