Kongou
Kongou is the lead ship of the Kongou-class fast battleships in Kantai Collection. Embodying her historical background as a vessel constructed by Vickers in the United Kingdom, she is depicted as a bubbly foreign returnee. Renowned for her overwhelming affection towards the Admiral, she stands as the primary representative of the 'Admiral-loving' characters within the franchise.
Overview
Kongou is the lead ship of the Kongou-class fast battleships in Kantai Collection. Embodying her historical background as a vessel constructed by Vickers in the United Kingdom, she is depicted as a bubbly foreign returnee. Renowned for her overwhelming affection towards the Admiral, she stands as the primary representative of the 'Admiral-loving' characters within the franchise.
Appearance
She has long brown hair styled into double braided side buns along with a prominent ahoge, paired with grey or purple eyes. Her outfit is a modified, non-traditional miko dress featuring a black skirt, thigh-high boots, and high heels. She wears a signature winged antenna hairband and carries a massive, removable rigging on her back. Upon her Kai Ni upgrade, her rigging incorporates ship-hull-like shielding panels, and the design of her headgear is altered.
Personality
Kongou possesses an extraordinarily energetic, cheerful, and affectionate demeanor. Due to her overseas origin, her speech is peppered with English words and distinctive, flamboyant sentence endings. She is unrestrained in expressing her devotion to the Admiral. Despite her quirky, high-spirited behavior, she acts as a dependable, warm-hearted big sister who looks out for her siblings and leads other fleet members with broad-minded support.
Abilities
Classified as a fast battleship, she features high speed compared to standard battleships, making her critical for speed-restricted routing. As she undergoes further modernizations—up to her Kai Ni and Kai Ni Hei forms—her firepower, evasion, anti-air capabilities, and torpedo combat stats increase, allowing her to equip armor-piercing shells and specialized radar systems. In battle, she typically strikes a forward-pointing arm stance while deploying her rigging.
Background
Her background traces to the historical battlecruiser built in the United Kingdom by Vickers for the Imperial Japanese Navy, which was later modernized into a fast battleship and saw extensive service in the Pacific Theater. In adapted media, she is introduced arriving in Japan from abroad to join the naval district, frequently acting as both the primary capital ship and the cheerful mood maker of the fleet.
Relationships
She is the eldest of the four Kongou-class sisters, holding a close bond with Hiei, Haruna, and Kirishima; Hiei in particular harbors an intense sister-complex toward her. She shares historical and fleet ties with her escort ship Urakaze, as well as comradeship with foreign-linked ships such as Iowa and Warspite. Above all, she displays deep, unwavering love for the Admiral.
Trivia
Reflecting her British roots, she is an avid drinker of black tea and owns an imported tea set. She is also portrayed making authentic soup curry and scones. Historically, her name derives from Mount Kongou located between Nara and Osaka, a title currently inherited by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Aegis destroyer Kongou.
