Kensuke Tanaka Interview: Comptiq Magazine June 2018

Introduction

Comptiq's May 2018 Interview with Tanaka

The following interview comes from Comptiq Magazine's May's issue, which was released on May 10th, 2018.

In the article, Comptiq's T-ko interviews Kancolle's main producer, Kensuke Tanaka, celebrates KanColle as it enters it's 5th Anniversary. While they talk, Tanaka talks about his plans of mpoving along with the plans for Phase 2 as he discusses his plans on what it will consist of. He also talks a bit about the company's structure in what handles what as part of the conversation.

In addition, he also mentions of his plans to work on the 6th year as he works on Type A Destroyers to earn thier Kai Ni Remodels and his later plans to implement the Fletcher-class Destroyers for the 6th year and introduce the Matsu-class Destroyers for the 7th Year which would plan up for KanColle's eventual finalie, why he however notes may change since he has more ideas he wants to possibly implement.

Finally, he talks about the Zuiun Festival and ultimately about the upcoming Spring Mini-Event which will be about collecting Boiled Rice and Umeboshi along with noting that Mitsukoshi will have it's own collaboration tied to this in the process.

Interview with the Management Naval District: Fifth Anniversary Special Edition

Interviewer (I): Thanks for your continued hard work! Congratulations on KanColle's fifth anniversary!

Producer Tanaka Kensuke (T): Thank you very much. I had figured KanColle would last 3 years and 8 months at best... yet it's passed five years and is going into its sixth. I think that, supported by so many people and adored by so many admirals, the shipgirls are sure to have shared a wonderful time together with them. To all of those that have shared such an unbelievably long time with, cheered on, and supported KanColle, I express my sincerest gratitude and appreciation. Thank you very much!

I: I've been told you've already begun preparations for not only the sixth but also the seventh year?

T: When KanColle broke through into its third year April 2015 and it became apparent this war would be a long one, I already began to envision Operation Shou I as the finale of KanColle's first phase. The Nishimura Fleet's breakthrough in the Surigao Strait; the Kurita Fleet's fierce battle with enemy planes in the Sibuyan Sea and engagement in the waters off Samar; and finally the last of Japan's Mobile Force, lead by Zuikaku, being destroyed in the Battle of Cape Engaño. In a two-part event split between last year's fall event and the first event of this year, the winter event, we interleaved the various battles within the broader Battle of Leyte Gulf with hypothetical "if" operations.

We're beginning this spring with preparations for the upcoming migration into Phase 2, as well as the implementation of the destroyer escort and others that tried to protect their escort carrier group, including Gambier Bay, by fiercely engaging the much larger and stronger ships of Kurita's fleet when it broke through to Samar in the prior Battle of Leyte Gulf. In this sixth year, in terms of infrastructure we will reservice the server cluster, allow some admirals to transfer between servers via lottery, change over to HTML5, add new features, and more as part of an incremental rollout over the coming year, ensuring our continued ability to wage this war.

I: It seems like quite a wide-ranging change. Is DMM-san in charge of the server infrastructure?

T: No, DMM GAMES-san handles the DMM ID login and the payment servers - in other words, they're in charge of the platform. However, the KanColle login servers and everything beyond those - all the game servers themselves - are handled by the KanColle Management Naval District We've already accomplished the goal that I initially set for KanColle: ensuring those warships who once sailed the seas, fought bitterly, and perhaps sank into the dark sea where none are watching are known and will never be forgotten. But I hope everyone can bear with us for a while longer as we literally modernize our systems and server cluster. This might be laughable, but we already have plans for the seventh year laid out. The seventh... even the fact that it's next year is still a little shocking.

I: With regard to shipgirls, coastal defense ships have already made their debut, and destroyer Kai Ni remodels have already made their way up to the Asashio-class!

T: Indeed, I'm happy to have finally been able to introduce coastal defense ships last year. They were a class I had always hoped to implement and were already in the initial concept table I set out more than six years ago - a really nostalgic table at this point, I might add. During KanColle's early stages, the spotlight fell on the Fubuki-class special type destroyers and Yuudachi and her fellow Shiratsuyu-class destroyers, but in the sixth year we will also focus on the Type-A destroyers - that is, the Kagerou- and Yuugumo-class destroyers. Additionally, the Type-D destroyer series, the Matsu-class, designed to meet the desperate wartime need to quickly replace losses among the attrited fleet destroyers, will be an important presence in the seventh year and toward KanColle's eventual ending. The Fletcher-class destroyers, several of whom we will be implementing this year, are presences and facilitators like them, in a sense...

I: KanColle's ending is far, far in the future, isn't it?

T: Ah, of course. Right, thank you very much. As for the implementation flow, I planned for the Kai Ni of Nashi* of these Type-D destroyers to be the end of KanColle... originally. Nowadays I've got some more ideas knocking around in my head. In any case, I'm glad to even be able to discuss this and have the chance to realize it in one form or another.

I: The KanColle Naval District Second Zuiun Festival was a huge celebration as well, wasn't it?

T: Having access to such a wide range of opportunities and support that you can hold a festival like that is quite a selling point for KanColle, isn't it? I wanted to hold a Japanese festival but for the game and its content, or maybe life itself. The sense of anticipation and something new beginning, the bustle of a temple festival and the delicious food stands, and the satisfaction of fulfillment. Brilliant fireworks racing toward the sky. And finally, the inevitable end to the festival. I think the concept of a festival has all of that, the fun and the disappointment. And so, the time you spend preparing for and experiencing content for a game or holding a festival is very fulfilling, despite the tough or bothersome things that come with them.

I: Please watch your health!

T: You're right, I will. We plan for the spring mini-event to launch around the time this issue of Comptiq is published. As if we avoided Golden Week so we could go out! So we plan for a collection-style mini event, one that might have people wondering, "But Golden Week just ended!" It'll be collecting delicious rice and umeboshi. They're really delicious. Yes. And you'll turn them into simple dishes... that's the mini event. It'd be nice to play but not a big deal to skip, basically. Fall and winter were pretty intense, so we're going for a low-key event like that. The one new thing we're trying out is timing it with Mitsukoshi-san to make the delicious rice and umeboshi something you can actually buy and eat. So something you can actually eat and experience - Japan's delicious food. It'd be great if we can make it happen, and we're in the final stages of preparations to do so.

I: Trying some pretty strange things too, huh?

T: This is a kind of festival too!

I: We have a lot more to ask, but we've almost filled up a page's worth already! Thank you for today. Congratulations on the Fifth Anniversary! Please continue to work hard in the sixth year!

T: No, thank you! I hope to continue slowly but surely advancing, as is the KanColle way. To all the admirals, thank you for your support! Please continue to support the shipgirls in the future!

(Late April 2018, KanColle Management Naval District)

Special thanks to User:-a-nonymous for his translation work