[Weekly Famitsuu May 24 2018]

Raws: http://www.mediafire.com/?c2vau511h7fvskv

[way too much shit]

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Page 088-089
[Famitsuu took congrats messages from the public. One woman in her 30s credits meeting her husband to KanColle, funnily enough. Their first date was in Yokosuka.]

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Page 90-95
[This timeline is a lot less denser than Comptiq's so I'll do it, but paraphrased. The following is not direct translations]
Five Years' Wake * "Year" and "ship" form a pun here

~Year 1: April 23, 2013 - April 22, 2014
New Elements (Partial):
Service start, new systems
LSC
Foreign ships
Kai Ni
Marriage (Temp)

Limited Time Events (Partial):
Implementing new ships via events (Shoukaku, Zuikaku, Yamato, Musashi)
Break Into the Enemy Anchorage!
Decisive Battle! Escape Iron Bottom Sound!

Events Outside the Game:
Anime adaptation confirmed
KanColle tracks in Karaoke

~Year 2: April 23, 2014 - April 22, 2015
New Elements (Partial):
Artillery Spotting
Combined Fleet
Equipment Improvement
Italian ships
AACI

Limited Time Events (Partial):
Multifront campaigns
Operations AL/MI
Counterattack! Assault on Truk Anchorage (difficulty selections added)

Events Outside the Game:
Fan events
First KanColle Yokohama Naval Review "Rehearsal"
Anime begins


Memories from the first two years: "middle-aged men" look back. Featuring Admirals Kitaguchi (Sasebo, likes Haruna), Usagino (Kanoya, likes Taihou, clears on kou), Bentsu (Saiki Bay, likes Asashio, just started last May)
Nothing that wasn't covered in the previous bubbles

~Year 3: April 23, 2015 - April 22, 2016
New Elements (Partial):
UI improvements (like saving fleet comps)
Air raid nodes
Air crew proficiency, reinforcement expansion, combat rations, underway replenishment, etc.

Limited Time Events (Partial):
Counterattack! The Second Operation SN (first 7-map event)
Sortie! Operation Rei-gou
Heavy Cruiser Princess

Events Outside the Game:
PS Vita version (pft)
First open event, Spring Ship Festival

~Year 4: April 23, 2016 - April 22, 2017
New Elements (Partial):
Land-based Air Corps
Jets
Speeding up ships through engine equip combos
New foreign ships pour in (Iowa, Aquila, Warspite, Commandant Teste)
Opening ASW
Android app

Limited Time Events (Partial):
Counterattack! The Second Battle off Malaya
Reconnaissance Force Emergency Deployment! Operation "Hikari" (hope you had subs)

Events Outside the Game:
KanColle Arcade
Movie
Real-life sanma festival
Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra

Old man corner: mention how collaborations seem to have really picked up around this period with people like Mitsukoshi (department store) and Avail (clothes) and fan events diversified

~Year 5: April 23, 2017 - April 22, 2018
New Elements (Partial):
Carrier night attacks
Kaiboukan
Fighter-escorted bomber cut-ins

Limited Time Events (Partial):
Shou-gou Decisive Battle! Counterattack in the Battle of Leyte Gulf (Parts 1 and 2) challenges grizzled vets
Even easier difficulty setting compensates for the lower end

Events Outside the Game:
Loads of collabs
Zuiun Festival in Fuji-Q Highland
KanColle Jet with Peach LCC
Tourism event in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture
Fifth Anniversary Festival with Mitsukoshi

Onward, toward the sixth year!
What is HTML5?
HTML5 is web code. It can display videos without using Flash, rendering the need to fetch and read Flash data obsolete; has improved security; and reduces traffic, allowing more capacity for graphics, rendering, etc.

Fifth Anniversary Updates:
Samuel B. Roberts
5 Anniversary quests
Kagerou Kai Ni
Urakaze D Kai
Seasonals

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Page 096-099
Otodoke: Delivering their voice [Otodoke means "delivery", but they spell it using "oto", sound]
Spin-off edition

Ootsubo Yuka
Born June 11 in Chiba. Previous work includes Yuru Yuri (Toshinōu Kyouko), The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls (Mimura Kanako), and Hanayamata (Nishimikado Tami). She preforms a total of 10 ships in KanColle. In 2014 she teamed up with Vocaloid musician Yuuyu-P to create smileY inc., beginning her career as a singer.

Ootsubo Yuka-san has been involved with KanColle since the very start, performing for the game, the anime and movie, and various stage events. Today we look back on her five years performing 10 ships: Ise, Hyuuga, Ooi, Kitakami, Kako, Furutaka, Hiyou, Jun'you, Hiburi, and Daitou.

"KanColle has increased my personal repertoire"

Learning about warships through KanColle
Interviewer (I): Five years have passed since KanColle started service. Time flies, huh.
Ootsubo (O): Yeah. Looking back, it really feels like it went by in the blink of an eye. But I think a lot happened during that time. I'm really happy admirals have continued to support KanColle for so long.

I: Do you remember your first recording?
O: Yes. It wasn't long after I had debuted, so I have strong memories. When I got the briefing materials for the recording, there was a lot written for shipgirls like Hyuuga and Ooi, but at first I thought I was just voicing a couple characters, like Hiyou. Sure, some were sister ships, but I figured they were just laying out the setting for me. So when I got to the recording studio and they asked, "Please do all of them", I... (laugh)

I: Something like, "I'm doing all of them?" (laugh)
O: This was the first project I've done that had me in so many roles, so it was quite a shock.

I: Many people were startled to see how many roles a single seiyuu was doing when KanColle first started.
O: It doesn't surprise people anymore though (laugh). During recording, starting with Ise I did Hyuuga, Kitakami, Ooi, Furutaka, Kako, Hiyou, and Jun'you - the first 8 ships, implemented at the beginning of the game.

I: Did you look into the ships themselves beforehand?
O: I did, figuring it would help to study for my role. It ended up being pretty fun and expanding my horizons. The Management Naval District's Tanaka-san and Saitou-san were super happy that I was able to talk with them during recording about the things I had learned and stuff (laugh).

I: I see (laugh). Recording 8 ships at once - that must have been tough, huh?
O: It was. I had just debuted and my resume was pretty thin, so I didn't have much, experience, to draw on. So I ended up trying this and that, so it was sort of like, shuffling things in and drawing things out of my experience as I went.

I: Sort of like, "There's just something off about how I'm doing this", huh?
O: Yeah, like that. Like, "Is this right?", that sort of mixed feeling. Also, I was only 19 and couldn't drink, so doing Jun'you was pretty tough, I remember.

I: Do you drink now? I've heard pretty heavily...
O: Oh no no, I am fond of it but have never gotten as drunk as Jun'you gets. Jun'you Kai Ni was recorded after I had become an adult*, so I think my drunk act had gotten much better (laugh).
* Adulthood is traditionally considered to begin at 20 in Japan. This is also the legal drinking age.

I: You do get the sense with the shipgirls, including Jun'you, that as the years pass their personalities stand out more and more.
O: Ooi and Kitakami's interesting relationship continues to deepen, yeah. Hyuuga's support for "Zuiun" has gotten to the point that she's carrying out Naval Base Zuiun Festivals. Ooi was actually a reward for those who preregistered. The girl's always thinking of Kitakami-san and saying sorta scary, or uh, mean-spirited things, but really she's a cute character at heart. But as time passes, her character gets more fleshed out and you can sense the evolution. In her Kai Ni hourlies I'm yelling (laugh). Ooi's a shipgirl for which you can "explode" while performing, so it gets pretty interesting.

Double roles means it's time to flirt!?
I: Speaking of Ooi, she and Kitakami make a pretty popular duo.
O: They come in contact a lot in their lines, those two. There was an especially large amount of interaction between them during the anime recording. Kitakami's an interesting character too, always saying something good in a sorta absentminded way, it's great. Lately she's started acting like an old lady though (laugh).

I: Come to think of it, how do you record those double role scenes?
O: I think it depends on the person, but I do it "Ooi first, then Kitakami". They show up a lot, and it's always together, so people have said "Oh look, she's flirting with herself~" when I start recording those two in the studio (laugh).

I: Well put (laugh). There was a movie as well.
O: I was happy Kako and Furutaka got to debut in the movie. And as Kai Ni ikemen!

I: Yes, I remember them from the preview screenings. By the way, there was also "4DX" and "MX4D" versions which let you experience water splashes and smells. Did you see the movie in MX4D, Ootsubo-san, and if so how was it?
O: I do like those "4D" experiences and have been to many, but KanColle's water splashes were the most incredible of all. The seats moved with the explosions, like a theme park attraction 0 that was a lot of fun. If there's another one, I hope they add searchlights. For bath scenes, instead of some weird steam you could have actual smokescreens (laugh).

Happy to be able to feel the shipgirls right beside me!
I: KanColle Arcade had its own Second Anniversary last month. Ise and Hyuuga feature prominently in the Arcade version.
Y: Yeah! They're the main figures in the visuals and even feature in the design of the arcade cabinet itself. I'm really happy about that. I was featured in one of the play videos* - it was super exciting to be able to control the shipgirls with my own hands. And the way the arcade prints out the cards for you to hold in your own hands is rewarding too.
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPfFSo-hiWI

I: It also feels like there's more and more to see of Ise and Hyuuga.
O: Hyuuga's love for Zuiun has become especially well-established. I'll gladly continue to say Zuiun again and again (laugh).

I: The "Zuiun Festival" has gone on for two years now - this year and last. It wouldn't be much of an exaggeration to say KanColle and Zuiun go hand-in-hand (laugh).
O: Building a life-sized Zuiun seemed like an April fools at first. It was incredible they went through with it. The admirals' passion for Hyuuga and Zuiun has been heating up in each Zuiun Festival, and I've even had fans call out "Master~~~!"*. The admirals themselves have played a huge part in Hyuuga growing up to become the Zuiun lover she is today, so thank you.
* Referring to Hyuuga.

I: There was also a performance of "Kanmusu Ondo" with attendees at the Zuiun Festival.
O: I finally got to dance with everyone! It was the highlight of my summer last year especially, since I didn't get to do much other summer-like activities like festivals (laugh). That was the funnest part.

I: KanColle is holding more and more live events. You've participated in all the Naval Reviews, to be specific.
O: Right, since the very first. The direction is getting better and better with each one.

I: Last year, admirals even got to direct the path of the story.
O: If the performance keeps evolving like this, at some point we'll end up on an actual ship, won't we (laugh)?

I: We'll have to do it in the harbor (laugh).
O: I especially remember the First Naval Review (the "rehearsal"). The anime and such wasn't around back then, so it was a unique place because shipgirls could actually converse there. It was super exhilarating, and they all said they were glad to be there. KanColle has a lot of events with a touch of serendipity, not just the Zuiun Festival.

I: Especially the Naval District Saury Festival - going from an in-game event to grilling pacific saury in real life.
O: It's great, isn't it?  As far as collaborations go there's also Mitsukoshi-san. And with Lawson-san, Ooi and Kitakami were even drawn with the torpedo-shaped Type 93 Oxygen Éclair.

I: And Jun'you was on the packaging of Cratz (a Glico snack) in the past.
O: Seeing my own characters at convenience stores made me really happy. So I hope they do more (laugh).

I: Coastal defense ships Hiburi and Daitou were recently added to your roles, Ootsubo-san.
O: I'd continue hearing about new shipgirls, of course, but I was surprised that I would be taking on some of them. I had to be sure the whole time not to let my other shipgirls' performances or vocal quality slip in.

I: What were you worried about, performance-wise?
O: Coastal defense ships are very childlike characters, so I was concerned about how to do that. For Daitou, I settled pretty quick on intentionally laughing in a sort of raspy voice that I thought suited her well. But Hiburi caused me some trouble... As the first of the Hiburi-class coastal defense ships I thought she should really have her act together, but taking that too far would make her sound like an adult which would really clash with her appearance. As I worried, one thought that came to mind was "puppy". A puppy that gets really happy when you praise it - I thought it fit her perfectly.

I: Hiburi and Daitou make 10 shipgirls performed by you, Ootsubo-san. What kind of shipgirls would you like to perform in the future?
O: Battleships, light carriers, heavy cruisers, light cruisers, coastal defense ships - I've been assigned quite a few ship types... So, I'd like to do a submarine, if I could. And destroyers too. After all, if I perform types I haven't done yet, a fleet composed solely of my shipgirls would get stronger. But Kitakami thinks destroyers are "annoying", so I guess if I did a destroyer I'd be calling myself annoying, huh (laugh).

I: That makes me want to hear it even more (laugh).
O: I perform 10 ships myself, but the other seiyuu-san's shipgirls are also cute characters, so go ahead and (temp) marry 'em all! Thanks to the admirals, I believe KanColle will be able to continue to strive on in its sixth year.

We Asked for a Brief Word!
Tell us about your impressions on the shipgirls you performed!
Ootsubo-san currently performs 10 shipgirls. What does she think about their various personalities - you're curious, right? So we asked! Worth the read♪

Ise and Hyuuga
I love that there's a warm bond (friendship?) between them and they're always looking out for each other in their lines. You get the sense that Ise is an onee-san dragging Hyuuga along.

Ooi and Kitakami
I always wanted to voice a character like Kitakami, so it was a lot of fun. I had a feeling during Ooi's seasonal lines that she'd become a bit of a yandere.

Furutaka and Kako
Kako's a really bright character, so I recorded her in a pleasant mood. Furutaka expresses some maturity but still shows personality - it was a learning experience.

Hiyou and Jun'you
Like Kako, Jun'you was a lot of fun because of her drunken personality. Hiyou has some tsundere to her - seeing her clash with the admiral with a loud clang is pretty interesting, isn't it?

Hiburi and Daitou
Coastal defense ships are childish, so I wondered how to distinguish that. Hiburi's a really good girl, isn't she? On the other hand, Daitou seems a bit of a troublemaker.

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Page 100-109
[A guide to getting good]

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Page 110-111
[Arcade Anniversary]

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Page 112-113
[Yomizuiland]

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Page 114-115
Otodoke: Delivering their voice
Spin-off edition

Kubota Hikari
Born March 23 in Tokyo. Previous work includes Monmusu☆Harem (Poporu) and the upcoming game Uma Musume Pretty Derby (Mejiro Dober). She loves foreign dramas and has dubbed shows such as Girl Meets World and </SCORPION>.

Kubota Hikari-san serves as the voice of the Essex-class carrier Intrepid, implemented this past February. We asked her about her impressions on KanColle, how it felt to be selected for the role of Intrepid, what she worried about during recording, lines that left an impression with her, and more - please enjoy.

"I enthusiastically performed a kind, tolerant girl"

One Surprise After Another in Encountering Intrepid!?

Interviewer (I): Kubota-san, you joined KanColle this past February. Please tell us how it felt to portray Intrepid.
Kubota (K): I was happy and really surprised to be able to play a character for a work as popular as KanColle.

I: Did you get the role via audition?
K: No - from what I understand, KanColle Management Naval District-san explicitly selected for a seiyuu with good English, since Intrepid has a lot of English lines. When I first got the script, I did think it was for an audition though (laugh). Either way, there was a lot of lines - it felt like nothing I had done before. I remember when I got to the studio and they went, "We're counting on your for Intrepid's recording today!" being shocked and going "Ah, I'm performing her!"

I: There was a misunderstanding like that (laugh)? So you were chosen for being multilingual - Kubota-san, is English yoru strong suit?
K: Well... everyone at the KanColle Management Naval District told me "Kubota-san, your English is wonderful! It's got such a great atmosphere to it!", but I myself wouldn't say I'm so conversant in it. My promotional materials at the office list "Hobbies and Skills: English Conversation"; maybe that's why I was recommended. I myself can't say for sure if my English is good enough to consider it my specialty. When I was recording I pushed myself to make use of what I had learned under a native speaker at an English language school. I just hope my pronunciation sounded somewhat natural.

I: Speaking both English and Japanese, let alone transitioning between them in the middle of the conversation, seems pretty difficult. How did you do it?
K: Right, well, when you plan to switch to English in a conversation, you kind of want to start speaking Japanese in a funny stop-and-go sort of way*... The line I really had to work on was the part in her introduction where she goes, "I'm the fifth of the Essex-class carriers, Intrepid!" Keeping well in mind the switches between Japanese and English, I took a lot of retakes trying to string together phrases like "Essex-class koukuu boukan" while sounding smooth.
* This guy's stuff, for example: https://www.youtube.com/user/MrYabatan/videos

I: It sounds like doing Intrepid was particularly difficult. Kubota-san, how did you try and capture her personality?
K: As an American shipgirl, Intrepid is the type of character whose lines are full of exclamation marks. She's a really vivacious and spirited girl, isn't she? From the point of view of the Japanese shipgirls she might seem really enthusiastic, but she herself thinks it's a pretty normal level. That said, overdoing it would make her too out of place, so I had to be sure to moderate it.

I: What kind of acting instructions did you get from the staff?
K: I actually was too energetic at first, so they lightly asked me to tone it down a bit, to sound gentler and more discreet so that I could play the character smoothly. I was really grateful for the advice. They told me to remember to try to express a sort of really tolerant protectiveness over everyone. Intrepid has a lot of kind lines where she's making sure everyone feels invited and taken care of.

I: She certainly does have a sort of tolerance to her.
K: Right. Like a mother or an older sister, perhaps... I also really emphasized her damaged lines. Americans have an image of being really animated with their gestures and body language - I raised the energy, hoping that could be audible in her lines alone. Her heavy damage line especially - I imagined I was smashed to bits. Looking back, I'm glad I put so much effort into it.

I: So what's attractive about Intrepid is her two sides - her gentleness and her energy.
K: I think a naval base with Intrepid will be much livelier. I'd love to continue supporting KanColle from here on out - please continue to support us!

We Asked for a Brief Word!
Tell us about your impressions on the shipgirls you performed!
Kubota-san's Intrepid is very cheerful. One of her key traits is her tendency to swap between English and Japanese, and she performs well as an aircraft carrier. We once again ask Kubota-san about her impression of Intrepid♪

Intrepid
Intrepid seems like a great communicator. There are many shipgirls on base, but you can expect Intrepid to have spoken to all of them by now.

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Page 116-117
Admiral Kitaguchi's Direct Attack!	 * An editor at Famitsuu
Interviewing Producer Tanaka!
A Weekly Famitsuu KanColle feature wouldn't be complete without an interview with the game's creator, director and producer Tanaka Kensuke, to round it off! And yet again, there are some curious things sprinkled within... This is a must-read for all admirals!

Making Steady Progress toward Phase 2 of KanColle
Interviewer (I): Thank you as always for your hard work! KanColle has finally reached its fifth year. Congratulations! How do you feel about the occasion?
Mr. Tanaka Kensuke (T): So much time has passed, yet all in the blink of an eye, these 5 years. I didn't dare to dream that Famitsuu-san would still be doing specials celebrating our anniversaries for the third, fourth, and now even fifth time. To the both of you, Kitaguchi-san, and Editor-in-Chief Hayashi, as well as everyone involved with the Editorial Department, but above all to all the admirals that have supported and cheered on KanColle and the shipgirls for five years: I extend my sincerest gratitude. That's the first reaction I have to this all, really: thank you very much!

I: The last events of the fifth year - the two-part event split between fall and winter, the Battle of Leyte Gulf. It ended up being such a large-scale event it was held in two parts. You sure had a lotta mechanics planned!
T: Fall featured a depiction of the First Striking Force (1YB) Third Section, or the "Nishimura Fleet", breaking through Surigao Strait; the winter event just earlier featured the fight of the decisive striking force of Operation Shou I, the "Kurita Fleet", breaking into Leyte, and its support, the last of Japan's Mobile Force, the "Ozawa Fleet". The former featured Vanguard Formation for breaking through the heart of the enemy formation, and, for the sake of replicating the Nishimura Fleet, the new seven-ship "Striking Force" upgrade on the existing six-ship composition system.

I: Not to mention the long-rumored friend fleet system made its debut in the winter event.
T: The Nishimura Fleet, having broken through Surigao Strait (Ed: the stage of the fall event), arrives battered but ready to help the core of 1YB, the Kurita Fleet, when it attempts to break through Samar into Leyte. I wanted to show such a spectacle, and although there were limits to the system we did what we could to create that atmosphere. In putting that together, I wanted to instill emotion through game mechanics and the flow of the battle, rather than text or movies, depicting Operation Shou I through the choices and compositions of the admirals themselves, in the hopes that that could better express the kind of emotions that ran through the Combined Fleet in that battle as it faced annihilation. While we weren't able to pull off everything we wanted and it was not executed perfectly, nothing would make me personally happier than to know it succeeded in leaving something in the hearts of everyone who finished the Shou-gou decisive battle.

I: So we got many mechanics in Operation Shou-gou, but as the last part of Phase 1 it felt like there was quite a lot of work put into the voices and music as well.
T: Right. Thanks for noticing! While schedule limitations were a problem, we did what we could to record new voices for this battle as well. While there weren't a whole lot, the sense of resolution, the feelings, and the conclusion... I was really happy with how enthusiastic our seiyuu were in performing them. The shouts of Surigao Strait's Fujita (Saki)-san, the resoluteness of Nomizu (Iori)-san's Zuikaku at Cape Engaño. KanColle comes alive thanks to the numerous seiyuu, the performers that give spirit to it through sound. This is something I've felt countless times since we made the very first version to start service with. I also had quite the fierce struggle with Ookoshi (Kaori)-san. When she gets a creative block, she tends to call in the middle of the night! This battle, this sensation, that track, this sound - she really rails at you. In the middle of the night.

I: So that's how the two of you got in sync on what kind of sensation to convey.
T: Right. It was fulfilling but exhausting - almost felt like those heated exchanges were cutting my own lifespan short. But I'm really thankful for it. What came out of that was the new song with vocals, "Tsukiyomi", which contains so much of KanColle's five years and the feelings that come with it. I hope everyone listens to it, a song for the Akizuki-class air defense destroyers, as well as for all the shipgirls and admirals.

I: "Tsukiyomi" really hit hard as a theme song for the transition between Phases 1 and 2 of KanColle. Once, when asked, you said "KanColle will last half a year at any rate, and three years and eight months at most", but at this point you've passed that and as of this spring are in your sixth year.
T: That's right. I think I got here simply heading toward as far ahead as I could manage. The game was born from my desire to take the opportunity to ensure the ships and the crews who fought fiercely and sank, into dark seas where none are watching, are known and not forgotten. But many people adored the shipgirls and KanColle, so it lasted far longer than I expected and we were able to keep growing. I can't begin to express how grateful I am. In some ways, KanColle has already more than fulfilled what I set out to do in the early days, but I hope we can strive just a little longer and continue forward. Various preparations are underway for KanColle's next step. About 90% of features have been migrated successfully to HTML5. Reassignments (server migrations) can be won via lottery through the limited time request form we have implemented. I'd like to finish that before this summer. The switch-over to Phase 2 comes after that restructuring. There's a lot coming this year, so we're working to try and complete migration to the new stage of an HTML5 version.

I: So in other words, preparations are well underway for the move to Phase 2.
Tanaka: That's right. When we started, I thought the odds of us making it through to the sixth year of war was one in a thousand. As a result, KanColle's ability to wage a sustained war needs improving, or what you might call modernizing. That comes first, after which we'll do a safe, staged migration to Phase 2 to avoid catastrophic issues. Preparations are currently underway.

"This is how Kitakami-sama was born!? Secrets from the Early Days of KanColle"

I: KanColle is no longer confined to the game itself, spreading out through a myriad of collaborations, especially peculiar events like the "Zuiun Festival".
T: I don't think it's... that peculiar, but anyway, while I do want people to remember the lost ships and crewmembers, I also want to take the opportunity made by KanColle to allow people to experience interesting things and delicious food. The key theme of the collaboration with Mitsukoshi-san we plan on holding around the time this issue of Weekly Famitsuu is published is "Japan's delicious food!".

I: Ohh, now I'm interested! Could you tell us more details?
T: Delicious rice, umeboshi, seaweed perfect for meals and onigiri, Japanese tea for after a meal or during a break, and delicious sake for after work! Something like that is the plan, anyway. Of course, this is only possible thanks to the help of all our partners!

I: Goodness, I'm looking forward to it. Incidentally, this special feature has interviews with Ootsubo Yuka-san, the seiyuu for Ise and Hyuuga, and Kubota Hikari, seiyuu of the new shipgirl Intrepid who debuted this winter.
T: Oh, that's great! I look forward to reading them. Something I remember even now from the initial recordings was how Ootsubo-san made a habit of independently researching all the ships she was assigned. I was really happy about that - I had managed to reach my goal before the service had even started, even if it was with just one person. I was really moved. But she had a lot of shipgirls to voice and was getting fatigued toward the latter half. That's when the miraculous voice of "Kitakami-sama" was born. That special atmosphere of hers wasn't something we were able to easily replicate in a second recording. I remember trying in vain several times.

I: So Kitakami-sama was born from both preparation and exhaustion? How was Kubota-san's recordings?
T: This was our first time having her work for us, but she gave her lines such wonderful warmth! She gave a natural sense of a very active yet gentle woman, resulting in the current Intrepid.

I: There's something a little mysterious about Intrepid's lines.
T: I got to visit the current her when I was a student and was really excited to see the planes on exhibit on her deck. I loved the manga "Phantom Burai"* when I was a kid, so I used "Area 88" to represent the work of someone who had a hand in it, Shintani (Kaoru)-sensei. Intrepid, who became a Sea, Air, and Space Museum, was filled to the brim with aircraft on exhibit, so it left quite an impression. One line from the work goes, "How good would it be if this were all a game?" - that nuanced line has stuck with me all these years**. It might've had some influence when I got around to making KanColle.
* A story about F-4 Phantom II pilots, illustrated by Shintani.
** Intrepid Kai's married line quotes this line directly.

I: I'd love to ask you more about the pieces that came together to create KanColle, but we're almost out of space...!
T: ...sorry, I went completely off track. To all the admirals that have cheered KanColle on and to everyone that's supported it, thank you very much! I hope KanColle can continue to advance in its own style in the sixth year. Thank you! Please continue to support us in the sixth year! I hope you enjoy the game, of course, but also the Zuiun Festival and other live events! We're counting on your continued support!