Kantai Collection Episode 12 [Final Impression]

…Is that you, Kisaragi?

Impression

That was a beautiful ending ;_;

And everyone survived, even though I wasn’t sure that they would! I think it’s important to recognize that it was extremely difficult to outwit and overturn the ‘strong power’ that was at work – it turns out that Yamato-san is very aware of it as well, and Fubuki may be awakening to her own strange senses given that she was able to tell that there were exactly three enemy carriers targeting them. Fubuki played a very important part in Operation MI -I was internally skipping when she paired up with onee-sama to take down Wo-chan- but it wasn’t just her. It was a combined team effort, and it’s only because of the participation of every single kanmusu that the operation was a success with no casualties. It was a far cry from the despair that they were alluding to from last week, but hey, I’d prefer it if everyone survived. All the kanmusu we’ve gotten to know over the past few months pitched in to change the guaranteed deaths awaiting them in the future, from Nagato and Mutsu to the Akatsuki and Sendai sisters – there were so many girls there that I was worried Chinjufu was left too unguarded. But it was ultimately worth it – it was their first attempt to defy fate, and it happily worked out in the end. If it had gone all according to history, they would have lost both veteran aces at the very least, and perhaps some of the interfering kanmusu who weren’t ‘supposed’ to be there may have died too.

All that being said, there’s still an awful lot we don’t know, and the numerous sequel hooks have implied that they are indeed willing to tell us. I am incredibly happy there’s a sequel by the way, because with this set-up there’s a lot of potential to move into bigger and better things. But I’ll get onto that later – first of all, I wasn’t aware that they could talk. If they have spoken words before, then I’ve forgotten – though this could well be limited to Airfield Princess or the other boss Abyssals. After all, when she spoke it wasn’t mindless: she told them to “sink again and again”, which confirms that she is definitely entwined with their apparently inescapable fates. At the very least, I somehow felt that even if they’d tried to retreat, they wouldn’t be allowed to ‘leave’ the field, if that makes sense – I want to chalk it down to the purple haze, but I’m really not sure. What seems to be certain is that the powers that be aren’t unwilling to let absurd events happen for the sake of living up to history – I remember that with Kisaragi’s death, the battle had in fact been won, and the shots she took were from a single stray Abyssal flying in her blind spot. I wouldn’t mind if we never run into an Airfield Princess again though, because this one was too creepy with her moaning and screaming. She was definitely more creepy than cute when she was repeatedly burning to death and being instantly repaired by whatever it was that was doing it. But it looked like it really hurt, I’ll give her that.

I suppose this nicely leads on to my second set of questions: what does Wo-chan have to do with it all? Why could the Airfield Princess only be permanently defeated when Wo-chan died? And why is teitoku even aware of such an obscure link? I think, above all, I felt a lot of pity for Wo-chan. It was definitely the same one Fubuki had failed to defeat in the past, but this time she had a completely different feel to her. It was almost like… like she had feelings. And even if she didn’t want to or couldn’t talk, it was like she was begging Fubuki not to finish her with that expression. One unspoken possibility is of course that Wo-chan was Kisaragi. It sounds ridiculous, and I know she wasn’t an aircraft carrier, but it’s undeniable that as she sank, she pleaded for Fubuki to “give it back”, as if she’d lost something in the explosion. After everyone had left and the air bubbles settled, Kisaragi’s hair ornament was what remained floating on the surface.

Why does poor Kisaragi have to suffer so much ;_;

If we proceed upon the basis that Wo-chan at least has a connection to Kisaragi, then the question now becomes this: is there a link between Kisaragi’s death and the progression of ‘fate’ that binds the other kanmusu? The fact that Kisaragi died ‘all according to plan’ at Wake Island might have strengthened the strange power that interfered here at Midway, as if it was another piece of the puzzle that fell into place. Therefore, in order to weaken the power and break free from fate, the kanmusu had to undo the previous damage they had caused by allowing Kisaragi to die at Wake Island – by eliminating her current existence as Wo-chan, or otherwise severing the link that the two had together. This could be why, once Wo-chan had died, it was possible to permanently damage Airfield Princess – the power no longer has as strong a hold over fate any longer, and the kanmusu can now act to free themselves even more. It’s all up in the air, but that’s my take on it. If a final episode post largely hinges around speculation though, like this one has, then you know a sequel will be happening.

I’ve said this time and time again, but I will say it once more. I love how, despite everything that’s been happening, they put some effort into making sure that all these ships keep sailing. The writers must love Kitakami x Ooi even more than I do, and they’re giving us subtle nudges towards the adorable Kaga x Zuikaku (I’m sure she’s secretly pleased with that rabbit) and the suddenly prominent Nagato x Mutsu. The bouquet might be supposed to congratulate her on the operation’s success, but don’t destroy my dreams and let me continue thinking it’s a proposal or something.

And with that, it’s over!

Overall Thoughts

Of everything I’ve blogged in Winter 2015, I think Kancolle was the one I enjoyed the most. It was essentially cute girls doing cute things, which I worship by default, but with a plot! It was as consistent as it was advertised, with a lot of slice-of-life and the occasional battle or training scene – and when one side encroached on the other, it was usually for good reason. The artwork and music remained fairly solid throughout, and I gradually grew not to care about the CG. I was actually quite surprised that Diomedea invested as much as they did into this adaptation, because even if everyone and their dog is into Kancolle over in Japan, it doesn’t change the fact that this falls within a very niche genre. I guess this partially explains why reactions to Kancolle have been as polarizing as I have seen – the adaptation caters first and foremost to existing fans, and there just happen to be enough of them to justify doing so.

That being said, it’s not like it’s completely inaccessible to people unfamiliar with the franchise – they introduce a hell of a lot of characters, yes, but they focus on a select few such that you quickly learn all their names and who they are. From my perspective, they focused on the correct few but could have widened their net a little – I was thankful for lots of Kongou, Kaga and Akagi, but they could have had more Shimakaze and Atago for example. For viewers like me, who knew a little about the franchise but not enough to properly talk about it, I do feel more invested after having enjoyed this adaptation. The long-time fans of the game do benefit as well, as they get to see their ship waifus developed beyond the limited traits and lines they’re afforded in the game. In general, it’s not like the slice-of-life doesn’t work at all if you don’t know them – it helps with some of the inside jokes, but it shouldn’t be seen as a deterrent. And everyone is so friggin’ cute!

As I’m sure I’ve said before, this will sell, and it’s not surprising that a pre-emptive sequel has been announced, supposedly for 2016. So it’s not like Kancolle will be gone forever, and you can be sure that I’ll be back this time next year, or whenever it decides to air. I have no current plans to start playing the game and become a real teitoku, but it’s something I might be able to fit in this summer. If and when the time comes, I will be sure to marry onee-sama and give her lots of my burning love.