In this mobile game, you are the admiral of a naval base where you command anthropomorphic warship girls to fight corrupted, evil ships that are plotting some vague form of world destruction. It's fairly safe to say that within the public subconscious, 'KanColle' had claimed a stake on the anthro-warship territory. In 2013, Twitter revealed that #艦これ (KanColle) was the most used hashtag in Japan, and 'KanColle' doujinshi were the most prominent presence at the Summer 2015 Comiket. The game was a cultural phenomenon around the world, but especially so in Japan.

The warships all have their own real-life counterparts, and take inspiration from in their equipment load-outs and personalities from said warships. 'Kantai Collection' is a browser game (that later got a mobile app), where you play the role of an admiral, commanding a naval base of anthropomorphic warships to combat a fleet of corrupted, evil warships that are plotting a vague form of world destruction. That was the moment I knew I needed to check the game out and see what's so special about it. Then one day, I looked at my facebook feed for the first time in ages and noticed an absolute flood of 'Azur Lane' fanart, almost at a volume reminiscent of 'Kantai Collection's' own fandom. I did notice 'Azur Lane' as I was browsing the Qooapp game store about a year ago, but I didn't really think much about it at the time. One of my personal favorites has always been the anthropomorphized naval warships of 'Kantai Collection'.

Hetalia's personification of countries, Microsoft's operating system anime girls, 4chan's infamous Ebola-chan, or even a dakimakura pillow. There have been countless examples of this by this point. One of the most interesting fascinations of otaku culture is its obsession with anthropomorphized objects.

World of warships fan art kancolle