First Impressions / Shinryaku! Ika Musume

「ジョギングしなイカ!?」 (Jogingu Shinai ka!?)
“Won’t You Go Jogging!?”

If there’s one thing this show could use plenty more of, it’s Eiko messing with Ika when the latter doesn’t know any better. The RC car skit was a good start, but it’s not quite the same as when Eiko can barely keep a straight face. Good stuff. As for Chizuru, I had a feeling that she goes on insane marathon-like jogs, so kudos to Gorou for following his heart to the ends of the world in spite of his dismal chances at keeping up and actually snagging the girl he loves. He got a little excited about an indirect kiss, but if he was paying attention, he would’ve realized he got one with Eiko and not Chizuru. Oh well, a lifeguard can still dream.

P.S. For those who have never had it, green tea ice cream is the bomb! Mmm… green tea ice cream…

 

「SPじゃなイカ!?」 (SP Janai ka!?)
“Isn’t That an SP!?”

Where there’s Sanae, squid-slapping is usually not too far away. This had to be one of the quirkiest outward displays of what goes on in her mind, as she was literally beating herself to put “SP Sanae” above “Squid-Loving Sanae”. I’m quite surprised by the amount of restraint she showed when she was in the bathtub with a naked Ika. It was a valiant effort for that reason alone, and humorously enough, was already happening a bit with Takeru’s friends. For those who haven’t noticed by now, all of Takeru’s friends are voiced by the regular cast, so there was a bit of dialogue here where Itou Kanae was talking to herself. It came off as a joke within a joke for those with an ear for seiyuu voices.

 

「冒険しなイカ!?」 (Bouken Shinai ka!?)
“Won’t You Go on an Adventure!?”

Whenever I see a skit with Mini Ika Musume, I can just feel my eyes dilating in anticipation. I’m not kidding when I say there should be at least one Mini Ika Musume skit every other episode. We’ve had two in six now so it’s close, but I’m hoping Diomedea will up that ratio as we go on. From the shark eraser to the flower dress, we had plenty of scares and cute moments. It came complete with some heartfelt tears too, which I find absolutely adorable to watch. I felt bad for Ika when she got swatted around by a pair of cats, but it did make the reunion with Eiko that much better. I also got a good laugh out of this skit from seeing Eiko’s dismal test scores. Just so there isn’t any confusion, check marks are bad in Japanese marking. They’re equivalent to X’s. Circles are good, which actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it. (Incidentally, this is why Japanese PlayStations use Circle for select and X for cancel. North American consoles reverse the buttons.)

 

ED1.06 Sequence

ED: 「君を知ること」 (Kimi wo Shiru Koto) by 金元寿子 (Kanemoto Hisako)
Watch the ED!: Streaming ▼

An ending sequence with Mini Ika Musume warrants a new encode.

Preview

39 Comments

    4. Hey look at Takanashi from Working!! I’m sure if he encountered Mini Ika Musume, he’d die from the cuteness.

      I also look foward to the Mini Ika Musume skits. I feel a sense of peace when I watch them…or perhaps it’s more of a sense of the impending stroke that is caused by cuteness overload…

      Aoihoshikage
      Reply

  3. I was inside that very Daibutsu, very cool. In case anyone wonders the show is apparently set in Kamakura, where that Buddha is. I went to Hakone as well, which is the onsen where Chizuru ran with Goro – and it’s about 30 miles (or more) from Kamakura. Half her normal distance?!

    Guardian Enzo
    Reply

    1. I noticed the same thing. Not at first but when Eiko pointed out the doors and a pan to that entrance, there was no doubt that was the Daibutsu at Kamakura. Even the interior shots are as you would expect.

      Kou
      Reply

    2. They also had a shot of Enoshima. I went there a few years ago because it was the setting for Elfen Lied. Did a lot of walking that day. The only place I didn’t get to see was the stairs lined with the little statues.

      Gambler
      Reply

  9. Flower Dress Mini Ika was just too adorable. I wasn’t expecting another Mini Ika skit so soon, but hey I’m not complaining. I just want to take her home and huggle her until she suffocates. Oh so that’s why the PS controls for Japanese games are like that, I knew about the marking system but never really connected the two.

    Saya
    Reply

  16. Hehehe I went there too!! The sanctuary in Kamakura. In fact I was asking myself since the preview two weeks ago if it was indeed the same place I visited or not and I was really hyped for this episode.

    And wow, totally didn’t notice either that Takeru’s band of brothers are voiced by the same seiyuus as the main cast.

    Also, I’m not the kind of guy to be picky about details like that in anime but when Mini Ika Musume sought refuge from the rain inside that tuna can, I was so surprised. I mean, these things are sharp as hell, she could’ve cut her hands badly by how she clung on the edge of the can like that. My mom never let me open cans myself until I was 9 or something. Or maybe they have invented non-sharp ones in Japan.

    Rockmanshii
    Reply

  18. Divine,

    IMHO —

    I’m struggling with the value of a system (user comment rating) like this. From what I’ve
    seen, generally what is written by the commenters is generally sane (there’s the occasional
    “fix this site” yum-yum – but that’s an exception).

    I think this system might be intimidating to a first time commenter, too. I think people
    generally get to know their community and recognise what aliases are going to post junk,
    and just skip reading that name’s post.

    If you’re into the button thing, have you considered a simple episode rating buttons – maybe
    3-5 buttons? Maybe with a different spin to their meaning, but at the same time reflects the
    genre of the show?

    Then, at the heading of this page, you could show the average rating of this episode so far of
    the commenters who have selected (make this optional like you have now, no one wants to be forced
    to select) a rating. Maybe at the END episode, you could build a simple graph showing the
    community’s interest/rating of the show through its run (I guess you can tell what I do for a living).
    I’m sure much of this can be automated.

    So, when a commenter post, he’s given an opportunity to provide a rating. After he submits,
    his rating is displayed (not editable) in the location you currently use for Y/N. As a reader
    flips through the page, they can select comments to focus on based on that rating to see
    what the commenter said to support their score (colour is helpful here, too)

    It might be a funner system that doesn’t place an arduous burden on the commenter.

    I’m only suggesting this to save Enzo’s post from being hidden in Last Exile -Ginyoku no Fam :).

    mac65
    Reply

    1. I don’t think commenters should be deterred by this rating system. People will be more accountable for what they say, but that’s never a bad thing when it leads to more “civil” discussion. It’s mainly intended for lurkers to express agreement/disagreement on what’s been said — that’s all.

      Divine
      Reply

      1. 11/15: I’m giving a comment rating system another trial run. I need to experiment with Like/Dislike thresholds to determine a good number before good comments are highlighted and bad comments are hidden. Please note that there’s a short delay before votes show up due to caching. Any feedback is appreciated.

        What happen to it last time?

        chaos
        Reply

      3. 11/16: I’m also testing a social media plugin for Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Please vote up any posts that you like. There’s a small hit to page load speed, so I may remove it from the home page.

        HOLY SH*T! You went all out, didn’t ya Divine? I like it! I have always wonder about the fate of RC, but from the way things are improving, Omni would be proud. 😀

        I will help spread the words on Facebook, but don’t know about any where else. The potential downside is now people can see each other real’s faces. I wonder how I and others will react to Divine, Enzo, Takaii, and the other writers’ real side?

        O_o

        chaos
        Reply

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