High School Fleet Movie

The **High School Fleet Movie** (劇場版 ハイスクール・フリート) is a movie of the High School Fleet anime series. The students of four marine high schools, including Yokosuka Girls, participate in an operation to prevent pirates manning a heavily-armed seafort from making its way to Japan. During this time, Mashiro struggles with an important decision: to become the captain of a ship or stay with the Harekaze and her friends.

The film debuted in Japan on January 18, 2020. The Blu-ray was released on October 28, 2020.

## Summary

### Let the Festivities Begin!

Delegations from three all-female marine high schools--Kure, Maizuru, and Sasebo--arrived at Yokosuka for the annual interschool competition. Leading each delegation are the Musashi's sister ships: the blue-striped Yamato from Kure (K-117 under Captain Tomi Miyazato and XO Shia Nomura), the yellow-striped Shinano from Maizuru (M-119 under Captain Azumi Abe and XO Tsubame Kawano), and the green-striped Kii from Sasebo (S-120 under Captain Sachiho Chiba and XO Keiko Nogiwa). Almost all of the city is in a festive mood, as is customary before the competition.

As Akeno and Mashiro went around to check on their classmates, they came across a little girl named Suu and treated her to a meal. Suu revealed that she came from a faraway place and came to Japan to look for her father. While in the middle of their meal, Akeno and Mashiro receive a text from Instructor Furushou. That afternoon, the two met the instructor, who reveals that the crew of the Hiei requested Mashiro to be their captain, as its current captain is on a hiatus from her studies due to illness.

The two returned to the park, unable to say anything due to their conflicting feelings. They rejoin Suu, and the girls stayed for the night in a tent. Before sleeping, Suu said that she came to Japan without knowledge of where in the country her father could be. Somehow, she also sensed that Akeno and Mashiro don't seem to get along as much as they did at noon. As Suu grabs Mashiro's hand and calls her "mama" in her sleep, Akeno tells her how dependable she is but can't bring to tell her true feelings.

The next day, the Harekaze class participated in the competition events like the boat race, aquatic battle royale, and war games. Distracted by the issue, Mashiro spaced out during the boat race and cost her class the race; but she managed to make a comeback during the war games, even defeating the Yamato's captain in the preliminaries. After the match, the latter asks why a student of her skill is only an XO aboard a destroyer, adding to Mashiro's distress. She faced Akeno in the final round.

### Crashing the Party

As the competition progresses, the Blue Mermaids and Principal Munetani are alerted to water purification plant and its crew being captured by pirates, moving southwest to rendezvous with a mobile seafort. While U.S. intelligence confirmed that the seafort had long been demilitarized, if allowed to meet up, the pirates could use the plant's crew to bring the seafort to full operation. The principal ordered the ongoing competition to be suspended but then later learned that the float due for scrapping was moving toward the berth of Yokosuka Harbor way ahead of schedule.

As Mashiro was on the verge of victory, the entire city was rocked by the float blowing up from the inside. Suu, who had been moving the float using a tugboat during the competition, was thrown into the water but was rescued by the Blue Mermaids. However, the float wreckage effectively blocked off the berth, preventing the Blue Mermaids' ships from sortieing to stop the pirates. Later, they found out that Suu had been working with the pirates, bringing some of the seafort's systems online, in exchange for their help finding her father. The principal decided to send the girl to the Musashi for the anti-piracy operation, but at the insistence of her students, allowed a combined task force of student ships, including the big battleships, to participate. Mashimo assumed overall command aboard the Musashi.

### Liberating the Plant

The task force assembled outside the harbor. Aside from the battleships and destroyers, the Admiral Graf Spee and Benten (the only Blue Mermaid ship that wasn't docked at the time of the sabotage) joined the fleet. The I-201, a submarine from Toumai High, was tracking the movement of the seafort as the fleet set sail. A flotilla of destroyers from the White Dolphins, the male equivalent of Blue Mermaids, would serve as the force assaulting the seafort.

That night, the fleet reached south of Hachijo Island, where the Benten spotted the captured plant. As the rest of the task force went ahead to intercept the seafort, the Benten and Graf Spee stayed behind to commence the operation to rescue the hostages and recapture the plant. The first half of the operation saw the infiltration team free the hostages.

With the Graf Spee commencing diversionary fire and the pirates firing blindly into empty boats, an overeager Mafuyu personally led the assault force, who took out the pirates using non-lethal means like tasers. They accomplished the mission before the plant sailed outside Japanese territorial waters, but not before one of the pirates managed to send a signal to his buddies in the seafort.

### Into the Belly of the Beast

With the plant liberated, the task force engaged the seafort using the battleships' main guns, blowing a hole in the gate. But as the White Dolphins got close, they were fired upon by the supposedly-demilitarized seafort; even worse, the hole was too small for their ships to pass through. The entire operation is at risk, as failing to stop the behemoth will mean a city like Tokyo Bay in a sea of fire.

With the White Dolphins in full retreat, Mashimo reluctantly agreed to allow the Harekaze to assault the seafort. Suu transferred to the destroyer, as she knew the seafort from the inside out due to her past experience. Under covering fire from the Musashi and other ships, the Harekaze barely cleared the opening and soon came under fire from guns of various calibers inside. Despite taking damage, the ship managed to reach the power plant at the heart of the seafort. Despite blowing a huge hole using the 36-inch torpedo it received from the Akashi earlier, the internal workings is too well-protected from artillery fire.

"Borrowing" Minami's hoverboard, the crew made a remote-controlled bomb that could be guided deep into the structure. As soon as it detonated, the Harekaze made its escape at full speed, with the seafort crumbling around it. The ship's only way out is blocked by debris.

### Mashiro's Decision

The blockage was too big for the Harekaze's main gun to dislodge, and salvo fire from the battleships outside couldn't destroy it. Instead, the entire class put their faith in Mashiro, who drove a skipper toward the debris. At the last minute, she jumped off from the skipper, which crashed against the debris and exploded. The destroyer eventually reached the safety of open waters, the menacing seafort rendered immobile.

In the midst of the celebratory mood, Mashiro told Akeno that she finally understood what the phrase "always on the deck" truly meant. She would fulfill her dream of becoming a captain but would stay with the Harekaze for now.

## Notes and Trivia

* The Kii is shown in the movie as a Yamato-class battleship instead of the scrapped Kii-class battleship. The Kii-class were cancelled after Japan signed the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922, as its total displacement (42,000 dry tons) exceeded the treaty limit of 36,000 tons. They weren't built even as Japan later pulled out of the treaty.
	+ The Shinano is also shown as a Yamato-class battleship. Shinano was originally planned to be the third Yamato-class, but the loss of carriers during the disastrous Battle of Midway forced Japan to convert her into an aircraft carrier instead.
* The movie reveals that Maizuru also has its own all-girls marine high school aside from Toumai (officially known as Higashi-Maizuru) High School that operates submarines. It's unknown whether this is separate from Toumai or Toumai is actually a co-ed school.
* During the welcome ceremony, Principal Munetani mentioned the super heavy cruiser Azuma soon to be recommissioned in Blue Mermaid service. While no such ship existed in real-life history, it most likely refers to the Design B-65-class of Super Type A cruisers. None were ever built as Japan prioritized aircraft carriers during World War II.
	+ No names were ever given to the Design B-65 cruisers, given that they never got off the drawing board. However, Azuma may be a reference to the Tier IX cruiser of the same name in World of Warships, which the anime has collaborated with in the past.
* The movie marks the debut of the White Dolphins, the all-male counterpart to the Blue Mermaids. Whereas the Blue Mermaids operate Independence-class ships, the White Dolphins operate Akizuki-class destroyers, similar to Toumai instructor ships.
* Although piracy in real-life history is often associated with the waters off the Horn of Africa, Southeast Asia has its fair share of pirates. According to a news report by Time, the majority of pirate activity occurs near the busy Singapore and Malacca Straits, which are vital shipping hubs. So it's not entirely unusual for pirates to operate in the South China Sea.
* The Harekaze was given a 36-inch torpedo for use during the seafort assault. World War II-era torpedoes never exceeded 24 inches, with the longest being the Type 93 "Long Lance." As mentioned in the movie, no launcher would ever be able to fire such a torpedo, necessitating an externally mounted rail.
* The captains and XOs of the destroyers Tokitsukaze and Amatsukaze made their anime debut in the movie. They're from the now-retired mobile game High School Fleet: Kantai Battle de Pinch!