madalyn.huel - 2017-04-13 15:36:55

Unsure why the western fanbase hated this show so much, it’s almost like it wasn’t designed for them…

If you’re a bit of a history buff (I am not) you’ll enjoy the occasional references and nods, and if you play(ed) the game(s) you’ll get a few more on top of that.

I thoroughly adored this show, I felt it was funny when it needed to be, heavy when it needed to be, and cute when it needed to be. Also canon yuri.

It’s available on Steam if someone wants a permanent digital copy instead of watching on Crunchyroll. Kitsu should really look into adding Steam to the where to watch list.

kailyn25 - 2015-06-20 07:13:24

Battleship loli op
Poi

11loli/10

turcotte.lexie - 2015-04-28 18:36:42

Story: The story is set in a world where humanity has lost control of the seas. The threat that has taken over the seas is the "deep sea fleet." The only ones who can counter this threat are Kan-musume (literally, warship girls), girls who possess the spirit of naval vessels from days gone by.

The base for the fleet arrayed against the "deep sea fleet" is Chinjufu. There, many various Kan-musume have gathered to live together and work hard everyday in training and other matters. Our main character is Fubuki, a destroyer to the naval base and is also a newcomer.

Fubuki arrives at the naval base, where she meets other girls that she will eventually fight alongside. Despite lacking adequate combat training, she is recommended into the Third Torpedo Squadron by the admiral, and quickly finds herself sortied into battle. Upon being rescued by Akagi in a dangerous situation, Fubuki strives to do her best in order to train, with the hopes of eventually being able to fight alongside Akagi.

So as you can see, this story has a lot of clichés that you would see in other shows or movies. An unknown source from out of nowhere attacking our homelands? Check. A secret organization designed and made specifically to defeat them and there all female? Check. A main character who's new and despite being talked about being powerful starts off weak and unexperienced but later on gets stronger and eventually becomes like a leader with inspiration from a certain someone? Double and triple check.

Though to be fair, there are some things that do keep it from being bland and boring. For example, the pacing, its actually pretty good... for the most part they give just enough screen time for the characters so we as an audience know about them all individually as the show goes on, (but I'll get to them later) making you feel for them for when the battles do show up (about once per episode).

However, the problem I have is the first few episodes. Without giving it away, episode 3 ends on a serious and dark note, and I thought the next episode would follow up to that, but instead its for the most part completely comical and... I'll be honest, the comedy in this is not that great for the most part. There are some funny moments that made me chuckle (intention and unintentionally), but when it misses, it really misses.

I don't know why, I guess cause of the pacing and how they handled episode 3 I just couldn't get into the humor and wanted the conflict to be resolved. It did at the very end of the episode but it was so rushed that I just didn't care or feel emotion. I feel if they did the serious stuff near the end of the show then it would have made a bigger deal.

Also, there are referenes and callbacks to the games and history so if you've seen/played/paid attention to those details then you may be spoiled by what happens in the show, which again, I won't say.

The ending is also pretty disappointing, which is sad cause it could have been great if they actually tried :c

But this still is a nice story overall despite some problems. Almost everyone gets screen time and development, and the interactions and plot (for the most part) are engaging as heck.

Animation: God damn is this pure eye candy. If the story doesn't engage you, then chances are the animation and art will. The background designs may not look original, but they sure look pretty to look at, I especially love the water. The characters all look different from each other (in terms of hair, eyes, and even outfits) so its easy to tell them apart and such. In 2D they look very appealing, but in 3D it looks pretty awkward, though you get used to it for a while now. There aren't many action scenes in this, but they look alright, and they at least bring in tension, excitement, and suspense in all but one.

Sound: The voice acting is great, everyone has fitting voices and none of them sound off at all. The opening is fantastic, the rock song really fits the show and makes it all the more exciting and suspense. As for the ending song, its brilliant. Somber, yet uplifting and hopeful, this song perfectly fits the more serious tone for this show later on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ee-_gi_XWY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTinsahpOW8

Character: As a main character, there's not a lot to say about Fubuki, outside of what I mentioned up in the story section. There's also her friends and the other kanmatsus. There's a lot of characters, and they do a good job on giving most of them screen time. Some of them have similar personalities like timid, carefree, hyperactive, serious, and even quiet. Yeah, its not anything special, but there interactions and developments do more than make up for it (with the exception of this one lesbian girl whose kind of a jerk from beginning to end, but at least her love is real).

Honestly, the only real character I didn't like was the admiral. I mean on paper he sounds pretty likeable and does not seem like a generic guy. He's set up as a kind but dependable leader who knows what to do and cares about the girls deeply, even when telling them to abort missions for there own protection. This sounds like a legitimately great character. The problem? You never see or hear this guy! He's mentioned (that's even where his 'development' is also heard) a couple times but it amounts to nothing though and I feel he's wasted potential. I mean it made sense in the games, but here? Not really.

Enjoyment: I really enjoyed this show despite people backlashing this, sure the sudden mood switches and ending are bad, but the rest of the stuff is really good to pass up. Then again I never played the game so I dunno if its very faithful to it.

Overall: Well, I'm not sure how to recommend it to others. I mean its fun, but I dunno if a lot will enjoy it. Fans of the game will probably love this show, fans of action shows with cute girls and slice of life bits might also like this, but as for everyone else, I guess it depends... proceed with caution.

Also, can't wait to for the second season, and that it has a better ending c:

Pros: Pretty visuals, mostly great character interactions, amazing music, flawless voice acting, few funny moments, the stuff building up to the climax is pretty good.

Cons: Sudden mood switches nearly ruined it for me, the admiral is never seen, the ending is unsatisfying.

Hmm, I'm not sure what to recommend in this category this time since I have not seen an anime like it. I hear its similar to Strike Witches but I dunno if that is a good show or not so I can't say. Sorry if you were expecting a recommendation though (I may get to that later) :(

Thanks for reading my 79th review~

amckenzie - 2015-04-12 06:58:55

Recommended only for people who have played and like the game.
The story starts strong, peaking at episodes 3-4, but after that it trails off. The climax in episode 12 was disappointing to say the least. There was decent character development and all the ship girls are generally quite likable. Some people hate Yuudachi for the "poi" but I like her especially because of that.

Animation overall was good, the backgrounds especially are well done. But in the battle scene a lot of the animation is replaced by 3D models that looks strange at time. There was a few animation errors but overall not too bad.

The opening, ending, and soundtracks are EXCELLENT. The music is definitely my favourite part of this anime. The cannon firing sounds in comparison are weak, making their weapons sounds like pea shooters. Honestly would have been better if they just borrowed sounds from military games like Battlefield or something.

As a fan of the Kancolle game, I generally enjoyed the series. There were plenty of fan service cramped in for people who have played the game. However, a lot of it were forced in there and feel really out of place and random even. To sum it up: shipgirls good, plot weak, music awesome. 

POI! I was bored and wrote this up in like 5 minutes poi. Might edit it the next time I get bored poi.

ywill - 2015-03-27 03:16:35

Hot girls, battleships, oppai's, naval battles, hot girls, and most of all Hot Girls.

In all seriousness, Kantai Collection was a pretty fun addition to the winter season and a much needed one at that when compared to the anime's given to us in recent seasons. Something very up-beat, funny, heart warming, and just straight up fun. However, this doesn't mean that this show was a masterpiece but it wasn't a complete disaster either. 

To begin, Kancolle is a story of a girl basically trying to make her place in a naval academy as she aspires to be part of her favorite Senpai's group and it is her dream to be her escort ship. Now with that settled, the bigger importance of the plot consistently eluded me (if any). I must say that the story was pretty weak and I found myself watching this show because simply because it was complete eye candy to have these crazy cute girls shoot cannons off their bodies. I don't really want to complain, but I am the type that likes a thought provoking plot and Kancolle failed to satisfy that. But I felt myself constantly getting pulled back into to watch it every week so that has some sort of merit. It's something that is more enjoyable if you played the Kantai Collection Game prior to watching this show.

Now one place that Kancolle does not fall short is it's music and OP and ED's. They are one of my favorite's this season. They fit the atmosphere of the premise of the show very well and are just so catchy that I had to sing along as they played. And as far as animation goes, this show spared no expense. Everything was clean and beautiful and pretty sick in the last battles. Definitely one of the greater upsides to this show. You won't get any disappointments in that department here.

Characters were pretty lovable from the get go as expected and it was a ton of fun just simply watching them. From the crazy cute "poi's" to the "Burning Love!" catch phrases, there just wasn't someone that I hated. But, Kancolle does have a huge cast that is introduced pretty fast so it was a little overwhelming. I found myself struggling to remember who was who. So much so that when a familiar  character came along to the cast, I was asking myself "Who is that again?" 

In the end, Kantai Collection is simply a show for those who want to have some fun for 12 episodes. I mean, how could you not? There is nothing special about this show neither is there anything completely garbage. The premise is something I've never seen before and they did what they did with it. I am a little disappointed with the lack of a thick story, but that is just me. Watch it? I say go for it if you're in need of something cheerful and mindless. If you need something that's more plot geared, then stray away from this show. 

baumbach.teresa - 2015-01-13 18:20:58

Just before review a anime like that i think is better to already know the game and have already played this game.. because this anime have been making for the fan of the game... i have see some people attack this anime too much.. but some of them dont know the real Kantai Collection but anyway.. lets begin...

About The Story
the goal in the story is to fight the Abyssals and i will say some information for you.. every people who drown in the Abyss will return from the Abyss to fight i just making you some idea so yeah the goal is to fight Abyssals pretty simple ? wow wait dont forget about the progress of Fubuki who training soo hard ! they have put everything who are present in the game thats awesome i can see my game in a other way right now because of that !

About The Animation and Sounds
awesome graphics with some 3D when they are on the water they have make a nice work , for the sounds they are awesome dam xD... thats put you completely into the anime i leave u the link

Opening

Ending

About The Characters
too much characters.. really LOOOl they are all awesome but i will talk about the 2 important one ! all characters have their own charms and they have all great personality i like !

Kuchikukan Fubuki / normally thats the 1st unit we can choose in the game but they have put her into a important role and as the main character thats awesome too see his progress thats making this unit more unique in the game but anyway yeah thats really great character she have his play for a main character

Me and You (Admiral Role) / thats fun too see how they have put me and you in the role so we have a place into the anime just like the game thats make the thing more enjoyable they dont forget that we have a place into it i have liked this part of the anime because the Admiral stay our role this is just awesome o: !

Really guys too much characters are here and... they are all awesome but if you want to see what the characters look like i give you the link of the wiki i know some of you dont like to read a book with 1000 page so i just have talk about the 2 important in the anime so i recommand to check the wiki for more
                                                Kancolle Wiki (Game and Anime)

About The Enjoymentyeah that awesome to watch this is Moe but they have make this for the fans of the game they have put everything same like the game and see this game in anime make the things more interesting if you are a player of the game this is sure you will like the serie no doubt on it.. they have put a lot of Moe thats normal and i dont care this serie is just awesome like the game thats complicated to hate a serie awesome like that and dont forget the plot !!! :D

i recommand this anime if you like the game or if you are a fan of this game but.. if you like Moe Millitary thats can be great for you go watch it now ! players of this game i dont know what are u doing here LOOOL what are u waiting for .. ? GO GO GO ! they wait for us ! at your post !