Squid Squad

Squid Squad​

Squid Squad

Artwork of Squid Squad from Splatoon. From left to right: Nami, Ichiya, Quinn, and Murasaki.

Species	Inkling (Ichiya, Nami & Quinn) Long-spined sea urchin (Murasaki)
Habitat
Height
Hair color
Eye color
Age
Gender	Male (Ichiya, Quinn & Murasaki) Female (Nami)
Pronouns
Relations
Location
Shop
HP
Maximum HP
Members	(Non-virtual) Hiroaki Takeuchi (Vocals) Susumu Nishikawa (Guitar) Yoshihiko Haga (Guitar) TABOKUN [Tatsuhiro Endo] (Bass) Akira Tsuneoka† (Drums)
Other forms

For the mode in which players form a squad with friends, see Squad Battle.

“	This group of squid punks is the Squid Squad. They're one of Inkopolis's hottest acts, and their tracks can be heard as background music during many of the Inkling Turf Wars. Sadly, their shows sell out instantly and they're always being mobbed by fans, so they don't make public appearances very often.	”
— Squid Research Lab

Squid Squad (referred to as "the" Squid Squad in early promotional material) is one of the main bands in Splatoon, comprised of three Inklings and a sea urchin. Their newest album at the time of Splatoon's release is called Fresh Kids, the songs of which are used in multiplayer battles.

The band has disbanded as of Splatoon 2. However, its members reappear in different bands, with Quinn appearing in Diss-Pair alongside Mashup in Splatoon 2, while Ichiya, Nami, and Murasaki appear in Front Roe with a new member, 004Clam, in Splatoon 3.

Songs

Squid Squad creates the majority of music heard in both Regular and Ranked Battles in Splatoon. Prior to version 2.0.0 of Splatoon, the only other artists doing so were the Squid Sisters, having made the music for Splatfest battles. In Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3, despite Squid Squad having disbanded, its members remain active in the bands Diss-Pair and Front Roe respectively.

Members

Ichiya

Main article: Ichiya

“	This guy handles lead vocals and guitar in the Squid Squad, and he writes most of the music and lyrics, too. Well, he never actually learned to read music, but he's got a gift for rippin' phat guitar riffs, and most importantly he's got that rockstar charm to inspire the other members to greatness.	”
— Squid Research Lab

Ichiya is the band's lead vocalist and guitarist. He is selfish and has the temperament of a prodigy, though he knows nothing about music theory and simply makes songs with flashy guitar riffs, though others are drawn to his charm. He enjoys taking walks as a hobby.

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Nami

Main article: Nami

“	The keyboardist is the group's only girl. The melodies she weaves reveal a foundation in deep-sea squid funk that's truly on another level.	”
— Squid Research Lab

Nami is the band's synthesizer player, a skilled musician with some knowledge of jazz theory. She is described as being the craziest member of the band and goes by several nicknames, including "Mida-chan", "Master Namida", "Naminami", and "Girl from Planet Namik".

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Quinn

Main article: Quinn

“	The bass player is the group's oldest member. He's one cool customer who doesn't show much emotion, but make no mistake, he's the backbone of this band. He's always the first one at soundcheck, and the last one to leave the stage at the end of the encore.	”
— Squid Research Lab

Quinn is the band's bassist. Although he appears stoic, he is passionate about music. He attempted to draw out Ichiya's potential but was relatively distant from the rest of the band. He is usually expressionless and only makes slight movements when playing.

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Murasaki

Main article: Murasaki

“	The drummer's a bit rough around the edges. They call him wild child for a reason. This youngster's sense of rhythm is uncanny, and when it matters most, his sticks are always there to lead the way with a wicked beat barrage. He really gives his all on stage—if you look closely you might catch him weeping during a drum solo.	”
— Squid Research Lab

Murasaki is the band's drummer. He has a lot of energy and potential, but does not use a wide variety of techniques, with his drum fills simply being a repeated hit of the snare. According to an interview in the Splatune booklet, he is also the youngest member of the group.

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Artists

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  Hiroaki Takeuchi (vocals)

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  Susumu Nishikawa (guitar)

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  Yoshihiko Haga (guitar)

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  TABOKUN (bass)

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  Akira Tsuneoka† (drums)

Gallery

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  Squid Squad's album art (Fresh Kids)

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  Splatoon startup loading screen with a Squid Squad poster

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  The Squid Squad billboard in Inkopolis Plaza

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  One jellyfish's workspace at Ancho-V Games has a Squid Squad poster

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  Two jellyfish in another small room with a Squid Squad poster

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  Japanese promo for Squid Squad's music in Daigasso! Band Brothers P

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  An in-universe advertisement for Squid Squad depicted in Sunken Scroll 20 in Splatoon

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  Alternate version of Squid Squad's album art

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  Squid Squad logo from the Splatoon Base website

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  A slightly different version of Squid Squad's album art as it appears in Splatune

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  Signatures found on the outer wall of Hotlantis in Splatoon 3, which include the signatures of the members of Squid Squad

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  A Mellow Squid 4-Panel Comic strip featuring Squid Squad

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  Old Squid Squad album art shown at GDC 2018

Trivia

• Squid Squad's album artwork can sometimes be seen just before an Inkopolis News broadcast begins.
• A Squid Squad poster can be seen in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's version of Urchin Underpass.
• It is stated in the liner notes for Splatune and Splatune 2 that the song Now or Never!, performed by many different musical acts in the franchise (Squid Squad, Squid Sisters, Wet Floor, Off the Hook, C-Side, and Deep Cut), was originally made by Squid Squad. However, Baker of C-Side also claims they are the originators of the song.
• The yellow sticker on Squid Squad's album art can be seen in Splatoon's Sunken Scroll 1.
• According to Squid Squad's Splatune article, their catchphrase is "Colorful forever, with a smidge of sepia." This is referenced in a Tweet by @SplatoonJP about Front Roe, Squid Squad's successor, which referred to the band as having a colorful charm with a dash of sepia.
• Squid Squad's name was originally going to be "Squid's Scat."
• The English translation of the Splatoon Base website uses the Japanese name of Squid Squad's album, SQUIDSQUAD, rather than the localized English name Fresh Kids.

Etymology

For the band members' etymologies, see Nami#Etymology, Ichiya#Etymology, Quinn#Etymology, and Murasaki#Etymology.

Squid Squad's name is the same in all languages.

The band members' names are each sushi references:

• Nami's Japanese name, NAMIDA, is wasabi used by a sushi chef.
• Ichiya comes from "ichiya zushi" (一夜鮨, literally "one-night sushi"), a kind of fermented sushi.
• Quinn's Japanese name, IKKAN, comes from the word "ikkan" (一貫), a unit for sushi.
• Murasaki is soy sauce used by sushi chefs.

Names in other languages

Fresh Kids

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	SQUIDSQUAD
French (NOA)	Pêche qui peut
French (NOE)	Fresh Kids	Fresh Kids
German	Fresh Kids	Fresh Kids
Italian	Fresh Kids	Fresh Kids
Spanish (NOA)	Chévere como un apapacho	Fresh as an affectionate gesture
Spanish (NOE)	Amor tintado	Inked love

Squid Squad

Language	Name	Meaning
Internal	Band01 (Splatoon 3)	-