Ariake

Overview

Ariake is a Fleet Girl from Kantai Collection representing the fifth ship of the Hatsuharu-class destroyers (also regarded as the first of the Ariake-class variant). Associated with the 27th Destroyer Division, she is characterized by her high-spirited, tomboyish nature and traits bridging the Hatsuharu and Shiratsuyu classes.

Appearance

She has long, dark purple hair with an orange gradient at the tips, tied in a low ponytail with bangs covering her left eye, and purple eyes. Her attire consists of a black beret, a white undershirt underneath a double-breasted black shirt, a black jacket, a grey pleated skirt, black socks, and black shoes. Her rigging features a back-mounted funnel and foremast, side 61 cm quad torpedo tubes, a 12.7 cm twin mount carried like a handgun, and depth charges attached to a strap on her left thigh. Though her chest size is concealed under normal attire (wearing sarashi), she possesses a notably large bust, which is revealed in her swimsuit outfit.

Personality

Ariake speaks in a brisk, tomboyish manner and uses the personal pronoun 'atashi'. On the battlefield, she shows confident leadership and a strong drive to charge ahead into combat. In contrast, she is utterly incapable of domestic chores and paperwork; as a secretary ship, she complains about organizing documents, steals meals prepared by Shiratsuyu to hand to the Admiral, and relies on others for dinner.

Abilities

Upon reaching level 48 and upgrading to her Kai form, Ariake gains the capability to equip Daihatsu-class landing craft (excluding the Special Type 2 Launch), making her the first among the Hatsuharu class to receive this function. This gives her high utility in transport operations, expeditions, and anti-installation combat. She also features an unlockable seasonal swimsuit graphics mode.

Background

She was introduced in July 2020 during the limited-time event 'Stop the Destruction! Island Defense Reinforcement Operation'. Historically constructed as a modified variant of the Hatsuharu class (the Ariake sub-class) before being incorporated back into the main class, her addition filled a long-standing gap in the 27th Destroyer Division.

Relationships

She is devoted to her younger sister Yuugure, frequently mentioning her name. She calls Shiratsuyu and Shigure 'Tsuyu' and 'Shigure', regularly commandeering Shiratsuyu's cooking. She refers to Mikazuki by the affectionate nickname 'Mika' and turns to her for evening meals. She treats the Mutsuki-class destroyers as seniors, addressing Uzuki as 'U-chan senpai', and appends '-san' to light cruisers like Sendai.

Trivia

Her ship name was later inherited by Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels in both the Ariake class and Murasame class. Her outfit combines design elements from both the Hatsuharu and Shiratsuyu classes, reflecting her historical construction background, and her early concept art was partially teased in an official calendar prior to her in-game release.