Azur Lane

Overview

Azur Lane is a side-scrolling shoot 'em up and role-playing video game, set in an alternate universe where World War II was fought with anthropomorphic "ship girls," loose analogues of ships used in the real war in the form of girls with attachable heavy weaponry. Later updates to the game added post-war ships and ships from other countries such as China, France, and Italy

Release

First launched in China in May and in Japan in September 2017, Azur Lane skyrocketed in popularity, especially in Japan where the player count reportedly reached five million within four months of its release. Japanese artist Tony Taka was invited to provide official artwork for the HMS Centaur.

In March 2018, XD Global published the game in South Korea. Artwork for the Korean release was provided by the artist Nardack, but it was taken down after she refused to denounce feminism and "antisocial groups" as the company demanded in response to player complaints.

An English-language beta version of the game was opened on August 2018, and eventually led to an official release worldwide in May 2019.

Spinoff Games

Azur Lane: Crosswave was an action RPG title with VN-style cutscenes, developed by Compile Heart. Players can take teams of up to 4 shipgirls from one of the main factions and directly control one of them at a time, in real-time combat.

Other Media

Azur Lane's popularity in Japan has sparked several manga and light novel adaptations which are mostly comedic, slice-of-life style stories. In addition, an anime adaptation was announced in September 2018, directed by Tensho and written by Jin Haganeya of the Demonbane franchise, and premiered in October 2019. A musical CD featuring character songs sung by their respective voice actors was released in September 2018.

Manga

• Azur Lane: Very Slow Advance!
• Azur Lane Comic Anthology
• Azur Lane Queen's Orders
• Azur Lane Comic à la Carte

Light Novels

• Starting My Life as a Commander with Laffey
• Episode of Belfast
• Ayanami, Happily Married