Wakaba

Overview

Wakaba is a ship girl from Kantai Collection, based on the third ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Hatsuharu-class destroyers. Designed by artist Yadokari and voiced by Motoko Kobayashi, she represents the historical destroyer linked closely to Sasebo Naval District. Serving long as the flagship of the 21st Destroyer Division, she is characterized by her extremely brief speech and steady, dependable demeanor on the battlefield.

Appearance

She has short, spiky brown hair—the only short hairstyle among her class—and sharp brown eyes. Her outfit includes a white collared shirt with a relaxed red necktie, an unbuttoned black blazer, a black pleated skirt, black pantyhose, and black loafers. Her rigging comprises a back-mounted funnel and foremast, accompanied by a 12.7 cm single gun mount, a twin handgun-style gun mount, and two 61 cm triple torpedo tubes around her waist.

Personality

Speaking in a terse, gender-neutral style, Wakaba rarely uses more words than necessary, often keeping greetings to a bare minimum. Despite her quiet front, she is composed and battle-ready, offering straightforward assurances to her comrades in action. She possesses a peculiar tendency to evaluate damage, sorties, and repairs as 'not bad,' taking severe situations with aloof stoicism.

Abilities

She possesses standard destroyer combat capabilities, leveraging her speed, dual artillery mounts, and torpedo tubes for surface engagements, troop transport, and escort operations across various maritime theaters.

Background

Laid down at Sasebo, Wakaba experienced construction delays due to design modifications following the Tomozuru Incident, resulting in her completion occurring after her younger sister ship Hatsushimo. In World War II, after early southern operations, she operated extensively in northern waters. During the Kiska evacuation, a multi-ship collision in dense fog left her heavily damaged, forcing her to withdraw independently. She later joined the Leyte Gulf operations, where she was sunk by enemy airstrikes.

Relationships

Though Hatsushimo addresses her as an older sister, Wakaba maintains a humorous wariness toward her due to their historical collision during the Kiska campaign. She also remembers collision incidents involving Naganami and Ikazuchi. Additionally, she shares historical ties with Oboro, having been present around her sinking, and holds connections with Sasebo-built destroyers like Fumizuki.

Trivia

Her disheveled uniform style and tireless work ethic lead fans to compare her to a hard-working corporate employee. Due to sharing a name with a well-known Japanese cigarette brand, fan depictions sometimes portray her in hardboiled style. Historically, the postwar Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force escort vessel Wakaba was rebuilt from the salvaged hull of the destroyer Nashi.