瑞鶴 ("Auspicious Crane")

The personification of the Japanese aircraft carrier [i]Zuikaku[/i] in [i][[Kantai Collection]][/i].
Character design by [[Konishi (koconatu)]], voiced by [[Nomizu Iori]].

h4. Appearance
The Shoukaku-class ships wear a shorterned [[miko]] uniform with arm bracers and [[thigh boots]] with propellers protuding from them. Like most archer carriers, they wield a [[bow_(weapon)|bow]], their flight deck is attached to one of their arms and wear [[muneate]] but theirs has a kana inscribed on it ("ス" in this case).

Zuikaku herself has [[long_hair|long]] [[dark green hair]] in [[twintails]] and [[yellow_eyes|yellow]] or [[green eyes]] (the most likely colors are in the chartreuse range). Compared to most of her fellow aircraft carriers, she possesses a slender figure, sporting [[small breasts]]. Her flight deck is attached to her left arm. The straps of her muneate are brown.

Unlike [[Shoukaku (kancolle)|Shoukaku]] (but like [[zuihou (kancolle)|Zuihou]]), her clothes change color after remodeling. Her skirt becomes brown; her top is now a bluish grey; her muneate, flight deck, arm bracers and her quiver gain a geometric [[camouflage]] pattern.

For [[Zuikaku Kai Ni (Kancolle)|her second remodels]], she has the same new set up as Shoukaku before her. The only real difference is that Kai2 keeps her color scheme and camouflage from Kai and Kai2A restores her to her original white and red color scheme. She also has a different stat spread than Shoukaku, favoring AA and Evasion to her Firepower. She also remodels at different levels: Kai2 at Level 77 and Kai2A at Level 90, the very highest in the game.

Zuikaku is often paired with [[kaga (kancolle)|Kaga]] (ZuiKaga). Canonically they are rivals, but in fanon their relationship is presented in many different ways, as friends, foes or otherwise. Another fairly common depiction is an adult Kaga caring for a younger Zuikaku. Another pairing is with [[katsuragi (kancolle)|Katsuragi]], typically as a "senpai-kouhai" relationship.

For the Winter 2018 event, which is based on the second part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, she wears an outfit based on Sengoku-era officers with a [[jinbaori]] on top of a [[breastplate]] (instead of a muneate) and a flight deck apron similar to the ones used by Shibafu's fleet carriers. She also wears full-length gloves with the right-hand glove being like a yugake and a fire detector is attached to her left wrist. Her hair, normally in twintails, [[hair_down|is now loose and left down]] while she wears a white hachimaki. This outfit is limited to her second remodels, each variant having the appropriate colors (her jinbaori is khaki green as Kai2 and near white as Kai2A).

h4. Personality and history
In contrast with her sister ship, Zuikaku is depicted as a brash, hot-headed, reckless, and somewhat tomboyish girl, in reference with her turbulent wartime career, in which she was credited for damaging and sinking several ships, but usually at a cost of large numbers of airmen.

Zuikaku is frequently portrayed as a turkey and her in-game line "don't call me a turkey" is widely used as a joke on 4chan and 2chan. This stems from a historical aerial battle during "the Battle of the Philippine Sea":https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Philippine_Sea. Zuikaku (along with other IJN and IJA aircraft) attempted to attack a formation of US ships, but the Japanese forces were ill prepared with obsolete equipment and rookie pilots, and after a series of battles Zuikaku’s air arm was completely eliminated. The Americans who fended off the attacks remarked that the Japanese planes went down so easily that it was like "shooting turkeys". This is the reason why she is so adamant about not eating what is implied to be the Christmas turkey in her Christmas seasonal line.

Zuikaku is often paired with [[Kaga (kancolle)|]] by fans for their quasi-[[yuri]] love-hate relationship, stemming from the [[kantai collection (anime)|official anime]] in which Kaga views Zuikaku in low regards for her inexperience carelessness and views her simply as a "deadweight", much to Zuikaku's annoyance.

h4. [i]Shoukaku[/i]-class aircraft carriers
* [[Shoukaku (Kancolle)]]
* [b]Zuikaku[/b]

h4. See also
* [[Zuikaku (Azur Lane)]]
* [[Zuikaku (Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio)]]
* [[Zuikaku (Warship Girls R)]]
* [[Zuikaku (Blue Oath)]]
* [[Zuikaku (Black Surge Night)]]

h4. External links
* "Wikipedia: IJN [i]Zuikaku[/i]":[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Zuikaku]
瑞鶴 瑞鶴(艦隊これくしょん) 瑞鶴(艦これ) 年中瑞加賀祭