Yuubari

Overview

Yuubari is a shipgirl in Kantai Collection based on the lead ship of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Yuubari-class light cruiser. Positioned as an experimental weapons testing light cruiser, she is portrayed as a tech-savvy and energetic character who delights in gathering equipment data and developing gear. Despite her petite frame, she possesses unique equipment capability, making her a versatile and memorable fleet member among Admirals.

Appearance

She has dull green-tinted silver hair with straight-cut bangs tied into a ponytail by a large green ribbon, accompanied by orange-yellow eyes. She features a slender waist and a modest bust on a petite frame. Her outfit consists of a cropped black short-sleeved sailor shirt showing her midriff, an orange ribbon, a green miniskirt, black pantyhose, white half-boots, and a pink wristband on her left arm. Her rigging features twin torpedo tubes on her legs and main gun units attached to a backpack-style control rig operated via joysticks. In anime and artwork, she also appears in an orange mechanic jumpsuit over a tank top or in a yukata.

Personality

Energetic, competitive, and caring, Yuubari is a natural tinkerer who respects naval architect Yuzuru Hiraga and thoroughly enjoys data gathering and weapon testing. She is somewhat sensitive about her slower fleet speed and gets annoyed when it is pointed out. Highly affectionate toward the Admiral, she takes initiative in daily duties like waking them up and preparing meals. Her personal tastes include a fondness for soba noodles and a habit of recording late-night anime.

Abilities

Yuubari suffers from lower health, armor, and evasion stats than average light cruisers, but compensates with expanded gear capacity, gaining four equipment slots upon her initial upgrade. This enables exceptional anti-submarine efficiency when fully stacked with anti-submarine gear, as well as versatility in drum canister transport operations. With her Kai Ni upgrade, she becomes the first five-slot light cruiser and gains convert forms: Kai Ni Toku (which grants specialized landing craft utility at lower speed) and Kai Ni Dingo (which enables unconditional opening anti-submarine attacks and large sonar equipment). She carries zero seaplanes, leaving her unable to perform artillery spotter attacks.

Background

In naval history, Yuubari was created as a single-ship experimental light cruiser designed to pack the weaponry of a much larger vessel into a compact hull within treaty limitations. Reflecting this origin, she functions as an experimental ship and maintenance engineer across the game's media universe. She is depicted working alongside Akashi in the naval yard for gear development and took on a key operational role as flagship of the 4th Torpedo Squadron in the official anime adaptation.

Relationships

She holds deep respect for her real-life designer, Yuzuru Hiraga. Due to their shared technical roles, she is frequently paired with the repair ship Akashi as an engineering team. Historically linked to smaller vessels, she maintains close ties with Mutsuki-class destroyers whom she led, as well as Samidare and Yura, who were involved in her historical operations and final rescue attempt.

Trivia

Her name comes from the Yuubari River in Hokkaido. Due to her name and emerald green color scheme, she is affectionately nicknamed 'Melon' by fans, a reference reinforced by real-world promotions featuring melon-scented goods. In spin-off media, Suzuya also addresses her by the friendly nickname 'Barii'.