Fanfic / Chronicles of the Siren War

Spoilers for all chapters before 60 are left unmarked.

It is the year 1941, and the world is unraveling.

Former submariner Commander Andrew Thorson has just been reassigned by the Office of Strategic Services to the Eagle Union naval base at Pearl Harbor to work as part of a top-secret program underneath Admiral Hawkins. That project? Artifically-created women known as "shipgirls", each born from mysterious "wisdom cubes" and capable of controlling an entire warship on her lonesome.

Unfortunately, just as Thorson walks out of Hawkins's office, the Sakura Empire launches a devastating surprise attack, destroying many Eagle Union ships and killing countless sailors, including Admiral Hawkins, who lives just long enough to give Thorson one final set of orders; escape Pearl Harbor with the shipgirl USS Laffey, restart the shipgirl project, and stop the Crimson Axis and their alien Siren allies.

Sailing towards a set of unknown coordinates with nothing but an eccentric shipgirl, a small binder of classified documents, and the wisdom cubes of the deceased USS Arizona, what will he find there? What will he do next?

Chronicles of the Siren War is an Azur Lane Fan Fiction written by Reddit user SabatonBabylon. The story follows the inexperienced commander and his ever-growing shipgirl fleet as they fight to save the world and uncover the mysteries behind the wisdom cubes and Sirens, all the while growing ever closer together.

It can be read here on FanFiction.net, and here on Reddit.

See also: HEL Jumper, by the same author.

The fic contains the following tropes:

Tropes A-D

• Adaptation Expansion: The fanfic puts a lot more emphasis on many story elements touched on in the original game, such as general character development, the logistical aspects of the war, and the various uses of wisdom cubes.
• Adaptation Personality Change: This version of Ark Royal is rewritten from a Comedic Lolicon to a loving, caring Parental Substitute for the child kansen (funnily enough making her more like Ark Royal Meta from canon).
• Adaptational Superpower Change:
  • Official media generally portray riggings as a kansen's primary weapons, whereas here, they function more as a tool that allows a kansen to become one with her ship and channel her actual powers.
  • In a retroactive example, the anime introduced the idea that a kansen's rigging and warship are literally the same thing, with one transforming into the other depending on the situation. Here, the rigging and warship are separate objects, with the former being used to better control the latter.
• Adaptational Wimp:
  • The Eagle Union kansen initially don't possess the riggings of their game counterparts; as such, while they can still single-handedly operate their actual ships, they generally lack the special abilities that they possess in other media (though they still seem to be able to occasionally call upon said abilities during moments of extreme duress and urgency). However, this is later subverted as those fighting under Thorson learn to acquire their riggings by absorbing wisdom shards into their spines and then swearing fealty to him (or another commander).
  • Official media portrays riggings as having enough firepower to destroy even the toughest warships. Here, the riggings' firepower generally range from "infantry platoon" to "light artillery", necessitating the kansen to control actual warships for naval engagements.
• Affectionate Nickname:
  • Pennsylvania is often called "Penny" by her comrades, and Thorson also occasionally calls her "Valkyrie" in honor of her beauty and prowess in battle.
  • Thorson comes to refer to Arizona as "Angel" for both her kind nature and her abilities.
  • Z23 is generally called "Zed", and she later gives Thorson permission to also call her "Nimi".
  • Laffey prefers to refer to her friends Javelin and Ayanami as "Javey" and "Ayaya" respectively.
• Allohistorical Allusion: After Kaga, Akagi, and Soryuu survive the "five fateful minutes" which in real life sunk them and permanently crippled the IJN, Enterprise laments that the attack should have ensured a decisive Union victory. Fortunately, Azur Lane's arrival still ensures that Midway is a crippling defeat for the Sakura.
• Alternate History: Given the setting, this is inevitable:
  • In both the real-life history and the game, Arizona was sunk and became too damaged to be refloated and rebuilt; here she is brought Back from the Dead thanks to her salvaged Wisdom Cubes.
  • Cleveland is already in active service at the start of the story, even taking part in the Battle of the Java Sea, whereas in real life, she was commissioned sometime after Midway.
  • HMS Jupiter and USS Houston both survive Java Sea instead of being sunk by the Sakura fleet.
  • The Battle of the Java Sea as whole. What was a real-life Curb-Stomp Battle in favor of the Japanese, ends here with the Sakura getting a bloody nose (including the capture of Jintsuu and Naka and the defection of Yuudachi and Yukikaze) and fewer casualties for Allied forces, courtesy of Azur Lane. In fact, the Sakura fleet is on the verge of defeat when Kaga's last minute personal intervention finally forces Azur Lane to withdraw.
  • In both the real-life history and the game version of the Battle for the Coral Sea, Lexington actually perished; here, Azur Lane is able to save her from that fate.
  • The real-life Battle of Midway ended with the Japanese losing four carriers (Akagi, Kaga, Hiryuu, and Soryuu) and the heavy cruiser Mikuma, while the Americans lost the carrier Yorktown and the destroyer Hammann. This time, Akagi and Kaga escape the battle, but the Sakura otherwise take much heavier casualties; seventeen of their ships are destroyed (including the kansen Chikuma, Tone, Nowaki, Kagerou, Mogami, and Haruna), and eleven kansen are captured (Hiryuu, Soryuu, Kongou, Hiei, Suzuya, Choukai, Isokaze, Tanikaze, Urakaze, Hamakaze, and Nagara). On the Union side, both Hornet and Yorktown are sunk, but Hammann survives.
  • Indianapolis launches the Pandora weapon (a literal nuclear bomb) roughly three years before the first real life atomic bomb test in 1945.
• Always Someone Better: Similar to real life during this period, international military consensus is starting to conclude that aircraft carriers are the future of naval warfare, with battleships being a developmental dead end despite their armor and firepower; within the Union Navy in particular, this leads to carrier kansen like Enterprise being favored while battleship kansen are increasingly sidelined from any sort of combat, much to the resentment of the latter. Indeed, Azur Lane's first loss comes because they have no real answer against Kaga's seemingly endless waves of aircraft. However, Thorson comes to realize that while this disadvantage might hold true for normal battleships, the special capabilities of kansen might just allow for battleship-led groups to prevail over carrier-led ones, proving it at Midway, where Azur Lane deals a crushing defeat to the Sakura fleet despite only having one carrier to the Sakura's four.
• An Arm and a Leg: Downes and Cassin's first appearance has them in a really bad state following Pearl Harbor, with both missing several of their limbs. Thankfully, Akashi's able to restore them to full health.
• Arranged Marriage: At the surrender meeting between the defeated Sakura kansen and Azur Lane, Nagato suggests marrying Kaga off to Thorson as a gesture of goodwill, in order to form an alliance between the two factions, though even Nagato herself eventually agrees that such a solution isn't optimal.
• Bad Boss:
  • Akagi shows throughout the Pacific War her complete disregard for her subordinates, including a tendency to punish failure with death.
  • Though Kaga tries to rein in Akagi's worst tendencies, she's a rather ruthless taskmaster herself due to her Social Darwinistic ideals. In the Battle of the Java Sea, Kaga proves more than willing to kill a just-defeated Jintsuu, one of Akagi's top disciples, just for a chance to take down Tennessee too.
  • Admiral Hawkins is implied to have been one to Tennessee, judging from her moment with Thorson in Chapter 28 after the Siren aircraft battle where she, mistaking him for Hawkins, expects to hear him call her a "useless weapon".
  • The Siren Empress is arguably even worse than Akagi. The fact that the rest of the Sirens genuinely fear the Empress just shows how monstrously cruel she is.
• Bar Brawl: During Nimitz's visit to the Azur Lane base, a fight occurs at the mess hall when one of the Union sailors harasses Miles and rudely shoves Hatsuharu, causing the latter's sister Yuugure to non-fatally fire upon the sailor in response. It's not long before several of the Azur Lane kansen and the sailors dogpile each other (with Shigure and Yuudachi being literally tossed into the fray), with those not participating in the fight instead placing their bets and enjoying the show.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: It's 100% clear that the kansen aren't drawn to the Commander merely because of his looks, skills, or position; in truth, it's his kind heart, one that has saved most of them from their own factions' heartlessness. It's for THAT reason his kansen are willing to go against the rest of the world for him.
• Bedmate Reveal: After being enraptured by Thorson's kindness during their first day together, Laffey sneaks into his room and sleeps there. When Thorson wakes up, he sees Laffey in only her underwear sleepily pressing herself against his chest, but she's genuinely happy. Ever since then, it has become a habit for her.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Thorson and Tennessee's interactions with each other are akin to cats and dogs, with Tennessee in particular claiming to hate Thorson, but there is no doubt a very clear attraction between the two. A good example of this is at the end of Chapter 33, where Tennessee genuinely helps Thorson work out his pent-up anger on a punching bag while simultaneously insulting him, only for the two to be on the brink of another argument right afterwards, only for the two to instead passionately kiss even as Tennessee threatens to kill Thorson if he ever tells anyone of it. Hell, Tennessee is only able to finally tell Thorson that she loves him right after trying to literally murder him, despite the two having already had sex some time before.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • Just as the USS Demeter is about to be destroyed by Sakura drone ships, the USS Laffey swoops in and picks off the enemy pursuers one by one.
  • Just as Fusou and Yamashiro are about to be destroyed by their massive Sakura fleet pursuing them, Thorson's fleet shows up to rescue them.
  • Thorson's fleet arrives at Coral Sea just in time to stop Zuikaku and Shoukaku from decisively winning the battle.
  • At the Battle of Midway, the Sakura are on the verge of crushing the Union defenders, only for Azur Lane's fleet to finally arrive and crush them instead.
• Big Sister Instinct: All the lead ship kansen seen so far will go through great lengths to protect their younger siblings. The most notable examples include:
  • Portland is incredibly protective of Indianapolis, to the point where in her first battle under Thorson's command, she nearly disobeys orders out of fear for her sister's life; Indianapolis herself finds all this a bit overbearing.
  • Despite being in not-so-great shape herself, Fusou's first and only concern after being rescued by Azur Lane is her sister Yamashiro, with the strength of their bond being so great that Fusou is able to bring Yamashiro from the dead with the conductive matrix.
  • Pennsylvania's number one priority is Arizona's wellbeing, to the point where she is initially reluctant to let Arizona return to battle after the latter's resurrection.
  • While attempting to resurrect Hornet within the mindscape of the conductive matrix, Enterprise encounters an Eldritch Abomination that is trying to take her sister away and fights it off using solely her fists.
• Blood Knight: Many of the kansen are far too eager to set out and find the nearest enemy ship to shoot at, Downes and Tennessee in particular. This is justified as they were created for the sole purpose of waging war.
• Blood Oath: Vampire enacts this with Thorson to cement her loyalty towards him, as thanks for helping her overcome her grief. As such, if she has to choose between her country and him, she will immediately support the latter.
• Bodyguard Babes: While most of Thorson's kansen are more than willing to risk themselves to protect him, South Dakota takes it upon herself to be his dedicated bodyguard.
• Break the Haughty: Over the course of the Battle of the Sanctuary, Akagi's pride slowly crumbles apart; she gets ambushed by Minneapolis, leading to her carrier ship being sunk by Thorson's entire fleet, leading to her being captured by Thorson, and culminating with her wisdom shard being surgically (and painfully) removed right in front of both Thorson's entire fleet and the Sakura prisoners.. By the end of the battle, she is reduced to a meek and dejected shadow of her former self.
• Butt-Monkey: In Chapter 65, ever since having being taken prisoner after the Battle of Midway, Hiryuu is on the receiving end of slapstick humor whenever she opens her mouth against her Azur Lane captors.
• Came Back Strong: Hornet is resurrected with a full set of rigging, despite not having any before.
• Came Back Wrong: Subverted. At first, Arizona seemingly can't handle the process of her resurrection - that is, until Thorson figures out that she's still reliving her final moments, which leads him to punch her at the exact part of her body where she was originally wounded, causing her to realize that she's safe and far away from Pearl Harbor now.
• Canine Companion: Admiral Wags, Captain Sherman's Cocker Spaniel and mascot of the USS Lexington. Akashi, who has catlike traits, is naturally not pleased to see him, though she rescues him regardless.
• Cassandra Truth: After returning to base from her first trip with Captain Stevens's fleet, Brooklyn reports that Union High Command find extremely hard to believe that the Sirens have any involvement in the war, preferring to believe that the advances of the Sakura and Ironblood Navies are solely the products of their native engineering. It's not until after Midway that high command start agreeing with Thorson that the Sirens are the real enemy, even if they still feel that the Crimson Axis needs to be eliminated first.
• Chess Motifs: Quite a few:
  • Thorson builds up a reputation as a Knight who "collects and marshals his pawns on a chessboard". It's an especially appropriate metaphor in terms of shogi (Japanese chess), where captured enemy pieces can reenter the board as allies.
  • This exchange between Warspite and Thorson in Chapter 34:
    "How many knights are there on a side, Commander?"
    Thorson knew immediately who Warspite considered to be the second knight: herself. "Two."
• Chick Magnet: After spending time with Commander Thorson, many of the kansen become quite attracted to him. This is actually beneficial in many ways, as their love for him not only helps solidify their mutual trust during battle, but becomes a major motivation for them to fight harder and even develop new abilities.

  Hornet: Is he good?

  Cleveland: Why do you think half the base is sleeping with him?

• Commanding Coolness: Thorson, after being promoted to the rank by Admiral Hawkins. As such, the kansen generally refer to him by whatever variation of the title they use in their respective home nations:
  • "Commander (Eagle Union)"
  • "Shikikan (Sakura Empire)"
  • "Knight Commander (Royal Navy)"
  • "Kommandant (Iron Blood)"
• The Coup: The original leaders of the Sakura kansen, such as Nagato and Mikasa, actually opposed the alliance with the Sirens. However, Kaga and Akagi simply forced them into exile and forcibly stamped down on any dissent.
• Crazy Enough to Work:
  • To break the developing stalemate between Thorson and Jintsuu's fleets at the Battle of the Java Sea, Tennessee and Downes ditch their ships and start harrassing the enemy fleet with just the weapons on their rigging, relying on the fact that warships aren't designed to fight infantry up close to keep themselves safe. All of this is to lure Jintsuu away from her heavily-shielded ship so they can take her down in hand-to-hand combat. The gambit works so well that they manage to successfully capture both Jintsuu and Naka.
  • Later, when Akagi manages to create an impenetrable flaming tornado in a last-ditch effort to defend the Sanctuary, Minneapolis opts to hitch a ride on a torpedo heading towards Akagi's ship and sneak aboard so she can disable Akagi in hand-to-hand combat just long enough for her flaming shield to go down, which allows the rest of Azur Lane to cripple Akagi with a single massive barrage.
  • Thorson elects himself to enter the conductice matrix and bring back Amagi, deducing that Akagi's wisdom shard lodged in his chest can grants him access to the machine's capabilities. He succeeds and Amagi is restored.
• Create Your Own Hero: Commander Thorson was supposed to be killed following the Attack on Pearl Harbor, but was inadvertently spared from that fate thanks to the Sirens' interference with the time stream. The Sirens are actually happy about it since they finally have a Worthy Opponent to fight against.
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • Whenever the Union fleet has to fight directly against Sakura kansen, the former tend to fair quite poorly due to their own kansen's complete lack of rigging.
  • Despite Kaga and Akagi getting away, the final stages of the Battle of Midway are arguably even more devastating for the Sakura than they were for the Japanese in real life; the Sakura lose almost thirty ships, while Azur Lane takes zero permanant casualties.
• Cute Ghost Girl: Shiranui. Akagi murdered her for opposing the alliance with the Sirens, but she managed to become a ghost out of sheer hatred for Kaga and Akagi.
• Cuteness Proximity:
  • Pennsylvania and Arizona are instantly drawn to dog-like Yuudachi and cat-like Yukikaze respectively, and treat them like something between a favorite daughter and a beloved pet. Both animal kansen instantly love the treatment, though Yukikaze initially tries to unconvincingly deny it.
  • Just about every kansen instantly falls in love with the manjuus. Even the perpetually grumpy Tennessee adopts one as a pet, naming it "Ares".
• Death Is Cheap: Largely downplayed. There is a way to revive a dead kansen with the conductive matrix, but the exact requirements to make it occur are a complete mystery. So far, the only known criteria are that the dead kansen must have a very strong desire to come back to life (denoted by their wisdom cube glowing brightly in a unique color), and another kansen close to them has to guide them back to life. If that doesn't happen, they are Killed Off for Real.
• Decon-Recon Switch:
  • Despite their abilities, the kansen are initially looked down upon and shunned by most of the people who know about them, being treated as nothing more than weapons at best. However, once they get the chance to show their skill and courage in actual combat, all that prejudice slowly dissipates. Even in the Union fleet, a number of kansen (particularly the carriers) become close to their crews thanks to the shared crucible of battle.
  • Thorson's journey as a commander of a fleet of kansen is an interesting one. He takes sole command of the Union's shipgirl project after all of its other members have been killed, and it's clear that the combined pressure of contributing to the war effort and preparing for the future showdown with the Sirens while simultaneously looking out for the well-being of as many kansen as he can is taking a toll on his mental health. Even so, the reason he hasn't lost his sanity is because being commander has allowed him to form deep bonds with his kansen; he may be busy looking after their happiness, but they're looking out for his too.
  • When Pennsylvania, Arizona, Fusou, and Yamashiro all openly declare their love for Thorson at once, it causes Thorson to leave the room out of sheer discomfort at the situation; not only is he uncomfortable with the idea of having more than one lover in and of itself, he also fears that the fleet might tear itself apart over his affections. Indeed, Tennessee herself tears into the aforementioned four battleships for not considering whether Thorson's own feelings are mutual. Fortunately, the bonds between the kansen are strong enough that they're able to share Thorson's affections without too much strife (even after he starts gaining new lovers), and they ultimately respect Thorson enough to give him the chance to determine his own feelings towards each one of them individually. Indeed, the genuine love between Thorson and his lovers becomes a major source of their strength, even if some outsiders to Azur Lane might still look askance at what they see as merely a harem.
• Defeat Equals Friendship: Thorson's main method in recruiting enemy kansen to his side.
  Thorson: I'm not asking you to go easy on them in battle. I'm asking you to beat them into submission to the point that they realize the folly of their ways.
• Defector from Decadence: A significant portion of the Sakura fleet opposes the alliance with the Sirens, generally out of some combination of loyalty to the old traditions and gods, suspicion about the Sirens' promises, and sheer distaste for Kaga and Akagi's cruelty. Thorson takes advantage of this to gain a number of Sakura defectors to Azur Lane, and it's the anti-Siren faction that ultimately negotiates the surrender of the Sakura kansen to Azur Lane.
• Defrosting Ice Queen:
  • The death of her sister Arizona hits Pennsylvania severely hard, turning an already rather fierce-minded woman into a cold, revenge-driven person. It's only due to her interactions with Thorson that she starts turning around even before Thorson's role in resurrecting Arizona cements Pennsylvania's love for him.
  • Tennessee has a reputation among her Eagle Union comrades for being sort of a bitch, and out of all the shipgirls who join the Azur Lane base, she is the most openly skeptical towards Commander Thorson. Over time though, Tennessee comes to understand that Thorson is not like any of the Union personnel that had mistreated her and her fellow shipgirls, and (very) gradually softens towards both him and the other kansen.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: Given that the story takes place in World War II, racism is prevalent among the human characters, including Thorson himself initially; it takes him a bit of time to treat Fredrick Miles, who is black, with the same respect as his kansen.
• Demonic Possession:
  • Laffey comes close to being taken over by the Sirens when she touches the Red Wisdom Cube from Z23's former ship. Thankfully, her mental link with Thorson allows her to assert dominance over the Cube and absorb it into herself, resulting in her "Annihilation Mode" retrofit.
  • Tester attempts to do this to Kaga in retribution for the latter killing her. Like Laffey, Kaga's mental link with Thorson helps Kaga overcome this.
• Didn't Think This Through: Akashi's plan to get away from Akagi and Kaga was to hide out in the abandoned Azur Lane base... which is known by every faction as the place that produced all the kansen. Whoops! Thankfully, it also allows her to meet Thorson.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: Arizona passes away in Thorson's arms as he desperately tries to save her. Ends up a subversion: because Arizona's last memory is of Thorson ordering her to not die, her will to live is strengthened to the point where she can be eventually resurrected.
• Disappointed in You: After witnessing Thorson treat Fredrick Miles with racially-tinged suspicion, Brooklyn merely notes that racism in the Union must be quite severe for a man of Thorson's caliber to treat a black man that way, and suggests to him that he should give Fredrick the same chance that he gave his kansen. Thorson can't find any rebuttal to that, and starts treating Fredrick with much more respect from that point on.
• Disintegrator Ray: Laffey's retrofitted ship possesses a plasma-based cannon that can annihilate a row of ships in one shot. However, she can't fire it more than once per battle without tiring herself out completely.
• Divide and Conquer: After Kirishima steals most of Azur Lane's spare wisdom cubes, Tennessee proposes to Thorson that instead of going out to raid for more cubes, Azur Lane should wait until Union and Sakura forces clash, and then swoop in, pick up the pieces, and even play the hero a bit. Tennessee admits that she largely wants to see both Union high command and the Sakura Empire suffer for how they've treated her and her sisters, but the Commander takes her advice into consideration, and indeed Azur Lane doesn't launch another attack against Sakura forces until they get intel that the Empire has sent forces to take Java from the Allies.
• Dreaming of Things to Come:
  • Meeting Minneapolis causes Yamashiro to get a vision of her eventual death at the hands of the US Navy some two years later. Subverted, as this is a vision from an Alternate History (specifically ours). Yamashiro then implies that such visions are the means by which Akagi has been forcing Sakura dissenters into loyalty.
  • Later, as Thorson's fleet is escorting the surrendering Sakura fleet to the Azur Lane base, a few of the Union Kansen start getting alternate future premonitions of their Sakura counterparts attacking them, with Enterprise and Hammann straight up coming to blows with Iroha; fortunately, their leaders are able to nip it in the bud before anyone gets hurt.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: By the time of the Battle of Midway begins, Azur Lane has managed to win several crushing victories against superior forces, capturing/rescuing many Sakura kansen in the process, all with minimal casualties and zero fatalities. Additionally, they've made significantly more progress on developing the true potential of kansen in half a year than the Eagle Union has in over a decade. Even so, while Union High Command is somewhat impressed with Thorson's surprising success, they still consider Azur Lane's activities to be a side show to the main war, with only Admiral Nimitz having at least some inkling of their true potential; while they do reassign five battleship kansen to Thorson's command, it's only because Azur Lane is seen as a convenient "dumping ground" for seemingly obsolete and useless ships. However, after Azur Lane transforms an imminent Union defeat at Midway into a crushing victory instead, Nimitz makes it clear to Thorson that high command has finally realized that Azur Lane is indispensable to the Union war effort.
• Due to the Dead: Thorson makes it a policy to recover as many wisdom cubes from deceased kansen as possible, so they can be laid to rest at the Azur Lane base's Shinto shrine. As it later turns out, doing so prevents their souls from being consumed by the Creator.
  • After Nachi is killed by an Azur Lane raid, Thorson has her wisdom cube recovered and buried at their base. Her cube is later excavated and placed in the shrine after it's finished being built.
  • Thorson and Vampire hold a small ceremony to bury the skull of the latter's lover at where the shrine is later built.
  • Later, Thorson accompanies Maryland to the shrine so that Fusou can inter the cubes of Nevada and Oklahoma.
  • After the Battle of Midway, the cubes of all the kansen killed on both sides are interred at the shrine, with the services attended by their closest family and friends. A visiting Eagle Union representation, with Enterprise in tow, does the honors for Hornet and Yorktown; the cubes of Kagerou and Nowaki are carried there by their surviving sisters, with Minneapolis and South Dakota calling upon their own spirits to guide them to rest; and Kongou and Suzuya attend the interment of the other deceased Sakura so they can say goodbye to their slain sisters, with Soryuu watching from the side.
  • Following the defense of the Plymouth dockyards, a special mass took place at the Exeter Cathedral where all the recovered wisdom cubes of fallen Royal Navy kansen (like Hood, Edinburgh etc) were properly laid to rest. Thorson and Ark Royal intends to find the others to help them get their earned rests.

Tropes E-L

• Easter Special: Chapter 53 features an Easter celebration on the Azur Lane base; while only Miles and Thorson are observant Christians, the rest of the crew is more than happy to hold a communal feast for the occasion, even letting Thorson say grace before tucking in. The comradery on display is actually the final straw that convinces Naka to defect to Azur Lane, with Thorson lampshading the clear metaphor:
  Thorson: If there was ever a day for new beginnings, today is the day. Be seated, Naka.
• Eldritch Location: When Thorson's fleet finally breaks their way into the Sanctuary, they end up in a Mirror Sea, a sort of Siren-created pocket dimension. However, simply being in a Mirror Sea is extremely fatal to normal humans, and Thorson only lives because Tennessee stabs Akagi's wisdom shard into him. Additionally, a Mirror Sea is inescapable by normal means, as any attempt to sail out of it will simply be met with a further stretch of endless ocean; the only way to escape is by channeling enough willpower to "wish" one's way to freedom. For unknown reasons, a kansen within a Mirror Sea may also start randomly being assailed by a continuous stream of visions from their alternate universe selves; successfully integrating with these selves will cause the kansen to be retrofitted into a modern, post-WWII "META" form.
• Embarrassing Nickname: Tennessee gets nicknamed "Belle" by Downes, the reasoning being that like a proper Southern Belle, she's a gorgeous woman who will nonetheless be the last to sleep with Thorson after all the girls with "loose morals" get to him. Unsurprisingly, hearing that explanation enrages Tennessee, but she quickly grows to tolerate it from Downes, though not anyone else. Thorson himself only calls her such in the aftermath of her attempt to murder him.
• End of an Era: After discussing how Azur Lane is being used as a dumping ground for obsolete battleships, Brooklyn notes that the age of the battleship is coming to an end as militaries around the world are recentering their forces around carriers instead. Thorson, however, aims to subvert this, doing just so at Midway by defeating two carrier divisions with his own battleship-centered fleet.
• Enemy Mine: Played for Laughs. Following the Battle of the Coral Sea, during the journey back to Azur Lane HQ, the normally prideful and stubborn Jintsuu momentarily opts to side with her captor Thorson, even referring to him as "Shikikan", due to freaking out upon seeing the headless Minneapolis.
  Thorson: Since when am I Shikikan to you?
  Jintsuu: Since we are in the presence of a demon! I know which side I'm on when it's the living versus the dead!
• Ensign Newbie: Though Thorson is an experienced submariner, he's never commanded even a single ship before, with his promotion to Commander (OF-4) being purely ceremonial; indeed, he's only held the rank for less than a week when he's forced to take command of the remnants of the Union shipgirl project. Nonetheless, just half a year later, he's commanding a fleet of several dozen kansen, with a reputation as one of the Union's best officers. Interestingly, his inexperience is arguably a virtue in his particular position; given that much of his fleet is made up of deserters, defectors, and various other types who don't respond well to standard military discipline, his willingness to listen to his kansen on matters both military and personal plays a big role in earning him their trust.
• Explosive Leash: The Sanctuary has corrupted the wisdom shards of many of the Sakura kansen into a red form that will gradually kill their bearer if they're captured. As such, Thorson has to personally rip out the shards of any Sakura he captures.
• Fantastic Racism:
  • Pre-war, it's clear that most of the Eagle Union navy have various degrees of dislike towards the kansen, seeing them as useless girls who get in the way of a crew's operation. Understandably, a number of kansen develop rather negative feelings towards humanity. That all changes once the war begins; Azur Lane's exploits prove just how powerful kansen can be when treated properly, and even many kansen still serving in the Union navy proper start developing close bonds with their crews and officers as a natural consequence of fighting side by side against the Sakura.
  • While Sakura and Ironblood high command better understand the true potential of kansen, this doesn't stop them from initially treating their shipgirls like weapons with no rights, which is precisely what drives said shipgirls into the arms of the Sirens.
  • Potentially averted with the Royal Navy. On one hand, the Royals have had the foresight to officially grant their kansen a great deal of real autonomy, with HMS Queen Elizabeth being in charge of their forces instead of a Royal officer. On the other hand, the exact state of relationships between Royal kansen and the Royal military proper is still rather vague for now.
• Fire-Forged Friends: Do recall that Azur Lane is comprised of members from various factions, many of whom are officially at war with each other; even discounting that, the odd mix of personalities results in a lot of initial distrust and infighting. But as by simply fighting and living together side by side, everyone realizes they aren't that different and start forming friendships with each other, thus turning a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits to a fully effective fighting force.
• First-Name Basis: Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Downes all become comfortable calling Thorson by his first name of Andrew, particularly when they're alone. Cleveland also does so during her first time with him, at his request. For her part, Fusou makes an effort, but is more comfortable calling him "tono-sama". Tennessee only calls him "Andrew" after becoming distraught and heartbroken enough to try to kill him.
• Foil: Rear Admiral Spruance serves as a brief one to Commander Thorson during the former's visit to the Azur Lane base. Spruance is much more used to running a relatively conventional military operation, and so he ends up being rather disrespectful to the kansen (particularly the Sakura members) before ordering some of them to deploy with his own fleet, no questions asked. Not surprisingly, this pisses them off, and they all opt to stay with Thorson, who understands that kansen needed to be treated like trusted comrades rather than tools or even regular subordinate crewmen.

• Food as Bribe: Shiratsuyu convinces Yuudachi to defect from the Sakura Empire in part by bribing her with meat ribs.
• Foreshadowing:
  • When Indianapolis receives her rigging, Thorson notices an accompanying tattoo of unknown meaning, with an identical design in yellow and black stamped on Indianapolis's shiny new "Pandora" bomb. The narration notes that he'll only realize much later that it means "danger, nuclear material." He eventually witnesses the "Pandora" weapon's full potential when he orders Indianapolis to launch it at the Sanctuary.
  • While it's made clear that none of the kansen stationed at Pearl Harbor got along particularly well with Union personnel during their time there, Tennessee's relationship with Admiral Hawkins is hinted to be particularly fraught. Indeed, it's implied to be a major source of her initial distrust of Thorson's intentions, to the point where she's genuinely surprised when she realizes that Thorson just wants her to fight by his side. It's eventually revealed that Hawkins and Tennessee once had an intimate relationship, until the latter found out that the former was already married and had simply manipulated her into becoming his mistress.
• For Science!: Thorson learns, to his horror, that the Ironblood has been conducting several hazardous and immoral experiments onto their kansen that can be accurately described as literal torture. While the Kriegsmarine eventually rebel against their tormentors, their new Siren allies turn out to be quite cruel experimenters themselves, given how they almost completely shattered Zed's mind by forcing her into an endless series of brutal simulations. Indeed, the entire war seems to be nothing more than one part of a grand experiment being carried out by the Sirens.
• Friendly Address Privileges: Z23 asks Thorson to call her "Nimi", showing the close bond between the two.
• Girl Friday: Shiranui and Brooklyn are Thorson's two most reliable subordinates in terms of helping him run Azur Lane as a whole, particularly with matters like logistics and diplomacy, to the point where one of the two is usually put in charge of the main base whenever Thorson's out campaigning with the fleet. Akashi also counts to a lesser degree, being responsible for supervising the bulins and trading for needed supplies.
• Godzilla Threshold: Once Thorson realizes that the Sanctuary is impenetrable by any sort of bombardment from conventional weapons, he orders Indianapolis to ready her aptly named "Pandora" weapon, e.g. a literal atomic bomb. He is absolutely horrified at the resulting destruction:
  Thorson: Father forgive me.
• Good Is Not Soft: Thorson may be a kind man who's willing to bend protocol and risk his own life for his kansen, but he's still an Eagle Union military officer; he threatens to execute Tennessee during her first full day at the Azur Lane base if she insists on continually undermining his authority (and later shoots her and throws her into the brig when she tries to murder him), and while he tries to spare as many enemy kansen as he can, at the end of day, he will prioritize the lives of his own fleet over their's.
• Gratuitous Japanese: Deliberately invoked in-story by Thorson; after the Battle of Midway, he starts feeling that the term "shipgirl" might rather undersell the various women he's both led and fought against, and asks Fusou what they call themselves in the Sakura language. He finds the answer ("kansen") a lot more to his liking, and the narration from that point onward favors using it over "shipgirl".
• Greater-Scope Villain: The Creator is the being that all Sirens serve, and is the one truly pulling the strings of the Crimson Axis.
• Half the Man He Used to Be: A non-living variation; Hiryuu's ship gets sheared in half when Tennessee rams right through it.
• Hates Being Alone: Laffey has developed a serious fear of being alone after being constantly shunned by her former superiors and crew, not to mention her long separation from her closest friends. In fact, her habit of guzzling down bourbon stems from a desire to drink her loneliness away. This fear also drives her to be extremely clingy to Thorson, the first person to show her attention in a very long time, and she will push herself to the very limit in order to be useful to him. She slowly gets better, especially once she starts reuniting with her old friends.
• Heroic Sacrifice: In Chapter 41, Rear Admiral Doorman and his men triggers Jintsuu's trap in order to give Azur Lane a fighting chance.
• Historical Domain Character:
  • Azur Lane meets Rear Admiral Doorman at Surabaya. During the Battle of the Java Sea, he valiantly has his fleet sail into Jintsuu's trap to give Azur Lane a chance to stop the Sakura Fleet's advance.
  • Then-Rear Admiral Spruance makes his appearance as the officer commanding Enterprise, butting heads with Azur Lane's own commander along the way.
  • Commander Hyman makes an appearance alongside Sims at the Battle of the Coral Sea. They both meet their historical end.
  • Then-Captain Sherman and his dog Admiral Wags also make their appearance at the Coral Sea. Lexington even gains her rigging (and averts her historical end) by swearing fealty to him.
  • Admiral Nimitz is introduced ordering Brooklyn to rush to inform Azur Lane of an imminent attack by the Sakura Empire. Later, he tours Azur Lane's main base, becoming their best ally among Union High Command.
  • Then-Captain Mitscher shows up alongside Hornet during the Battle of Midway, with the two having something of a father-daughter dynamic.
• Hot Springs Episode: Chapter 49 features Thorson making his first visit to the base's newly constructed onsen (and enjoying some "alone time" with Fusou and Yamashiro in the private sections), with the rest of his kansen also having fun relaxing in the warm water. Indeed, the onsen becomes a common setting for many future scenes; Thorson even holds the strategy briefing for the assault on the Sanctuary there, much to the pleasure of his subordinates.
• If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: In Chapter 17, Portland threaten to punch Thorson hard if doesn't take good care of her sister.
• Implied Death Threat: When Rear Admiral Spruance orders Thorson to transfer some of his kansen to his own command, all of Azur Lane's kansen present their objections by activating their rigging, with Tennessee in particular aiming her guns directly at Spruance.
• Interspecies Romance: As the war progresses, Thorson develops an attraction towards several of his kansen, with the feeling being quite mutual. Besides Thorson's harem, Brooklyn enters into a relationship with Captain Stevens during her time away from base, while Houston and Fredrick Miles quickly fall in love despite the latter's initial misgivings, which are quickly silenced by Houston.
• In-Universe Nickname:
  • The three Mutsuki-class destroyers at Azur Lane are dubbed the "flavored kittens."
  • The "dork squad" for Shigure, Yuudachi, and Yukikaze.
• Invisible to Normals: As it turns out, only Shiranui, Kasumi, and Thorson are capable of literally seeing spirits like Foo.
• I See Dead People: Kasumi casually reveals in a conversation with Houston that she can see dead kansen, having spoken with the spirits of Nevada and Oklahoma a few times.
• Island Base:
  • Azur Lane's base of operations, located somewhere in the middle of the Pacific. It's also where all the Kansen were created. However, its location is a double-edged sword: while the island is located in a strategic area and has all the resources and materials to sustain Azur Lane's forces, it's also a high-priority target for the Crimson Axis and the Sirens.
  • The Sakura kansen's home base is the Sanctuary, a collection of islands (also) located in the middle of the Pacific. However, a number of the Sakura kansen dislike staying there because the entire area has been deeply corrupted by the Sirens' influence. The islands all sink into the sea after the total collapse of the Sanctuary's protective force field and Mirror Sea.
• It's Quiet… Too Quiet: In Chapter 81, Shiranui notices the lack of even normal background noise on sonar near the Siren-possessed Bismarck.
• Killed Offscreen:
  • There is no explicit mention of exactly which Sakura kansen died at the Battle of Midway until Fusou lists off the casualties afterwards: namely Chikuma, Tone, Nowaki, Kagerou, Mogami, and Haruna.
  • Ark Royal reports on the losses the Royal Navy had suffered: the kansen that are killed are Jupiter, Edinburgh, Galatea, Hermione, Manchester, Dorsetshire, Eagle and Hermes.
• Killed Off for Real: Deceased kansen whose wisdom cubes remain a light blue color or are otherwise unrecoverable cannot be resurrected. Besides those interred at the Azur Lane shrine, other permanently dead kansen include Exeter and Sims.
• Knighting: Warspite uses her sword to perform said ceremony for Commander Thorson, acknowledging him as a Royal Navy Knight Commander and giving him the authority to command even her into battle.
• Know When to Fold 'Em:
  • In Chapter 33, the Ironblood subs choose to stop pursuing the renegade Z23 than continue and get in conflict with Azur Lane, believing their target is too mentally damaged to give away any kind of information to them.
  • In Chapter 39, Ooshio goes against Asashio's orders as she clearly sees how outmatched they are against Azur Lane.
• Lampshade Hanging: Once in a while, Thorson has questions about the odder aspects of kansen, like why they all manifest as attractive young women.
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • The Eagle Union has alienated many of its own kansen by treating them as failed weapons and failing to comprehend their true combat potential. Unfortunately, this means their forces tend to lose badly whenever they're forced to face up against Sakura kansen.
  • Kaga and Akagi's devastating loss at the Battle of Midway is spearheaded by the very survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor that they had orchestrated.
• Left for Dead: One of Eagle Union's worst actions was abandoning Oklahoma, Cassin and Downes to their fate which led to the first latter's death. This also in turns drove Nevada to commit suicide.
• Loophole Abuse: At one point, Azur Lane is ordered by Eagle Union High Command to not take part in the war effort and remain stationary until further instructions are given, much to the entire fleet's frustrations. However, everything else is perfectly fine, meaning that if they happen to be doing their training exercises somewhere around Java and they happen to encounter an enemy fleet nearby, they are obliged to defend themselves so it's not exactly taking part in the war.
• Loud of War: Azur Lane's first air attack against Sakura forces at the Battle of Midway is prefaced by an "ungodly" rendition of "Ride of the Valkyries" courtesy of Cleveland and friends. Indeed, it catches the Sakura carriers so off-guard that it makes Akagi and Hiryuu instantly sever their connection to their planes targeting the Union carriers.

Tropes M-S

• Maligned Mixed Marriage: As a black man, Miles is initially reluctant to pursue any sort of relationship with Houston because he's worried about violating taboos back home against interracial relationships. Houston doesn't care about such taboos anyways, but reassures him that since she's actually just a Northampton class cruiser, no one can accuse him of getting close to a white woman. Fortunately, it turns out that everyone in Azur Lane is fine with their relationship, and even Admiral Nimitz is more curious than disgusted when he notices it.
• The Masquerade: The existence of kansen is highly classified; within the Eagle Union, only select naval personnel and high command are in the know, with even the other branches of the Union military kept completely in the dark.
• Medals for Everyone: After the Battle of Midway, Admiral Nimitz holds a medal ceremony to award the kansen for their bravery; all of Azur Lane recieves a Presidential Unit Citation, with additional medals awarded to Arizona, Cassin, Tennessee, Brooklyn, South Dakota, and Ark Royal. Additionally, Hornet earns both a Purple Heart and a Medal of Honor, much to the delight of her crew.
• Mid-Season Upgrade: A kansen can be retrofitted by absorbing either a sufficient amount of wisdom shards or another ship's wisdom cube. Doing so grants them upgraded rigging, a new and improved ship, and a more "mature" body.
  • Fusou and Yamashiro are the first of Thorson's kansen to undergo a full retrofit, which adds plane catapults and a host of other improvements to their ships.
  • Laffy absorbs the red wisdom cube of Z23's former Siren-based ship and gains a new ship infused with cutting-edge Siren technology, including a literal plasma cannon.
  • In the middle of her duel with Naka, Downes absorbs the wisdom cube of Houston's wrecked ship, transforming her own ship into a modern (as in late 20th or early 21st century) destroyer.
  • In the Sanctuary's Mirror Sea, Ark Royal and Hiryuu gain their META forms after absorbing the knowledge and memories of their alternate universe selves, transforming themselves into modern carriers equipped with modern jet aircraft, though they have to return to using WWII-era planes once they escape back to the real world.
  • The spirits of the kansen that are buried at Azur Lane base, particularly Nevada and Oklahoma, pull their powers together to grant Kasumi a new retrofit form for the Atlantic war campaign.
• Million to One Chance: It's eventually revealed that out of the countless timelines experimented on by the Sirens, this is the only one where Thorson manages to survive Pearl Harbor.
• Mistaken for Fake Hair: Akashi yanks on Hammann's cat ears during an argument on their first meeting and calls over the other Sakura kansen in amazement when she discovers they're real.
• Mistaken for Pedophile: A Running Gag. To Thorson's dismay, some people think he has a thing for younger-looking kansen, which isn't helped by Laffey's habit of (non-sexually) sleeping with him (and expressing interest in actual sex with him). That said, he ends up sleeping with Downes, Nimi, Laffey, and Javelin.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal:
  • Several of the Sakura kansen join Azur Lane to escape Akagi and Kaga's cruelty.
  • This is revealed to have happened with the Ironblood Kriegsmarine; after suffering an endless spate of brutal experimentation at the hands of Ironblood naval high command, they finally snapped, killed their tormenters, and sided with the Sirens.
  • The first group of Union ships to join Thorson went AWOL to do so, in a desperate attempt to escape the Eagle Union's poor treatment of them after Union commanders had let Oklahoma die without any medical assistance. Later, the five Union battleships reassigned to Azur Lane gladly side with Thorson against Union high command, since they're well aware that the Union is trying to get rid of them anyways.
• Ms. Fanservice:
  • All kansen physically older than young children are noted to be exceptionally attractive, with many wearing rather revealing or flattering clothes to boot. The concept initially gets deconstructed, as the kansen don't like being ogled by people who don't respect them. This then gets reconstructed: the Azur Lane kansen are happy to utilize their cube-given beauty for their own purposes (such as personal pride or attracting people they genuinely love), while Hornet's revealing clothes and teasing attitude don't prevent her crew from genuinely cherishing and respecting her (as they fully understand that there are certain lines they should never cross with her).
  • Brooklyn theorizes that the Sirens look like "harlot schoolgirls" (to quote Nimitz's description) as a means of showing doubt among those who encounter them.
• The Multiverse: Hinted at when Strategist notes to herself that Thorson might be the first worthy foe to appear in "this timeline". Later, Yamashiro has a vision of her and her sister's defeat at the Battle of Surigao Strait two years in what appears to be an alternate future, while yet later, Ark Royal and Hiryuu get visions of multiple ruined futures. As it turns out, the Sirens have been experimenting with multiple timelines, with this one being merely the most recent.
• Music for Courage: As Azur Lane rallies to fight back against an overwhelming horde of Siren aircraft, Cleveland starts humming the "1812 Overture". Thorson quips that he was expecting a slightly more American song, and Cleveland starts singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" instead. Soon, the other kansen all start joining in as they annihilate the remaining Siren attackers.
• My Greatest Failure: One of Thorson's biggest motivations is his failure to save Arizona at Pearl Harbor; even after she's resurrected, he's no less resolute in his desire to prevent other kansen from dying.
• My God, What Have I Done?: It's clear that Tennessee immediately regrets trying to kill Thorson, but it's only when Thorson visits her in her room and tells her that he still loves her even after what happened that Tennessee drops to her knees and cries in remorse.
• Near-Villain Victory: At Midway, all four Sakura carriers survive the air attack that sunk them in real life, and their retaliatory strike leaves only one Union carrier alive and the Union fleet as a whole on the brink of defeat. However, their real opponent turns out to be Azur Lane, who arrive just in the nick of time to save the Union fleet and deal a crushing defeat to the Sakura.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
  • Had Pearl Harbor not been attacked, Admiral Hawkins would have ensured that Azur Lane remained under Eagle Union control, meaning that it would have likely continued the failed policies that kept its shipgirls weaker than those of other nations. However, the Sakura Empire's attack not only removes him and his loyal subordinates from the picture, but also leaves behind the only officer who is far more willing to bend the rules to achieve his kansens' true potential. Indeed, Thorson's isolation from the Eagle Union allows him and his allies to advance kansen technology to heights never seen before. However, the Siren Empress herself is quite happy with this development, as Thorson is a new and interesting variable to her.
  • The Siren attack on the base provides Azur Lane with additional wisdom cubes and shards just after Kirishima had stolen their entire supply.
• Nuclear Option: Indianapolis's Pandora weapon is implied to be a nuclear bomb of some sort, but Thorson never even considers ordering her to use it. Until when he realizes it's his only option for breaking through the barrier erected over the Sanctuary.
• Obstructive Bureaucrat: Surprisingly Averted. Thorson ponders about why the Eagle Union OSS (Office of Strategic Services) never attempt to contact him and Azur Lane, despite the shipgirl project being one of Eagle Union's noteworthy operations. They finally reached out to Thorson, sending Eldridge to give the commander orders to capture a Siren much to Thorson's annoyance.
• Odd Friendship:
  • The Pennsylvania-class sisters quickly form a close bond with the animal-like Yuudachi and Yukikaze respectively despite their differing personalities: Pennsylvania is cool and level-headed while Yuudachi is lively and excitable; Arizona is the Nice Girl while Yukikaze is a Bratty Half-Pint.
  • The seemingly stoic West Virginia and the energetic Javelin are paired up by Thorson in preparation for the upcoming Battle of Midway. They end up immediately hitting it off as friends, with their first meeting cultimating in an impromptu duet of "Midway''.
  • South Dakota and Kasumi quickly build a solid friendship despite their animal motifs (wolf and fox respectively) being natural enemies.
  • California and Kashino forms an immediate bond upon their first time meeting each other. Justified since the state California's from has multiple ranches and farms. Hence, California is the cowgirl and Kashino is the cow.
• Offscreen Romance: After getting her rigging, Brooklyn is assigned to escort Captain Stevens's convoy; when she returns to Azur Lane many chapters later, it's revealed she and Stevens have become a couple.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Witnessing Arizona's resurrection causes Kirishima to immediately return to the Sanctuary to report this to her masters.
  • Jintsuu's fleet is horrified when they witness the full power of Laffey's "Annihilation Mode".
  • Kaga reveals to Akagi that she was terrified when she saw the power that Tennessee and Downes possessed in the Battle of Java Sea, realizing that Azur Lane will only become even more powerful in the future. This leads her wanting Azur Lane to be taken down as soon as possible. Her fears are fully realized in the Battle of Midway where she and the Sakura Empire fleet are in the receiving end of a Curb-Stomp Battle from Thorson's fleet, and she is so scared out of her wits that she begs Akagi to order a retreat.
  • Thorson when Enterprise mentions the behavior of Hornet's wisdom cube, because the clock is ticking on their chance to save her.
• Ominous Cube: Wisdom cubes, the source of life for all kansen. Thanks to Adaptational Expansion, they can serve in a multitude of ways:
  • Wisdom shards (wisdom cube fragments) are the source of a kansen's rigging via absorption into the base of her neck. They can also be used to create the bulins and dummy ships.
  • Absorbing a pure Wisdom Cube will allow both body regeneration and the materialization of a new ship.
  • If a kansen either absorbs sufficient wisdom shards with the conductive matrix or directly takes in a wisdom cube belonging to a different kansen, she will undergo the "Retrofit" process.
  • A red wisdom shard works as a Tracking Device and Explosive Leash, and is implied to be the result of Siren influence.
  • The wisdom cubes of a deceased kansen can be used to resurrect her through the conductive matrix if she has a strong enough desire to live, which is denoted by said cubes glowing an unusual color (which varies depending on the individual; e.g. Arizona's wisdom cubes are purple while Hornet's are yellow).
• Order Reborn: The original Azur Lane organization was disbanded a couple of years before the start of the story when the Ironblood invaded Poland. Much of the story revolves around Thorson somewhat inadvertently reestablishing the group as he recruits more and more kansen from various nations.
• Origins Episode: Chapter 12 features Akashi's creation of the Universal Bulin, while chapter 45 establishes how the manjuu become a fixture of Azur Lane.
• Out with a Bang: Discussed and Played for Laughs. Souryuu is mortified at Thorson's tongue-in-cheek acceptance of her idea to sleep with him so she can have the chance to kill him.
• Paper Fan of Doom: Amagi utilizes a sensu fan to slap her sisters Akagi and Kaga silly in front of everyone resting at Azur Lane's onsen, publically shaming them as punishment for their terrible actions in the Pacific War.
• Playing Possum: During their duel outside of the Sanctuary, Minneapolis fools Akagi into believing that she has killed her via decapitation, banking on Akagi's lack of knowledge that Minneapolis's head and body can operate separately. Minneapolis's body quickly incapacitates Akagi while the latter's back is turned, causing her defenses to drop and giving the Azur Lane fleet an opening to deal crippling damage to her ship.
• Polyamory: Pennsylvania, Arizona, Fusou, and Yamashiro ultimately come to an agreement to share Thorson between themselves and any other partner he chooses to have. Although reluctant at first, the Commander comes around to accepting it with gusto. Besides the aforementioned four, his lovers come to include Cleveland, Downes (momentarily), Tennessee, Z23, Laffey, and Javelin.
• Powered Armor: Rigging is an unusual example, being a complex set of machinery resembling its kansen's warship that extends from around her back, rather than an actual suit of armor. Its primary purpose is to allow a kansen to much more efficiently control her warship and channel her powers, though it also packs its own firepower and provides kansen the ability to skate on water.
• Power Tattoo: All kansen with rigging have a mark on the base of their neck right over where the corresponding wisdom shard is located. Each mark is wholly unique, with its exact appearance reflecting an individual kansen's powers and/or personality; e.g. Brooklyn's is a pen crossed with a sword, while Cleveland's is a broken aircraft in the middle of an AA sight.
• Psychic Link: Any kansen can establish this with her Commander, improving her own performance in the process and allowing the Commander to telepathically access the kansen's radio. When this happens, the kansen and the Commander share everything with each other, including thoughts, feelings, and memories. Pennsylvania and Arizona later discover that kansen can directly link with each other too as long as they're physically touching. Though the Commander can only link with one kansen at a time, after Thorson gets Akagi's shard implanted inside his body, he's able to form a mental link with his entire fleet at once, allowing him to coordinate their actions with perfect precision; however, he can only do this within a Mirror Sea.
• Psychological Torment Zone: The Sanctuary's Hall of Sculptures is described by Akagi and Kaga to be the final test to prove a kansen's worth to the Creator. What the two don't explain to the rest of the Sakura Empire was that the place seals the chosen kansen away into a sleep-like state while her mind is transferred into a Mirror Sea where she has to undergo an endless series of trials implied to be based on her feelings and memories.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
  • Tennessee, of all people, chews out Pennsylvania, Arizona, Fusou, and Yamashiro (plus anyone else who wants to screw Thorson) for not even considering how Thorson himself feels about his Unwanted Harem situation even after all he has done to help them, especially since it would make them no different from their former leaders who devalued their own feelings.
  • Fusou chews out Jintsuu for letting her devotion to Akagi and Kaga blind her to how they've sold their own people out to the Sirens in pursuit of a pointless war.
  • After their defeat at Midway, Kaga snaps at Akagi for not realizing just how bad of a strategic situation they're in.
• Reduced to Dust: Aside from leaving behind her Wisdom Cubes, this is what happens to a kansen's body when she dies.
• Related in the Adaptation: For lack of a better term, the bulins are "genetically" related to Akashi, who used herself as the base from which create them with the conductive matrix.
• Relationship Upgrade:
  • After many chapters of trying to sort out their feelings towards each other, Downes and Ooshio finally start officially dating after the Battle of the Coral Sea.
  • Right before leaving with the rest of the fleet to Midway, Houston asks Fredrick to make love to her.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: After learning about Arizona's death, Pennsylvania forcibly takes control of her ship (causing her entire crew to abandon her out of fear) and simultaneously fires all her cannons into the final wave of Sakura aircraft attacking Pearl Harbor, obliterating them all in an instance.
• Rule of Symbolism: Tennessee ramming Hiryuu's ship in half not only destroys the idea of carrier kansen being inherently superior to battleship kansen, but also represents how Azur Lane has been successful in widening the internal division within the ranks of the Sakura kansen.
• Sacrificial Lamb: Nachi is killed by Thorson's fleet not long after her introduction, her main purpose in the story being to establish that Thorson will not be able to spare all of his enemies, no matter how much he tries.
• Sarcastic Devotee:
  • Shiranui is not initially impressed with Thorson's inexperience, and quickly dubs him "idiot Shikikan", but is nonetheless one of his most reliable assistants despite being a ghost. Even after she warms up to him, he'll still always be an "idiot Shikakan" to her.
  • Tennessee makes it clear to everyone else that she hates Thorson, yet in the same breath she'll claim that he's the only human she'll ever willingly fight for. Indeed, she's not only one of his most reliable ships in battle, but is in her own way looking out for him even on personal matters.
• Save the Villain: Played with. Whenever Azur Lane is up against enemy kansen, Thorson's general policy is to capture as many alive as possible, as long as his own kansen don't put themselves at too much risk doing so. Thorson officially justifies the policy as a means of gaining not just military intelligence, but additional kansen for his fleet, as Azur Lane is a young organization that starts off with little in the way of either manpower or resources, and it's clear that they'll need every ship they can get for the inevitable showdown with the Sirens themselves. Indeed, a significant portion of Azur Lane ends up being comprised of former enemy captives and defectors. However, it also becomes quite clear Thorson genuinely wants to spare as many kansen as possible simply because he feels it's the right thing to do, even if he's reluctant to admit it.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
  • After witnessing their commanders' cold disregard of the kansen injured at Pearl Harbor, which results in Oklahoma's death and Nevada's suicide, Pennsylvania and Tennessee decide they can't stay with the Eagle Union any longer, and flee to the Azur Lane base, taking Cleveland, Brooklyn, Downes, Cassin, Portland and Indianapolis along with them.
  • When Myoukou's task force is ambushed by Azur Lane, the three Mutsuki-class destroyers all panic and flee... right into the Azur Lane base where they are instantly captured.
• Sexy Secretary: Discussed and averted HARD. Thorson acknowledges that his kansen wouldn't want to merely get prettied up and deliver his papers; instead, even those kansen with non-combat roles get assignments of at least some substance, whether it be managing supplies or even just preparing food.
• Ship Tease:
  • Shiranui might be constantly calling Thorson an "idiot Shikakan", but she will tell off anyone else who does the same, and the two have even kissed a few times, though never on the lips thus far.
  • After they're forced to retreat from Java, Warspite invites Thorson to a private tea session to commiserate about their losses... with Warspite sitting on Thorson's lap while the two cuddle.
  • In their very first conversation, Houston is already comfortable enough with Miles to sit right next to him in the onsen, despite both being very naked; they even briefly hold hands.
  • Ooshio quickly develops a clear crush on Downes as the two spend more and more time together, though it takes the former a while to finally confess.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: In an Offscreen Moment of Awesome, Warspite tells Thorson that when a Siren offered HMS Queen Elizabeth shared dominion over the western hemisphere in exchange for betraying her country, QE's response was to drape herself in the Union Jack and throw her tea at the Siren, before telling her that the Royal Navy would die to the last woman before allowing their homeland to fall.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Thorson, Captain Stevens, and Fredrick Miles all win the hearts of their respective kansen lovers by simply being some of the first people to actually treat them like humans.
  Nimitz: This may be uncouth, but how exactly did the Negro score himself a pretty young lady like that?
  Thorson: He treated her in the manner of a gentleman, sir.
• Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Played for Drama; Hammann really hates Iroha's guts due to the latter's role in Yorktown's death, and the two are constantly at each other's throats even after their respective sides become allied.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Admiral Hawkins dies early in the second chapter, but his final orders to Thorson essentially set up the entire rest of the plot. Additionally, his less-than-stellar leadership of the shipgirl project has left lasting scars on the psyche of many Union kansen, particularly Tennessee.
• Smooch of Victory: Thorson tenderly kisses Ark Royal as thanks for her major part in their victory against the Sakura Empire forces at the Battle of Midway.
• Spanner in the Works: Azur Lane's attack on the Fifth Carrier Division inadvertantly gives Zuikaku and Shoukaku the chance to fake their own demise and escape from Kaga and Akagi's oversight. This results in the Sakura being down two vital carriers during the Battle of Midway, and allows Zuikaku and Shoukaku to find Nagato so she can negotiate a peaceful surrender to Azur Lane.
• Spontaneous Weapon Creation: Akashi explains to Thorson that a carrier-type kansen can summon any type of aircraft as long as she knows their inner workings. This inspires Thorson to have Langley teach Ark Royal how to summon P-40 Warhawks (which are otherwise impossible to launch from carriers) so that they can gain an advantage against the Zeros favored by the Sakura.
• Stripperiffic: Thorson often lampshades how a lot of the kansen wear rather revealing clothing. He asks Brooklyn about this at one point, and she answers that she was born with them and is honestly most comfortable dressing that way.
• Suicide Attack: At the Battle of Midway, many desperate Eagle Union pilots attempt to run their aircraft into the Sakura carrier kansen, particularly Akagi, to take them out. It doesn't work for the Union, but the Azur Lane fleet subsequently pulls off a similar tactic against the Sakura to far better results, since their own planes don't require pilots and can be summoned out of virtually thin air.

Tropes T-Z

• Technopath: A kansen can mentally control every aspect of her ship, from the maneuvering equipment and weapons to the damage control systems. They can even somehow reload their own ammo telekinetically, though the process is faster if a crew is present to provide assistance.
• That Came Out Wrong: When trying to match Vampire's elaborate speech patterns Thorson calls her a lady of the night, i.e. a prostitute, as he's embarrassed to realize in the next chapter.
• This Cannot Be!: Tester is genuinely shocked when Kaga shows herself capable of utilizing the full power of Siren technology. She is even more shocked when Kaga later figures a way to burn her to death.
• Token Human: Andrew Thorson is the only human in Azur Lane for much of the Pacific War arc; this is a Justified Trope as the other human members of the Union's original shipgirl project were killed at Pearl Harbor, and Thorson himself is justifibly focused on recruiting kansen. Later, Fredrick Miles is transferred in from the Demeter, mostly because Thorson figures that Miles's presence will cause less trouble among his kansen than among Captain Stevens's primarily white crew. After being transferred to Thorson's command, Hornet brings along most of her own human crew.
• Tragic Keepsake: Vampire's human lover was killed at the Battle at Ceylon, and she keeps his skull and dog tags as mementos of her loss. After coming to terms with his death, Vampire lays the skull to rest at the Azur Lane base, but keeps the dog tags so she can give them to his family.
• Trial by Combat: With the newly-arrived Tennessee on the verge of mutinying, Thorson decides to have Laffey challenge her to a fist fight, with the terms being that if Tennessee wins, she can run the base herself, while if Laffey wins, then Tennessee will fight under Thorson's command. However, like the other newly-arrived Union shipgirls, Tennessee doesn't know about Laffey's rigging, allowing the latter to deal Tennessee a quick and humiliating defeat (and impress upon the spectators just how powerful they can become by joining Thorson).
• True Companions: Laffey, Javelin, Z23, and Ayanami have known each other since birth, forming a very deep sisterhood during their time together in the original Azur Lane organization. Even after being separated by their respective nations, their bond is so strong that they will refuse to fight each other no matter what.
• Unlimited Wardrobe: Much like riggings, a kansen's outfit are an extension of her personality, meaning that the kansen can either modify or swap her attire based on her feelings and experiences. Shiratsuyu shows this when she wears a French Maid outfit rather than her usual attire, to better serve everyone.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: Thorson and Ark Royal become ever closer during the latter's stay with Azur Lane, culminating in the two kissing after the victory at Midway, and yet they both still seem to be reluctant to start an actual relationship.
• Unseen No More:
  • Despite not appearing for over half of the Pacific War arc, Enterprise's exploits are quite well-known among all sides of the war, with Akagi in particular wanting to face her in combat. She finally enters the story in Chapter 54, accompanying Rear Admiral Spruance to the Azur Lane base.
  • Nagato and her closest subordinates have been exiled to places unknown by the beginning of the story, with many of the Sakura kansen openingly wishing they'd come back. They finally appear in Chapter 73 to help put a stop to the war between Azur Lane and the Sakura kansen.
• Unstoppable Rage:
  • In Chapter 62, Hiei's attempt on Thorson's life leads to Laffey activating "Annihilation Mode" and firing a plasma beam at her. Hiei manages to survive but takes permanent damage to her wisdom cube, leaving her horribly scarred.
  • In Chapter 70, Kaga finally has had it with Tester after the latter mocks Akagi's apparent death. Her wrath is so intense that she is able to obtain the power to kill off the Siren for good.
• Uriah Gambit: Kaga sends the rebellious Zuikaku and Shoukaku to support the invasion of New Guinea hoping that they'll get killed in the crossfire. It doesn't work; they have almost handily beaten the Eagle Union carriers by the time Thorson shows up, and still escape their subsequent defeat largely unscathed.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: Let this be a lesson: if you ever point a gun at Azur Lane's beloved Commander, then they'll point their cannons at you.
• War Is Hell: The first two chapters centering on the infamous Pearl Harbor incident demonstrate this perfectly well, as the Union sailors can just barely fight back as the Sakura planes rain indiscriminate hell on them. Later chapters emphasize that the enemy Sakura kansen and soldiers are people too, and Thorson can't help but feel a bit of guilt for the suffering he inflicts upon them.
• We ARE Struggling Together:
  • Thorson worries that this might happen after approving Warspite and himself to be co-leaders. His thoughts are proven right when Warspite orders her Royal Navy to eliminate Z23 while he wants her alive, leading to him ordering Azur Lane to shoot their Royal Navy allies on sight if they ever get close to their target. Fortunately, they're able to iron out their conflicts afterwards.
  • Most of the Eagle Union kansen who join Azur Lane are not on good terms with the Union military proper, as the former have not forgotten the horrible treatment they received from the latter.
  • Akagi and Kaga may have allied their people with the Sirens, but neither side of the arrangement has a shred of respect towards the other, as their alliance is merely one of convenience until they achieve their separate goals.
  • Even after the Sakura kansen finally surrender to Azur Lane, getting the two factions to actually fight side-by-side is still very much a work-in-progress, given that they were trying to kill each other not too long ago. Making things even more tense is that several of the Union kansen have recieved visions of being killed by their Sakura counterparts in alternate timelines.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Admiral Hawkins, almost immediately after introducing Thorson to the Union's shipgirl program, is mortally wounded in the attack on Pearl Harbor. He barely manages to give Thorson his final orders and his dog tags (which are later revealed to be hiding the geographic coordinates to the abandoned Azur Lane base) before dying.
• Wham Episode:
  • Chapter 25 has Arizona finally brought Back from the Dead, proving that dead kansen under certain circumstances can be brought back to life with the conductive matrix.
  • Chapter 42 has Azur Lane confronting Kaga for the first time during a huge battle, which ends in Azur Lane suffering its first defeat while the Sakura take both the eastern Pacific and the offensive momentum.
  • Chapter 54 has Thorson and the kansen openly defying the Eagle Union, resulting in Azur Lane being forced to operate independently. Even after Thorson officially reconciles with Union high command after Midway, it's clear that he now gets to make the final call for his fleet.
  • In Chapter 71, Commander Thorson has Akagi's Wisdom Shard implanted into him to save his life from the effects of the Mirror Sea, giving him a few powerful abilities more akin to that of a kansen than a human. Then, it's revealed that Thorson was originally dead following the attack on Pearl Harbor, but the Sirens' interference in this timeline resulted in him becoming a total anomaly that they can't account for, which draws the personal interest of the Siren Empress herself.
  • Chapter 72 has Hiryuu fusing with her alternate selves to become Hiryuu META, complete with a new and important mission to save this timeline from the ruin that befell the others.
  • Chapter 73: With Akagi and Kaga captured, The Coup has finally ended and leadership of the Sakura kansen is finally restored to a returning Nagato who officially surrenders the Sakura Empire's kansen to Azur Lane. Now the pressing question becomes how to turn this surrender into an actual alliance strong enough to eventually challenge the Sirens. Additionally, Amagi, whose death was the catalyst for Akagi and Kaga's fall into villainy, turns out to be potentially resurrectable.
• Wham Line: In chapter 73, Nagato offers an unexpected proposal that'll solidify an alliance between the Sakura Empire's kansen and Azur Lane:
  As High Priestess of the Sakura fleets, in recognition of your victories and in the hopes of forging a new alliance from the ashes of our battles, I offer you Kaga's hand in marriage.
• What Is This Feeling?: Ark Royal calls for Vampire and asks her about the feelings she has for Thorson, implied to be love. Vampire can't help but be amused.
• What Measure Is a Non-Human?: With the possible exception of the Royals, the major powers see kansen solely as weapons of war or property, depending on the faction.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Tennessee tells off a tableful of kansen for laying claim to Thorson while disregarding his own feelings on the matter.
  • Warspite gets an earful of this from Thorson for her attempt to kill Z23 despite his standing orders to give her a chance to surrender.
  • When the entirely of Azur Lane opts to disobey Union High Command's orders for reassignment, Enterprise pleads with them to stay with the Eagle Union, only for her to earn their full ire; they call her out for being blind not just to what the Eagle Union has put each and every one of them through, but her own potential as a kansen. If Enterprise hadn't left, they would have most definitely shot her.
  • Thorson chews out Tennessee for trying to kill him simply because she misbelieved that he was intending to marry Kaga.
• What You Are in the Dark:
  • Despite having both some very personal reasons to hate the Sakura Empire and full operational command of the base while Thorson is out sortieing, Pennsylvania chooses to follow Thorson's standing orders and capture rather than kill the three Mutsuki-class destroyers that have suddenly shown up. When she learns that said kansen are actually just children, she ends up just feeling sorry for them and even tries to reassure them when they're about to start crying.
  • Despite enduring repeated torture by the Sirens, Z23 refuses to turn against her friends even when she's not sure if they're actually real.
• Worthy Opponent:
  • The Sirens eventually consider Thorson to be this, as his unpredictability (according to their models) makes him a most interesting subject.
  • Word about Thorson's exploits quickly spreads among the Sakura Empire's kansen, with Kaga in particular growing to both fear and respect him. Admiral Nimitz lampshades this after he learns that the Azur Lane base has become a high priority target for the Sakura Empire:
    Admiral Nimitz: An enemy so feared they would treat him with the same importance as Midway.
• You Are in Command Now:
  • With the death of Admiral Hawkins and his staff at Pearl Harbor, Thorson becomes by default the one in charge of the Eagle Union's shipgirl program.
  • Fusou takes it upon herself to lead the Sakura loyalists following Nagato's disappearance.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Commander Thorson's literal reaction when he sees that the kansen of the USS Laffey is a petite narcoleptic teenager with fake bunny ears.
• Zerg Rush: A common method used by aircraft carrier kansen, due to their ability to produce their own planes out of basically thin air as long as they have enough energy. The Sakura carriers in particular have a terrifying reputation for their nigh-infinite waves of unmanned aircraft.