Squid Sisters

"Staaaay fresh!"

- The Squid Sisters' catchphrase

The Squid Sisters (Japanese: シオカラーズ Shiokarāzu, lit. Sea O' Colors) are a pop idol duo in Inkopolis, consisting of Callie and Marie (アオリ、ホタル Aori and Hotaru). Together, they host Inkopolis News; announcing events, updates, and the current stages in rotation. They also host Splatfest events, with each sister representing one of the two teams. Despite their name, they are actually cousins, not sisters.

Callie
Callie's color scheme is magenta and black. She has an edgier design in comparison to her cousin, with angular eyes and perked-up ears. Her tentacles are long and black, tied in a large bow on the back of her head and fading to pink on the ends. She is very excitable and positive, often making innocent, straightforward comments with a grin on her face. Her solo, Bomb Rush Blush, is a fast-paced and exuberant pop song, showing her energy and playfulness as she runs around the stage.

Her favorite weapon class is the Roller-class, and has been shown to use a Hero Roller.


 * Her amiibo entry reads as follows:
 * Callie is the cheeriest member of the pop idol duo known as the Squid Sisters in the Splatoon™ game. Along with Marie, she hosts Inkopolis News and Splatfest events, in which Inklings pick one of two sides and battle the opposing team in Turf War. These two cousins rose to fame after winning Calamari County’s first annual Youth Folk-Singing Contest, and their remarkable voices continue to rock Inkopolis!

Marie
Marie's color scheme is lime and light gray. She has a more laid-back design in comparison to her cousin, with heavy-lidded eyes and slightly drooping ears. Her tentacles are short and light gray, tied in a large bow on the right side of her head and fading to green on the ends. She is less excitable, usually only giving a small smile. Many of her comments are sarcastic, sometimes even mean-spirited towards Callie or otherwise. Her solo, Tide Goes Out, is a slow, serene song, with movement kept mostly to her arms.

Her favorite weapon class is the Charger-class, and has been shown to use a Hero Charger.


 * Her amiibo entry reads as follows:
 * Marie is the sassiest member of the pop idol duo known as the Squid Sisters in the Splatoon™ game. Along with Callie, she hosts Inkopolis News and Splatfest events, in which Inklings pick one of two sides and battle the opposing team in Turf War. These two cousins rose to fame after winning Calamari County’s first annual Youth Folk-Singing Contest, and their remarkable voices continue to rock Inkopolis!

Inkopolis News
Inkopolis News is Inkopolis' news program, announcing events and updates on new features in Splatoon. The studio can be found on the upper level of Inkopolis Plaza, where the Squid Sisters can be seen in their studio.



Splatfest
The Squid Sisters also host Splatfest events, a multiplayer event in which players of a region divide into opposing team, with Callie and Marie each representing a different team. Callie's team is always shown on the left side of the Splatfest artwork and Marie's team is on the right. For the duration of the event, their clothes and tentacles temporarily change color to match that of their team's Ink and they perform a live concert in Inkopolis atop trucks outfitted with stage equipment.

At the top left corner of the box showing the player's Splatfest Power is a pair of eyes representing the Squid Sister they have sided with: players on Callie's team see her angular eyes, and those on Marie's team see her heavy-lidded eyes. Both versions have their signature pupils, but with a dark red color instead of the usual gold.

During the results of the 15th North American Splatfest Early Bird vs. Night Owl, Callie got sick of Marie's attitude, causing the duo to argue about who won more Splatfests before getting personal. This hinted at the announcement of the final Splatfest; Callie vs. Marie, which was confirmed to last 48 hours, as opposed to the usual 24 hour duration of a standard Splatfest.



List of Songs

 * [[Media:Splatfest - Multiplayer VS Theme.ogg|Ink Me Up]] (キミ色に染めて)
 * [[Media:Splatfest - One Minute Remains!.ogg|Now or Never!]] (イマ・ヌラネバー！)
 * [[Media:Splatfest Plaza.ogg|City of Color]] (ハイカラシンカ)
 * [[Media:Octo Valley Maritime Memory.ogg|Maritime Memory]] (マリタイム・メモリー)
 * [[Media:Octo Valley Calamari Inkantation.ogg|Calamari Inkantation]] (シオカラ節)
 * Bomb Rush Blush (トキメキ☆ボムラッシュ) - Callie's solo song, first performed at the Chokaigi 2016 Live Concert
 * Tide Goes Out (スミソアエの夜) - Marie's solo song, first performed at the Chokaigi 2016 Live Concert

Sound Effects

 * [[Media:Squid sisters sounds.ogg|Squid Sisters' voice clips]], heard during Inkopolis News.



Live Performance
On January 30, 2016, a real-life Squid Sisters concert called "Shiokaraibu" (Japanese: シオカライブ, translating to "Squid Sisters Live") was held at Niconico Tokaigi, a gaming event in Chiba, Japan. It starred digital projections of Callie and Marie, using unique, high-quality 3D models instead of those used in-game. They performed all five of their songs, most of them being extended or remixed slightly, ending with Calamari Inkantation.

On April 29, 2016, the second live performance by the Squid Sisters was held at Choongakusai 2016, a music festival featuring a variety of popular artists. The concert featured the debut of two new songs: Bomb Rush Blush and Tide Goes Out. They were solos sung by Callie and Marie, respectively. The following day, it was revealed that the new songs will be unlockable with the new Callie and Marie Amiibo figures launching in July.

On July 8, 2016, their third live performance was held at Japan Expo 2016, a convention dedicated to Japanese pop culture in Paris, France. It had the same set list as their second concert, with the dialogue in between songs shown in French. The live band's stage presence was also given more of an emphasis in this concert.

A live album featuring recordings of the first two concerts, Splatoon Live in Makuhari, was released in Japan on July 13th, 2016.



Amiibo
On April 30, 2016, Splatoon JP announced that Squid Sisters' Amiibo will be released at 7th July 2016.

Using the Squid Sisters' amiibo applies all the cosmetic changes of a Splatfest to Inkopolis Plaza, and the player can choose what song they perform. This is the only way to see the accompanying dances for these songs, with the exception of City of Color, the default for Splatfests.

In the manga series
They first appeared in issue 1 of the CoroCoro manga Splatoon, where they announced the CoroCoro Cup. They are hosts for that tournament. They now often appear in issues starting with issue 2.

Trivia

 * Callie and Marie's names together sound like the squid dish "Calamari", which is also Italian for "squid".
 * The Squid Sisters' Japanese name,, is a portmanteau of shiokara (fermented squid stew) and the English word "colors." The name is romanized as "Sea O' Colors", which is fitting given the nature of Splatoon.
 * [[Media:Squid sisters sounds.ogg|The voice clips used for "Staaaay fresh!"]] sound like something in between "Shiokarāzu" and "sea o' colors", especially in Marie's case.
 * Their names in Japanese, Aori and Hotaru, are derived from real-world species "Aori-ika" (Bigfin Reef Squid), and "Hotaru-ika" (Firefly Squid).
 * In the Japanese version, they both have a bit of a Kansai dialect.
 * Callie and Marie are presumably the second oldest Inklings (assuming they are the same age), with the oldest being Cap'n Cuttlefish. However, it is assumed that other adult Inklings do not participate in Turf War and are simply absent from the game.
 * The horizontal marks on their outfits resemble the cuts made in squid when grilled.
 * If the player stands outside the Squid Sisters' studio, they will notice them and wave, as pictured in the Gallery.
 * The colors of the chairs Callie and Marie sit on in the studio reflect the Ink colors of the player's last match, or the colors of the current Splatfest. The main color is the opponents' color, with arrows in the player's team color.
 * The hand movement they do during their catchphrase, "Staaaay fresh!", is supposed to resemble the moving tentacles of a squid.
 * Several fans have noted that Callie and Marie resemble Bayonetta and Jeanne from the Bayonetta series. It is unknown if this was intentional.
 * Before Splatoon was released, the Squid Sisters were not idols, but were instead planned to be "shrine maidens." They were meant to transmit divine messages from god to the Inklings. This is why they are in charge of receiving and announcing Splatfests in the current game.
 * The Squid Sisters' grandfather, Cap'n Cuttlefish, has two small pictures of them taped up on the corner of his shack, one of Callie and one of Marie.