Anyone who ever played a game with a massive number of characters and separate equipment loadouts for each would feel the same pain. Even if they've never played Kancolle. Heck, even a handful of characters can be overwhelming if the equipment list is long enough.
"Dammit! WHERE did that poison-resist thingamajig go!? I could've sworn I just saw it not five minutes ago..."
Interesting that they actually added this functionality. It's still kind of clunky, but at least you don't have to rely on a third party player any more to find your equipment.