Agano (Japanese: 阿賀野) was the lead ship of her class of Imperial Japanese Navy light cruisers (in Japanese also designated as 阿賀野型軽巡洋艦 - second-rank cruisers of the Agano class). Launched and commissioned in October 1940, she saw limited combat during her service. Although designed as a modern vessel, she was criticised for her inadequate anti-aircraft armament. Agano participated in several missions, including the Battle of Bougainville Island, but her role was marginal at best. In November 1943, she was heavily damaged during the Rabaul air raids, losing her rudder and two propellers. While attempting to return to Japan for repairs, she was torpedoed by the American submarine USS Skate on 16 February 1944 and subsequently sank, marking the first loss of her class.

IJN Agano was introduced along with the initial release of the Imperial Japanese Navy in Update 1.89 "Imperial Navy". She has a fairly high speed, long-lance torpedoes, scout planes, and a good rate of fire, making it easy to fight against destroyers and other cruisers, while also being very competent at winning missions through objectives. Her biggest downsides are very limited anti-air capability, relatively poor survivability, and low penetration of the armour-piercing rounds, making her a difficult vessel to play in uptiers.