Last summer had a strange melancholy to it. Things weren't too bad, but I was feeling trapped at my retail job and I didn't think I was going to move forward in life. I worked evening shifts and would often get back home at night, and it became a habit for me to enjoy some anime and beer while the world slept. It was surprisingly comfy, and one of the shows that made it particularly memorable was "Squid Girl", usually known as Ikamusume.

This summer has different life circumstances. I'm doing better, I've ben able to spend more time consuming stories I like and have had more energy to be critical of what I come across. Remembering last year's fun I've rewatched Ikamusume again, which spans two seasons and a short OVA series. While this is by no means the greatest slice-of-life comedy I've seen - especially with how good summer 2025 has been for the genre - I still consider Ikamusume one of my favorite anime and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys laid-back fun.

Personal Score

this criteria uses the DecentFilms rating formula.

Letter-Grade Recommendability: B+
Artistic/Entertainment Value - ★★★★☆
Moral/Spiritual Value - +1
Age Appropriateness: Teens & Up

The premise of Ikamusume is simple; a strange incarnation of the ocean has come to punish humanity for its pollution of its waters. What exactly is this incarnation? Well she's a strange hybrid of squid and girl with powerful tentacles and the resolve to invade the surface world and enslave all 1,000 of us... and that's where the plan falls apart. Especially since the beach house she washes up on is more than able to deal with the troublesome girl and puts her to work after she causes some unintentional damage. With her plans on an uneasy standby, Ikamusume works at the Lemon beach house while learning more about the world she's come to conquer.

It should be no surprise to anyone that Ika is the star of this show. She's energetic and stubborn and throwing her into human scenarios is a recipe for entertaining disaster. She never really gives up on her desire to take over the world, but we do see her perception of humanity begin to shift as she learns how they live their lives and gets to know some on an individual level. A good example is her uneasy alliance with the local lifeguard, who holds respect for the sea but not in the same way as Ika does. Her childish naivete and aspirations make her easy to root for, even if it would mean our demise; if there's one thing the show demonstrates, it's that her rule would be a mess.

The rest of the cast stays pretty consistent throughout the show, building up for most of the first season. We have the Lemon beach house and the Aizawa family who runs it, the liferguard as mentioned earlier, Americans from MIT searching for aliens, and many more. Everyone here has their own quirk and relationship with Ika that makes them enjoyable to watch, whether it be Nagisa Saito's fear or Cindy Campbell's extraterrestial theories. Aizawa Eiko was my favorite secondary with her sibling relationship with Ika, and she often plays the straight man in the various antics. As we progress into the second season the cast only grows in an increment, but we get to see a lot more into everyone and provides a lot of much-appreciated depth. With the exception of one Sanae Nagatsuki, who remains relatively static in her perverted obsession with Ikamusume and who often got on my nerves. We do get more insight into the Lemon's rivals at Southern Winds and that was very nice to see.

An episode of Ikamusume is typically split into three segments, each involving some topic like school or pets. While this anime does bill itself as a comedy I would say it was on the milder side of humor, with a good joke making me grin or smirk rather than full-on laugh (though I did laugh at some particular wild scenes). That's because the anime skews much closer to slice-of-life, which does make sense given Ika is getting the hang of human life, and most segments are about her trying to figure out the parts we take for granted on a daily basis. There's a great segment of Ika being amazed by umbrellas, for instance, or learning of the existence of schools. This moments are very humanizing, and given this is an anime there are some bits that are very uniquely japanese such as the segment on teru teru bōzu weather charms. One of the reasons I enjoy anime as a genre is because of that inherent foreignness, and moments like that in the show make it even easier to put oneself into Ika's shoes and experience the world in a new light. It's that virtue of Recovery, as Tolkien put it.

This is all exemplified by the production value of the anime, which is surprisingly really good. While nothing about Ikamusume will knock your socks off, it is quite well animated and has a decent soundtrack as well. While I'm not a huge fan of the first season's opening it does look quite nice, and the second season has a much better opening and ending in my opinion. Everything comes together in a nice bundle, especially in the rare mini-Ika segments that were absolutely heartwarming to watch.

I really enjoyed Ikamusume. It's not the most amazing thing ever, especially since I've been watching City the Animation almost simultaneously with it. But it has its own unique charm that I really love and makes it worth the rewatch in my book. I definitely want to give it another go next year to, and maybe for even more future summers.