I-8
I-8 is a submarine ship girl in the browser game Kantai Collection, personifying the real-life Imperial Japanese Navy Type J3 submarine of the same name. Commonly referred to by the nicknames Hachi or Hacchan, she is depicted as a cultured, returnee-style character due to her historical counterpart's successful diplomatic mission to Nazi-occupied Europe. As the only submarine from the second Yan-Doku operation to complete a round-trip voyage between Japan and Germany safely, her dialogue and diet feature distinct German influences.
Overview
I-8 is a submarine ship girl in the browser game Kantai Collection, personifying the real-life Imperial Japanese Navy Type J3 submarine of the same name. Commonly referred to by the nicknames Hachi or Hacchan, she is depicted as a cultured, returnee-style character due to her historical counterpart's successful diplomatic mission to Nazi-occupied Europe. As the only submarine from the second Yan-Doku operation to complete a round-trip voyage between Japan and Germany safely, her dialogue and diet feature distinct German influences.
Appearance
I-8 features blonde hair bound in low twintails, green eyes, and red semi-rimless glasses. She wears a miniature sailor hat, a navy blue school swimsuit with a name tag reading 'イ-8', and white thigh-high socks. She has a noticeably voluptuous figure with large breasts. She carries a stack of thick books—some labeled with words like 'Metox' and 'MB501'. During the Christmas season, she wears a white dress and poncho-style stole over a dark green undergarment, holding a cup of mulled wine.
Personality
She possesses a soft-spoken, laid-back personality with a slightly slow speech pattern. Having been historically assigned to transport operations, she openly admits to being disinclined toward intense battle. She is an enthusiastic bookworm who can often be found reading, even while resting in the docks. Due to her overseas voyage, she occasionally slips German expressions into her conversations, such as mistakenly calling herself 'Acht' before correcting her line. She is also a foodie who enjoys baking German treats like Stollen and has a remarkably high tolerance for wine.
Abilities
Upon being modernized, her ship type changes from a standard submarine to a submarine aircraft carrier, granting her the ability to equip and launch aircraft. In battle, rather than handling torpedoes manually, she manifests torpedoes directly from the open pages of the books she carries. Compared to many of her fellow submarine ship girls, she commands relatively solid firepower.
Background
She was first introduced as a clear reward for Event Operation E-4 in the Autumn 2013 Event, before later being added to the standard construction and map drop pools. Her lore heavily reflects the historical voyage of the IJN I-8 during World War II, which successfully sailed to Europe, traded military equipment and technology samples like the Metox radar detector, and secured the transfer of a German U-boat to Japan.
Relationships
She shares a warm, almost familial connection with the Admiral, comfortable enough to let them address her by her nickname Hacchan. Functioning as a flagship secretary, she serves as the key component in building foreign German vessels such as Z1 (Leberecht Maass). Her culinary offerings of traditional rye bread have also earned praise from fellow ships with foreign ties, including Hibiki.
Trivia
Her obsession with saying 'Acht' stems simply from the German word for the number eight and has no relation to the famous German 8.8 cm FlaK anti-aircraft gun. When sustaining moderate damage in her standard skin, her swimsuit tears significantly, revealing her upper body. During her seasonal Christmas mode, her damaged artwork humorously depicts her holding a surprisingly skimpy string swimsuit in confusion.
