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3:00 PM on 01.09.2011   |   Lauren Rae Orsini

Final Impressions: Squid Girl photoThe novelist John Gardner once said that every story comes out of one of just two basic plots. The first is when somebody leaves home and goes on a journey. The second is when a stranger comes to town and changes the lives of the inhabitants forever. Squid Girl is exactly that, even if we don’t realize it until the end.

goodbye

The Squid Girl universe, minus Squid Girl, is an exercise in patience. While Squid Girl was terrorizing those around her, we wanted nothing more than for her to lighten up a bit, to leave them in peace. Suddenly, in her absence, it’s hard to care about their feelings at all. Through the duration of the series when the spotlight was on Squid Girl, I wanted to see much more character development about the Aizawa family — what is the cause of their unusual family unit? Have they gone through hard times? — suddenly nothing mattered without her. Surely their lives were interesting before Squid Girl; Eiko’s temper, Chizuru’s feats of strength, and Takeru’s gradeschool curiosity could have made a lively slice-of-life anime on their own. But once Squid Girl entered their lives, they changed. Rather, she changed them.

hello

 

Even Squid Girl’s return, nearly a year later, isn’t enough. Minus the tentacle hair, minus the “da geso” peppered speech, minus the larger-than-life proclamations of subjugation, even Squid Girl can’t fill the hole left by the Aizawas’ memories of Squid Girl. Poor Takeru lashes out at this girl he sees as an imposter, demanding that the “old Squid Girl” come back.

girl

At the moment when all seems lost, the familiar old plot comes circling around. A stranger comes to town. With her oversized hat and monochromatic clothes and eyes, she seems to be an oceanic comrade of Squid Girl. Without revealing a word about herself, she provides the advice that Squid Girl needs to return to herself. Who is she? Does it matter?

You already know the ending to Squid Girl before I tell you. It’s the only ending the show could have. Let’s focus on what is missing: the other possible plot, the journey. Squid Girl came to town a stranger and changed lives. But then, once we got to know her and she was, in fact, just one of the townspeople, she left town again for the ocean floor. What happened there? Remember, at this point she has no squid powers to help her adapt underwater.

The journey, like the mysterious adviser’s identity, will probably never be revealed. There’s nothing deep about Squid Girl. But there’s some comfort to be taken in that fact that Squid Girl follows the same literary plot line as told through time immemorial.

 


Final Impressions: Squid Girl photo
Final Impressions: Squid Girl photo
Final Impressions: Squid Girl photo


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Legacy Comments

I was taught that there were ten basic plots, the journey and the stranger's arrival being the two most common.
Bye Bye, Squid Girl, Come Back Soon!

... In the meantime, I'm going to write some Fanfiction for the first time in ages...
Slice of life has quickly become my favorite anime genre. I love that I can just throw on an episode and relax with it. I can laugh when I want to, but I can also enjoy the humor that doesn't make me laugh. I don't have to be laughing out loud 100% of the time to enjoy it.

Squid girl came at the perfect time. K-On! had overstayed its welcome by an entire season, and Squid Girl was there to save the genre for me. It was fresh, new, and enjoyable. I'd love to see a second season, but dear god, wait at least a year.
@The-Excel, I think there are a couple schools of thought on it. I learned about just the two.

@KagatoTEG, Squid Girl FF? LINK!

I Haven't Written it Yet! I'm something of a slow writer, and I practice a very strange writing style. I've barely got to Squid Girl herself at all yet...

Here's the "beginning" couple lines of the tale...


Our story starts in Japan on a beach, with a rather unique family packing up shop ready to go on holiday. However, this is not where I will begin narrating the story from. Instead let me take us to a street in a much more dreary seaside town, this time in America.
Its sad that Jellyfish Princess ended at 11 episodes it was a really good series as well.I kind of liked Squid Girl it didn't have Nudity and Panty shots just to be funny. It was comical on its own the way Squid Girl character acting all "I am going to take over the World because I am a Super Villain." in the end she fails because she doesn't have a clue what the world of real world is.
@Lauren Rae Orsini:
I learned about the ten basic genres in film school. I suppose literature would look at basic narrative structure differently, but now I instinctively group storylines based on what the characters want to accomplish as opposed to just what they ultimately end up doing.
it was always fun just reading about it. :)
The Squid Girl universe, minus Squid Girl, is an exercise in patience. While Squid Girl was terrorizing those around her, we wanted nothing more than for her to lighten up a bit, to leave them in peace. Suddenly, in her absence, it’s hard to care about their feelings at all. Through the duration of the series when the spotlight was on Squid Girl, I wanted to see much more character development about the Aizawa family — what is the cause of their unusual family unit? Have they gone through hard times? — suddenly nothing mattered without her. Surely their lives were interesting before Squid Girl; Eiko’s temper, Chizuru’s feats of strength, and Takeru’s gradeschool curiosity could have made a lively slice-of-life anime on their own. But once Squid Girl entered their lives, they changed. Rather, she changed them.
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