Battleship Re-Class
(“Re” pronounced like in “recommend”)
Image drawn by me
Aggressive Abyssal Aviation
Water/Explode Type
Original Media: KanColle (video game, 2013) (also known as Kantai Collection)
Story
It’s unknown just what kind of creature Battleship Re-Class is. Despite her humanoid shape, her body is outfitted with various weapons akin to an actual battleship, some of which she can fire from a cannon under her wrist, and some from the maw of her thick, toothy tail (which doesn’t have a mind of its own, but can still be completely controlled by her).
What is known is that Re-Class used to work for some sort of army known as the “Abyssal Fleet”; she didn’t like being bossed around, though, and fled from them to live life her way. Problem is, she didn’t really have a “way” of her own, having been raised to understand the Fleet’s ambiguous goal of “destruction”. This led to her living life as a dangerous free-roaming troublemaker who was all too happy to use her guns and missiles to cause mayhem.
Eventually, the battleship kid met her match fighting the speedy warrior Schmitt in a military zone, but she swore she would come back the next day. What she didn’t expect, however, was that before the next day could come, Schmitt would find her again, and get her to explain what her motives even were.
While her first talk with Schmitt did leave her to doubt following the Fleet’s goals after cutting ties with them, it wasn’t a perfect cure, and after Schmitt was forced to stop her from relapsing and opening fire again, both of them ended up seeking the aid of Dark Elf; from her, Re-Class learned to settle down and live life more peacefully, and to this day she only ever readies her weapons if she needs to protect someone; otherwise, she’s quite content roaming the world, talking to friends along the way.
Abilities
Missile Shot
Re-Class fires small bullets from a cannon mounted under her arm.
Missile Type
Missile Shot image is from Mega Man RPG Prototype.
Flying Fish
Re-Class throws three flying explosives, each of which try to dive down onto the opponent(s).
Water/Explode Type
Flying Fish image is from KanColle.
Tracking Missile
Re-Class fires a flying missile (or is it a torpedo?) from her tail, which chases an opponent and explodes in their face.
Wind/Explode Type
Image is from Mega Man X DiVE (video game, 2020).
Torpedo Rain
Re-Class fires a barrage of torpedoes from her tail. The torpedoes fly up into the air, then plummet down, bundled together almost like water from a waterfall.
Missile/Water Type
Re-Class’ attacks work in a unique way; attacks that she can use with her “main” body (such as her arms, legs, and torso) cannot be used at the same time as attacks she needs her tail to use. She must focus her energy on one part of herself. When this happens, the part that’s attacking takes much more damage from attacks than the part that isn’t (for example, if she uses a tail attack, the tail will take more damage while her torso, head, etc. will resist the damage).
Re-Class also has the passive ability to “float” on water, as if there were solid ground above it.
Voice
General Description
Preteen/Teenager; loud and energetic, and very vocal about her emotions; has a slight echo and reverb to her voice
Example Voice
Source: BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle (video game, 2018)
Original Context: The voice of the character “Mika Returna”.
Additional Notes: The samples have been edited from their source material to include the echo and reverb mentioned above.
Behind the Scenes
KanColle is a series I have mixed feelings on: On the one hand, I find some of its designs (based on naval weaponry, primarily that used during World War II) quite interesting, especially the enemies, who often have unique inhuman traits to their design. On the other hand, I’m uncomfortable with its primary theming of World War II, especially with the main cast including human versions of ships used in the war. This combination of elements is why I gravitate the most towards the design of the enemy Battleship Re-Class, as the design incorporates the idea of an unusual human-battleship hybrid (plus additional fascinating details, like a giant tail with teeth and hoof-like feet) without anything that explicitly references World War II.
While KanColle and Re-Class are far from obscure, I deliberately strayed away from how other fanmade artwork interpreted the character, coming up with my own “version” of the character just by interpreting official material (including her in-game power level, her animations in the 2016 KanColle Arcade video game, and her portrayal as the main villain of the 2013 comic book Shimakaze Tsumujikaze no Shoujo); it was from this way of thinking that I came up with her personality in Chaos Zone as a childish loose cannon.
Note of warning to anyone who wants to research Battleship Re-Class outside Chaos Zone; her official design does not zip up her coat, revealing a bikini top underneath, and most fan art follows suit; the choice to zip up her coat in Chaos Zone was both done due to the Mega Man RPG Prototype website’s rules on risque content, and to give Re-Class more of an innocent and childlike feel to her. This is also why I am not showing any official art of Re-Class on this site.
Brash Buster 