Shinryaku! Ika Musume

Title: Shinryaku! Ika Musume Genre: Comedy Rating: 6.7/10

Summary: The sea in our world has been polluted. All sorts of trash were thrown into the sea, making it unpleasant deep under the sea. One of the inhabitants of the sea, Ika Musume seeks to exact revenge on humanity for throwing trash into the sea. Clueless about the surface, she seeks to invade humanity alone, trying to rule over the world, only to find herself slaving away at one of the nearest beach-houses for breaking a side of its wall.

Review: Quite a few comedies came out this season huh? Thankfully Shinryaku! Ika Musume held its own and stood with the rest. I’m sure most will agree that the series real appeal is the little squid girl with big dreams (or nightmares for some). Nothin’ wrong with that because, well shucks, she’s such a cutie pie, ain’t she?

The art style of Shinryaku! Ika Musume isn’t anything to scorn at. The art style did its job and did it well. The adaptation between heart warming scenes and comedy flowed nicely. Certain scenes really stood out to me as well. Almost every scene where Chizuru appeared made me sit at the edge of my seat. Not really for her character, but rather the likely hood of some quick action sequence. The art gave her a chilling staring that I wont forget (it was as if she was looking right into my very soul…). The art worked with such a wide range of scripts that I can’t say anything negative about it.

The soundtrack wasn’t shabby either. The opening was – SHINRYAKU! – cough sorry that just came out. The opening was extremely addicting. I’m generally not one for bubbley high pitch singers, but the lyrics wouldn’t get out of my head. I’m actually afraid of getting the opening for the possibility it takes over my playlist and slowly my mind. I listened to the opening every episode, multiple times usually. I couldn’t get enough of the fast beat and catchy lyrics. I’m sure if I listened to it again it would give me the same fuzzy feeling as the Lucky Star opening. The ending was pretty sweet too. I really liked how they made minor changes to fit the episodic stories. It brought a tear to my eye as she held her broken umbrella looking off into the ocean.

The story wasn’t half bad either. I admit that it wasn’t the funniest comedy I have ever seen, but it had its moments. The short episodic stories were light and sweet. I actually felt like it was more of a slice of life than full on comedy. Though I’m not sure how many people have a squid girl, MIT mad scientists, triple black belt sisters, and crazed fan girl in their lives. I guess it was the sense of family and friendship that brought about those feelings. I don’t know if this will be an anime that will make people laugh out loud, but I’m sure it will at least bring a smile to their face.

Final statements: I actually do hope they come out with a second season. The series seemed to come up with new jokes each episode, so I don’t think I will get bored of it with another season. It was one of those low priority watch that put a smile on my face at the end of a long day.