| “ | I'm the repair ship, Akashi. If you have any minor damages, I can fix you up in the base. Please leave it to me! | „ |
| ~ Akashi |
Akashi (明石), also known as the Item Shop Girl (アイテム屋娘, Aitemu-ya musume), is a major protagonist in Kantai Collection. She is a Japanese Repair Ship quartermaster, combat engineer and combat medic who runs the Item Shop, Large Ship Construction system, and Improvement Arsenal.
She is the personification of a real-life Imperial Japanese Navy namesake repair ship.
She is voiced by Risa Taneda.
Biography[]
Akashi, named after the Akashi Strait, was a Japanese repair ship that served with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. She was armed with four 127 mm (5.0. in) anti-aircraft guns and twelve 25 mm (1 in) anti-aircraft guns.
In 1937 the Imperial Japanese Navy had converted the old battleship Asahi to serve as a repair ship. After the conversion of Asahi, a decision was made to build a dedicated repair ship with better capabilities for that task. The Imperial Japanese Navy planned for her to carry out 40% of the repairs needed by the Combined Fleet (needing approximately 140,000-man-hours). Therefore, she was equipped with the latest machine tools imported from Germany.
During the war Akashi operated out of the Japanese base in Truk Atoll where she repaired various types of battle-damaged Japanese warships, including Shoukaku in October 1942 and Yamato in December 1943. In February 1944 the Americans made a raid on Truk (Operation Hailstone), sinking and damaging many ships. Akashi was damaged in these attacks and escaped to the Japanese atoll of Palau.
On 30 March 1944, while anchored off Urukthapel in the Palau Islands, Akashi was hit numerous times by bombs and rockets from American aircraft from the Fast Carrier Task Force, during Operation Desecrate One. She was sunk in shallow water with her bridge still remaining above the water.
Appearance[]
The playable and NPC versions of Akashi have slightly different outfits. Both versions wear a serafuku (identical to Ooyodo's) on top of a long-sleeved zippered shirt, along with a blue pleated skirt with hakama-like hip vents and thighhighs. The NPC version has white stripes along the bottom edge of her skirt while the playable version has a wider red stripe along the edge.
The NPC version simply has a crane attached to her with a ribbon. Her shoes are simple heels.
The playable version wears pieces of armor, propeller platform shoes and she has several cranes attached to her ship parts.
Once remodeled, she wears a white bandana and actual weapons (mostly anti-air guns) are attached to her.
She has long pink hair with freshly cut strands held by red tress ribbons, as well as green eyes.
Personality[]
Akashi is depicted as a foil to Ooyodo; Akashi is much more laid-back and cheerful than Ooyodo is. She is very protective of her equipment, especially her cranes, and gets nervous when she is sortied as she lacks any real firepower.
Naturally, she is usually paired with fellow NPC Shipgirl Ooyodo. She is also occasionally paired with Yuubari, usually featuring their mutual love of tinkering with and improving equipment.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Akashi was first in-game as the Item Shop, Premium shop, and LSC ship NPC.
- She is The only specialized repair ship operated by the IJN (the other two were canceled).
- Akashi escaped Operation Hailstone on Truk in February 20, 1944, fleeing to Palau.
- Akashi had 17 different factories within her body, including furnaces and anvils amongst other things - a mobile manufacturing complex.
- Out of the 779 crew in her, 443 were mechanics, which was not limited to military personnel.
- She had 2 chimneys. The front chimney was used to exhale smoke from the factories - the one you see around her right arm.
- She had power generation capabilities that rivaled the Yamato (4800 kW) in order to power her machines.
- Akashi had German machinery loaded, allowing her to have unparalleled reparation abilities compared to standard onshore factories. Her ability to repair ships efficiently was what made her a priority target by the Americans.