Shinryaku Ika Musume OVA: Featuring games more unplayable than Superman 64

I talked about a comedic anime called Shinryaku Ika Musume a very long time ago. It’s been over a decade at this point when you factor in the fact that it was a repost of an older review when I first put that one on WordPress. And even that repost is almost a decade old. At the time, it was the only thing I’d seen from Diomedea. It’s since been joined by Akuma no Riddle & Dai Mahou Touge. So, the studio has a strong track record. In any case, the comedy was enjoyable and we’re revisiting the series with a look at the 3 episode OVA.

Story:

The OVA is set up with one episode containing a variety of shorter episodes. The episodes deal with Ika Musume, the Aizawa family and the various eccentrics they encountered in the main series. They test the world’s second worst video game system after the CD-I, watch Gorou get embarrassed by his mum, try to prevent Chizuru from being mistaken for an alien and more.

The issue with this series lies in the format. They want every short to be around the same length. As a consequence, there are some shorts that feel like they don’t really take full advantage of the comedic possibilities, like Chizuru being suspected of being an alien, while others, Ika Musume trying to throw out a message in a bottle, drag on a bit. There are also definitely episodes that are better than others. None of them are bad but some are just okay while others are fantastic.

On the positive side, the comedy does largely work. There are a lot of good episode ideas in here and they’re executed well in spite of some of them being too short or dragging a bit. It manages to be consistently entertaining.

Characters:

The cast isn’t particularly complex. However, they don’t need to be. I’ve gone over this with comedies many times but comedic characters need to have strong comedic potential and play off of each other well. Which the characters in this generally do. Though there is a question of why we need three scientists when they quite literally all have the same function and personality. The characters also don’t get the kind of development they got in the first series. They’re pretty stagnant.

Art:

The art style is cute and vibrant. The animation flows well. The characters still largely have similar faces with different hair. I can’t really fault the OVA for keeping that feature since it was also in the original series. It’s just kind of lazy design.

Sound:

There are a lot of skilled actors in this. Kanemoto Hisako, Tanaka Rie, Fujimura Ayumi, Itou Kanae and more. Their performances are pretty solid. The music is upbeat and fun.

Ho-yay:

There’s a bit. The OVA doesn’t really feature Ika Musume’s seeming crush on Nagisa nor does it have many homo-erotic moments betwixt Ika and Eiko. It does feature Sanae’s very blatant interest in Ika. It also has the same issue as the original where it seems to be largely present because the writer finds it funny.

Areas of Improvement:

1. The OVA would definitely benefit from having fewer shorts and having more extensive explorations of the comedic possibilities within a given scenario. They could literally drop the weakest short from each episode and turn out a better product.
2. If you’re going to have Sapphic representation, at least give the character more to her personality than just mindlessly pursuing the girl she likes.
3. There are several characters who would definitely benefit from a bit more depth. Solely because the jokes they’re used for are obvious.

Final Thoughts:

This OVA is worth watching if you enjoyed the Ika Musume series proper. That being stated, it really doesn’t add much. It’s more of the same. It has the same strengths as the series proper and the same flaws. I’m giving it a 7/10 since I did mostly enjoy the comedy and found it quite endearing but it’s not brilliant.

Reviews of Yesteryear: Shinryaku Ika Musume

Shinryaku Ika Musume is the story of a squid girl who invades the surface because humans are ruthlessly polluting the sea. She subsequently gets side-tracked and ends up working at a beachside restaurant stall. The story, while creative, is essentially just a framing device for the zany comedy and a not so subtle parody of all those ridiculous environmentalist films. So the real important question is: does the comedy work? The answer is an ardent yes. The situations Ika Musume ends up in are generally pretty mundane but her involvement adds a surrealistic element that works very well. The result is pure hilarity. One of the best aspects of the humour is that it never falls into the realm of using random pop culture references as jokes, which so many inferior comedies do. The humour is also very natural. It always arises from the situation and feels very intuitive for the characters.

The characters are what makes the comedy work. They have just the right blend of major and minor characters to make any potential situation humorous. The major characters are also well developed. Which is surprising, since comedies have a tendency to use stock characters.

The art is decent. the backgrounds tend to be really vibrant and detailed. When they draw normal sea creatures they do it very well. The only real art issue is that the characters all have similar faces. 

The voice work is decent. It doesn’t really stand out, but it’s suitable for the characters and emotions are expressed well. The music is really hyperactive and upbeat. It suits the series perfectly. 

The yuri factor is an 7/10. Sanae loves Ika. Ika has a thing for Nagisa and Ika and Eiko share some really homoerotic moments. The only issue I have with the yuri in this is that some of it, specifically the parts involving Sanae, seems pretty exploitative. To put it simply, it seems like it’s put in, not because it works for the characters, but because the writer finds it funny. 

My final rating for Shinryaku Ika Musume is an 8/10. It has a few issues, but it’s hilarious and a lot of fun to watch. The humour isn’t forced or based on random pop culture references. If you enjoy zany comedy like Galaxy Angel, Kanamemo or All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku, you’ll probably enjoy this as well.