Squid Girl Episode 10

UPDATED: August 27, 2018

After being up for six years, an incredibly vague DMCA notice to Blogger from MX International Inc. caused this post to be taken down. 

Specifically, it stated: "The original works are copyrighted Japanese anime television broadcasts and translated releases by MX International Inc. Pursuant to 17 USC sec. 512(c)(3)(A)(ii) the official website for 'Squid Girl' includes a representative list at the below url" Said redacted URL was for TV Tokyo's website. 

Other blogs hit in the same notice look like they were hosting pirated videos. It appears Fair Use of screen captures may be going away since there was no video content in this post. All images have therefore been removed from the post and we'll see if it gets removed again.

Original post follows:

A rainy day brings out artistry in the Aizawa home, Sannae finally realizes she may have a problem, and a baseball game tests Squid Girl’s athletic abilities. From horror to the despairs of addiction to the thrill of competition, a lot of silliness happens -- but there are some surprising moments of angst to be found amidst the comedy this time out.


Rain Rain, Gill Away?
When a typhoon hits Japan, the normal summer fun goes out the window thanks to the associated torrential rain. A frustrated Ika Musame is taught all about teru teru bozu making by the Aizawa siblings and a nice little lesson about Japanese culture is explained to the rest of us. Personally, I love these moments in anime because they offer a glimpse at everyday practices in Japan.

Events take a detour midway through the story when Takeru is made to do his homework, which involves drawing a family member. A sweet statement by Chizuro leads to the boy acquiring his model, Squid Girl. Never one to be patient, things do not go swimmingly. In fact, Ika gets frustrated enough to try her hand at drawing the would be artist in retaliation. Let us say that she shows very little talent.


But wait! She was using her hands and as previously established, she is not good with them. Colored pencils in tentacle, the inkvader from the sea proves to have an alarming amount of talent for someone untrained. Yet there is a catch and that is her tentacles draw what her emotions perceive.
While Ika perceives Takeru as ordinary (which depresses the boy), her renditions of the other regulars are hilariously bizarre.

Inspired by her work, Takeru does complete his portrait of Squid Girl. A little knock upon the fourth wall makes things amusing in the dialogue. Also implied is that the character see each other as real humans and not cartoons, which is a small touch I liked.


When the story veers back to the rain and teru teru bozu making, truly horrific things begin to be seen. Not to mention strangely familiar faces to web denizens… But what could terrify Takeru so much to make that face?

Maybe She Inks You’re Annoying?

This Sannae centric story starts out with a breezy self narrated introduction by the stalker girl herself. It quickly goes from cute to brutally wrong, as her repeated attempts to hug Squid Girl result in a great deal of cartoon violence. Upset with the whole thing, Eiko takes Sannae aside to tell her to stop pursuing Ika. Aghast at the idea, she slowly comes around to understanding she needs to stop acting the way she does.


Only half hearted in her attempts to give up on romancing someone who despises her, Sannae begins a slow spiral into madness as she attempts self restraint. Only when hallucinations begin does she face the reality that she is a Squid Girl addict. So begins a true test of her mettle… and sanity.

Desperate times require desperate measures by the troubled teenage girl. But will they be enough?

How’s Your Throwing Arm?

Any time Ika’s friend Kyomi is in a story, you know it will be a good one. Throw in an underdog baseball team plot and there is no way it can go wrong. So when Kyomi has her ace pitcher go down with a fever, Squid Girl gets introduced to Japan and America’s mutual national pastime. Eager to help her friend’s baseball club, Ika is in over her fins because she doesn’t know a squid about the sport.


One quick tutorial turns her into a superstar player. Actually, it does not. Ika can’t hit the ball or catch it, so she is relegated to the outfield to do the least amount of damage. That does not go so well facing a team that is nationally ranked, but somehow they stay in the game. It turns out that Kyomi is one gutsy little player, in my opinion.


Can Squid Girl make up for her mistakes? Can the team rally when an injury causes even more trouble? And just what is going on with the opposing team captain?

Thoughts


Episode ten is very solid episode throughout. The first story, while a tad slow, builds to a mean spirited punch line that shows the edge hasn’t been lost as the season winds down. The art by Squid Girl is great fun, while conveying what she thinks of each character.

Sannae is a character I am on record as finding very annoying. But the makers of the show managed to do something I thought impossible and that is making me feel sorry for the girl. While played for laughs on the surface, there is a darker and sadder undercurrent to the riff on addiction shown. If there was any doubt she was insane, there can be none after this.

Finally, the baseball segment was just wonderful. While covering all the usual bases in storytelling, the way it is executed actually generated some tension. The friendship between Ika and Kyomi feels genuine and real, which is a nice trick given the concept of the show.
All in all, a great little episode.

EXTRAS (from Ika Musame’s Art Gallery)




BEWARE!!! HERE BE A SPOILER!

The ending was too cute not to put up.