Girl Behind A Cat
Error Musume is the collective name given to the systemic mascot characters who appear during communication errors and server restriction screens in Kantai Collection. Initially created as a tutorial guide, the character was hurriedly reassigned to error screens during the sudden influx of players after launch. The concept encompasses several distinct iterations, including the original error notification girl and the fourth-generation variant known as Girl Behind A Cat, who appears when players fail server connection lotteries.
Overview
Error Musume is the collective name given to the systemic mascot characters who appear during communication errors and server restriction screens in Kantai Collection. Initially created as a tutorial guide, the character was hurriedly reassigned to error screens during the sudden influx of players after launch. The concept encompasses several distinct iterations, including the original error notification girl and the fourth-generation variant known as Girl Behind A Cat, who appears when players fail server connection lotteries.
Appearance
The first generation wears a sailor uniform paired with a white cap featuring a green beginner mark. She sports brown hair tied into braids with yellow ribbons and wears an unreadable smile while dangling a white cat by its front paws before her chest. The second generation possesses an ahoge and twintails secured by light blue ribbons, depicted bowing low beside a piebald black-and-white cat. The third generation sits upright in seiza while being struck by a cat. The fourth generation features green hair and assumes a seiza posture while holding a gray cat directly in front of her face to obscure her features.
Personality
The initial version displays a detached, smug demeanor while displaying the cat responsible for system troubles. As server capacity issues mounted, subsequent versions adopted a far more apologetic posture, prostrating before the cat or sitting quietly in seiza to convey remorse. Throughout her various incarnations, she maintains a polite, soft-spoken attitude while communicating server status messages to players.
Abilities
She operates as an automated system notification interface, appearing whenever network failures or high server traffic occur to prompt a browser reload. She can intercept duplicate account logins across multiple browser tabs and serves as an access control barrier during server lotteries, asking unsuccessful applicants to try reconnecting at a later time.
Background
When Kantai Collection launched in April 2013, the character was designed to assist new players with tutorials. However, after an unexpected player surge caused frequent disconnects before a dedicated error screen could be developed, her art was hastily repurposed for system error displays. As the game expanded its server infrastructure and instituted player lotteries, newer generations were introduced to reflect different administrative statuses. She has since been featured in official manga adaptations and commercial tie-in merchandise.
Relationships
She shares an inseparable connection with the cat, who is officially designated as the culprit behind system failures; she is depicted catching it, apologizing to it, or using it to block her face. Though her appearance interrupts gameplay or server access for Admirals, she remains a well-known figure within the game's community.
Trivia
Fans have bestowed distinct nicknames on her forms based on legendary entities, such as Youkai Neko Tsurushi (Cat-Hanging Youkai) and Youkai Neko Dogeza (Prostrating Cat Youkai). Her association with cat removal inspired the fandom pun Batsubyo, playing on the naval term for weighing anchor. Her likeness has also been utilized on real-world partner website error pages and promotional lottery items.