Azur Lane: Bisoku Zenshin

Initially, I gave Azur Lane: Bisoku Zenshin the skip because I wasn’t really into a series that anthropomorphized warships as cute girls. Also, it was obvious that this short was about that loli quartet from the main series so you bet this is going to be some lolicon fest. But as expected, something changed my mind. So why the heck I’m watching this anyway? Well you see, earlier on in the year, there was this huge container ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal. Remember that one? Yeah. With all the flurry of memes of that unfortunate international incident, so I thought it was pretty funny for me to go watch a ship series. Although this has nothing to do with the anime. Really. And also, there weren’t any other exciting shorts to watch for the season so this will make do to pass the time. Oh well, here we go. Slowly…

Episode 1
Javelin is very much looking forward to her first day at school. Fearing she would run into the commander, she starts practising lines on what to say and react if such situations arise. Wouldn’t that make her late for class?! Thankfully she makes it in time. The girls are surprised that Z23 AKA Niimi is their advisor. They find it cool but Niimi finds it embarrassing. Laffey can’t stay awake in class and sleeps most of the time. Heck, she goes to check on her other friends if they’re sleeping and falls asleep halfway? Her friends think of investigating her private life to see the cause of her being this sleepy. Then a wine bottle rolls out. Oh sorry, just a coolant. So this underage loli is drinking?! Laffey admits she doesn’t get sleepy till she is satisfied so the friends agree to do thinks to help make her sleep better. That night, I guess one way of tiring out is to have a pillow fight! Looks like our girls are quite active alright. Everybody skilfully dodges until Niimi comes in to check on them and gets smacked by one. The night is still young. Can we continue the pillow fight?

Episode 2
The hot weather is making our lolis feeling lethargic. But looks like Baltimore can still go on with her club activities. In fact, she is on her way to help other clubs. The lolis tag along and to their surprise, she is going to help both the basketball and volleyball club at the same time! So when Baltimore is playing on one side, looks like the lolis have step in to temporarily substitute her. Yeah, I think they screw the rules. Anyway, they didn’t do much, don’t even have to do much since Baltimore will be back to take their place. Yeah, screw the substitution rules whatever. At the end of the day, she wins for her clubs! Amazing. And she still has more energy to go help more? Yeah, our lolis retire to taking their baths with sore muscles everywhere. That sure hit the spot. Next, they see Eugen making cookies so they go help her. I guess we need some subtle fanservice here. The ultimate one being Eugen hiding her secret chocolate in her boobs. Even if the chocolate has melted and become sticky, she’ll become the present entirety. Huh? And the rest now try to test it out on Niimi. She got no boobs… But whatever…

Episode 3
Ayanami sends a cryptic message that she is dying! Javelin goes to check on her in her room but turns out she is playing a game. She tries to drag her to class but Ayanami insists she plays with her. Because real life sucks! Until Laffey comes by that they manage to drag her to class. They try to assure her that everyone is here and that she isn’t alone. Too bad she gets the wrong idea and starts plugging her game and continues playing. Needing a way to find out what motivates warships, Niimi and Javelin go to look for Akashi. But they are ‘attacked’ by cute cats! Meowfficers? Akashi claims playing with one brightens up one’s day. Niimi feels suspicious but after Akashi puts up some crocodile tears, looks like they’ll have to bring 1 one. By that time, Ayanami has defeated everyone in her video game. Time for this Meowfficer to do his job. As expected, the plan backfires since Ayanami wants to make this Meowfficer her gaming assistant. Hey, at least somebody’s having fun.

Episode 4
Finally! Beach episode fanservice! Loli version. Mature fans aren’t left out too because Rodney wants to join in the fun. Oh yeah. Those are mighty huge twin cannons! As they play splitting the watermelon, Rodney uses her cannons to blast everything! Not only the watermelon is now smithereens, their BBQ food is also destroyed. Hence they split up to go look for food. Niimi and Ayanami head to the forest to find some. Niimi getting entangled in a trap made by Minneapolis. Looks like she has caught lots of food and will not share her secret. But they entice her by promising to share some seafood. It’s a deal. Meanwhile Rodney wants to make up and help the lolis who are having trouble catching fish. Guess what? Again she uses her cannons to bomb the hell out of the sea! It’s raining fish! Easier to catch now and I hope she didn’t destroy the ecosystem. Later Javelin and Laffey apply some aloe vera on their skin. Okay, time to get your horny imagination going as they put the slippery lotion all over their body. Oh yeah…

Episode 5
Graf Spee finds it hard to make friends outside her faction. Seeing Ayanami sitting alone, she sums up her courage to sit next to her and talk. Javelin and Niimi see them trying to interact with each other but are too shy, which makes them cute in a way. Eventually it becomes natural for them and just like that they become friends and follow each other on their social media. After Spee goes to tell her pals she made a new friend, Ayanami joins her usual friends to go get Dunkirk’s freshly made sweets before they’re all gone. They talk about the things they would love to do with their special someone. Dunkirk has some suggestions on places to eat and she’ll tell them the next time. What does she mean? Because she’s going there with her commander. The lolis are in shock and claim unfairness.

Episode 6
Lolis at an adult party? Yeah, with all those protruding tits, I can see why… Anyway, they notice Bismarck looking worried. They talk to her and she is unaware it is written all over her face. From what I understand, she isn’t confident about asking Tirpitz for a dance and something about her dress so the lolis think it’s best for her to make the first move by changing the dress herself. They help do a makeover for her. Splendid. Next, they see Formidable entering a room. She tastes a cake in a box. The lolis point out too late that it is supposed to be for a game later and one of them is spicy. Yeah, she lucked out and ate the spicy one! Water! Ship on fire! After drinking a glass, not sure why the f*ck she sits on empty boxes when there is a couch! WHY?! Obviously the boxes are empty so she falls through and gets wet. Is this absurdity just for the fanservice? U-556 enters to see those boxes for Meowfficers are crushed. Did somebody heavy sit on them? Oh sh*t… Returning back to the party, Javelin wants Formidable to teach her how to dance and be a lady. Javelin tries a few steps but is clumsy. Formidable says there are no ways for one to learn to become a lady. It’s something you become by yourself. Okay. Self-discovery, I guess. But is that a flimsy reason for her not to teach because she doesn’t know?!

Episode 7
Taihou tries to enter the commander’s room but it’s locked. Laffey wonders what she is doing but Taihou changes the subject about her sloppy dressing. Okay. But why is Taihou dressing even sloppier and sluttier? Oh. She wants to flirt with the commander, huh? The other lolis and Mikasa come by. They’re here to clean the commander’s room. Since it is mostly cleaned, they don’t have to expend much effort. Mikasa suggests keeping the windows closed or else the dust will blow in and ruin their hard work. Since Mikasa is old fashioned, she doesn’t understand when the lolis talk about buying stuffs online that gets delivered right away. They try to make her sign up for an online account but Mikasa is confused and goes back to her old broom sweeping ways. Taihou is cleaning every nook and corner in hopes of finding some secrets. Oh my. What’s this secret classified document? Everyone thinks it must be something ecchi but it turns out to be ideas for some facilities. Javelin recognizes this since she brought it to her and she must’ve misplaced it. Likewise, there are other documents that the lolis brought but misplaced. Taihou is in shock because everyone else has been into the commander’s room. Once the room is real cleaned, they leave but Mikasa can’t find her key to lock it. Conveniently Taihou returns it and claims she dropped it. Laffey then notices a key in Taihou’s cleavage and takes it. Everyone realizes she has somehow made a quick duplicate and since she can’t answer their suspicions, Mikasa confiscates it. Taihou in despair.

Episode 8
Cultural festival at Azur Lane. The loli quartet see North Carolina (f*ck! I thought it was Belfast because Yui Horie…) in a Playboy bunny outfit. Apparently to attract customers. ARE THERE MALES IN THIS WORLD?! As they go get change, they see Honolulu worried. She has been given a very short kimono to wear. Considering how sexy her standard uniform is, how the f*ck is she embarrassed putting this on?! After much persuasion, she does so. Typical mishap because Laffey accidentally pulls too much so her kimono comes undone. Too bad we won’t see much either. North Carolina comes to check on them and it seems Washington is also dressed the same as her. Washington is only doing so because she thinks North Carolina was already wearing this underneath her normal clothes. Of course North Carolina corrects her and says it is just to attract customers and please don’t spread unfounded rumours. As they go around enjoying the festival, time for the dart game hosted by those bunny girls. Well, isn’t the dartboard awfully small? Well, the prizes are great so it has to be hard. All the lolis missed. Yeah, not even hitting the board! Sorry Ayanami, reality isn’t like video games. Honolulu who doesn’t think she can even do it, hits bull’s eye. The irony, right? The prize is a date coupon with the commander. This leaves the rest jealous as they want to know her plans. Happy Honolulu not telling.

Episode 9
Belfast is teaching mini Belfast (f*ck yeah! It’s Yui Horie talking to herself!) how to make tea and be a good royal maid. With Niimi and Javelin here, it’s time for Bel-chan to put her maid skills to good use. She serves them tea and cakes. While Bel-chan passes, it seems Javelin needs some training to be a proper guest. Oh my. A British failing basic etiquette?! But I guess it’s a sign that Bel-chan’s services was so good, Javelin can’t help herself. More practice for Bel-chan since Laffey and Ayanami have some request. First up, Laffey wants Bel-chan to clean her messy room. Yeah, she’s just being lazy. Is Bel-chan up to the task? She’ll do it. At the end of the day, it is so clean that Laffey feels so comfortable sleeping. Bel-chan did her job. Next is Ayanami. But it is not cleaning she wants but to play video games with her. She says it is part of the maid’s job to do what the master wants but we all know she just wants a video game partner. Is Bel-chan up to the task? She’ll do it. In the end, all the lolis fall asleep (all that video gaming must be tiring) and Belfast couldn’t be more proud of Bel-chan who did her duty proudly.

Episode 10
The boiler’s out. This means anybody who wants to have a nice hot shower will have to wait till it get fixed. Oh Javelin, you’re throwing a tantrum that you can’t get your hot shower? Well, lucky you. Seems that Zuikaku is making an artificial hotspring at her place. Once it is done, you lolis can hop in and enjoy the Japanese style onsen. Laffey too eager or just blur since she is already undressing even before hot water is filled. Great hotspring experience for the lolis as Shoukaku serves them great food. Eating while soaking in the hotspring? Definitely a new experience for non-Japanese entities. Eventually, Javelin and Laffey pass out from overheating. Don’t worry, they’re fine. Yeah, you western warships aren’t used to such Japanese style bathing. By the time they wake up, other girls are using the hotspring. After rehydrating themselves, Zuikaku suggests they go to a real hotspring next time. I bet they’ll be better prepared next time.

Episode 11
Thanks to Yukikaze winning all the prizes, one of them are tickets to an amusement park. At first she doesn’t want to go because it makes you look like a kid, but with our loli quartet gladly having it, I guess she wants to be invited… And so everyone is here at Manjuu Land. So these quite chicks are Manjuu? Well, they do have that shape. Also here enjoying the fun are Mutsu and Nagato. First we see them in a boat race. Mutsu stepping on the accelerator too had that it breaks and she crashes! Ayanami and Yukikaze trying to outdo each other but they crash and allow Laffey to come from behind to take the win. Next is the roller coaster ride. Damn, it’s so high you wonder if it’s safe! You bet some of them might be scarred for life, the speed the coaster is going downhill. After lunch, they continue to have fun with more rides and other attractions. The last attraction for the day is the haunted house. Nagato is scared and claims time is up so let’s go home. She’s right. They can come another day. When? Tomorrow!

Episode 12
After cleaning the storeroom, the lolis stumble into a treasure box. Not only it is filled with treasure, WTF Laffey sleeping inside?! But when she wakes up, she has no recollections of who she is. Oh dear. Memory loss. Since she wants to still sleep and sleeps on Niimi’s boobs but finds it not the right fit (isn’t it insulting?), hence the rest think if they find the right boobs, her memories will return. Okay. You know the drill. Last episode fanservice. Line up all you busty warships, we’re going to see the best boobs that fits! From Formidable to Belfast to Honolulu, they all don’t feel right. WTF DO YOU MEAN THOSE AREN’T COMFY ENOUGH???!!! YOU MAKE ALL HORNY GUYS JEALOUS!!! Heck, Laffey the expert can even tell from Zuikaku’s melons that those aren’t the right size and not her type! INSULTING!!! And so we skip the rest of the boob search and at the end of the day, all of them are so tired they fall asleep. Laffey sleeps next to them. When they all wake up, Laffey has no recollection of when she lost her memories. So does this mean her memories have returned?! Yeah, confusing… It turns out this pillow she was sleeping on is the best pillow ever. Everyone so dumbfounded and mad at this brat for making them run around! LAFFEY NO BAKA!

Caution: Lolis Playing Ahead! Grind To A Dead Halt!!!
Oh wow. It was all just smooth sailing for these warships, huh? Even better for our loli quartet who has been having fun all the time. I mean, are there wars to fight? Not in this spinoff there aren’t! Don’t you there make these cute little lolis go out there and dirty their cute little hands with blood (and oil?) with all the crazy wars that don’t mean anything. And then traumatized them PTSD that could have been avoided in the first place! So yeah, while we can have another hundred more of such random episodes like these (and blow up to become like the Hetalia series?! NO WAY, I HOPE!!!), I guess we’ll see if this gets popular enough to earn another season.

As expected right from the very start, there is basically no storyline to begin with for this short spinoff. So don’t worry if you have not seen the main TV series itself because there is nothing related to it whatsoever. After all, the main TV series itself wasn’t well received so I guess they don’t want to aggravate all that negativity and just go all out with this cutesy stuffs. Yeah. So if you love your anime shows with all the cute kawaii fluff, this one should be right up your alley. Because it is as though the war we’ve seen in the TV series never actually happened and all the battleships here are having fun every day. Oh man, they have better life than we do! Which makes it redundant because battleships are supposed to fight in battles, right?! So why the f*ck are they having a jolly good leisure time?! Yup, don’t think. Just enjoy the loli fest. You’ll be alright.

As we know, the main TV series itself has a hell lot of characters. Some only appearing once or twice and never to be heard of again. Well, guess what? This short introduces even more of those warships! With waifu potential! If I am not mistaken, they are those warships who did not get to appear at all in the main TV series. I believe I have not seen them before. Heh. Not that I have a good memory but that is the feeling that I get when they introduce at least a new warship girl in every episode. After all, the original mobile game in which this series is based on, has a hell of even lots of more warships! Yeah, better start paying those cash if you want to collect them all warship girls! Anyway, if you’re like me who doesn’t give a f*ck, you’ll do fine because after a few episodes in, I realize this was going to be a trend. Every episode has the main loli quartet in some fun activity while introducing to us one, two or three new warship girls to join in the fun or whatever problem that will eventually be solved. Are we all feeling so good right now? So if they will sadly never appear again after that, not my problem because I literally don’t care at this point.

Because you know, there isn’t much character development when this series is already so short in running time (8 minutes), then you have a flurry of characters, I mean, do we really care about the personalities of those warship girls? Oh well, you can guess their character by the way they interact. Whether they’re going to be some shy girl or some troublemaker or some big sister type. It’s all there. If not, go watch more of such animes and be familiarized with them all! So it’s the same for our main loli quartet. Laffey the sleepy and lazy slacker, Javelin trying to be a lady, Ayanami loves her video games and Niimi being the level headed one of the pack. It’s no wonder they’re having so much fun every day. Yeah, better see them in this happy state than the conflicting state of war we saw them in the TV series. While some waifu warships from the main TV series do make their cameo here like Eugen and Belfast, some big names like Enterprise, Wales, Akagi and Kaga are sorely missing. Not to mention those enigmatic Siren antagonists. You do remember them, right? I guess they don’t fit here because it might just ruin all the loli fun.

So don’t worry that this show is 100% lolicon fest because there are some mature babes out there too for those who like their women mature. Wink, wink. Fanservice galore definitely. Yeah, I guess that’s another way of putting their huge cannons to good use! HAHAHA!!! Yeah, you should see some of the end card illustrations at the end. Either totally loli or 100% sexy stuffs. Anyway, what I wanted to point out is that the characters that I find even way cuter than all the lolis and mature babes are the animal characters themselves. I don’t know, looking at those Meowfficers and Manjuu chicks make me feel like I really want to hug those cute little puffy creatures! Yeah, these creatures should have their own spinoff series! I would definitely watch them and enjoy all the cuteness! Better than all those cute cat videos on YouTube! This series is jointly animated by Yostar Pictures and Candy Box and not sure if they are related to Bibury Animation Studios who did the main TV series. This series has 2 different ending themes. The energetic rock style Longing For by Emi Nitta or the slower cutesy anime pop Mahiruiro Siesta by Yui Sakakibara. Either way, not really liking both pieces.

Overall, this series is fun and relaxing. Only if you try to compare it the original TV series that was a shipwreck disaster. Everything is so fluffy and cute that it might just help blow away the blues. Unless you’re a heartless person who isn’t into this sort of overly kawaii stuffs… This short feels completely like a standalone from the TV series but at the same time, this could be some sort of side distraction AKA PR stint to help mend that and hence some sort of promotion for the game. Well, only if you are further interested. For me, I’m setting sail and leaving for a different sea. After all, that ship that got stuck at Suez Canal finally got freed after almost a week. Time to move on and let the economy flow again after jamming up businesses all over the world. Which means I better get on moving and start watching other animes, otherwise I’ve got a heck lot of backlog animes to catch up to. Don’t want to end up with a load of waifu warships blocking the passage of my narrow mind for other great anime stuffs! HAHAHA!

Azur Lane

Originally, I didn’t want to watch Azur Lane. However with the damn Corona virus wreaking havoc and causing many animes of the season to be delayed or postponed, well, you could say that was my usual poor excuse to go watch a series that anthropomorphized warships into cute and beautiful sexy girls. Yeah. After all, I wasn’t into this kind of warship business thingy and had I the interest, I would have watched Kantai Collection AKA KanColle a long time ago. Maybe if the Corona virus persists and continues to prolong the panic among the people of the world, maybe I’ll just pick that up just for that sake. Just maybe. Ah, just like how war never changes, I too never changed.

Episode 1
As narrated, the world was already at war with itself when alien invaders called Sirens drop in to decimate mankind with their superior technology. To counter this threat, humanity formed a global alliance known as Azur Lane made up of Eagle Union (AMERICA, FTW!!!), Royal Navy (Britain, Cheerio), Iron Blood (Germany, ACHTUNG!) and Sakura Empire (definitely Japan desu yo). They finally repel the threat but the war never stopped. I guess back to fighting among themselves, huh? Especially with Iron Blood and Sakura Empire defecting. We see Azur Lane just completing their new base. Cleveland and Prince of Wales welcome Illustrious and Unicorn to their fold. Later Unicorn lost her, uhm, unicorn pet so together with Javelin and Laffey they go search for it. It is Ayanami who finds it but she looks like the unfriendly kind. That’s because she is a spy from Sakura Empire as she relays info back to Akagi and Kaga. But soon the alert is sounded. Impending attacks from Siren. We get to see how these girls ‘transform’. Basically they have this ability to turn huge destroyers into compact sizes but with equally devastating powers to fight. Once the Sirens are dealt with, now they have to deal with the onslaught of Sakura Empire. It is said that Azur Lane split into 2 factions. Eagle Union and Royal Navy believe only in using human technology to fight Sirens but Iron Blood and Sakura Empire believe the use of Siren technology to fight Sirens. Fighting fire with fire? And this is the stupid reason for the infighting? So both sides go all out with their firepower whatever. Until Unicorn is almost owned by Kaga only Enterprise, the strongest Eagle Union shows up. She basically defeats Sakura Empire all by herself, including Kaga right up close and personal. Because Sakura Empire has got what they wanted, they retreat. They also make a formal declaration of war with Azur Lane. The alliance of Iron Blood and Sakura Empire is now called Red Axis. So basically WWII all over again of Allies vs Axis but with smoking hot warship babes, huh?

Episode 2
As narrated, Mental Cube is a mysterious entity brought to humans during the war with Sirens. This is what gives the ship girls their personality and power as a living entity. We see cute chicks (as in chicken offspring) picking up the wounded Azur Lane girls from the battlefield. Sakura Empire is also licking their wounds. Prinz Eugen drops by to talk with them about the mass production Siren models as well as Grey Ghost AKA Enterprise who could be a thorn on their side if not dealt with soon enough. Eugen wants to harass Azur Lane further so she has Ayanami and Z23 assist her. Javelin and Laffey are conflicted that Ayanami is on the enemy side and fear they have to fight her again. Meanwhile Hammann and a few Eagle Union girls are making haste as the former fear her base would be under attack. Unfortunately before them are Zuikaku and Shoukaku. All the Eagle Union got owned except for Hornet who is forced to be on defensive mode. Enterprise hurries and pushes herself to the limit as she needs to go help Hornet who is her sister. She arrives in time to give Hornet some breathing space. While Zuikaku clashes with Enterprise, other Eagle Union arrive to help the wounded. Eugen also jumps in to have fun. Z23 and Ayanami ready to fight but Laffey says she is too sleepy and don’t want to fight?! Are you serious?! Back to the serious Enterprise vs Zuikaku fight. Enterprise dominates and could have continued so had not her weapon break apart. Zuikaku takes this chance to go in for the kill. So who’s gonna save the best Eagle Union warship?

Episode 3
Flashback shows Enterprise viewing themselves as ships born to fight. But her older sister, Yorktown disagrees. They are ships taking on human forms and the beauty of the seas is engraved deep within their souls. She hopes one day she will understand the wishes of the people who named her. And now the saviour of Enterprise? This maid, Belfast! Eugen would love to settle and old grudge with Belfast but the Royal Navy reinforcement led by the supreme commander herself, Queen Elizabeth has arrived. Eugen orders a retreat. Maybe next time. Back at base, Wales talks to Elizabeth and others about needing Enterprise’s strength as it will be crucial in the upcoming battle. That’s why they can’t let her perish now. Vestal is a repair ship as she arrives at the base to fix Enterprise. However she is not happy Enterprise didn’t take care of herself properly and she continues to brush this off as nothing. And now for some fanservice! Beach episode! Azur Lane having fun in the sand? Yeah, just to show us ship girls can have fun too. Like San Diego almost getting eaten by a shark?! So Saratoga bombs the hell out of the waters?! WTF?! Meanwhile Unicorn meets Enterprise to thank her for saving her. Belfast has been ordered by Elizabeth to look after Enterprise. From her point of view, it looked like she is tired of fighting but at the same time doesn’t concern about her own health. She finds his kind of living unhealthy and at this rate she will lose sight of her reason to fight. Soon a distress call. Enterprise heads out to the stormy waters with Belfast, Cleveland and Hammann. A lone ship from the Dragon Empery looks like it has been destroyed by Sirens. Enterprise investigates and finds Ning Hai and Ping Hai close to death. They managed to fend off the Sirens. Suddenly a Siren revives and aims at them. Because it reminds Enterprise of Yorktown, she instead uses herself as bait to let it aim at her and away from the Dragon Empery sisters. Ultimately it is Belfast who blows it up. In the aftermath, Belfast decides to teach Enterprise how to be a proper lady with dignity.

Episode 4
We see Sakura Empire returning to their homeland. Yeah, more ship girls to remember. Belfast tries to teach Enterprise proper etiquette. England trying to train America some manners! F*ck off! THIS IS AMERICA! As the Dragon Empery sisters recover, they tell Azur Lane that they were on a scouting mission as they receive reports about possible Sirens plotting for a massive attack. It could be that they might strike when Azur Lane and Red Axis are fighting each other. With the threat of Sirens as well Sakura Empire’s suspicious advance in technology, Belfast suggests sending the Maid Corps (hell yeah!) to do what Britain does best: Espionage. Back at Sakura Empire, we see Akagi and Kaga talking to their supreme commander, Nagato. They present a Black Box, a type of Mental Cube. This is necessary to advance Project Orochi and fight the Sirens since Azur Lane’s strategy will not be fast enough. Akashi stumbles into a cave. She sees a ship looking a lot like a Siren as part of Project Orochi. Then she sees Akagi using the Black Box to instantly upgrade it. But helping her producing this Black Box is the mysterious Observer. She knows the goal of Project Orochi is not to create an ordinary ship but an ark to carry every wish across the sea. Akashi realizes she has seen something she shouldn’t and tries to escape but is caught by Kaga. Oh sh*t. Observer is going to kill her (curiosity killed the cat?!) but during this commotion, the Maid Corps of Sheffield and Edinburgh intervene to steal the Black Box and escape. Akagi also escapes with them because she doesn’t want to die! Sheffield is forced to fight Takao to let Edinburgh escape. With Ayanami joining in to help, Edinburgh pulls off a crazy stunt. Riding a boat filled with explosives into them?! Wow. Unexploded bomb disposal area so conveniently nearby. Although the Maid Corps have escaped, Akagi isn’t panicking yet. She thinks it is a good idea to let Azur Lane nurture the Black Box for them.

Episode 5
Sheffield and co are hiding in some ruins. Although they have sent SOS back to Azur Lane, they have to wait it out till reinforcement arrives and hope Sakura Empire and Iron Blood scouts don’t catch them. It’s going to be a hard game of hide and seek since literally almost everyone in Red Axis is out on this search. Azur Lane has received the SOS and are well on their way. In the meantime we hear Enterprise and Belfast talk about the similarities and difference between humans and ship girls as well as Atago lending an ear to hear out Ayanami fretting about fighting her friends again because despite being enemies, they’re actually the same. When Sheffield’s side has been discovered, they are forced to run. Luckily Azur Lane has entered the battle area and both sides begin fighting. Sheffield has taken some damage considering Eugen and her Iron Blood ladies are hot on her heels. Once more it is Belfast to the rescue. Eugen thinks she is a step too late but on the contrary, Belfast points out it is they who are a step too late. Because Enterprise is here! Don’t want to mess with America! So much so Eugen orders a retreat! Zuikaku and Shoukaku thought they could have a rematch with Enterprise but they realize they were fighting the wrong sister. Howdy, y’all! It’s Hornet. Meanwhile yet another reluctant faceoff between Ayanami and Javelin-Laffey. This time Ayanami who didn’t want to fight but now wants to fight but the duo keep escaping, making the former mad. Confusing. Laffey even stands there to let Ayanami strike her but of course Ayanami pulls back. Why? Why won’t they fight?! Because she wants to be friends. Yeah, loli friendship… Geddit? Friend-ship… HAHAHA!!!

Episode 6
Laffey’s dumb smiling face. Ayanami’s suspicious looking face. Laffey’s extended hand. Ayanami slaps it away. That’s it. No friendship today. Back at Azur Lane, Enterprise looks like she’s in a pretty good mood. Quite sociable. Flashback shows them discussing about the Black Box. They can’t use this to nullify mass produced ships since all are controlled by Orochi. What they do know is that Akagi is being helped by a Siren and that the entire Sakura Empire is being deceived. When Enterprise touched it, it’s like she felt some strange alternate dimension thingy. The rest of the episode sees Azur Lane having fun. You even wonder why there’s some lingerie sale going on. Now you know what the warships are all females, no! Best of all, Sheffield proves she doesn’t wear any underwear! Do ship girls need to in the first place? And more fanservice because we see them take a bath. Ships already spend all their time in water, do they even need to do this?! Then we got Unicorn having this ‘problem’. Because she is a loli, she has considerably big boobs. Javelin and Laffey tell her why she need not be shy of it. Because look around. Everybody else has big boobs and don’t mind flaunting them! Oh yeah! Once she gets her confidence, they talk about Ayanami. Ah yes, this Japanese loli. They don’t want to give up being friends with her and hope they can stop fighting. Eugen comes to tease Kaga alone. Something about if her unrequited love is the same as Akagi’s. And Akagi is looking more and more like a mad woman as she is hoping to see her big sister Amagi soon.

Episode 7
Fun time’s over. Time to head out for another battle. And while they’re at that, we see both sides reflect on things. When Azur Lane finally enter the battlefield, they realize they are surrounded by creepy Siren ships. Apparently this is Akagi’s doing as she welcomes them to her sea. And with the arrival of Sakura Empire comrades, the battle finally begins. Kaga tries to regain her honour by fighting with Enterprise. Akagi wants to help but first has to do some housekeeping with Belfast. Woah! Did Akagi pull off Gilgamesh’s Noble Phantasm, Gate of Babylon?! Because Enterprise got distracted by it, this allows Kaga to defeat her. That easy? As Enterprise sinks, she starts having this weird visions and flashbacks of some wars. Then it’s like she somewhat awakened into her Super Saiyan mode. I don’t think that engulfing bright light looks comfortable. Get out! Enterprise then easily defeats Kaga. Mad Akagi tries to get back by firing her giant flaming dragon of love but that too apparently isn’t enough as Enterprise kills her. Oh well. I guess it’s the only way Akagi could meet Amagi. In the afterlife! HAHAHA! Oops… But yeah, her life flashes before her eyes before she sinks into the sea. At that point, Enterprise returns to normal and regrets what she has done. It is then she has finally understood that she is afraid of the ocean.

Episode 8
The battlefield has warped into a twisted one. Snowing, icebergs and dimensional cracks everywhere. And then we have the obligatory Ayanami vs Javelin-Laffey showdown. The latter duo still want to be friends with her but obviously Japanese loli think that’s too weird for her ideal just because they’re on different camps. Too bad, lolis interrupted when Ayanami’s pals come to pick her up and think those Azur Lane lolis are just tricking her. Enterprise seems to have this strange vision of talking to Amagi. Something about how the memories of battleships are embedded in them and that they are all connected with the many emotions. She hopes she won’t forget the prayers of humanity that lie within. Kaga wakes up and is devastated to learn what happened to Akagi. As she is missing, there is a search going on for her but it won’t be easy as Azur Lane is also searching for missing Enterprise. To make things worse, their mass produced Siren ships aren’t responding at all. Could it be the strange phenomenon has cut off their links to Orochi? Then they talk about Project Orochi and how much they don’t know about it because they weren’t explained properly. What is it that the higher ups want to hide from them? Soon, Souryuu makes the decision to retreat, abandoning whatever search for Akagi. With the non-functioning Siren ships, it will make it hard for them to resume operations and that they have to accept they have lost their flagship. Of course this doesn’t sit well with Kaga. In order to draw Azur Lane away, Shoukaku and Zuikaku offer to do that so that Sakura Empire can get away. Watching over this battlefield are Sirens, Observer and Tester. They talk about how war never change among humans and thanks to Enterprise, the Black Box has acquired a huge amount of data. Oh, Akagi is in the hands of Observer. Shoukaku and Zuikaku fight Azur Lane’s bombardment. Bad day because they stumble into Super Saiyan Enterprise. They would have resigned to their fate of being defeated by her when Ayanami jumps in to save them. However she takes damage and is about to fall into the crack. Cue for Javelin and Laffey to rescue her and put their friendship back on track. Phew.

Episode 9
Ayanami wakes up in Azur Lane’s base. Ark Royal watches over her as she is technically a prisoner of war. Javelin and Laffey are ‘reprimanded’. While saving their friend is a commendable deed, they don’t want to give others the wrong idea about saving the enemy. Hence they are being punished to watch the prisoner. Can’t have sad lolis now, can we? The rest then discuss about the Black Box. It has been acting strange ever since the battle. Definitely Sirens must have some plan with it and they are worried about Enterprise. Diagnosis shows nothing wrong with her but during the battle, she was really terrifying. Javelin and Laffey show take Ayanami for a walk. Other Azur Lane lolis also commend them. This easy being friends, huh? We lolis have got to stick together! Akashi has nicely set up a shop selling goods. You bet the lost Sakura Empire duo are worried about their homeland. Because back home, Ayanami’s loli pals are crying and worried if she is being bullied and mistreated by the enemy. Zuikaku apologizes for not being able to save her. And the Iron Blood side is just waiting and biding their time… Just waiting for that opportunity… Elizabeth and her consort are playing golf while talking about Sirens’ goals. Fore! If they wanted to really destroy humanity, why go on about in such an indirect manner? Of course, they can’t help discuss about Enterprise too. That’s why Elizabeth assigned Belfast to her. Unicorn joins Javelin, Laffey and Ayanami have fun. The more the merrier! And we officially have our first lolicon pervert: Ark Royal. Observer is trying to convince Kaga to continue with Project Orochi. Because once Orochi awakens, the wills of countless souls will embed its body. This includes the will of Akagi. Of course Kaga will not let this end and continue Akagi’s will.

Episode 10
Yet another vision of war from Enterprise. This time she sees an alternate and more serious version of herself. Enterprise Alter? Azur Lane continues to observe the Black Box but they are still stumped with this Siren technology. Meanwhile more loli fanservice. Sauna time, anybody? Kaga is not happy that Nagato has decided to stop Project Orochi even though it is temporary. She believes with Akagi gone, the project cannot move forward. Kaga claims without Orochi, Sakura Empire has no future so Nagato tells her to rest as she is just weary from the loss of her sister. Even the other Sakura Empire ship girls are worried about their own state. Will their nation fall? This is the result of relying on an unknown technology. Worse, they don’t want Iron Blood to see them at this weakened state. Kaga sees a vision of Akagi being pampered by Amagi. Flashback shows Observer telling Akagi and Kaga about the Black Box as it is more powerful and collects all forms of data and evolves. Data = will = power. Ships created from it have greater powers and they can use it to reanimate the past and regenerate whatever future you desire. Even the dead. At first Akagi rubbished the thought because it is just a reflection and not real. But Observer asks back what is real anyway. Hence Kaga knew from the start there was no place in Akagi’s heart for her. She even failed to be her replacement. But Akagi wish is also her wish. Enterprise isn’t feeling well. Another vision of Alter who tells her humans never change and they always want war. That is what they truly yearn for. With Enterprise having low self-confidence to the point she considers herself worthless, Belfast forces her to come with her. Other ship girls watching this are shocked because Enterprise being dominated by somebody else? Impossible! Belfast asks her some hard hitting reflecting questions and tells her off not to take the easy answer. In fact she already knows the correct answer but simply lost track of it. Interrogation interrupted when the base is under attack by a lone crazy Siren, Purifier. She has stolen the Black Box. Belfast and the maids chase and attack her. Purifier takes this as a sign they want to play so she unleashes her Siren fleet on them. With no Azur Lane putting up a decent fight until Enterprise shows up, Purifier is more than happy to fight her. Meanwhile Eugen is going to steal Orochi’s secrets for herself but too bad Kaga has beaten her to it. She has activated and controlled this giant Siren ship, Orochi.

Episode 11
After a short fight, Purifier escapes since she needs to prepare for the final stage. She returns to Orochi where other Sirens are stationed and hands over the Black Box to Observer who then activates it to see whether the past will repeat itself or recalculate a new future. Kaga is glad to see the re-emergence of Akagi dearest. With reports of Orochi’s sighting reaching Azur Lane, they realize Sakura Empire has been used and played out by Siren. Hence Orochi is the real enemy and threat to not only Azur Lane but the whole mankind. That means an official war declaration, right? At the Sakura Empire rues Akagi and Kaga working with Siren and this means betrayal to their nation. Kaga realizes this is not the real Akagi and that something is possessing her. Amagi? Or rather, Orochi. Kaga claims all this fakery but Orochi also asserts Kaga is fake. When Amagi died, Akagi uses some of her parts to create an Amagi substitute AKA Kaga. But even so, she failed to be anywhere near a replacement. As Sakura Empire closes in on Orochi, they are being attacked by Sirens. Worse, they are forced to fight Kaga who doesn’t care if she is being used. As long as she gets to fulfil Akagi’s wish, that is all that matters. Even with Iron Blood joining it, they are still outnumbered. Don’t worry, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Because ‘reinforcements’ arrive in the form of Azur Lane. Then Orochi starts activating something big.

Episode 12
Orochi launches a missile. It seems this missile has a very long range and can hit Azur Lane’s base all the way across the ocean. This is somewhat Orochi and Akagi’s wish. The power to annihilate the enemy from afar. Enterprise goes to intercept it but Purifier gets in the way. Enterprise shows why she is tops as not only she defeats Purifier but shoots down the missile. Though, she gets caught in the blast! Hence another cue for Enterprise having another vision and talk with Alter. The latter telling her how they are mirrors of humanity’s desire and hence the physical manifestations of human will. That is also what Orochi represents. Conflict represents human progress. But Alter tells Enterprise she can end this journey if she desires. But doing so means being freed from the burden of seeing the future. Zuikaku finally slaps some senses into Kaga’s twisted love by head butting her! With this ‘defeat’, I guess she has to tearfully plead to them to save Akagi. Everyone is relieved with the return of Enterprise. She powers up with some Code G to take down Orochi! She has decided she will not give up as she is carrying countless hope and will. Azur Lane and Red Axis work together to fight the Sirens. But it gets official with Elizabeth and Nagato themselves entering the fray and announcing this new alliance. Uhm, isn’t this how it was before the split? Anyway, they realize that even if they are created to fight, they are created to also save the world. Enterprise confronts Akagi who is still obsessed in shouldering and saving everything she loves by herself. And then Enterprise saves her by just holding her hand. Yes, it’s that simple. It is then she remembers Amagi’s important words to get along because otherwise they won’t be able to defeat Sirens. Yeah, how could everyone not remember this important lesson? Although losing Orochi wasn’t part of the plan, Observer isn’t disappointed because anything that surpasses their expectations must be welcomed. This shows humanity still has a future. Eugen reports to supreme commander, Bismarck about this latest fiasco by the Sakura Empire that gives Iron Blood huge leverage to pursue their ideals. Only those with power can save humanity. Azur Lane comes up with a new proposal. A new base for both Azur Lane and Red Axis to mingle and mix. Like a melting pot? Just like old times? Enterprise is the leader of this new alliance. Now Z23 can join Ayanami, Javelin, Laffey and Unicorn in this diverse loli friendship. Enterprise knows all too well how war will never change in the future. That’s why they must change instead. So are they going to stop fighting?

Hetalia Warship Series: Ass-U-R Lame!
Ah well. Just as I had expected as well as many others. The adaptation isn’t really good in particular! Yup, a thumbs down for me although I am being a lot generous than many others who commented even more harshly on this. Hence if you really want to get into the real experience of this series, it is best to go play the game that it is adapted from. Mind you, Azur Lane which is a Chinese made side scrolling shooter mobile game is actually a lot more popular than KanColle (at least in Japan) despite Azur Lane copying this concept from KanColle themselves. There are tons of comparisons between both series (note, High School Fleet is 100% lolicon fest!) but I guess I’m going to spare you all the boring stuffs and if you’re interested, a simple Google search on the internet can wield you the answers. Also, I’m too lazy and not interested so I didn’t really go read up. Also again, I didn’t even play both those games so I can’t really say much. Move along!

One of the biggest weakness of this adapted series is that it feels it doesn’t know who its target audience is. Are they targeted for hardcore fans? Or just casual fans? Or maybe trying to expose this franchise to those who aren’t aware? Or perhaps not appealing to fans of the series but just fanservice perverts in general? Yeah, this adaptation has a very wafer thin plot that you could see it coming from across the ocean and this plot itself is thinly holding the dozen of episodes together. Basically it is mostly Azur Lane vs Red Axis and if they’re not fighting, you see them hanging out leisurely back at their home bases. Not really an interesting distraction if I should say. Both sides of the divide look like they’re having fun when they’re not at each other’s throat. Goes to show that just because of a small different opinion, it changes everything else. Except that war never changes. And as expected, Sirens being the typically bad guys played Sakura Empire out and for the sake of convenience, common foes who were once old friends now come together again to fight together for the greater good. Ah yes, shouldn’t be even fighting each other in the first place because of their different opinions. Stupid, right? No wonder war never change.

Don’t even get me started on the characters. Oh God. This series has tons of them! You don’t know how many you’ll be spammed in the first episode just trying to introduce some of them! I believe that even halfway through the series, they are still introducing new ones. Sometimes I view this as both a good and bad way. You see, when a character pops up for the first time or at least get their 15 seconds of the spotlight, their name, class and allegiance will be displayed on the screen. Unfortunately, it is only once. So if you don’t remember them just because they aren’t main or supporting characters, you’re screwed and God help you in remembering who they are because then you have to Google the Wikipedia or some anime sites just to try and recall who that ship girl is. But it is better than spamming every episode their names. Do you know how irritating it is especially for established characters? Take for instance, Boku No Hero Academia. We’re already into the fourth season and we’re still being spammed on the screen the main characters’ name!!! OMFG!!! DO WE HAVE THE MEMORY OF A GOLDFISH???!!! That’s why I said, if those characters don’t appear enough or do anything significant, chances are you won’t really remember them even if their names are quite easy to pronounce and remember (after all, they’re taken from actual historical warships). So it’s like we’ve got this one chance to remember them when their name displays on the screen.

Having said that, another big flaw of this series of having too many characters is that you can’t have a decent screen time for all of them. It reminds me of another series: Uma Musume: Pretty Derby. That one has horse anthropomorphized as girls. As usual, too many characters, some just making short cameos as the entire series went on to continue focusing on the few main ones. So it’s the same case here for Azur Lane. Sure, there are a hell lot of battleships, battle cruisers and destroyers during WWII but trying to fit most of them here won’t do those obscure ones any justice. I suppose it is just to show that the base is filled with lots of them. Then you have an army. What good is a faction if it doesn’t have large numbers? Putting that aside, the character development isn’t anything good either for the main characters. We don’t really get to delve into their past because you know, they are physical manifestations of warships so what kind of past is there to show? Hence putting in some human traits sometimes makes you wonder if that ship is like that. Klutzy ship? Serious ship? Jokey ship? Just weird.

So for Enterprise as the main character herself, there is not much to know about her except she is the best and that she is dealing with some sort of inner demon. Is that why she is always looking so forlorn and distant? That Alter whom she sees, I read that she is supposed to be the future version of herself. Looking bitter and war torn, I guess it proves that war never really change even in the distant future. As long humans exist, war will also continue to exist. And with Belfast assigned as her maid, I don’t see the significance of this except for some possible yuri moments (which never really happened). I thought that they would eventually make some sort of formidable combo but too bad Enterprise looks as though she is working better as a lone wolf and going solo and Belfast is mostly just into supporting and backing up. Even so, that is just sparingly. I guess Britain can’t really teach America the ways of the etiquette after all. HAHAHA!!! America, never change! Just like war…

Then there is this side distraction if you’re a lolicon. Because boy, Ayanami-Javelin-Laffey and now Unicorn and finally Z23 in this loli group sure sometimes sound annoying. They interject this scene many times during the season. But it is also relatable since all little girls want are to have fun and not fight. But thanks to stupid adults and their stupid egos and pride, many are forced into the reluctant war. Laffey being the ‘best’ character since she is always at her own pace and she won’t let others influence her. Yeah, some characters never change. Laffey, carry on being you. And also not forgetting the twisted sisterly love between Akagi and Kaga. Trying to make them antagonists of the series but we can’t have Japan being the primary bad guys and of course they were just being used. All in the name of love. Ah yes, their love never changes. So does war.

If you think there are too many characters already in this adapted series, wait till you learn how many more are ‘missing’ from the anime. Yup, I’m talking about other countries and nations that were prominent in WWII that didn’t even show up at all. So what happened to Russia, France or even Italy?! At least China made a small cameo even if it was bloody insignificant. The game itself does feature nations of those countries although they are just smaller factions unlike the big 4. Sorry folks, I guess the creators didn’t think Australia played a big role in the second World War. No Australian ship girls. Despite the irony that France is represented by 2 different factions! So I think as far as the anime adaptation is concerned, as we have seen they can’t really handle so many characters already, it is best that these ship girls from these nations do not appear at all. Who knows the atrocity that they will do to their honour.

Oddly with the ship girls fighting on behalf of humanity, it is the biggest irony that we do not even see a single nose hair of humans. Not even in flashbacks whatsoever! It just makes me feel that humans died out and this world is just populated by ship girls and invading Sirens. Of course this is not the case but the lack of humans (and even males!) gave me that sort of impression. It makes me further wonder where all those puny weak hairless mammals are. Are they hiding in their safe space while they let the ship girls fight each other? This is really dumb and sneaky of humans being humans. In the first place, Sirens came here to wipe us out. It’s basically humanity’s problem. Now they’re letting cute anthropomorphized ship girls do their job. It’s not like Enterprise or Elizabeth are seen taking orders from their human counterparts, right?

Who knows? The Mental Cube that was mysteriously given to humans in creation of the ship girls were actually from the Sirens themselves. The Sirens are by far the more interesting counterparts if I should say because of their enigmatic ways. While it looks like they are out to destroy humanity, what if they actually have a different goal to that? Because had they really wanted to, they would have done so. Maybe they just want to test and see if humans are worthy species to continue to breed the Siren race that are going extinct in the universe! Holy sh*t! My conspiracy theories are running wild! Including my other sick theory that Sirens are actually angels of God sent down to pass mankind their judgment!!! CRAZY!!!! Even crazier, what if humans and Sirens are in some betting game to see which side gets eliminated first???!!! That’s why humans are missing as they are sitting so comfy in their chairs watching their monitor screen as the battle unfolds!!!!!!!!!!

So you might be the other part who watch this show for the fanservice. Panty showing fanservice there are but not as much as the explosion and bombardment fanservice AKA action sequences. After all, we know why all the anthropomorphized ships are females and there are no males whatsoever. Because you would think that males who are physically stronger and tougher would make better representation but I guess it is obvious the target audience is. While some ship girls dress ‘decently’, others feel like they’re just walking around in their underwear. And to just show that they have human personality, that’s why that nonsensical cheesy distraction why they need to wear pantsu and some conscious about their boobs. Heck, just flaunt those huge barrels of fire power, baby!!!

And of course it would be a crime if anthropomorphizing ships means there are no action scenes and this is perhaps the main draw of the series. What is the use of having factions of hot babes when there is no fighting involved? In every episode there is a guarantee for such fights. Lots of bombing. Lots of explosions. Lots of WWII propeller planes zipping around dropping their bombs and firing their pea shooters. Yeah. You’ll get used to that by the end. Some of the main characters will have better and more unique armament like Enterprise’s bow has designs after her aircraft carrier. But I wonder why Kaga hasn’t used her fox-like ship ever since her defeat to Enterprise. Was it sealed or something? The end of the fights are usually predictable. Nobody actually wins because they need to draw out this war. Hence once enough bombarding is done, something intervenes or happens that has both sides withdraw until the next battle. And amazingly considering how long they’ve been fighting, no ships were actually sunk! This means no characters actually died! Maybe except for Amagi who was already dead in the first place but even Enterprise and Akagi can resurrect from the dead. Is this part of the power of being a ship girl?

As for the art and animation, they’re pretty decent. While there is high quality here, sometimes during action scenes, I can see they skimp a little as the details get a bit simple. I can see why the final 2 episodes were delayed for months just to improve the quality after fans complained! After all, this series was animated by an unknown, Bibury Animation Studios. But other than that, animating the backgrounds isn’t a tough job when most of the battle scenes take place over the calm blue ocean and clear blue skies! And with so many characters, you bet it will be hell for them to come up with lots of different designs to differentiate them. Well, so far so good. Some feel like I’ve seen them somewhere before. For example, the first time I look at Enterprise, I was thinking what the heck Akame Ga Kill’s Esdeath is doing here?! Some Azur Lane girls with purple or light coloured hair, they just somehow remind me they came from the Hyperdimension Neptunia series. Fun fact: That series does have its cameo and own faction in the game itself! They try to differentiate the main factions with certain designs. For example, Sakura Empire mostly have their characters with fox ears and tails. It feels like Sakura Empire is one big mythical land of foxes. Royal Navy has mostly fashionable ladies aside the maids while Eagle Union of America being America, has many sexy babes in casual or bikini wear. It can’t get more American with Hornet as a cowgirl in bikini. Says it all. And Iron Blood, they’re just so military…

I could be wrong though, because I think they spread well the busty mature ladies and the loli types. The latter are mostly destroyer units while the former are mostly aircraft carriers. This is only so because the warships that they become their ornaments and accessories in battles, it only make sense that bigger ones have the strength to carry runways and launch planes while the smaller girls at least have gunners to fire. A pretty cool design and concept at least on this level. But the more interesting designs of this aspect are the Sirens as I noticed that their hi-tech accessories resemble more like sea creatures such as sharks, stingrays, jellyfish and octopus. And also, why do the eerie red glow of the mass produced Siren ships remind me of Judge Dredd? Hmm…

Voice acting isn’t anything special in particular. Of course as you might have guessed that with a wide variety of characters means a large number of casts voicing them. So large that some of them end up voicing multiple characters! Not sure if this helps save costs because otherwise they could have called in the entire seiyuu industry and fill in the numerous characters here with ease. Oh right. The studio will be jammed packed and crowded with people who would only be there just a few minutes to record a few seconds of their dialogue. Pitiful. But anyway, when I first heard Misaki Kuno as Ping Hai, heck I thought Ning Hai as her twin sister would’ve been the same voice. Instead, I thought I heard wrongly but it was weird to hear her as the voice of Nagato too. Made me think if she was a spy. At least the sisters of Zuikaku and Shoukaku are voiced by Risa Taneda. Same case for Ai Kayano. I thought she was already busy enough as Kaga but then I heard Atago. Sure this is not Kaga in disguise? In fact as I found out, she voiced a third ship but I’m not sure if Renown was featured here or not. Same case with Sumire Uesaka who isn’t only Elizabeth but also Akashi as well (and also Warspite… And also Saratoga???!!!). Now you know why the loli voice sounds so awfully familiar, huh?

Other seiyuus I recognized lending their talents include Yui Horie as Belfast, Mai Nakahara as Akagi, Ayane Sakura as Eugen, Miyuki Sawashiro as Amagi, Yuuko Goto as Edinburgh and Sora Amamiya as Illustrious. There are other seiyuus I know but didn’t notice them as they helmed smaller (and forgettable) roles such as Youko Hikasa, Sayaka Ohara and Ami Koshimitsu. Unfortunately with such an extensive cast, no Mamiko Noto anywhere :’(. The other casts are Yui Ishikawa as Enterprise (Mikasa in Shingeki No Kyojin), Ai Kakuma as Unicorn and Takao (Julis in Gakuen Toshi Asterisk), Nozomi Yamane as Javelin (Kureha in Yurikuma Arashi), Maria Naganawa as Laffey (Kamuri in Slow Start), You Taichi as Ayanami (Anzu in Prison School), Nozomi Yamamoto as Hornet (Yukimura in Bokuachi Wa Tomodachi Ga Sukunai), Saya Horigome as Cleveland, Chinami Hashimoto as Wales (Chiyo in Prison School), Asuka Itou as Hammann, Konomi Kohara as Sheffield (Kasumi in Asobi Asobase), Rika Abe as Z23 (Chikage in Hanebado), Ayaka Fukuhara as Bismarck (Veronica in Fairy Gone), Kana Yuuki as Yorktown (Noelle in Black Clover), Moe Toyota as Observer (Midori in Hibike! Euphonium), Chika Anzai as Tester (Reina in Hibike! Euphonium) and Marika Kouno as Purifier (Suzuka in Uma Musume: Pretty Derby).

If you’re very familiar and in love with the brand of music that is of May’n, then be glad to know that she sings the opening theme, Graphite/Diamond. The fast and upbeat pace of this rock music definitely fits the genre like a glove. If only the series itself could be as epic as this song… A total u-turn for the ending theme because Hikari No Michishirube by Kano is a slow ballad. While it might not sound like it fit the series but thinking about how the ship girls need a break once in a while from fighting and thinking about their tragic fate which is created to just fight, I guess this song isn’t that bad after all. The oddest part I find during the animation credits is how the characters are sitting and eating together on this long banquet table. I don’t know. Somewhat reminds me of that Last Supper painting. Enterprise being the centre, so she’s like Jesus? Oh well, if only Azur Lane and Red Axis, mature girls and lolis come together happily like this…

Overall, after all that is said, the adapted anime is just mediocre. Even though I didn’t really have a bad time watching it. Perhaps what saved me is that I am not a fan of the series and no doubt I know nothing about the game or even the actual historical warships. Perhaps that is why ignorance is bliss. I am saved from the disappointment of the fans and others who have decent knowledge about the franchise, their expectations and hopes. Watch this only if you are really into the fanservice and action and nothing more. Oh, if you love ships and wonder how they look like if they take a form of a woman. Here’s your answer. Other than that, it is pretty much predictable and sad just like the humans in this setting. They never change even though Enterprise tried to give us some hope that we have to change. We humans know better. We won’t. That’s why it’s the same for the anime industry and its fan base. We pretty much get the same kind of garbage and mediocrity every season. We never learn. We never change. And we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again for the futures to come. We’re sailing through pitch black stormy seas right now. Boy, we must be so proud of ourselves, huh?