Light Novel Review: Kantai Collection Kakuyoku no Kizuna Vol 2

Hello everyone! This is my review of the Kantai Collection light novel series-Kakuyoku no Kizuna volume two!

Synopsis: After winning a major turning point in the previous volume, a new and unknown Abyssal was spotted by the Submarine Musumes and it was reported back to the Admiral. He decided to begin the next phase in their operations and initiated a three night battles to take back a strategic island. However tragedy strike as Hiei who tried to win the heart of her elder sister, Kongo suffered a horrific defeat which scarred her badly. At the same time, Zuikaku and Shoukaku went to meet the Naval's final weapon-Yamato. She refused to fight in the front lines and had one request-to end her life by her fellow comrades...

If the previous volume didn't get you all pumped up, then this volume is full of action all the way. From the beginning of the new operations of how Akagi and Kaga encountered the new Abyssal force who nearly decimated them to Zuikaku and Shoukaku tried to convince Yamato into joining them.

In the anime series, Hiei was more of an annoyance but her love for Kongo was extreme in the novel. She is willing to do anything to win her sister's favor but at the cost of her life. Haruna actually show more concern to Hiei since she was with her throughout the ordeal. By the way, Kongo's attitude is bit of hard love since she doesn't want Hiei to feel sorry for herself and spend the whole volume avoiding her.

Yamato actually have a personality in the novel unlike the anime series where she only appeared in two episodes with little character development. In here, she still retained her memories of what happened in her maiden battle and blamed herself for the lives of those on board her ship. Of course, Zuikaku who is stubborn as a bull refused to give in to her childish thoughts and came up with a plan and I was actually touched on how she and Haruna helped both of them to overcome their traumas.

In the end, this is a great volume with dramatic moments and an awesome finale battle that lasted for more than an hundred over pages. A great follow up to the first volume and a must read if you want to see how Hiei overcame her fears and how awesome Yamato can truly be if she joined the battle early in the war.

Light Novel Review: Kantai Collection Kakuyoku no Kizuna Vol 1

Hello everyone! This is my review of the Kantai Collection light novel series-Kakuyoku no Kizuna volume one! Since I have already watched the anime series, I will be comparing it to the novel version since most people are familiar with the anime series. Furthermore, I am reading the Mandarin version since I knew how to read Mandarin.

Synopsis: The setting is the present day and the oceans of the worlds are invaded by a mysterious force known as the Abyssals. All conventional weapons are useless against the Abyssals. The only ones who can stand up against them are the reincarnation of the navel ships of the past, now young girls with the strength of an one man army. The war has been going on for a while and newly awaken aircraft carrier girl-Zuikaku is the latest to join the fleet. Together with her older sister, Shoukaku, new allies and the Enigma Admiral of the base, how will Zuikaku fare in this new but familiar environment?

If I have my way for the anime series, I will use this novel as it's baseline. From the beginning of the first chapter, you are introduced to the world of Kancolle and how it's operated through Zuikaku's eyes since she is the focus of the story. The Admiral (who finally talk) unlike the anime series gave a run down on the history of the Abyssals and how the technology of the Kan Musume came about.

Zuikaku who is nicknamed "Lucky Aircraft Carrier" due to her past life being unharmed in the sea was all pumped up to help defeat the Abyssals. However her enthusiasm caught up with Kaga and self proclaimed rival, Hiyou after a successful maiden mission. But thanks to Shoukaku and other allies, Zuikaku learn how to be a better Kan Musume and not relying on her past history.

Zuikaku is the typical female lead who is strong and cared for her friends like Fubuki in the series. However she doesn't take rejections easily and even headbutt with the Admiral after one of his decsions is considered suicidal. The Admiral himself is the typical male lead who is a cross between Ogami Ichiro of Sakura Wars and evey hentai male lead who like to tease on every girl that become his secretary for a day.

Shoukaku is lovely as the calm older sister similar to her anime counterpart but more thoughts were given to her psyche since she get a bit overprotective to Zuikaku and almost make the ultimate sacrifice in the novel. The rest of the girls were given more personality like the four Kougo sisters worked well as a team. Akagi and Kaga were like their anime version with Kaga being the straight person but she is the first one who understand Shoukaku's weakness and took the hard approach on her.

The rest of the book also introduce the Submarine Musume which we didn't see in the anime and the appearance of a new Abyssal that took out a big chunk of the fleet. Without spoiling too much, this volume was a great introduction to the world of Kancolle and if you like Zuikaku and Shoukaku as your lead, this is a great start to begin with. I am almost finishing reading the second volume and so far, it is way superior with better characters and storyline compared to the anime series.

Overall, if you get a chance to read it whether it is in Japanese or Mandarin, you won't be bored every step of the way!