Shinryaku! Ika Musume – Episode 12 (END)

Sadly, this is the last episode of Ika Musume. Even so, there are still some really fun moments before the drama kicks in the second half.

Part I – Battle for the 3DTV

Yes we know, 3DTVs are stupid at its current state since 3D capable TVs costs over 2000 dollars, you need special expensive glasses, limited 3D content and most of it doesn’t even look that good. It’s a gimmick unless you enter a volleyball contest to win one for free of course!

Well, it’s obviously true that Eiko, Ika and eventually Chizuru, which stands in for Eiko in disguise won the 3DTV. However, that isn’t the important part since the ways Eiko and Ika defeat each match are so hilarious that it’s not even funny.  The most notable defeats done by them are Sanae, the MIT Scientists, Nagisa and that shy girl.

Sanae is not too far away from becoming a Masochist like Sado Taro from MM!!. She enjoys being hit by the volleyballs Ika throws at her that shows her masochism. At this rate, Ika will be using bats so she can cure it.

Like I have predicted, the three MIT scientists makes an appearance with a really heavy volleyball. When the old scientist screams “Yes we can,” I kind of cracked up since that catchphrase is now popularized as a result of Obama’s successful presidential campaign back from 2008. Anyways, the ball was impossible to serve and the old guy was taken away with the other two guys yelling that they will be back for revenge.

As for Nagisa, her fear towards Ika kind of went back when she fears that Kiyomi is going to make her into a squid girl. While this could be tiring since the intimidation is used so many times in the past, but still funny nevertheless.

Also, the shy girl participates with a robotic Ika head. Sadly it ends up to be a failure with her running away.

Part II – III – Ika’s Melodramatic Degeneration

Basically, Ika loses her squid powers. When she recognizes that her powers are being lost for living on land for so long, she says goodbye to everyone when she goes back to the ocean for one year. She reappears again after that with her tentacles cut short and lives life as a normal human.

From my perspective, this is a change from the comedic moments of the previous episodes. It was sad to see Ika lose the squid abilities and having to resort to normal use of the hands and other things. It can be compared to the tragic deterioration of Misuzu, but maybe not since it’s not life threatening… Eventually the whirlpool, which traps Ika and Eiko, allowed Ika to regain her squid abilities and save her. I hope Ika doesn’t get the idea of doing that if she loses her powers again… or Eiko will be angry.

Not to mention, the shy girl gave some advice to Ika and it worked well.

Final Thoughts

Ika Musume was a very fun show even though some of the jokes are meh. Watching Ika doing funny and cute things things is what makes my day better after feeling so gloomy. I have to say, this is one of the most enjoyable comedies besides Milky Holmes and I will definitely recommend anyone to watch it, especially for Mini Ika.

Series Rating: 8.9/10, B+/A- ¶