Saturday, August 16, 2014

Mondo Bizarro Reviews Anime: Squid Girl

It is weird, wacky and NOT a Harem Anime!  While seeking a new Anime to cover, I saw that Bob owns Squid Girl: Season 1 on Blu-Ray.  As a bonus, it is also on Streaming via Netflix.  Okay then...
Squid Girl comes from the Ocean to inkvade the surface via Japan.  It beats just smashing up Tokyo like in Monster!  While sea prepares to do that, she gets stuck working her kraken butt off at a Beach Hut with the Supporting Cast.

Oh and she makes a million fish/ocean puns like above.  Love it or hate it!

With the Three Short Stories per Episode Format and 12 Episodes in Season 1 (which I watched), there is way too much to cover.  I will just highlight one bit that I liked from Episode 4- the one with the guy who tried to make his own Squid Girl.
That's his shy daughter dressed up in the mask- creepy.

It gets worse when the Mark II version is debuted (with 'realistic' face), the ability to dispense condiments (which come out of the eyes and nose) and...this.
Another weird highlight is a dream Episode where Eiko finds a little Squid Girl and raises it.  I won't SPOIL the extra twist to this bizarre tale.
The thing that you may love or hate is the use of the character Sanae.  She falls for Squid Girl right away and it is in no way reciprocated.  There is PG-Level creepy stuff like her taking photos of Squid Girl in Cosplay Outfits...and then there is the point near the end of Season 1 where Sanae is now a Masochist.

It is much less creepy and offensive by the 'Everyone wants to molest/rape everyone else' bit in Nyarko San.  That's something.
Aside from that, I really, really liked Squid Girl.  It is goofy.  It is fun.  It is...not always easy to understand.  I don't mind though, since the multistory structure allows them to do silly stuff without having to explain a whole lot.  One Segment has Squid Girl learning what umbrellas are, while another will have Squid Girl targeted by U.S. Scientists (who think she's an alien) and yet another has Squid Girl taking over a live-action kid's show (a la Power Rangers) when she feels for the Octopus villain.  The format also allows you to start and stop easier, much like I did.  I could watch four or five segments if I wanted or I could power through three Episodes (9 Segments) in one go (which I did for the final Episodes).  There are many things left unexplained (like a clear definition of how Squid Girl works) that would be a bigger deal if this was serious.  Having just come off of the either melodramatic or super goofy Sekirei (Season 2), it was nice to see a Show that just picked what it wanted to be.  The show manages the cliche character concepts and premises well, playing with them for new ideas at times.  Of course, Squid Girl is still kind of a moron.
By the way, a Google Search for 'Squid Girl' brings up this.  What the hell is this thing?!?
Anyhow, it's a fun show.  If you can just enjoy the silliness and fun, it is a strong recommendation.

1 comment:

  1. Glad you liked it. :-) Now we just have to convert Garrett. ^_^

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