Episode three of KanColle, titled “The Operation to Capture W Island!,” is currently streaming on Crunchyroll for premium members, which means free members can watch this episode less than seven days from now.
The Third Torpedo Squadron is immediately thrust into battle.
I was surprised to see that the pre-mission briefings acted like pre-class recess as the girls were getting reacquainted with each other. This lightens up the seriousness of the mission at hand, where they will be going up against powerful hostile forces.
I liked the strong sense of sisterhood, camaraderie, and community between the students as they made Fubuki feel very welcome. They fully understand that a group is only strong as its weakest link, which is why they want to build up Fubuki’s confidence since it is her first mission.
This scene felt very warm.
The scene after gives a valuable lesson of learning from your seniors and their experiences so that you do not repeat the same mistakes again. In this case, Fubuki is learning from Mutsuki’s experience when she entered battle for the first time let alone take damage.
Most of the episode was easygoing until the mission to capture W Island, where the Third Torpedo Squadron is the first to face the incoming enemy fleet. I was surprised because I didn’t expect a major battle to take place so soon let alone early in the anime.
I honestly expected Fubuki to start out with light skirmishes first.
This episode was enjoyable to watch even when it got tragic near the very end. Episode three is a prime example of the grim reality of combat regardless of how well-equipped you are. When you look past the “fluff” of a girl-centric anime story, you will obviously see that the horror and sadness of war are very real.
If you are into military history and/or military science, this is a must-watch episode.
