Azur Lane: The Animation
It is an understatement to say that gamers can be harsh. Even more so when their beloved intellectual property is not handled in a way that they believe reflects their vision of how an end product should be. This is especially noticeable when gaming companies attempt to expand their products into animation. It goes without saying that fan scores are unpredictable. What if you have never played the game before? Following scores alone can be a deal-breaker, as in Azur Lane's case.
To be clear, I was utterly unaware of Azur Lane before Darling in the Franxx controversy. There is not much difference between 2018 and 2019, and what good is "X" if no one is debating it? So, I only cared about Azur Lane when it popped up on my timeline. When things finally settled, I realized online debates and arguments were not my forte, so I put this anime on the back burner. So, here we are, five years and a global pandemic later, talking about Azur Lane.
Therefore, for the uninitiated, the Chinese developers Shanghai Manjuu and Xiamen Yongshi created the smash-hit side-scrolling shoot 'em up mobile game Azur Lane in 2017. The game was a massive success in China and Japan because of its novel premise, in which World War II battleships were transformed into adorable anime girls. As the game gained popularity, Bibury Animation Studios announced in 2018 that they would create an anime adaptation.
The game has been the inspiration for a number of novels and manga. In August 2019, developer Compile Heart released Azur Lane Crosswave for PlayStation 4 in 3D to mixed reviews. The PlayStation 4 and PC versions of Crosswave were localized into English in February 2020. The Nintendo Switch port of the game debuted in Japan in September 2020, and North America and Europe followed in February 2021.
As previously stated, the anime TV series adaptation produced by Bibury Animation Studios premiered in October 2019 and ran until March 2020. Beta Film and Funimation (now Crunchyroll) have obtained Latin American distribution rights for this series. So, as you know, Crunchyroll has censored Azur Lane, while Funimation has left it uncut.
An anime television series adaptation of the manga “Azur Lane: Slow Ahead!” animated by studios CANDYBOX and Yostar Pictures aired from January to March 2021; a second season has been announced. A two-episode original video animation adaptation of the Azur Lane: Queen's Orders manga was released in July 2023.
Tensho, aka Motoki Tanaka (Black Rock Shooter: Dawn Fall, Rewrite, Fruit of Grisaia), directed Azur Lane. Renji Oki wrote Episode 6, and Jin Haganeya, the series composer, wrote Episodes 1 through 12. Masayuki Nonaka was responsible for the project's character design, and Akihito Ougiyama oversaw art direction.
“The truth is... war never changes. It’s exactly the same. No matter which era it happens upon”
Nothing has changed; it is safe to say. It is not a new idea that a planet at war can come together to face an alien threat. The first series that comes to mind is Super-Dimensional Fortress Macross; in that show, Earth was in the middle of a war when a mysterious spaceship crashed on the planet and brought everyone together.
But Azur Lane takes a standard trope and spices it up uniquely. Set in the period between World Wars I and II, the United States, British, Japanese, and German militaries all worked together to counter a technologically advanced sea-dwelling alien race known as the "Sirens." Known as the Eagle Union, Royal Navy, Sakura Empire, and Iron Blood, they united to form Azur Lane and achieve an early victory.
However, like the running theme, “The truth is... war never changes. It’s exactly the same. No matter which era it happens upon,” the factions eventually fell apart, with the usual greed and ideological differences being the key factors. Only the Royal Navy and the Eagle Union remain in Azur Lane. The Red Axis was formed when the Sakura Empire and the Iron Blood faction broke away from the main group.
“The mighty must control the future. Heaven’s will resides with us, the true conqueror of the seas.”
A new ideology was born from the Sakura Empire and the Iron Blood Alliance: “The mighty must control the future. Heaven’s will resides with us, the true conqueror of the seas.” The above are the final dramatic lines of the first episode, and they do a great job of setting the tone for the bulk of the anime.
Amid the struggle and backstory of episode 1, we are introduced to our main hero, Enterprise, also known as the "Grey Ghost." She is the main protagonist and features most prominently throughout the series. Like all the characters in Azur Lane, she is based on a ship, the Seventh Enterprise (CV-6).
Like her real-life counterpart, she is a Yorktown-class (Yorktown is also the name of her elder sister; Hornet is her younger sister) aircraft carrier. Also known as the “Grey Ghost” and “The Big E,” the aircraft carrier Enterprise was the sixth United States aircraft carrier to be put into service.
Viewers of the show might consider her OP, and rightly so; just like her real-life counterpart, she is the most decorated soldier in the Eagle Union and a leader who would make the captain of the NCC 1701 proud.
However, in reality, she is not at all overpowered, and her stoic demeanor and reckless attitude in the anime reflect that she is bearing the weight of war on her shoulders. Her health has suffered due to her habit of eating MREs rather than in the cafeteria with the other ship girls. If it were not for Belfast, a member of the Royal Navy, our dear Enterprise might be a bland protagonist. She is almost a boring protagonist; she goes full-on Quatre Raberba Winner in episode seven before coming to her senses.
Azur Lane is a Shoujo-Ai despite being a war anime based on a game with a tenuous historical basis that caters to the action and military subgenres. There are numerous relationships, ranging from the platonic when Javelin, Laffey, and Unicorn—three vessels from Azur Lane—meet Ayanami, a spy from the Red Axis, to the semi-erotic relationship of Akagi and Kaga. Some might even call Belfast and Enterprise's relationship romantic, if a little one-sided. Though in many ways, Belfast is used to bring out Enterprise's humanity,
But she's a ship, right? But she's also a female? So here’s the backstory on how ships become anthropomorphic ship girls. Humanity created them to combat the Sirens. Using a device known as the "Mental Cube," humanity converted ships into weapons that could transform. There is also in this series a "Black Mental Cube" that can be used to summon Orochi.
These anthropomorphic girls can use the ships as weapons. On an exciting note, they also have their own weapons and can sit atop the ships. The aircraft carriers can also implement the planes as weapons, including but not limited to flying atop them.
You'd have to see the pictures to understand. Azur Lane borders on a mecha anime, much to the dismay of fans.
So, if you give me a few more moments of your time, I'd like to talk more about the character development. We have the main protagonist, the introverted soldier, in this anime, with numerous other characters on either side of her. So many received minimal character development, although their purpose is conspicuous fan service for this franchise.
This is not to say that they don't serve a purpose. Indeed, they do; in fact, they make the show very rich and intense in my book. Tensho had to decide who received the most screen time. Unfortunately, the Iron Blood faction is used minimally outside of the fighting. The same can be said for the Sirens, the show's true antagonists.
So, with a protagonist, Enterprise, who hates the ocean but fights because it's her duty, and several deuteragonists who want to make friends with an antagonist, Akagi, who misses her deceased older sister, Amagi, and finally, a mutual enemy lurking behind the scenes, it's safe to say there was a lot to unpack, but the reality is there isn't.
The first five episodes move at a breakneck pace, slowing to the fanservice-heavy episode 6. From here, we move to finality, with bits of political intrigue and personal agendas thrown in for good measure. Finally, we wrap up this series with a mix of emotional heart-tugging and an ending that felt flat, as it was apparent there wouldn't be a season two. At least not in this series. Its counterpart, Azur Lane: Slow Ahead!, is slated for season two. Primarily due to a better plot, but can you really go wrong with Slice of Life?
And that's the issue for many viewers. The plot has so many things going on. With so many personalities and motivations, as well as secret agendas and vendettas aimed at Enterprise, the key to reuniting a fractured species, it's easy to see how this anime fell short. I won't say that its plot is as sinister as Girls' Frontline, but it needs more depth or, rather, fewer muddled details. It mixes too much military and Japanese lore while trying to throw in a romantic subtext to wet the palettes of those who've never played the game or have seen more solid offerings. I'm looking at you, Yōjo Senki fans.
Honestly, I think it's an issue of fans assuming Azur Lane is a traditional shōnen anime when it's not.
I will not dismiss Bibury Animation Studios as a bad studio; it is like anime peria, GoHands Studios. It has standouts like Prima Doll, The Quintessential Quintuplets 2, and 2023's obvious fan favorite, The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really Love You. They have some misses as well, such as BlackRock Shooter: Dawn Fall and Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers. This up-and-down narrative is reflected in Azur Lane's animation, with some episodes exceedingly good and others, while not bad, falling short.
Voice acting is one area where they excel. Ai Kayano and Mai Nakahara complement each other beautifully. They played the roles of Kaga and Akagi, respectively. Mai Nakahara is a veteran of the anime industry, having been in the game since 2002. Yui Horie as Belfast is also one of my favorites. May'n performed the series' opening theme song, "graphite/diamond," while Kano performed the ending theme song, "Hikari no Michishirube." They both work well, with the opening animation and music being reasonably immersive.
Even with its flaws, Azur Lane was still entertaining to me. One effect was that I researched the histories of the ships featured in the anime, and sure enough, the joke in episode 6 about the destroyer Eldridge leaking electricity is tied to a myth about the ship being a part of the Philadelphia Experiment. If you need proof, click here: This Is the Truth Behind WWII’s Creepy Philadelphia Experiment.
So, is it really worth it to watch? This, of course, is debatable depending on how recently you saw High School Fleet, KanColle, or Arpeggio of Blue Steel—Ars Nova. There is a chance that Azur Lane will be a deal-breaker. Give it a spin; if the third episode does not convince you, drop it. Nevertheless, happy viewing!
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Azur Lane Official Trailer
