10 Second Anime - Kantai Collection - Episode 1

Kantai Collection - Episode 1

In a world where special girls embody the spirits of famous Japanese warships, they fight against a mysterious fleet which has overtaken much of the ocean. Anime adaptation of the online card game and other media outlets. Series premiere.

First Thoughts.

Oh yes! It's the second coming of Arpeggio, Strike Witches, and Upotte!!! It's a cute girls doing cute things anime, if the cute things include launching torpedoes at submarine type enemies that look like whales. Using the newcomer Fubuki to introduce us to the new school life is a normal thing to do for this genre, think Strike Witches, Sky Girls, Vividred Operation, etc., but she's a likeable character and it is a good way to meet the other characters and take a tour of the setting. Also good is how she's thrown right into battle as soon as she gets there. Besides the cute girls, the other main draw is supposed to be the CGI naval warfare, and this is the best I've seen. It was a great device to have the Fleet Girls travel as if they were skating. Some skate like speed skaters, others like hockey players or rollerbladers. Maybe we'll see a figure skater later on. This was a great introductory episode and I'm looking forward to what a normal episode will look like.

Heh.

Fubuki is supposed to be based on a WWII class of Japanese destroyer which had big guns for its size and a very fast top speed. Glass cannon build? Well, she still has to learn how to go fast because it looks like she can barely skate right now.

 

There's some kind of magic involved in turning the mundane weapons into actual warplanes and torpedoes. I appreciate the attention to detail on the arrow feathers for the aircraft carrier girls representing different types flight groups.

 

Every kind of inspired cosplay and girl type appears to be represented. Cute girls are cute.

 

The cute girls do cute things. 

They have a semi-magical transformation scene.

 

They fight an enemy who is as hot as they are.

And Fubuki is the clumsy girl who will definitely improve to become a great warship.

 

Well, I said she needs improvement.

 

Hmm.

One never can really judge how the rest of the season will look from the first episode. Usually, the first episode is front loaded with all the animation resources to hook people in. That's why it's a bad sign when the first episode has some obvious cost cutting going on. Here, we don't have that problem, but this also wasn't a regular episode. There were no opening or closing credit sequences, so we can't be sure what the normal episode structure will be. I see mid-episode eye catches, so this may be where other kinds of artwork will be featured. I'm looking forward to the next episode to see more cute fleet girls do cute fleet things.