Having friends and peers who share a common interest with you is a blessing that I, for one, have too often taken for granted. I have a variety of different hobbies, each of which is shared by at least one person with whom I share a strong friendship and continued connection. Anime is one such interest of mine that continues to introduce new shows that I've never even heard of through my network of other like-minded peers. And through said network of peers, I was recently introduced to one such anime called Squid Girl.

If I were to be brutally honest, upon hearing the title, Squid Girl for the first time, I legitimately thought it was going to be some garbage show that I've never even heard for good reasons. Classic case of judging a book by its cover on my part, and I could not have been any happier to have been proven so very, very wrong.

Beneath its incredibly childish appearance and frighteningly cute OP is an anime that had me laughing from start to finish, whether it was the amusingly exaggerated plot or the charming cast of characters. Quite honestly, I would not be shocked if Squid Girl was meant to be targeted towards children, what with the incredibly bright colors, cutesy music, lack of fan service, and subtle subliminal messages on preserving our oceans. It may very well be an anime for children for all I know, but even if it is, my friends and I got more enjoyment out of it than plenty of other anime with more mature themes.

I'm not sure how it's translated in other available streaming services, if there's even any difference at all, but one of the more cheesy and amusing aspects of the show was the Japanese puns implemented in the titles of each episode/mini-episode. It does require a slight understanding of Japanese grammar and vocabulary to get the jokes, but a very basic description is that the word for 'squid' in Japanese is ika (イカ). This word's pronunciation is very similar to a lot of Japanese grammatical phrases, such as janaika (じゃないか), or "isn't it?" It's incredibly stupid humor, but I personally find it to be quite amusing.

1. Music: 83/100 - They say people can recognize a favorite TV show almost instantly within a few seconds of the opening theme song - the two tend to go hand-in-hand. Well, after having watched all 12 episodes of Squid Girl S1, I can safely say that its OP and the show in general go better together than milk on cereal, syrup on pancakes, or wheels on a bike. It fits the overall ridiculousness and energy of the show so well, that I'd be hard-pressed to find anything that could suit it better. The ending is a nice contrast with a soothing melody as opposed to the chaos the opening presents, but both songs do a wonderful job at matching the theme that Squid Girl presents.

2. Plot: 68/100 - I can't imagine too many people saw the title, Squid Girl and expected to bear witness to a life-changing, mind-altering story that would change the very way they viewed the world and those who live there. Which is good, because that's precisely the opposite of what they would get. Squid Girl is literally an anime about an anthropomorphic squid-girl that invades the surface world with dreams of world and human domination. It's as childish as it sounds and, while there are charming undertones about preserving the environment, what you see is general what you get.

3. Characters: 93/100 - Hands down, my personal favorite aspect of Squid Girl by a country mile. The very concept of this anime is ridiculous, which is completely fine, but if you're going to make that the central focus of your show, you'd better take care to make sure that the cast of characters is aware of just how stupid it is. And I believe the creators of Squid Girl did an incredible job of achieving exactly that. Characters such as Eiko, Chizuru, Nagisa, Sanae, etc. do a great job of not only recognizing how stupid the concept of an anthropomorphic squid-girl trying to take over the world is, but also in taking their attitudes to a variety of different extremes, such as parenting, loving, exaggerated fear, and even romance. The cast is what brings it all together, in my opinion.

4. Art & Animations: 74/100 - The first season of Squid Girl released towards the tale-end of 2010 - a factor made clear by its art and animation style. The show is, at the time of me writing this review, nearing 13 years-old. It definitely does show its age, but that's not necessarily a bad thing at all. I mentioned eariler how I strongly believe Squid Girl could be a show marketed towards a younger audience - something that, I believe, is heavily supported by the art style and its incredibly bright, solid colors. The colorful setting and bright animations catch the eye and make for a potentially great show in which young children could easily get lost.

She's a kid now! She's a squid now! She's a kid, she's a squid, she's a kid, she's a squid, she's a - well, you get the picture. In all seriousness, Squid Girl is an anime that really goes to show how you should never judge a book by its cover. Had I stumbled across this show on my own with no incentive to watch it, I would have likely passed it up. But since my friends wanted to watch it with me, I obliged - a decision that I do not regret one bit. I would highly recommend this anime to anyone looking for a good laugh without being subjected to any fan-service or unnecessary filler. I am incredibly excited to watch the 2nd season - something I plan on watching with the same friends who recommended the first season.