Taihou

Overview

Taihou is a fleet girl in Kantai Collection based on the historic lead ship of the Taihou-class armored aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Categorized in-game as an armored aircraft carrier, she stands out among the fleet carrier roster for her heavy defensive capability. She is portrayed as a hardworking, athletic girl who takes her daily physical training seriously. Taihou harbors open and genuine affection toward the Admiral, serving as a dedicated fleet member both in combat operations and daily life.

Appearance

Taihou has medium-short brownish-black hair with long sideburns and brown eyes, alongside a small frame with a flat chest. She wears a metallic headband shaped like a ship's stern and a collar piece modeled after a bow with a chrysanthemum crest. Her outfit features a thin top with open armpits under a white shrug, a grey abdominal armor corset, a short pleated skirt over black bike shorts, black thigh-high socks, and black footwear shaped like rudders. Her rigging consists of a bridge and funnel on her right, twin anti-aircraft guns on her waist, and a flight deck unit on her left that functions as a crossbow magazine rack. Upon upgrade, her skirt and flight deck change to dark green and black.

Personality

Taihou is a cheerful, diligent, and physically active girl who maintains a strict daily routine of morning runs and strength training. Although she tries to be reliable, she possesses an earnest yet slightly airheaded nature that makes her prone to playful teasing from others. Due to her tragic historical sinking caused by a fuel-gas explosion, she has an intense fear of loud explosions and lingering gas. She feels deep, sincere affection for the Admiral, frequently inviting them to exercise together, showing concern over how her homemade curry tastes, and displaying open warmth without hesitation.

Abilities

Taihou possesses the rare trait of being able to launch and operate aircraft even while suffering medium damage (Chuuha). She wields a repeating crossbow to fire her planes into battle and exhibits high innate firepower and armor values. Her left-side flight deck doubles as a magazine rack capable of holding up to four plane magazines for fighters, torpedo bombers, dive bombers, and reconnaissance aircraft. After her Kai upgrade, her plane capacity expands dramatically to rank among the highest of all carriers, accompanied by top-tier firepower, though her overall evasion stat remains relatively low.

Background

Historically, Taihou was the Imperial Japanese Navy's first purpose-built armored aircraft carrier, serving as the flagship of the First Mobile Fleet during the Battle of the Philippine Sea. She was sunk following a single torpedo hit from the submarine USS Albacore, which ruptured her aviation fuel tanks and led to a catastrophic vapor explosion. In Kantai Collection, she was introduced alongside the Large Ship Construction mechanic, carrying voicelines and character traits that reflect her historical fleet service and tragic fate.

Relationships

Taihou shares a strong bond with Shoukaku and Zuikaku, her fellow aircraft carriers within the First Carrier Division. She also maintains a close friendship with the destroyer Isokaze, who historically served as her escort guard. Through shared historical connections, she is linked with Mutsu due to explosion-related stories, as well as Tenryuu, who shared the same submarine adversary. Above all, she maintains an exceptionally close and affectionate relationship with the Admiral.

Trivia

Taihou Kai's design incorporates visual refinements based on the unbuilt 'Unryuu/Modified Taihou-class' plans, such as upgraded anti-aircraft defense and hull adjustments. Her combat voiceline line mentioning her desire to see 'this formation' (hentai) became a widely known misheard joke among fans due to homophonic overlap with the word for pervert. Her notably low initial luck stat is a direct nod to her unfortunate historic maiden combat fate.