Characters / Azur Lane Sakura Empire Battlecruisers And Battleships

Azur Lane (Main Character Index)
Major Nations
Eagle Union (Destroyers (DD) | Light Cruisers (CL) | Heavy Cruisers (CA) | Large/Battlecruisers (CB/BC) | Battleships (BB) | Light Aircraft Carriers (CVL) | Aircraft Carriers (CV) | Submarines (SS) | Repair Ships (AR))
Royal Navy (Destroyers (DD) | Light Cruisers (CL) | Heavy Cruisers (CA) | Battleships (BB) | Light Aircraft Carriers (CVL) | Aircraft Carriers (CV))
Sakura Empire (Destroyers (DD) | Light Cruisers (CL) | Heavy Cruisers (CA) | Battlecruisers and Battleships (BB and BC) | Aircraft Carriers (CV/L))
Ironblood (Vanguard Ships (Destroyers, Light & Heavy Cruisers) | Main Fleet ships (Battlecruisers, Battleships, Light & Fleet Carriers) | Submarines)
Other Nations
Dragon Empery | North Union | Iris Libre | Vichya Dominion | Sardegna Empire
Other Characters
META | Ashes | Others | Sirens

Battlecruisers (CC/BC)

The Kongou-class

• Cool, but Inefficient: For some reason, all of them require 14 oil to sortie — one higher than all other ships of their rarity and hull type combination. For reference, they have the same sortie cost as Hood, who is a rarity tier higher and easily outperforms them.
• Katanas Are Just Better: All but for Kongou, who sports a very British saber.
• Lightning Bruiser: They all take pride in being the fastest battlecruisers out there. They can boast considerable evasion for their ship class from Kongou's buffs.
• Older Than They Look: The Kongou sisters are some of the oldest ships in the game, rivaling Langley and only younger than Mikasa, Avrora, Hai Chi and Hai Tien. That said, they all got some serious upgrades around 1935.
• Oni: All four sisters have Oni horns (well Kongou has hers on her hat)
• You Don't Look Like You: Similar to the Nagato-class, they originally had different designs by a different artist prior to their playable versions being added with the Return of the War God event. Many of the elements of their original designs carried over when Criin redesigned them, although this varies (for example: Kongou looks extremely similar between designs, but the only real similarity between Hiei's designs is "carries a katana" and "has the largest breasts of the sisters.")

Kongou

Artist: Criin

Voiced by: Chiwa Saitō

I am Kongou, Kongou-class battlecruiser ship number one. I offer you my guidance on the path to victory!

• Hospital Hottie: Rather unexpectedly got a skin dressing her up as a nurse in the Aurora Noctis event, which was otherwise entirely Royal Navy themed.^note Considering her origins, however, it isn't completely out of left field.
• Lady of War: Such that she conflates elegance and combat prowess.

  (when attaining MVP) To be victorious is to be elegant!

• Martial Pacifist: Has shades of it.

  (when viewing her stats) The only value of war is the peace that follows it. I implore you to never forget this.

• Support Party Member: Buffs her sisters in various areas.
• Uniformity Exception: She's blond, dressed like a British shipgirl, uses a sabre instead of a katana, and doesn't have natural horns (hers are attached to her hat). This is because she was built in Britain, while her sisters were built in Japan.

Hiei

Artist: Criin

Voiced by: Eri Kitamura

Kongō class second warship – Imperial warship Hiei has come. Commander, where should we go next?

• Beware the Nice Ones: After witnessing her whip Haruna and Kirishima back into line, the Commander notes that Hiei is rather intimidating despite her gentle and softspoken persona.
• Bodyguarding a Badass: Appears to be Mikasa's bodyguard/assistant.
• Damage-Increasing Debuff: One of the stronger ones in the game, but it has a poor proc rate and only works on a single target to compensate.
• Fancy Dinner: Her non-combat specialty, both from the planning and the cooking perspectives.
• Prefers Going Barefoot: While subverted on her default skin, the three premium skins all have her nonchalantly barefoot.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: White uniform. Long straight hair. Busty — the total opposite of Haruna.
• Supreme Chef: It is noted in Hiei's Sideline Quest and event dialogue that she is a masterful cook. Her sisters also add that she is famous for hosting extravagant banquets and parties. Contrast that to her Kancolle counterpart, a bona fide Lethal Chef.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Passive, soft-spoken and gentle, but also a competent fighter. She also has pale skin and dark hair, to contrast with Kongou's more western beauty.

Haruna

Artist: Criin

Voiced by: Sayaka Harada

Hello, I am Haruna, one of the first fast battleships of the Sakura Empire. I'm someone who prefers the fist to the sword. Nice to meet you.

• Big Eater: Claims to want to eat an entire bucket full of rice after a battle.
• Big Sister Worship: Is constantly vying for Kongou's approval, even going as far as offering her shoulder massages to get on her good side.
• Fanservice Pack: Her "Scarlet Innocence" skin emphasizes her bust considerably.
• Gathering Steam: Her main skill ups her firepower stat with each main gun firing.
• Hidden Buxom: Downplayed but while the pose/etc of her base art and schoolgirl skin makes her look flat, her formal skin and appearance in 'Slow Ahead' (where she's shown in poses that reveal her chest size fully) reveals that while still the smallest of the sisters, she is not flat.
• Sibling Rivalry: Kirishima solely and it's mutual
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Black uniform. Twin Tails. Small-chested — the total opposite of Hiei.
  • She also lacks the refined, ladylike speech patterns and graceful movements of her sisters, exemplified in her being frustrated with her own attempts to speak like Hiei in her "The Elegant Lotus" skin.

Kirishima

Artist: Criin

Voiced by: Chie Matsuura

I am fast battleship, Kirishima! The road ahead of us is still long. Commander, let us tread it together!

• Chuunibyou: She's depicted as this in Slow Ahead.
• Flechette Storm: Her barrage fires a Sanshikidan round, which explodes mid-air into a huge amount of shrapnel fragments.
• Ninja: Acts the part but isn't really one.
• Reluctant Fanservice Girl: One of her skins is a rather racy shirt w/a cut out and short jean shorts, and a number of lines reveal that she's rather embarrassed to wear it and is only doing so at the Commander's request.
• Sibling Rivalry: Haruna solely and it's mutual
• Theseus' Ship Paradox: She mentions this in one of her lines, as she was originally going to be a cruiser, then a battlecruiser, and then finally a Kongou-class fast battleship.
• Uniformity Exception: Literally. She is the only member of the class that doesn't wear a military uniform, dressing like a ninja instead.

Hiei-chan

Artist: Criin

Voiced by: Eri Kitamura

Commander? The person that Hiei will serve will become an even more incredible person! ... Ugh, but it won't do if I don't polish up myself here first.

The personification of the first dreadnought-style capital ship built in Japan... who has been, rather like a certain Royal Navy Light Cruiser, made to take on the form of a human child instead of her natural form of a mature woman. She still holds her mighty katana proudly... even if it's now several times longer than she is.

• BFS: Played for Laughs. Hiei still has the same katana she always carries... except that, since it didn't change size with her, it's now at least twice as long as she is tall. Some of the expressions actualy show her trembling, implying it's not easy to carry it.
• Dub Name Change: Actually averted, unlike Little Bel and Zeppy - since Hiei is a Japanese shipgirl, it makes sense for her to actually retain the honorific, despite the current localization team generally avoiding the use of them.
• Ironic Echo: Has the exact same skill activation quote as her older self. In this case, though, she is hesitant and timid when she says it.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Subverted. It's revealed younger Hiei wasn't as elegant or graceful as her adult counterpart.

The Amagi-class

Amagi

Artist: Liduke

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese), Elizabeth Maxwell (English), Monserrat Mendoza (Latin American Spanish)

Cough cough… Battlecruiser Amagi, at your service. I should be able to demonstrate my capabilities here… Commander, may I ask you to give me information on our enemies?

• Artistic License – History: The real Amagi never got finished due to the Washington Naval Treaty and her subsequent damage in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, so her appearance at all counts for this.
• Asian Fox Spirit: Just like her would-be sister ship Akagi, her design is based on a traditional Japanese fox spirit, having fox ears and multiple tails while also being a bit devious.
• Autobots, Rock Out!: "Souzetsu Gekkou" by Sumire Uesaka ^spoilerHer Boss Battle Theme
• Beware the Nice Ones: Amagi is a nice girl, but that's what makes her moments stand out more, like knocking both Akagi and Kaga on their heads all while maintaining a smile.
• Big Eater: Amagi is a low-key lover of food. It's most apparent in her party dress skin where she mentions that she calls herself an expert in eating too much. She's also depicted with a fondness for Akagi's macaroons and on at least one occasion has almost mistakenly eaten a manjuu, thinking it was one of the buns Akagi made in their likeness... and is still curious how they taste afterwards.
• The Chessmaster: She's the most cunning of the Sakura Empire's "fox sisters" and implied to be their best strategist. Much of Crimson Echoes is spent following her attempts to subtly manipulate Kaga in order to mold her into her protege and Akagi's Replacement Sibling, though the Washington Naval Treaty and Kaga's subsequent rampage nearly derail her plans.
• Cool Big Sis: To Akagi and Kaga.
• Covert Pervert: For how refined she may appear Amagi never actively rebukes the commander for groping her in her special touches. In her party dress skin she's actually quite receptive, if a bit teasing about it.
• Cynicism Catalyst: Her death is all but stated to be the reason why Akagi became an Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy and a Yandere. Most likely not helped by her asking Kaga to look after her.
• Dying as Yourself: She expresses in her final battle against Kaga that she would like to fire her artillery one last time.
• Foil: To Hood - they're both proper ladies and super rare battlecruisers with overwhelmingly powerful barrages that activate when they fire their main guns rather than on a timer and both were doomed in history, but Hood is a Stone Wall and offers offensive buffs to the backline whereas Amagi is a Glass Cannon who focuses on defensive buffs to the whole fleet and debuffing the enemy fleet, as well as receiving an offensive buff from her IJN sisters - almost everything but giving an offensive buff. Also, in a personality sense, Hood is more motherly or aunt-like to the Royal Navy and plays the proper lady traits straight, while Amagi's known relationships with the Sakura Empire's ships are more sisterly and there are signs that she might not be quite as proper as she lets on.
• Gameplay and Story Integration: Playable Amagi is implied to be healthier than her Crimson Echoes counterpart who had a defective Wisdom Cube and Amagi was only obtainable through the limited gacha, which is also referred to as ship construction and which uses Wisdom Cubes as an input, implying that she legitimately does not have the same innate flaw that doomed her in-story.
• Glass Cannon: Amagi has powerful offensive capabilities, including the highest firepower of all battlecruisers and a devastating barrage and powerful skills, but she has a hitpoint count only slightly better than many battlecruisers a rarity lower, her anti-air is awful, and as a battlecruiser, she only has medium armor instead of heavy.
• Handicapped Badass: Despite her Incurable Cough of Death and her defective core that leaves her a coughing mess if she engages in any particularly strenuous physical activity, she is able to take to the field, fight on the frontlines and defeat Kaga in the Wargame and afterward, she is able to push deep into Siren territory to bring Kaga back once she decides she'd rather die as a battleship than suffer this disgrace of being turned into a carrier (until Houshou and the Sirens show her just how dangerous a carrier's planes can be).
• Incurable Cough of Death: She coughs a lot as pretty much the only symptom of her condition, we later find out why.
• Lady of War: Possibly on par with Royal Navy's Hood.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: She's usually sidelined due to illness, but she'll get her gear on and march against the Siren Girls in a rescue mission out of her own volition.
• Luminescent Blush: Her face positively alights if she's embarrassed or flustered.
• Mechanically Unusual Fighter: Joins the Ugly Sisters, Tirpitz and BB!Kaga in being a Main Fleet unit with a non-zero torpedo stat and a skill that periodically launches a barrage of torpedoes.
• Playing Sick: Downplayed - She is actually ill, but it's implied that the playable version of Amagi is significantly healthier than her counterpart from the Crimson Echoes story and is not above exaggerating her condition for attention. For example, her 2019 Valentine's gift comes with the following message:
  "*Cough, cough*... Since I'm so frail, I cannot cook properly and even with my best efforts I cannot make anything better than this..." Perhaps you will want to try my handmade chocolate even more if I say that... *Giggle*...
• The Rival: To Kaga and to a lesser extent, Tosa.
• Secretly Dying: Her core was defective to begin with. Getting torpedoed by a Siren didn't help.
• Smart People Play Chess: The opening scene for Crimson Echoes begins with Amagi finishing a game of shōgi, having played (and beaten) Kaga ten times in a row.
• Silk Hiding Steel: She might be the most refined of the Sakura Empire girls, she might even be ill, she can still wreck your shit up.
• The Strategist: In battle acts akin to one and her debuff and buff skills are akin to strategies.
• Take Up My Sword: Has Kaga carry on her duties on her behalf at the end of Crimson Echoes, including being a good sister to Akagi.
• Tranquil Fury: She almost never loses her composure, even when angered or in the midst of a vicious battle.
  Hidden beneath Amagi's loving smile was a rage that would frighten even the most vile of beasts. All the bystanders knew this for a fact.
• Uncanny Family Resemblance: With Akagi, given that they're sisters.
• Visual Pun: Like many other Sakura shipgirls, she wears a metal band around her waist - a literal armored belt.
• Walking Spoiler: Even if you know history, her role in the story is unexpected and very important to the Sakura Fleet.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: She's demure and polite, but assertive. In the story itself, she's humble about her power even as she successfully challenges others in the wargame.

Amagi-chan

Artist: 豆芽菜

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro

Battlecruiser Amagi offers you her humble greetings, Commander. cough cough ...Ah, I'm fine, I just seem to have caught a little cold... achoo! Aww...

• Adorably Precocious Child: Her smaller stature hasn't done much to dull her wit. Her in-combat personality is nearly unchanged, and she is still a killer board game player.
• "Aww"-choo: A new symptom of her sickness. Combined with her tiny stature and her precociousness, you can't help but want to hug her and give her some medicine to help her feel better.
• Big Little Sister: The one on the opposite end of the trope. She is still Akagi's big sister and still acts the part, threatening to chew her out if she causes problems for the Commander.
• Meat-O-Vision: The unfortunate Manjuus in her character art were mistaken for dango by a particularly hungry Amagi-chan. It's a nod to how a juustagram skit had her older counterpart almost eat one.
• More Dakka: This Amagi has a guaranteed barrage instead of it being chance-based...but only if all members of the vanguard fleet are above 50% health. If not, she instead provides shielding for said vanguard.
• Playing with Fire: If she has high-explosive shells equipped, the fires she ignites on her targets burn for more damage than normal.
• Signature Laugh: She drops the rather sinister-sounding chuckle of her adult version for a more comically pronounced "fu-fu-fu!" Complete with obvious pause between each syllable.
• Smart People Play Go: Even as a child, she can hand Kaga her behind in board games.
• Sweet Tooth: Has a fondness for Japanese sweets such as dango and mochi. She'll eat so many of them that it makes her sick(er than normal).
• Temporary Online Content: Was a reward for a mini-event between April and May 2021.

Battleships (BB)

The Shikishima-class

Mikasa

Artist: Criin

Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara

I, Mikasa, the dreadnought who emerged victorious through smoke and fire to bring power and glory to my home country and the flagship of the Sakura Empire. Pushing forward!

• Artistic License – Ships: Mikasa's self-categorization as a member of the Shikishima class is somewhat questionable, as while the Japanese ordered four battleships (Shikishima, Hatsuse, Asahi, Mikasa) from British shipyards around the same time, the latter two were based on a different master design and were both distinct enough to be considered one-offs in their own unique classes. She also calls herself a dreadnought when she is in fact not one. Mikasa is the only pre-dreadnought battleship in the game.
• Big Damn Heroes: The first mission of the Z flag event chain is a level with preset ships that run afoul a major Siren and having no luck; Cue her and Hiei to turn things around (as their shots will do major damage to the Siren boss).
• Born Lucky: Being one of the longest intact battleships and surviving through 2-3 wars gives her a luck stat of 95 and combined with her Z-flag, it'll hit 100.
• Cool Big Sis: Happily spends Christmas looking after and playing with the Sakura destroyers.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Her first appearance in the English version was in one of the Christmas event cutscenes, even though she hasn't been released in the English version yet. She also appeared in Ink-Stained Steel Sakura before her English release, where she plays an important role in the story.
• Fish out of Temporal Water: She marvels at both the new things of the current time and at how far ships have come since her days. Justified as she mainly was in service before carriers were invented, much less major parts of navies and she is herself a pre-dreadnought ship, meaning that even gun-armed ships are far more advanced than the designs that were her contemporaries, with single-caliber batteries, larger cannons, all-or-nothing armor schemes, oil-fired boilers, greater rates of fire, radar-directed gunnery and more. This is partially a joke on how, unlike nearly everyone else on the roster, she didn't serve in World War 2 at all - so naturally, she's unfamiliar with technology much past 1923, the year of her decommissioning.
• Hopeless with Tech: In Slow Ahead, she gives up trying to buy a vacuum online because she can't wrap her head around all the things you have to do to register online. In the game she's shown to at least being able to use smartphones, given that she's able to use Juustagram, although with typos scattered here and there.
• Iconic Item: The Z-flag, seen wrapped around her arm, and an aux equipment that one could obtain from a mini-event that runs alongside hers. It has a number of extra effects when she equips it. Historically, the Z flag in Japanese service was a prearranged signal declaring that a Decisive Battle was about to begin, and was raised on Mikasa (in her role as flagship of the Combined Fleet) before epic victory at the Battle of Tsushima.
• La Résistance:
  • She, along with the 2 Shoukaku-class girls and a few others, runs a group of Sakura shipgirls that aren't willing to cooperate with the Sirens (and are, lore-wise, basically the explanation for the player-controlled Sakura ships). Her event is more or less her and several of her followers joining you directly, rather than you manifesting your own from Wisdom Cubes. (Ironically, you do need to roll them from her event gacha to obtain them.)
  • It is worth noting that, while in private she is deeply suspicious of Akagi's plans for the Empire and intends to oppose Akagi's plans vigorously, in public she is very careful to not call or frame the group as a rebellion; when she visits the Diadem of Light during "Swirling Cherry Blossoms", she passes the group's existence off as a "side show" that's simply intended as her way of contributing to the Sakura Empire's defense. Which is definitely true, as it goes.
• The Leader: One of her skills encourages making her the flag ship and she quickly takes over as the leader of the "Reborn Combined Fleet" (her name for the resistance movement). Ink-Stained Steel Sakura also mentions that she was the flagship of the Combined Fleet before Nagato, meaning she used to be the leader of the Sakura Empire (or its navy, at least).
• Lethal Chef: Implied. In "Ink-Stained Steel Sakura", an off-hand offer to cook for the Shoukaku-class girls leads to Zuikaku's very quick refusal (her expression turns flat instantly and she says her "palate [isn't] ready to try that yet").
• Malaproper: She has trouble pronouncing loanwords, such as pronouncing "Christmas" as "Crissmoss" during the Christmas 2018 event.
• More Dakka: All three of Mikasa's weapons slots are devoted to weapons for surface gunnery - her main battery, a CL/DD gun slot, and a DD gun slot. These can shore up her low base firepower and provide a lot of fire against bomb ships or any production ships that creep too close. On top of this, she has very high reload, so all of those guns can fire pretty rapidly. Of course, the trade-off to her surface-gunnery focused kit is that it means she has absolutely no dedicated AA weapons. Last bit is justified as her active time was before the advent of Carriers.
• Older Than She Looks: She looks mid-20's at most, but is one of the oldest ships in the game (with only Avrora being from the same year and only Hai Chi and Hai Tien being older), having been commissioned in 1902. She was, for a long time^note well over four years!, the only ship on the roster that was actually built prior to, but didn't serve in, WW2 in some capacity - she's primarily famous for being one of the world's oldest museum ships and the last surviving pre-dreadnought battleship in the world as of the new millennium.
• Silver Vixen: Kinda played with, due to the fact that shipgirls are immortal. Her age is more or less... emphasized compared to other girl, even by herself, as one of the oldest girls among the cast. Still, Mikasa looks very young and is a rather attractive and wise woman. Bonus point is that she doesn't complain about this, unlike Yorktown (who insists you should not confuse 24 with 42).
• The Strategist: Mikasa has a great deal of experience as a leader, and as leader of the Reborn Combined Fleet, she manages to pull off great successes despite their limited numbers and her obsolete rigging. For example, in Swirling Cherry Blossom she out-gambits Suruga, herself a skilled strategist, during their ceremonial duel and admonishes Suruga to not think her strategies as outdated as her rigging after she has Zuikaku and Shokaku negate the advantage Suruga had hoped to gain from backing herself up with production carriers to exploit Mikasa's horribly inadequate anti-air capabilities.
• Support Party Member: She temporarily buffs the firepower all Battleships and Battlecruisers in the fleet when she fires her main battery and passively buffs the firepower and reload of all Sakura ships in her fleet. However, her poor stats in every regard except reload mean that she isn't terribly useful outside of the buffs she brings to the table. And is outdone by Nagato in various areas.
• Uniformity Exception: Much like Kongou, she has a distinctly British feel to her in her design ^note Mikasa has natural horns, however, unlike Kongou, a nod to her partially British origin. Her first Alternate Skin has a very strong English vibe even compared to her normal outfit. It's a nod to how the commanding officer of the ship went to school in Britain.
• Weak, but Skilled: Mikasa's rigging is hopelessly outdated and she knows it, but her decades of experience allow her to trounce a Siren that Zuikaku was barely able to scratch through precisely aimed fire.

The Fusou-class

• Animal Motif: Black cats. Yamashiro even has a cat paw pose post-remodel.
• Artistic License – History: While carrier conversions for both the Fusou and Ise classes were proposed (with the plan being to do them in steps, as the IJN couldn't afford the time or money to fully convert a battleship to a carrier in one go), the Fusous were never actually refitted, and even though the mechanically act as the prototype of the concept and their retrofit was implemented first in-game, they were only scheduled for such conversion after the Ise-class, which went first in part because Hyuuga had suffered a turret explosion, and as such, was down a turret anyway. Before the Fusous could be refitted, they were both sunk at the Battle of Surigao Straits.
• Born Unlucky: Both claim they're this as the first dreadnoughts of the Sakura Empire. Their Luck Stat is happy to reinforce this: Fusou and Yamashiro have 13 and 14 Luck, respectively, some of the lowest values in the game. Being black cat girls is a nod to this.
• Flawed Prototype: Twice over:
  • First, in history, they were Japan's first truly modern battleships, echewing the echelon turrets of early dreadnoughts for a sturdier all in line design and armed with a fully uniform main battery^note the Satsuma-class, intended to be Japan's first dreadnoughts, were completed as "semi-dreadnoughts" with most of their intended 12-inch guns replaced with 10-inch guns due to lacking enough 12-inch guns to finish the ships on schedule, and while the following Kawachi-class had their entire battery made of 12-inch guns, the foremost and aftmost guns were 50 calibers long while the other guns were 45 calibers long. The 50 caliber guns were installed due to reports that Britain was switching to similar guns, but again, supply issues prevented them from being used for the full battery. The Fusou-class had a battery of 12 14-inch guns, all of the same length, giving them a truly uniform main battery, and they were plagued with problems, many of which stemmed from using six two-gun turrets instead of four three-gun turrets, which required them to be very long, which in turn required more armor to protect all of their vital spaces, and the two amidships turrets required sub-optimal placement of much of their machinery. All in all, their design was troublesome, and for a variety of reasons, even before their sinking, they developed a repuation as unlucky ships.
  • Second, in game, they are essentially the rough first attempts at an aviation battleship refit compared to the Ise-class' more perfected process, and as such, their performance as aviation battleships is much lower than the Ise-class and they lack the powerful and specialized skills that make the Ise-class much more effective as aviation battleships.
• Liminal Being: After their aviation battleship retrofits, they're personifications of Military Mashup Machines and act as both carriers and battleships, but also not quite either.
• Loophole Abuse: Their Aviation Battleship retrofits are rife with this. Essentially, Aviation Battleships count as carriers whenever it's advantageous to do so, as battleships when it's advantageous to count as such, and don't count as either when it would be disadvantageous to count as them. They tend to receive any buffs other ships give to either and they can partake of training classes for both carriers and battleships, but they don't count as battleships for the purposes of Tirpitz's "Lonely Queen of the North" skill, which gives her a huge buff when there are no other battleships in the fleet. The only failing is their lack of appropiate skills and stats to act as an effective aviation battleship and causing several instances where using a proper aircraft carrier instead of them would be more benefitial.
• Miko: They're meant to be some sort of shrine maiden, though they wear black.
• Military Mashup Machine: After their retrofit, they become aviation battleships, a fusion of carrier and battleship that can both launch planes and shell the enemy fleet.
• Moveset Clone: Both pre- and post-retrofit, they have identical stats, equipment, and skills except for two stats: Fusou has 335 more hitpoints than her sister, and one less point in Luck (since she sank first in the Battle of Surigao Strait).
• Power Up Letdown: Fully converting to aviation battleship (BBV) trades in the third shot of their main guns and their secondary guns for a weak airstrike. It's to the point it's advised to take the remodel process most of the way, but not take the "modernization" node that actually converts them from battleship to aviation battleship. Doing this, as a result, gives them a rather monstrous Firepower stat (among others) for their rarity.

Fusou

Artist: Rain Lan

Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu

^{Fusou (Retrofit)}

It is an honor to meet you. If I'm not mistaken, you are the Commander, correct? Very well. I have been waiting for you for a long time. This too must have been guidance from the gods. I hope we can serve each other well from this day on.

• Cool Big Sis: Older sister type, though downplayed towards the commander compared to Atago and such. She is one to the destroyers.
• Sexy Sweater Girl: She has a skin of her casually wearing a sweater and not much else.

Yamashiro

Artist: Rain Lan

Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu

^{Yamashiro (Retrofit)}

Woah! It's Milord! Milord in person! Uh, umm, I'm, uhm, Yamahi-… Yamashiro! I hope we can get along nicely!

• Breakout Character: She has proven to be VERY popular with fans and as a result has gotten A LOT OF skins, some of which are gotten free. By October 2019, she has the highest number of skins available, at 8 (one of which was for a while, exclusive to Taiwanese server), dethroning Ayanami at 7.
• Cute Clumsy Girl: She is quite clumsy, tripping over a vase in the base and even accidentally firing her gun when starting a sortie. This might be something to do with her poor luck.
• The Ditz: While not as bad as San Diego, she isn't terribly bright, but it comes off as cute.
• Fanservice Pack: Gains more assets post-retrofit.
• My Master, Right or Wrong: In the Visitors Dyed in Red, she'll fight fellow Sakura Empire girls when ordered.
• School Swimsuit: Her swimsuit skin.

The Ise-class

• Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Both of them. Kii mentions that Ise is her drinking buddy, and has a line if sortied with either one about having a drink when they get back.
• Jack of All Stats: Their Aviation Battleship (BBV) retrofits let them do a little of everything at least decently - they're sturdy and can do powerful, targeted attacks like battleships (albeit sans one volley), they can clear the screen of projectiles and drop bombs like a carrier and have better aviation than the lower-end light carriers, but have fewer planes. Additionally, Hyuuga buffs all backline ships with guns and can defend the backline like a true battleship with her "Melee Barrage" skill, while Ise's "Aviation Battleship Fleet" skill brings her closer to being a true carrier by launching extra planes either for her first two airstrikes, or all of her airstrikes if there are any light or fleet carriers in the fleet with her.
• Liminal Being: After their aviation battleship retrofits, they're personifications of Military Mashup Machines and act as both carriers and battleships, but also not quite either. Unlike the Fusou-class, their post-retrofit skills have them each try to act more like one of their two natures - Ise's "Aviation Battleship Fleet" has her try be more like her new carrier nature and encourages her to sortie with true carriers, while Hyuuga's "Artillery Command - Main Fleet" and "Melee Artillery" skills have her try to stay closer to her original nature as a battleship and encourages her to sortie with battleships, battlecruisers, and monitors.
• Little Bit Beastly: Both girls have animal ears and tails, but different species.
• Loophole Abuse: Like the Fusou-class, their Aviation Battleship retrofits are rife with this. Essentially, Aviation Battleships count as carriers whenever it's advantageous to do so, as battleships when it's advantageous to count as such and don't count as either when it would be disadvantageous to count as them. They tend to receive any buffs other ships give to either and they can partake of training classes for both carriers and battleships, but they don't count as battleships for the purposes of Tirpitz's "Lonely Queen of the North" skill, which gives her a huge buff when there are no other battleships in the fleet, even as Hyuuga's "Artillery Command" skill buffs both her and Tirpitz.
• Military Mashup Machine: After their retrofit, they become aviation battleships, a fusion of carrier and battleship that can both launch planes and shell the enemy fleet.
• Power Up Letdown: Subverted: It might be expected that their BBV retrofit would be a downgrade like Fusou and Yamashiro's, but they're given powerful skills and a better statblock with a much higher aviation stat to make up for the loss of their secondary armament and losing one salvo from their main guns, and the actual class change is much earlier in their retrofit tree than Fusou and Yamashiro's. As such, their retrofit is often seen as a sidegrade instead of a downgrade.

Ise

Artist: kisetsu

Voiced by: Mutsumi Tamura (Japanese), Jessica Cavanagh (English), Gaby Servín (Latin American Spanish)

^{Ise (Retrofit)}

I’m the last battleship in the Sakura Empire Navy who fired a full salvo —— Ise of the Ise-class battleships!

• Best Beer Ever: In one of her voice lines.
• Fanservice Pack: Upon retrofit, Ise shows more skin and seems to gain a cup size or two.
• Hideous Hangover Cure: She mentions the classic raw egg in one of her voice lines as a way to wake up.
• Historical In-Joke: If she's disappointed with you, she'll ask if you're in the army, referencing the major rivalry between the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy, which actually affected government policy.
• Human Cannonball: She'll offer to make you fly out of her gun barrel if you poke her a few too many times.
• Meaningful Name: She references her namesake, Mt. Ise, but says she hasn't been allowed to go there. The Ise Grand Shrine is one of the most holy sites in Shinto due to allegedly housing one of the Imperial regalia, and access to it is strictly controlled.

Hyuuga

Artist: kisetsu

Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe

^{Hyuuga (Retrofit)}

I’m the little sister of my stupid big sister ——ahh, that doesn’t mean that I’m the stupid little sister alright! Anyhow, I’m Hyuuga, I’ll be in your care.

• Cat Girl: Unlike her sister, who is a fox.
• Fanservice Pack: Upon retrofit, like her sister, she shows more skin, losing all of her torso coverage except her sarashi.
• Hair of the Dog: She insists that all you need is pure beer, unlike her sister's Hideous Hangover Cure.
• Malicious Misnaming: She calls Nagato and Yamato "Na-whatever" and "Ya-whatever" in one of her lines. It's unlikely she doesn't know their actual names so it's clearly this trope.
• Sarashi: Wears the 'bra' variant.
• Sentimental Drunk: Not to the degree of Eugen, but she does open up when drunk, even calling the commander cute.
• Support Party Member: She's able to increase the firepower of the backline. Since she doesn't count as a battleship once she retrofits to an aviation battleship, she can even buff Tirpitz without disabling Tirpitz's "Lonely Queen of the North" self-buff.
• Take That!: She states that neither her or Ise have issues with exploding turrets, referring to Mutsu's unfortunate fate. Ironically the real ship also suffered a turret explosion in 1942, which was why the Ises were converted into aviation battleships before the Yamashiros since she was down a turret anyway.

The Nagato-class

• Ace Custom: They both have the barrage skill "Big Seven - Sakura" which is a dramatically improved version of the original skill, making it useful for the whole game.
• Historical In-Joke: The reason why they are designed as the Token Mini-Moe of battleships? Nagato and Mutsu were the few rare warships that were (partially) funded and sponsored by organizations focusing on children (orphanages, to be specific). This is more pronounced with Mutsu, as she was the one with the most funding from said organizations. This is also why the Japanese delegation to the Washington Naval Conference argued so strongly to keep her, as she was already paid for.
• Token Mini-Moe: Out of all of the Big Seven, they're the ones portrayed as preteen/early-teen girls. Pre-redesign, this only applied to Nagato.
• You Don't Look Like You: Before becoming playable, these two had a different artist. It isn't known why exactly the change occurred. Of the two, Mutsu had a more dramatic change, going from a teenage or older blonde to the kid of the two. Nagato, in contrast, went from Serious Shrine Maiden Samurai to a more calm and neutral shrine maiden.

Nagato

Artist: Mzt (original/unplayable), Alisa (Playable)

Voiced by: Misaki Kuno (Japanese), Monica Rial (English), Carla Castañeda (Latin American Spanish)

I am Nagato, the flagship of the Sakura Empire's Combined Fleet. Are you the commander? Whether or not you have the power to take over the world, I will confirm this with my own eyes.

• Achilles in His Tent: Seals herself inside the Sacred Sakura Tree after realizing she got manipulated by Akagi. It does not come out until Mikasa smacks some sense into her.
• The Ageless: Beyond the usual deal for kansen, and used mostly for comedy — despite being a warship with origins in the early post-WWI era (and thus reasonably aged by the time of the game proper), in her New Year kimono skin, it is implied rather heavily that she's not allowed to drink due to being perpetually underage.
• Animation Bump: The combat sprite for her 2020 New Year kimono skin is ludicrously more fluid and animated overall than her previous sprites, or than nearly anything else in the entire game. Unlike her older sprites, virtually every part of her that you'd expect to be affected by the physics of movement animates on this sprite.
• Antiquated Linguistics: Only really present when she's giving public speeches, as she tends to give them in a very formal manner.
• Asian Fox Spirit: One of her skins has her chilling with Amaterasu. Her New Year kimono skin shows her with the traditional fox tails that often appear on humanoid kitsune (which aren't visible on her other skins but are sometimes implied).
• The Atoner: The reason why she sealed herself inside the Sacred Sakura Tree. As powerless as she was, she deeply regretted having initiated the war against Azur Lane. A nod to how the historical Emperor Hirohito admittedly relented about after Japan's defeat against the Allies.
• Barrier Warrior: She's proven capable of projecting powerful shields that can block both volleys of cannon fire and Kansen blades, using this ability in Violet Tempest, Blooming Lycoris to break up a "pointless fight" between her own forces and Musashi's.
• BFG: One of the original Big Seven, the seven battleships with 16-inch guns permitted under the London Naval Treaty.
• BFS: Her original design toted a pretty large katana, which seems even bigger due to her small size.
• Frontline General: During Violet Tempest, Blooming Lycoris, Nagato is the first of the four leaders to enter the battlefield directly, acting to protect Harutsuki and Kawakaze from an assault by Musashi's forces.
• Little Bit Beastly: Appears to be more of a foxgirl than her sister, reinforced by having her with Amaterasu in one of her skins and tails in another.
• Lonely Rich Kid: She points out that she doesn't socialize with others because she doesn't know how to, in part because of her past position in the Sakura Empire, where everyone reveres her and even are intimidated by her. The next part of the conversation reveals that she's also always carrying her rigging, so she gets flustered when the commander starts to take it off.
• Miko: Her main motif.
• Physical God: Not really god, but certainly revered as one; being constantly portrayed with Amaterasu while also depicted as a Miko just adds to this, likely as a nod to real life Japanese emperors claiming a lineage to Amaterasu.
• Passing the Torch: claims to have given the go to Yamato as her successor, thus her role story-wise mainly acts as more of a representative than Sakura's true leader.
• Puppet King: She's a revered figure in the Empire who is manipulated by Akagi (Story ver) into starting the war and then told to leave things to her. Basically, she's the Azur Lane equivalent of the Emperor and implied to be based off Emperor Hirohito. ^note A controversy even among the Japanese themselves noted that the main decision of how Japan eventually signed the Triple Partite with Germany and Italy was entirely the military's idea, with general (later Prime Minister) Hideki Tojo spearheading the policies and directions that would lead Japan into World War II. Given that the position of the Emperor is now largely ceremonial and the real power is majorly present within the oligarchs, this topic may actually have some merit. Although with the more recent discussions of how Tojo might have enacted some of his plans in line with the Emperor's wishes and that he took the blame and responsibility for them, it remains to be seen which opinion is closer to the truth.
• Silk Hiding Steel: Nagato cares deeply for those under her command, and her youthful idealism pushes her to seek resolutions that minimize casualties, especially between her and Akagi's factions. If pushed to fight, though, she is more than willing to show that her Title as one of the 'Big Seven' is not just for show.
• Support Party Member: She buffs both battleships and carriers, with the latter getting more note from players due to the strength they have, particularly Kaga and Akagi.
• Visual Pun: Nagato at least seems designed around the phrase "Miko Miko no Miko", a pun using three meanings of the word Miko (Honorable Fox, Divine girl, and Shrine maiden). This largely survived the new artist's redesign.

Mutsu

Artist: Mzt (original/unplayable), Alisa (Playable)

Voiced by: Tomoyo Kurosawa

Good day I am Mutsu! Nagato's little sister! Err, are you the Commander? Why? How did you become a Commander? Are Commanders amazing? Tell me, tell me!

• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Her MVP line is being distracted by a pretty fish.
• BFG: One of the original Big Seven, the seven battleships with 16-inch guns permitted under the London Naval Treaty.
• Cheerful Child: Acts the part pretty well, though she sometimes counts as a Bratty Half-Pint.
• Constantly Curious: She's always full of questions.
• Historical In-Joke: Several of her lines reference her third turret, which mysteriously exploded in harbor and caused the real ship to sink.
• Little Bit Beastly: Appears to be more of a catgirl, as her lines have her say "Meow". She also has a cat on her rigging.
• Miko: Her main motif.
• Samurai: Her alternate skin has her putting on a helmet and swords akin to one/a warlord of the Warring States era (in part from Urakaze), including some katanas. It faintly seems an incidental nod to Nagato's original design.

The Tosa-class

Tosa

Artist: Liduke

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro

I am Tosa, the first Tosa-class battleship. My construction began long ago, but its completion never came... I have been an aircraft carrier, a battleship, a weapons testbed, and a target; they worked and reworked me to the bone. But now I am here, in this form, and I will not disappoint you.

The personification of the never-completed IJN Tosa — the actual sister ship of Kaga.

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• Ahoge: She sports a big, obvious one. It's even more obvious on her chibi field sprite.
• Animal Motifs: A fox... a fennec fox, which makes her stand out from the other "fox sisters", even Amagi.
• Artistic License – History: Much like Amagi, the real-life Tosa was not completed; she was a "victim" of the Washington Naval Treaty. She was, in fact, one of its more famous casualties, as she was actually hull-complete and launched by 1922, and she was ready for fitting-out (even her guns were prepared and ready quayside). The Japanese weren't able to negotiate for her completion, however, and her ultimate fate was to be a gunnery target for the Navy's Hiroshima gunnery school. (The fame of her cancellation is why some players were left scratching their heads over her absence from the original Crimson Echoes run.) The playable Tosa is an Azur Lane extrapolation of what a properly fitted Tosa would be like as a shipgirl.
• Big Little Sister: Reversed. She refers to Kaga using the highly formal and archaic term "Ane-ue" or "elder sister", despite the name of her class implying that she would be the older sister. Historically speaking, Tosa was laid down first, though Kaga would later be launched first and fully completed as an aircraft carrier in accordance to the Washington Naval Agreement. In Azur Lane, Tosa is the representation of what the original would have been as a full-fledged battleship, built after battleship (and subsequently aircraft carrier) Kaga.
• Blood Knight: Downplayed, but her low HP line has her exclaiming battles with some tension are best.
• Foil: To her sister Kaga (battleship), while she acknowledges the effectiveness of force, she'd rather resolve things with words and talks about a number of topics. In short while she's able to be fierce and aggressive, she doesn't take it to reckless levels. And her line with Amagi has her talking about being unable to beat her, which unlike Battleship Kaga, seems to also reflect the mental/strategic arenas.
• More Dakka: Her primary barrage is ridiculously big, like "almost a monitor" big, eclipsing even Amagi's. And, oh yeah, she essentially has three of the things (a main proc barrage, a "you're too close and/or dared to hit me" barrage, and a unique barrage involving the other fleet in a sortie). Fitting, given that (had she been built) she would've been able to out-shoot most of the actual completed "Big Seven". Also, her rigging does try to cram in every single one of her main gun turrets (the Tosas were rather famous as one of the first attempts to fit ten 41cm guns to a warship) and leaves it looking a bit unwieldy as a result.
• Mechanically Unusual Fighter: Not counting submarines, she's the second ever ship who can affect the other fleet's battles, and the first who can attack, from outside said fleet, having a special barrage that only fires to support the fleet she's not assigned to ^note  twenty seconds into their 3rd, 4th and 5th battles, as long as Tosa hasn't been sunk and the other fleet's flagship is a Battleship (and specifically a Battleship, not a Battlecruiser, Monitor or Aviation Battleship). There's also the fact Tosa is the only battleship in the entire game who has three different barrages, including the aforementioned off-fleet barrage.
• Power Glows: The swords she carries alongside her rigging faintly glow with power.
• Power Up Letdown: Her off-fleet barrage, while interesting in concept, has several conditions restricting its use ^note  Tosa must be on a different fleet, Tosa must be alive, the other fleet's flagship specifically has to be a battleship, the fleet must be on its 3rd, 4th or 5th sortie and twenty seconds must pass from the start of the sortie. and even when it does proc, the barrage is small and weak, to the point you can essentially ignore it exists to absolutely no detriment to yourself. This is likely meant to represent that Battleships can only offer minimal fire support from that extreme a range,]and from a meta perspective, to serve as a balancing factor, as otherwise a powerful off-fleet barrage could make Tosa too strong.
• Stripperific: Her swimsuit has a very daring cut, to the point that it had to be censored in China.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Unlike Akagi (but like Akagi and Amagi), Tosa and Kaga are easily identifiable as siblings at a glance, sharing major similarities in their outfits, footwear, hair color, and facial casts. The primary difference is that Tosa's ears flare out from her head like a fennec fox (rather than Kaga's "traditional" fox ears), her eyes are mostly pink with a hint of blue (as opposed to Kaga's blue), and her fur in her main skin looks a bit... ragged, compared to Kaga.
• Worthy Opponent: While she views as a rival, she acknowledges that she is no match to the more "forward thinking" Amagi, and holds her in high-esteem.

Kaga

Artist: Hao

Voiced by: Ai Kayano (Japanese, -2022), Yuka Iguchi (Japanese, 2022-), Dawn M. Bennett (English), María José Guerrero (Latin American Spanish)

I'm Kaga, second ship of the Tosa-class battleships. Built as an improvement to the Nagato-class, I was to serve as part of the Eight-Eight Fleet Program. Amagi... I would like to fight alongside her someday.

The personification of the IJN Kaga. You know, the Kaga - the Tosa-class battleship, the successor to the Nagato-class, slated to be the fourth battleship in the Japanese arsenal to bear the mighty 41-centimeter main guns which are more powerful than any other previous naval artillery, carrying more than Nagato herself, destined to become the symbol of Japanese might, the-

What's that? A naval treaty signed in Washington mandates her scrapping... or, with the "death" of the battlecruiser Amagi in the 1923 earthquake, her conversion into an aircraft carrier?

Well then.

A "what-if" vessel and one of the stars of the "Crimson Echoes" event, this Kaga represents her in her originally-planned configuration as a Tosa-class battleship. The story of her conversion - with a few Azur Lane embellishments - is the focus of the event.

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• A Day in the Limelight: "Crimson Echoes" focuses around her and the events that led to her conversion to an aircraft carrier.
• Artistic License – History: The Tosa-class battleships were never finished as-is due to Washington Naval Treaty, so Kaga's appearance as battleship fits this trope.
• Backstory: The "Crimson Echoes" event, which details her conversion from battleship to an aircraft carrier.
• Big Sister Worship: Despite being different classes, she does look up to Amagi, although she also wants to prove she's better than her.
• Dying as Yourself: She hated the idea of being converted to Aircraft Carrier due to the Washington Naval Treaty, so she decided to fight off the Sirens on her own as she wanted to die as a Battleship. She gets over this thanks to Amagi, and perhaps also the humbling defeat they very nearly suffered at the hands of Siren aircraft, before Houshou's own fighters drove off the Siren bombers.
• Exact Words: She can activate Akagi's "First Carrier Division", which says it boosts Akagi's aviation when she's in the same fleet as Kaga, just as well as her more stoic carrier version.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Her hair was definitely wilder when she was a battleship.
• Hot-Blooded: To say that Kaga was very offense-oriented in her "youth", as it were, is an understatement to say the least. Of course, by the time we met her as an Aircraft Carrier, she's the cool and collected member of the Akagi-Kaga duo.
• Mechanically Unusual Fighter: Joins the Ugly Sisters, Tirpitz and Amagi in being a Main Fleet unit with a non-zero torpedo stat and a skill that periodically launches a barrage of torpedoes.
• Replacement Sibling: Amagi asks Kaga to take care of Akagi in her stead.
• Shout-Out: A lot of DIO Brando related imagery is used with Kaga, from her fox mask in her official art, her activation skill icons, and even her rejection of her aircraft carrier refit in lieu of Dio rejecting humanity.
• The Social Darwinist: Kaga believes in the value of strength and the right of the strong to rule over, and even to kill, the weak. Her definition of "strength" is fairly broad, though, and she comes to see the player Commander as a strong person for their organizational and command skills (and it's possible to read in a softening of her views as she progresses up her affection lines).
• Visual Pun: Like many other Sakura shipgirls, she wears a metal band around her waist - a literal armored belt.

The Kii-class

Suruga

Artist: fuzichoco

Voiced by: Aya Endo

I am Suruga, Kii-class battleship number three. I sadly wasn't constructed in time for that infamous war... It seems some threads of fate have led me to join this fleet, one I shall devote all my soul to. It is my pleasure to serve you.

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• Artistic License – History: As she herself points out, she wasn't actually built; the Kii-class ships were one of the many classes struck down by the Washington Naval Treaty, and were another take on the "expanded Nagato with more 41-centimeter guns" idea along the lines of original Kaga and Amagi (and were basically up-armored Amagis). Her name might seem like this, since most reference books have always listed the last two Kii class ships as never recieving names, but more recent research revealed they were to be named Suruga and Omi.
• Canon Immigrant: She, along with Shimakaze, first appeared in Azur Lane: Crosswave as the main characters before she was properly introduced into the main game in December 2019's "Swirling Cherry Blossoms" event.
• The Comically Serious: Suruga's something of a fussbudget and takes a lot of things a bit more seriously than she should. This ranges from her occasionally embarrassing herself (getting very flustered when she thinks you're paying too much attention to her because she's secretary) to the slapstick (her New Year's skin shows she is... very serious about her sports TV).
• Dark Secret: As revealed in Crosswave, and as she occasionally references as secretary, she hides a dark secret. A terrible secret. One she's embarrassed to show to anyone. The secret is that the Kiis, rather than the foxes or oni of many of the other heavy Sakura ships, are instead tanukis, which is shown by her tanuki ears when she is in full panic in the 2nd day of the Exercise in Crosswave. Suruga thinks this is wildly inappropriate for a heavy battleship and would result in her not being taken remotely seriously; therefore, the leaf she wears in her floral arrangement is in fact a catalyst for a famous tanuki ability and allows her to, essentially, glamour her ears into looking like horns instead, allowing her to pass herself off as an oni.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Before she made her proper debut as a playable unit in the mobile game, she first appared in the Crossing Waves event, which ran in Japan during the Japanese release of Crosswave.
• Foil: To Shimakaze. Suruga is a no-nonsense stoic who tries to play everything as safely and as closely to the book as possible, all without trying to stand out; Shimakaze, on the other hand, is a hyperactive and eager-to-please Genki Girl who often dives into problems face first without much consideration to the ensuing consequences.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Despite her usual outward exterior of humble confidence, Suruga actually struggles to believe she can hold a candle to the more "established" ships, and even in her post-oath lines, is fairly strident in denials to herself that she's suitable for a flagship or similar leadership role.
• Meganeko: In her school skin.
• Mythology Gag: Much of her kit alludes to Crosswave:
  • Her "Unyielding Shield" skill functions similarly (reducing damage and a heal)
  • Her "Unleashed Tactics" skill is based on her "Lock on Attack" from Crosswave
  • The fact that "Unleashed Tactics" is strengthened in PvP is a nod to how the other game's story centered around a big combat exercise.
• Serious Business: If that sword slash in her Live 2D skin is any indication: interrupt her sports matches on TV at your own peril, Commander.
• The Stoic: Subverted: In Crosswave, she acts like this not because she is one, but due to her being not good with people and wanting to stay out of limelight. Her inner monologue shows just how much of a dork she actually is.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: She often has this with Shimakaze, as she is often having to bail the latter out of trouble.
• Wonder Child: In a sense — because Suruga, as noted, was never built historically, the Sakura Empire had to take notable measures to bring her into being as a kansen. This involves an artifact they possess, the Watatsumi, which they use in a ritual to somehow bring otherwise-impossible ships into being. Suruga is evidently an early successful result of this, and during "Swirling Cherry Blossoms" several others note how remarkable her birth is as a result (which she finds very embarrassing).

Kii

Voiced by: Sayaka Kaneko

I am the first ship of the Kii class Battleship - Kii. Due to various reasons I could not realize my expectations to perform well in the great war... But now, I finally got the chance to express my true potential! Commander, do not be restraint , use me according to your will!

The personification of the battleship Kii and the lead ship of her class. She first appears in the event Dreamwaker's Butterfly.

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• The Alcoholic: Drinking is one of her favorite off-duty activities, and she will always try to invite the Commander and/or Suruga. Her drinking pals are also none other than the resident Sakura Empire drunkards, Ise and Hyuuga.
• Anti-Air: Has a very high anti-air stat for a battleship, let alone a Sakura Empire battleship, and can further buff the anti-air of all Sakura Empire backline ships including herself.
• Artistic License – History: Kii was never completed; Unlike Suruga, the Japanese were laying down her and her sister Owari's keel before the Washington Naval Treaty struck the Kii-class, limiting the displacement on battleships. ^note The Kii-class were expected to have at least 45,000 long tons of displacement for each ship, far beyond the 35,000-ton limit imposed by the treaty. This, in addition to their planned use of the Nagato's 410 mm guns, would make the Kiis theoretically capable of outshooting the Bismarck as well as the original Big Seven battleships). Furthering the trope is that, from what one can see on her rigging, she is very clearly based on her World of Warships counterpart, such as the appearance of the dual-purpose 100mm secondary batteries, despite not being a PR ship.
• BFS: Wields a very long tachi that she is able to sheathe on her hip. Unlike other shipgirls, Kii makes it up with her stature.
• Bigger Is Better: Believes in this in regards to weapons, guns in particular.
• Blood Knight: Kii enjoys a good fight and always itching to have one, willing to prove herself to be the best.
• Bodyguarding a Badass: In the Dreamwaker's Butterfly event, Kii's role is the primary retainer and escort of Shinano's entourage.
• Foil: To Suruga. Kii is a brash and fun-loving Blood Knight boasting a samurai-esque aesthetic with her Japanese-style clothing and tachi/odachi. Suruga, on the other hand, is humble, reserved, and more strategically inclined than Kii, while sporting a more modern military uniform and a wielding a gunto. A comic◊ in-game even highlights the stark contrast between Kii and Suruga, with the latter being overwhelmed by the former's outgoing personality.
  Suruga: "Extroverts... My biggest weakness..."
• Hard-Drinking Party Girl: She loves her sake, and her lines imply that she will often ask Suruga to have a drink with Ise.
• Little Bit Beastly: Contrary to the entry below, Kii has fox ears and a set of multiple fox tails similar to the likes of Amagi, Shinano, etc.
• Ms. Fanservice: A Statuesque Stunner with a noticable rack, especially notable in her swimsuit skin which also shows off her noticable rear as well.
• Proud Warrior Race: Unlike her sister Suruga, Kii is very proud of being a warrior, and doesn't even try to hide her tanuki ears.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The boisterous and hot-blooded red to Suruga's level-headed and introverted blue.
• Samurai: Her design evokes one, and unlike other samurai-themed Sakura girls, she is based on a Kamakura-period samurai rather than Sengoku or Edo period depictions, making her look a lot like an adult Ushiwakamaru/Minamoto no Yoshitsune
• Sarashi: Wears one that is visible underneath her armored kimono as part of her samurai getup, though it does very little in holding (or hiding) her breasts.
• Statuesque Stunner: As shown in both her artwork and swimsuit skin, Kii has a noticeable figure and is very tall.
• Superior Successor: In terms of gameplay she's a step up from her sister who debuted an earlier event, with a more usable kit and a barrage that's always at full power.
• Support Party Member: While her damage is about average for a super rare battleship what truly sets Kii apart is her ability to buff the front line's torpedo stat and the back line's anti-air stat coupled with her own high base anti-air. These qualities make her a good flagship for a Sakura torpedo vanguard fleet.
• Wardrobe Malfunction: In one of her secretary lines.
  Mmghh! I'm feeling stiff after standing up for so long... What's up, Commander? Why are you blushing? ...My bra's coming off?
• Wonder Child: Like her sister Suruga, though the explanation of her birth is overshadowed by Shinano's.

Owari

Artist: Dishwasher1910

Voiced by: Shion Wakayama

I'm Owari, and you must be the boss o' this here fleet... Nah, you're obviously the Commander! Ahahahah! Nice meetin' you!

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• Animal Motifs: Sheep. Her rigging is a pair of scales carrying sheep that carry her guns, and she wears a big wool sweater/coat that, combined with her darker skin and large horns, makes her somewhat resemble one.
• Big Sister Worship: Looks up to both Suruga and Kii as being the smarter, more capable sisters.
• Book Dumb: By her own admission, Owari's not all that bright, and thinking too hard just gets her flustered. She'd much rather leave that to her sisters and the Commander.
• Gyaru Girl: Tanned, blonde hair, busty, revealing outfits, flirty personality, and kind of dim. Owari ticks all the boxes.
• The Power of Friendship: Owari's skills revolve around designating one of the other ships in her fleet as her 'Best Bud', giving her improved stats and special barrages while that ship is afloat, as well as buffing the 'Best Bud' ship. One of her skills is even called Power o' Friendship!
• The Tease: Flirts with the Commander in a few lines, and definitely doesn't mind getting felt up.

The Izumo-class

Izumo

Artist: Alisa

Voiced by: Reina Ueda

Battleship Izumo, reporting for duty. Are you the Commander? You don't look very dependable, though… Listen up, if you ever hold me back then I won't let you get away with it!

The personification of the Design A-140-J2 ^note One of the preliminary designs for Yamato. The J-series is notable for being the only design series to utilize 41cm/16in guns instead of 46cm/18in guns◊. For the record, the finalized Yamato design is Design A-140-F6 Izumo, introduced as part of the World of Warships collaboration. She's one of two Priority Rare class ships in the Sakura Empire.

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• Crippling Overspecialization: "Specialized Armor" makes her an ideal flagship for Ironblood or Siren-centric events, which tend to hurl a lot of AP shells at the backline, but in regular gameplay and about half of events, the enemy fleet is either so low level it doesn't really matter (most mini-events, normal mode (A and B maps) in large events, and campaign worlds 9 and lower) or the Sakura Empire, which primarily uses HE shells instead of AP, setting her ablaze with ease. Since high-level campaign maps are generally harder than events, her ability usually hurts more than it helps. The fact that burn damage scales (even a low level ship can ruin you if they set you on fire) makes things even worse.
• Leotard of Power: She wears a white one.
• Shout-Out: Her "Specialized Armor" skill is a reference to her Chinese World of Warships nickname/meme "Blazumo" ^note She has a lot of deck area that, before her buffs, was highly susceptible to cruiser HE shells. However, she isn't actually more susceptible to be set on fire than her battleship tiermates, since the fire resistance coefficient is tied to tier and class, not ship-specific, but the Chinese players made that a meme anyway.
• Super Prototype: Downplayed heavily. While she's a step beyond the Nagato class in conceptual progression, it's likely that the completed Yamato class exceeds her. But in gameplay, she's practically a Flawed Prototype with the number of issues she has in addition to the whole "easily gets set aflame" matter. She's considered the worst Prototype ship. And the debut of Japanese battleships on par or better than her since her release (Tosa and Kii to name a couple) hasn't really helped at all.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: One of her Juustagram posts shows that she has a fear of fire- possibly as an in-joke to her weakness to being set on fire by HE shells.

The Yamato-class

Shared tropes:

• Formal Characters Use Keigo: They use a very formal and somewhat archaic manner of speech, befitting of high-born Japanese noblewomen.
• Friend to All Children: They are very kind and motherly towards shipgirls of the smaller classes (especially destroyers), and often directly refer to them as "children."
• Mythical Motifs: It is believed that the Yamato-class sisters are themed after the three major deities of Shintoism: Amaterasu, Susanoo and Tsukuyomi. So far Musashi seems to correspond to Susanoo and Shinano to Tsukuyomi.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Their other nickname in earlier chapters - "the Decisives" - suggested from the off that they were "Decisive"-rarity ships, or their equivalent of Ultra Rare - the URs/Decisives at the time of their first real mentioning being Azuma, Friedrich der Grosse, and the post-retrofit variants of Warspite and San Diego. Alternatively (or relatedly), it could also possibly refer to the Yamato class' design intention within the Decisive Battle Doctrine.
• Orcus on His Throne: Before, during, and to some degree after "Swirling Cherry Blossoms" (where they were first mentioned significantly), they came across this way; they seemingly couldn't be bothered to show up for a fairly important ritual, and otherwise appeared to leave things to Akagi and Kaga. They also took no apparent action against Mikasa's Reborn Combined Fleet (though even Akagi, in SCB, seemed a bit hesitant to move quickly against Mikasa thanks to the overwhelming reputation she enjoys and had to tolerate the Reborn Fleet's presence at the Diadem of Light peacefully). The only other person who even mentioned Yamato-the-kansen before SCB was Nagato, albeit only briefly (in her "Like" line, where Nagato remarks to have appointed Yamato as the next flagship), Musashi was noted in Dreamwaker's Butterfly, by Kumano, to have a similar imposing presence as her sister Shinano; while in the Operation Siren mode storyline, Queen Elizabeth admitted that she'd hoped to see Yamato rather than the usual Nagato-Akagi IJN delegates.
  • Musashi implies that this may be intentional in her debut event. While the sisters seemingly hold incredible power and sway, they've left both the war against the Sirens and the future of the Empire to their juniors to decide. Yamato is implied to be backing Nagato, while Musashi seems to be supporting Akagi more.
• Puppet King: The general impression during "Swirling Cherry Blossoms" in particular is that they are this (or at least Akagi and others think they are); Akagi seemingly had to functionally answer to them when acting, but even other girls acknowledged that she was the real de facto leader of the Sakura Empire's roster. How much the "Decisives" were truly beholden to Akagi & Kaga, versus how much they simply let the two act while exerting more control than was apparent was, between SCB and "Upon the Shimmering Blue", was left deliberately unclear. The very final bonus cutscene of "Shimmering Blue" had Eugen confronted by a small task force (led by, of all people, Tosa) who stated they were working for someone above Akagi on the chain of command, wanting to discuss the relationship between the two factions; this was the first direct implication that the "Decisives" had quite a lot of authority on their own.
• The Unseen: During the period between "Swirling Cherry Blossoms" and "Upon the Shimmering Blue", they were only a background presence in the story, albeit their existence in-universe was hinted at (with Yamato having been acknowledged in Nagato's dialogue as far back as Nagato's debut).
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Pun aside, Shinano and Musashi are kind, polite, even motherly towards their comrades and the Commander. However, as members of the mighty Yamato-class, they are willing to use the full extent of their power to protect everything they hold dear.

Musashi

Artist: Dishwasher1910

Voiced by: Lynn

"I am Musashi, the existence that was supposed to turn the tides in the Sakura Empire's favor during that war... But there is no point in lamenting the past, as it is not in my nature. All I know is, this time, I shall protect all that is dear to me, no matter the cost."

One of the three kansen of the Sakura Empire bestowed by the title of the "Decisives", Musashi is the personification of the second Yamato-class Battleship of the same name. Introduced in Summer 2022 as part of the JP Servers' 5th Anniversary Celebration, she serves as the feature character of the Violet Tempest, Blooming Lycoris Event storyline.

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• Beware the Nice Ones: Though she warns the Commander to never judge a book by its cover, she admits that it takes considerable skill to make her angry.
• BFG: Her signature main armament is the legendary triple 460mm (18 in.) guns of the Yamato-class, available in the Violet Tempest, Blooming Lycoris event exchange shop.
• BFS: The absurdly large Katana made out of spirit energy that her rigging is holding in the default art.
• Facial Markings: She has violet whisker-like markings on her cheeks.
• Historical In-Joke: Her disappointed line makes a reference to capsizing, which was the fate of the historical Musashi in the Sibuyan Sea.
• Humongous Mecha: Musashi's rigging could challenge any of the Iron Bloods for "Most Un-Shiplike", consisting of two gargantuan mechanical shogun arms that have the main cannons mounted on the shoulders. She uses her magic to give it a body as well as a colossal sword to wield.
• Impractically Fancy Outfit: Musashi's black-and-purple kimono is quite something, combining an Impossibly-Low Neckline, a short skirt, enormous flowing sleeves nearly as long as she is tall, and some completely superfluous samurai-style shoulder armor.
• Let's You and Him Fight: A non-villainous example. Musashi's debut event features her inviting Akagi, Mikasa, and Nagato to participate in a special war game. Their 'board' is a special Mirror Sea that reacts to the players' commands and wills as a means of testing each leader's faults and convictions.
• Little Bit Beastly: Musashi sports the Ears and Nine tails of a Kitsune, much like her half-sister Shinano.
• Marshmallow Hell: She very happily invites the Commander to indulge in her bosom with her Special Touch line. At high affection and post-oath, she actively encourages it.
• Meido: With a dash of Kimono Fanservice in her "Violet Moonglow" skin.
• Mighty Glacier: Probably the only knock against Musashi is that her reload speed isn't the best, and isn't helped by the glacially slow reload time of her 460mm main guns. Even with a High-spec Fire Control Radar or the Admiralty's Fire Control Table, she'll likely be the last ship in your back line to fire. That said, whenever she does shoot, whatever she hits likely won't be long for this world.
• Purple Is Powerful: She is purple-themed, and not only is she one of the leaders of the Sakura Empire as a whole, she's also incredibly powerful in combat.
• Shock and Awe: In contrast to the other foxgirls' powers being fire-themed, Musashi's appear to be more lightning-based.
• Shout-Out:
  • Loading screen art has Musashi wearing a black, low-cut, fur-trimmed kimono and a magatama necklace, similar to Lulu from Final Fantasy X.
  • Musashi's use of her rigging as massive mechanical arms wielding an equally massive katana, as well as her general motif regarding storms and lightning, bring to mind Honkai Impact 3rd's Herrscher of Thunder Raiden Mei, and Genshin Impact's Raiden Shogun ^note  More specifically, her weekly boss form, the Magatsu Mitake Narukami no Mikoto .
  • In one of her sprite animations her sword transforms into her image and happily dances about before she cuts it down in frustration, in the same fashion as Devil May Cry 5's Vergil and his Doppelganger in his EX Provocation.
  • Her rigging has features of both Uchiha Sasuke's Susano'o, where it has a form of an lightning-imbued armored warrior (which is amusingly fitting considering her Susano'o theme), and Vergil's Sin Devil Trigger's form, where one of the arms has integrated katana sheath.
• Team Mom: She is similar to Friedrich der Große in that despite her menacing appearance, she behaves very much like a doting and overprotective mother to those around her; this is especially so towards the Commander.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Tempura. In her post-oath dialogue, she notes that sea bream tempura is her all time favorite.
• Xanatos Gambit: Musashi's real reason for assembling the various Sakura leaders for her game, and part of the reason she supports Akagi more than the others. Musashi is trying to create a modified version of an Origin Cube that can be used without eating away at the shipgirl using it or inducing METAmorphosis, using Akagi and her knowledge of Siren tech as a base. She's also working with Jintsuu META to try to develop an unknown weapon powered by the Watatsumi.

Aviation Battleships (BBV)

Battleships of the Fusou and Ise classes turn into this ship type post remodel. Refer to their respective entries above for more details.