| “ | I'm aircraft carrier Kaga. Are you my admiral?... I have fairly high expectations of you. | „ |
| ~ Kaga |
Kaga (加賀) is the major protagonist of the Kantai Collection series. She is a Standard Aircraft Carrier sailor of the navy, who is also a kyujutsu/kyudo archer.
She is a personified version of the namesake aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
She is voiced by Yuka Iguchi in the video game and the original Japanese dub of the anime, and by Jeannie Tirado in the English dub of the anime.
Biography[]
Kaga, name after Kaga Province, which became the modern-day south and western portion of Ishika Prefecture, was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the third to enter service. Originally intended to be one of two Tosa-class battleships, Kaga was converted under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty to an aircraft carrier as the replacement for the battlecruiser Amagi, which had been damaged during the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake. Kaga was rebuilt in 1933–35, increasing her top speed, improving her exhaust systems, and adapting her flight decks to more modern, heavier aircraft.
The ship figured prominently in the development of the IJN's carrier striking force doctrine, which grouped carriers together to give greater mass and concentration to their air power. A revolutionary strategic concept at the time, the employment of the doctrine was crucial in enabling Japan to attain its initial strategic goals during the first six months of the Pacific War.
Kaga's aircraft first supported Japanese troops in China during the Shanghai incident in 1932 and participated in the Second Sino-Japanese War in the late 1930s. With other carriers, she took part in the Attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and the invasion of Rabaul in the Southwest Pacific in January 1942. The following month her aircraft participated in a combined carrier airstrike on Darwin, Australia, helping secure the conquest of the Dutch East Indies by Japanese forces. She missed the Indian Ocean raid in April as she had to return to Japan for permanent repairs after hitting a reef in February.
Following repairs, Kaga rejoined the 1st Air Fleet for the Battle of Midway in June 1942. After bombarding American forces on Midway Atoll, Kaga and three other IJN carriers were attacked by American aircraft from Midway and the carriers Enterprise, Hornet, and Yorktown. Dive bombers from Enterprise severely damaged Kaga; when it became obvious she could not be saved, she was scuttled by Japanese destroyers to prevent her from falling into enemy hands. The loss of four large attack carriers, including Kaga at Midway was a crucial setback for Japan, and contributed significantly to that nation's ultimate defeat. In 1999, debris from Kaga including a large section of the hull was located on the ocean floor at coordinates 28°38′34″N 176°29′16″W at a depth in excess of 5,000 meters (16,404 ft); 350 miles (560 km) northwest of Midway Island. The main part of the carrier's wreck has not yet been found.
Appearance[]
Kaga is depicted as a fair-skinned young woman with large breasts who has light brown or green eyes and long dark brown hair done in a side ponytail with a blue ribbon. She is typically seen wearing a black muneate over her white kimono. She wears a blue hakama skirt, tall geta with blue straps, and black thigh-high tabi (socks), forming zettai ryouiki together with her skirt. She carries a brown yugake (single glove on the right hand) and a wooden yumi (bow and arrow), with her quiver on her shoulder.
Personality[]
Kaga is a serious, formal, and stoic woman, which is an inimitable attitude among other Shipgirls. She is hard working and enthusiastic, although due to her usual nature it can be hard to tell.
Naturally, she is often paired with Akagi, either as a lover or a platonic life partner, as they formed the 1st Carrier Division. Also, she is not that different from Akagi, as they both love food.
She also has a rivalry towards the fifth carrier division, particularly Zuikaku and Shoukaku, as seen with her few lines.
Gallery[]
Game[]
Anime[]
Magazines and calendars[]
Merchandise[]
Video[]
Trivia[]
- Scuttled by Hagikaze after being heavily damaged by dive bombers from USS Enterprise at the Battle of Midway, 4 June 1942
- Wreckage possibly found in late 1999, and proven to be officially found, along with Akagi's, in October 2019.
- Originally designed as a Tosa-class Battleship, she was converted into a carrier after the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1921.
- In the 4-koma, she is often portrayed as irrationally protective of Akagi from the destroyers that historically scuttled her (who were also their escorts). Historically, all four CarDiv1 and CarDiv2 carriers (Akagi, Hiryuu, Souryuu and herself) were scuttled in the Battle of Midway by Japanese destroyers' torpedoes after being heavily damaged by air attacks. During WW2, scuttling (intentional allied sinking to prevent capture) was very common.
- In the 4koma, she gives off excessive levels of body heat, which she can be very sensitive about. This is a reflection of one of the historic Kaga's exhaust layouts overheating the flight deck and causing the rear crew quarters to be near uninhabitable.
- Beginning in the 1910s, nations all over the world experimented with ship designs & layouts culminating in the aircraft carrier. Issues such as exhaust layout, aircraft elevators, command bridges, ship weaponry, & so forth vastly differed between classes & even within classes.