For decades mankind has taken the vast epic ocean environment for granted. As our technology has advanced so has the scale our pollution with oil garbage and toxic waste killing millions upon millions of innocent aquatic life forms. But now the world below the surface has finally taken enough abuse from the world above and theyre sending their most powerful most terrifying soldier to deal with us. All 1000 of us. Okay so its information may be a bit dated but its desire to enslave us and force us to pay for our crimes is no laughing matter. Shes coming and we have no choice to prepare ourselves For the most adorable invasion of mankind since Night of the Lepus. Yes its not Godzilla its Squidgirl a vertically challenged moppet who looks almost human save for the series of blue tentacles that make up her hair. Or Ika Musume as Japan calls her. She comes ashore one day bursts into the Lemon Beach House and announces to the first gathering of humans she sees that this world And all the people in it Now belong to her Unfortunately for her this declaration is met with laughter and she soon winds up working a low level job at the very beach house she just threatened. Like Ika this beach house is owned run by a small family of siblings They have no parents because its an anime. The most important of the three is Eiko a high school student who acts as a foil for all of Ikas hare brained schemes and delusions. Takeru is a little boy who genuinely acts like a child surprisingly. He gets along very well with Ika as hes more than willing to play along with her. And their oldest sister Chizuru Well telling you about her personality would spoil one of the greatest moments of the series even though it happens in episode 1 so Ill just leave it at shes awesome. The animation is nothing special but its a little above average by Slice of Life standards. There are a lot of key frames but when it wants to impress you it will not hesitate to do so saving its budget for moments that really need it. Yes the allocation of the budget may be a little too noticeable for some people but you cant argue with results because whenever theres action or physical comedy going on theres really nothing to complain about. Aside from the main character the character designs are a little on the bland side but they still have kind of a natural feel to them. Well natural by anime standards. And speaking of our hero the animation style works particularly well in favor of the Squid Girl herself whose various cephalopod abilities make up the bulk of that action and physical comedy. For a good idea of how her tentacles work think of her as a really mean parody of Lucy from Elfen Lied the four deadly vectors have been swapped out for ten mostly harmless hairtentacles that seem to have even more impressive abilities than Ika herself has. Theyre powerful enough to break through a wall strong enough to lift heavy objects and fast enough to create a sonic boom yet theyre also delicate enough to thread a sewing needle. And they can seemingly stretch indefinitely. On top of this she can breathe underwater and use bioluminescence to glow in the dark. And yet beyond these abilities Ika herself is Well I dont want to say stupid Perhaps naive and gullible would be better. Her knowledge of the human world seems very arbitrary and inconsistent. Shes able to do complicated math problems in her head but she doesnt know that she cant eat the images on a 3D TV. Its odd but hey its an episodic childrens show. Even My Little Pony had problems like that. And for what its worth while Ika may be a little inconsistent shes a very entertaining little pain in the ass. As enjoyable as the title character may be Your choice of dub or sub will influence this but more on that later I cant really say as much about the supporting cast. I wouldnt go as far as calling them bad or unlikeable Okay maybe a few of them are Theyre just not all that interesting on their own. Theyre mostly used as props for Ika to interact with and to be fair this is done to great effect. They support her as a supporting cast should but none of them ever really stand out as they either get too little screen time to justify their presence or so much screen time that their best qualities become Flanderized. The only one that ever really rubs anybody the wrong way is Sanae Eikos childhood friend who has a lesbian crush on Ika Which would be fine if she werent so damn creepy and obsessed about it. Honestly shes the only real element of the series that I wouldnt call kid friendly. The English dub for the most part is pretty underwhelming. Its a parade of no names and small timers with the only big actors being Carrie Savage and the increasingly impressive Christina Vee. for the most part the performances are either bland or adequate although nobody really bombs it. What really surprised me was the performance behind Ika whos played by Christine Marie Cabanos. Ive never really liked her as an actor I thought she was misscast in KON and Madoka Magica and while I didnt mention it in my review I freaking HATED her in Oblivion Island. But here she was actually kind of good. She wont be winning any Oscars any time soon but her every ridiculous thing I say sounds completely normal to me delivery was a pretty good approach to take. The Japanese track is infinitely better than the dub however and Hisako Kanemoto blows Cabanos completely out of the water. Actually the performances are better all around even if you cant understand the language. Which I cant. The dub isnt horrible and it should be enough to please those who insist on watching it but unless youre eager to hear a barrage of fishrelated puns the Japanese track is definitely recommended. I mentioned earlier that aside from Sanae this show is pretty kidfriendly and I meant it. The stories are simple enough for a kid to comprehend without ever really feeling too dumbed down. Its episodic split into threes like a Nickelodeon cartoon but theres still a sense of progress and development with the characters. Its set on a beach so theres naturally a lot of scantily clad bodies walking around but aside from that theres barely any traditional fanservice at all. Its the story of an incompetent Invader losing touch with their origins as they adapt to human culture and while weve seen that about a million times its done pretty well here with the constant otaku pandering that almost ruined Sgt. Frog left completely out of the equation. The writing can get corny and the characters can get a little stale at times but it still smells of genuine effort and imagination. It never stays in a rut for too long and theres always a good laugh waiting around the corner. Actually the writing in this show is a lot like the animation Its hit or miss but when it hits it REALLY hits and it doesnt always need to rely on comedy to be enjoyable. There are some surprisingly touching scenes including a chibi segment in episode five thats so brilliant and creative that with different music it probably wouldnt feel out of place in a Fantasia movie. Squid girl is available from Media Blasters surprisingly. Theyve released the first season stateside. You can stream it legally on Crunchyroll buy the DVDs on amazon or just watch the whole thing for free on Netflix. Theres a second season but it hasnt been licensed and I havent seen it yet. I will see it eventually and when I do I have some pretty high hopes for it I want to see Ikas home world be explored and explained a little more I want a few certain characters to get some more screen time and I want a few other certain characters to die in a fire. In the end Squidgirl is kind of a mixed bag. Its a bit of an underachiever in almost every category but it still makes for some great lighthearted mostly family friendly fun. I guess the base breaker for most people will be Ika herself. seeing as how the best points of the series Some of you may find her unconscionably annoying and I can understand that sentiment completely. This show is not for you. For the rest of us myself included she is nothing sort of adorable and charming and if the rest of the cast has to act as her props then good job This show is hilarious. Its not one of the best comedies out there and repeated viewings over a short period of time may leave you feeling cold Once or twice a year at best is advised But for what it is I loved it. I give Squidgirl a 7/10.