Cardigans may not match armor plating in protective capabilities, but they’re definitely the warmer, cuter option.
The hook of video game and anime franchise Kantai Collection, more commonly referred to as KanColle, is that it takes historical warships, primarily from the Imperial Japanese Navy, and turns them into cute girls, with costumes that contain turrets, rudders, and other nods to their military hardware origins. But now fans in Japan are progressing the evolution from battleship to schoolgirl even farther by popularizing the Twitter hashtag “It’s fall, so let’s dress the KanColle girls up in cardigans or sweaters!” (#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ).
#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ リクエストの叢雲。黒カーディガンと黒タイツが合わさり最強に見える pic.twitter.com/4RDmAnp7db
— 笹目めと(meth)仕事募集中 (@meth2480) September 16, 2016
読書響っつぁん #秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ pic.twitter.com/OEkPgvweC2
— 八太犬 (@Hachitainu0455) September 22, 2016
#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ
— 早川あかり (@hayakawa_akari) September 19, 2016
JK高雄ちゃん! pic.twitter.com/gepE45npMq
While a couple of the Fleet Girls, as the characters are properly known, retain vestiges of their official, in-game costumes, most of their combat accouterments have been scrubbed clean in favor of something actual humans might wear.
https://twitter.com/yororonina/status/776431801094971392#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ
— 竜宮ヤッスー (@yassu08123) September 20, 2016
浜風がこういう格好してると青春色濃い pic.twitter.com/Ge7ASSCwIi
#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ
— Tダイソン🐕 (@Daisonnya) September 19, 2016
秋はやっぱりこれですね
プリンツちゃんに着ていただきました pic.twitter.com/EY5y1W2Quc
Aside from bundling up the Fleet Girls in extra layers of clothing, artists have been adding some seasonal appeal by having their muses pose with roasted sweet potatoes, an autumn snack so popular in Japan that it’s sold by vendors who drive around neighborhoods in small trucks equipped with an oven to cook the treats.
ぱい#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ pic.twitter.com/kvQF4e6mP6
— 瑞海BB (@mzumBB) September 21, 2016
https://twitter.com/dc_ravel/status/776958196208455680秋#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ pic.twitter.com/R5lkDJMB2P
— ぺんたごん🍃🌸 (@RailgunKy) September 21, 2016
But are all those piping hot potatoes and warm knit clothing making the Fleet Girls uncomfortably warm? Either that or, the world of anime fan art being what it is, some artists realized that “It’s fall, so let’s dress the KanColle girls up in cardigans or sweaters” doesn’t say anything about completely dressing them in said garments.
#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ
— Tダイソン🐕 (@Daisonnya) September 25, 2016
ボタン修正版です・・・(´;ω;`)」
場所がちがった pic.twitter.com/K0eTF80MYb
▼ Also not mentioned in the hashtag: pants.
叢雲先輩にいろいろ教えてもらいたい♡#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ pic.twitter.com/Ravow5N2nW
— ウンツエ/𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐞🐰 (@tuetue13) September 18, 2016
Additionally, the hashtag doesn’t specify what type of sweater has to be used. So while school uniform-styles have been the most common, others are taking the more daring option of bringing back the boob sweater.
叢雲ちゃんに胸開きセーターを着せてみました。#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ pic.twitter.com/cfZO437bPz
— 双龍@マチマホ8巻発売中! (@Souryu_STD) September 22, 2016
あざと鹿島ちゃんの高火力(๑´ㅂ`๑)#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ pic.twitter.com/7xwsfe2TN9
— ウンツエ/𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐞🐰 (@tuetue13) September 21, 2016
Meanwhile, cosplayers have also gotten onboard, with decidedly more reserved wardrobe choices.
https://twitter.com/kuon_0118/status/776362141314002946#秋になったし艦娘にカーディガンorセーター着せようぜ
— アゲハ🌟 (@ageha_ulysses) September 15, 2016
去年の街イベのやつ~
那珂:大羅きららさん pic.twitter.com/e0eYUXq61i
With the leaves just starting to turn color in Japan, there’s plenty of fall left, which means we’re likely to see much more autumnal KanColle fan art, until it gives way to Christmas themes, since anime fan art, like natural scenery, always changes in seasonal cycles.
Source: Kyupo
Featured image: Twitter/@mzumBB
Follow Casey on Twitter, where he regrets not buying anything from the sweet potato truck he walked by last weekend.
Leave a Reply