Katsuragi
Katsuragi is a Kanmusu based on the third ship of the Unryuu-class standard aircraft carriers in Kantai Collection. Introduced as an event reward in Operation No. 11, she takes pride in being an aircraft carrier despite her historical inability to properly operate air groups. Unlike her serene older sisters, Unryuu and Amagi, Katsuragi stands out with her feisty demeanor and highly expressive personality.
Overview
Katsuragi is a Kanmusu based on the third ship of the Unryuu-class standard aircraft carriers in Kantai Collection. Introduced as an event reward in Operation No. 11, she takes pride in being an aircraft carrier despite her historical inability to properly operate air groups. Unlike her serene older sisters, Unryuu and Amagi, Katsuragi stands out with her feisty demeanor and highly expressive personality.
Appearance
Katsuragi features long black hair tied into a ponytail with a white ribbon, split bangs, and sapphire blue eyes. She has sharp, upturned eyes and a slender frame with a noticeably flatter chest compared to her sisters. Her hair design incorporates motifs inspired by the Yatagarasu. Her base outfit consists of a modified white kyudo-style top and miniskirt worn under a green camouflage furisode left hanging open, using her flight deck as an obi, and green single-tooth geta on her bare feet. In her hands, she wields an assault-rifle-like unit combining a bridge and anti-aircraft guns. Upon her Kai upgrade, her hair acquires a blue gradient tint. She removes the furisode, uses her left sleeve as a flight deck, and wields an Azusayumi bow alongside a quiver containing shinto-style arrows, a glowing blue torii armlet, and black shin guards over thigh-high socks.
Personality
In contrast to her calm older sisters, Katsuragi is spirited, hot-tempered, and easily flattered. She displays a classic tsundere disposition, hiding her affection behind defensive reactions. Proud of her status as an aircraft carrier, she intensely dislikes being referred to as a floating anti-aircraft battery, though she secretly enjoys performing anti-aircraft gunnery. While she acts stubborn around the Admiral, her childlike qualities and genuine trust frequently slip through.
Abilities
In her base form, Katsuragi operates an assault-rifle-style bridge unit and utilizes a mechanical arm equipped with a bow to convert string sounds into aircraft. After her Kai upgrade, she shifts to a hybrid combat style, utilizing an Azusayumi bow alongside shinto-style arrows to launch planes. Her left sleeve serves as an active flight deck powered by a wooden charm equipment unit, and she can also hurl uchine darts stored behind her rig to deploy aircraft. Her overall combat statistics match her sister ships, though her high luck stat reflects her surviving the war into peacetime service.
Background
Completed after the Battle of the Philippine Sea as the third Unryuu-class aircraft carrier, Katsuragi lacked assigned air groups and pilots during the war, serving primarily as a heavily armed floating anti-aircraft platform in port. Following the war, her intact hull allowed her to perform vital repatriation duties, safely transporting tens of thousands of personnel back to Japan before being dismantled. Due to her historical timeline, she deeply venerates her senior carrier, Zuikaku.
Relationships
She is the younger sister to Unryuu and Amagi. Katsuragi admires Zuikaku of the Fifth Carrier Division as a revered senior, feeling proud of their matching camouflage paint schemes. Her relationship with the Admiral is lively and slightly combative; despite her tsundere outbursts, she holds deep trust and affection for them.
Trivia
The inscription on the quiver used by Katsuragi Kai refers to a 104,000-time prayer blessing, referencing the real-life 104,000 horsepower output of her engine. Her visual design and hair motif specifically draw inspiration from the Yatagarasu legends associated with Mount Katsuragi.
