| “ | Is the microphone's volume good? Check, 1,2... Okay. How do you do, I'm Kirishima. | „ |
| ~ Kirishima |
Kirishima (霧島?) was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I and World War II. Designed by British naval engineer George Thurston, she was the third launched of the four Kongou-class battlecruisers, among the most heavily armed ships in any navy when built. Laid down in 1912 at the Mitsubishi Shipyards in Nagasaki, Kirishima was formally commissioned in 1915 on the same day as her sister ship, Haruna. Her name is derived from Mount Kirishima (霧島山 Kirishimayama?), an active volcano group in Kagoshima Prefecture.
Kirishima patrolled on occasion off the Chinese coast during World War I, and helped with rescue efforts following the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake.
Starting in 1927, Kirishima's first reconstruction rebuilt her as a battleship, strengthening her armor and improving her speed. From 1934, a second reconstruction completely rebuilt her superstructure, upgraded her engine plant, and equipped her with launch catapults for floatplanes. Now fast enough to accompany Japan's growing carrier fleet, she was reclassified as a fast battleship. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Kirishima acted primarily as a support vessel and troop transport, moving army troops to mainland China. On the eve of World War II, she sailed as part of Vice-Admiral Chuichi Nagumo's Combined Fleet as a heavy escort for the six carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.
As part of the Third Battleship Division, Kirishima participated in many of the Imperial Japanese Navy's early actions in 1942, providing support for the invasion of the Dutch East Indies and in the Indian Ocean raid of April 1942. During the Battle of Midway, she provided escort to Nagumo's four carriers, before redeploying to the Solomon Islands during the Battle of Guadalcanal. She escorted Japanese carrier fleets during the battles of the Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz Islands, before sailing as part of a bombardment force under Admiral Nobutake Kondō during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. On the evening of 13 November 1942, Kirishima engaged American cruisers and destroyers alongside her sister ship Hiei. On the night of 14/15 November, in one of only two battleship duels of the Pacific War, Kirishima damaged USS South Dakota (BB-57) before being fatally crippled in turn by the battleship USS Washington (BB-56). Kirishima capsized and sank in the early morning on 15 November 1942 in Ironbottom Sound.
She is voiced by Nao Tōyama in the Japanese version, and by Trina Nishimura in the English version.
Appearance[]
All of the Kongou-class wear a modified miko uniform with differently colored skirts and thighhighs. They also wear the same signature winged hairband.
Kirishima herself has short black hair, glasses and wears a dark blue skirt.
For her second remodeling, she gains the same modifications as Kongou and her rig is replaced with one used by Kongou. She is also noticably taller than her sisters.
Personality[]
Sometimes seen holding a microphone due to her doing a mic check in her intro.
She's a dutiful and brainy girl who sees Haruna as her rival.
Trivia[]
- Named after Mount Kirishima in Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, an active volcano.
- Sank following the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on 15 November 1942 by the USS Washington.
- Her wreck was discovered and photographed in 1992 by Dr. Robert Ballard, the same man who discovered the RMS Titanic, Bismarck, Ayanami and Yuudachi. However, there is discussion whether the wreck IS actually either Kirishima or Hiei...
- Though a "glasses character", many fanart choose to depict her as a bespectacled brawler, tagged under "マイクチェックの時間だオラァ! " ("It's mic-check time, dammit!") in pixiv. This is a nod towards her performance in the aforementioned Battle of Guadalcanal, where she gave the newly built USS South Dakota "a hard whack", taking out the much younger battleship's fire control systems and communications. Not too shabby, especially if one considers her age by then (she was launched in 1913 as a battlecruiser and was rebuilt in 1927 and 1934 as a battleship). Her exceptional firepower (for a non-Yamato ship) after her second remodel also nods to this brutal side of her. Fanart often chooses to depict her as a Yakuza leader, tagged under "霧島組" on pixiv on account of her character-type of an "Intellectual Gangster".
- She appeared in the first Kancolle Drama CD, also dubbed One Nao show, along with other characters in a mini skit.
- Though in KanColle she is listed as the fourth ship of the Kongou class, it might be more accurate to say that Kirishima and Haruna are twins. Kirishima was laid down only a day after Haruna was, and they were commissioned on the same day, April 19, 1915.
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