Ika Musume, Aizawa Eiko, Aizawa Chizuru, Aizawa Takeru, Nagatsuki Sanae, Saitou Nagisa, Arashiyama Gorou, Cindy Campbell

First Impressions / Shinryaku! Ika Musume

Shinryaku! Ika Musume – 04

Well I’ll be damned. There’s tentacle rape going on but the clothes are staying on!

「買わなイカ？／乗りこまなイカ？／ニセモノじゃなイカ？」
(Kawanai ka? / Norikomanai ka? / Nisemono Janai ka?)
“Won’t You Buy It? / Won’t You Come In? / Isn’t That An Impostor?”

Compared to last week, this episode was a lot cuter than it was funny and had some slightly unsettling moments to boot. However, by the time the third skit rolled around (with gigantic mechanical Ika Musume heads and all), the laughs were aplenty again thanks to Ika’s tunnel vision perception of what her squid species’ looks like. i.e. A squid hat with blue tentacles. de geso!

First Impressions / Shinryaku! Ika Musume

Shinryaku! Ika Musume – 03

BEHOLD! The true power of Ika Musume unleashed!
Question is, can she really swim without her tentacles?

「怖くなイカ？／天敵じゃなイカ？／新入りじゃなイカ？」
(Kowakunai ka? / Tenteki Janai ka? / Shiniri Janai ka?)
“Aren’t You Afraid? / Isn’t That My Natural Enemy? / Aren’t You The Newcomer?”

In case I haven’t made it clear enough from the Fall 2010 Preview and my posts on the first two episodes, I love this series. It’s not often you can find a cute, lighthearted comedy with a naive squid girl who absolutely steals the show. From ghosts, to killer whales, to the new part-timer at Lemon, this most recent episode delivered a bundle of laughs that left me eagerly anticipating more.

First Impressions / Shinryaku! Ika Musume

Shinryaku! Ika Musume – 02

“Oh my god I totally forgot I can breathe underwater!”

「仲間じゃなイカ？／祝わなイカ？／遊ばなイカ？」 (Nakama Janai ka? / Iwanai ka? / Asobanai ka?)
“Aren’t You an Ally? / Won’t You Celebrate? / Won’t You Play?”

So apparently squid girls are so dumb, they forget that they can breathe underwater and start panicking like they’re going to drown. It’s probably not fair to draw conclusions on the whole squid people race based on Ika Musume, but it’s really all I have to go on so that’s what I’m going to do!

First Impressions / Series Introduction / Shinryaku! Ika Musume

Shinryaku! Ika Musume – 01

Ika Musume is here to subjugate mankind for polluting the ocean! Too bad nobody cares.

「侵略しなイカ？／同胞じゃなイカ？／最強じゃなイカ？」
(Shinryaku Shinai ka? / Douhou Janai ka? / Saikyou Janai ka?)
“Aren’t I Invading? / Aren’t You a Fellow Brethren? / Isn’t She the Most Powerful?”

The invasion of the squid girl is here! While I enjoyed the bit of the manga I read in preparation for this adaptation, it’s far better animated than even I was expecting. Diomedea’s animation is crisp and the lush colors have a lot of “pop”. Best of all, Ika Musume herself is absolutely adorable with the way Kanemoto Hisako plays her.