Are Inklings Really "Kids"?

[Anaru]

So, obviously, I've always thought inklings were about 14-15 (and I think most people assume this too), since they are "kids", and Nintendo said that inklings only have full control over their squid form after puberty, so they are at least around 13.

However, I was just thinking, whenever you open the game, you get the loading screen where it looks like your character has just run out of their apartment. This makes me think that inklings must be atleast in their 20's. First of all, they own an apartment, and no kid owns their own apartment. You could argue that they live there with a their parents I guess, but that's also impossible, since they only have 1 bed, and the apartment is just made up of 2 tiny rooms, with only one bed, showing only one (maybe two,assuming inklings marry each other) live there.

Also, Callie and Marie are about the same height as inklings, and since they are the most popular inklings in Inkopolis, and have their own news show, I would assume they are also adults. When you measure your own inkling compared to the squid sisters, they are the same height. Sure, most teenagers can be as tall as adults, but the squid sisters don't really look like they could possibly be much older than the inklings who play turf wars, I'm pretty sure they occasionally play TW themselves.

So, it definitely makes sense that inklings could be adults in their 20's or 30's, especially since they are playing and being very good at a very popular sport (kids in real life don't play sports as good as trained adults do), but if inklings aren't actually even near being kids, than that means Nintendo completely lied to us!

 

[Mendax]

an interesting idea.
Personally, I've always thought Inklings were more around 18-20's than 14-15.

 

[Anaru]

an interesting idea.
Personally, I've always thought Inklings were more around 18-20's than 14-15.

Yeah, but I've never thought about it much till now, and when I think of kids, I think of 8-14 before 15-20

 

[Pteropine]

Maybe it's a dorm room? To like a Boarding School LMAO IDK.

 

[birdiebee]

Maybe it's a dorm room? To like a Boarding School LMAO IDK.

I think this is quite possible actually.

Just to borrow a couple tidbits from Japanese culture.. a *highly* popular baseball tournament in Japan every year is Koshien (after which the recent Splatoon Koshien was named) which is a high school competition. You can compare it to college sports in the US. But its high school aged boys. It is a nationally televised event and the best players are well-known throughout Japan.

As for the Squid Sisters, they are an idol group. We can look to AKB48 as a well-known example here; you'll quickly see that many of its members are 14-17 or as young as 11, even. Some popular idols are also TV personalities, much like Callie and Marie, and don't necessarily need to be adults to do so.

I dunno if this does much/anything to prove that the squid kids are kids, but it stands to reason given how much the game draws from JP culture.

 

[BlackZero]

So, it definitely makes sense that inklings could be adults in their 20's or 30's, especially since they are playing and being very good at a very popular sport (kids in real life don't play sports as good as trained adults do), but if inklings aren't actually even near being kids, than that means Nintendo completely lied to us!

In the Inkling Biology thread, we discussed their age. IRL, squids die shortly after sexual maturity and reproduction. My wild a**ed guess was that the vast majority of Inklings don't live long after becoming adults and all the Inklings are actually kids. Also bear in mind that...

All the shops are run by non-Inklings, suggesting that they haven't developed any industry of their own and rely on non Inklings to make products they consume.

No one noticed the Great Zapfish was stolen because they were too focused on playing Splat games.

Everything about what we see from Inkling culture suggests that they live to have fun and don't have any actual responsibilities.

This suggests to me that Inklings are a society of children.

 

[Anaru]

Oh, well thanks for informing me about that! I know nothing about Japanese culture except for the fact that anime exists (I don't watch anime btw)

 

[Anaru]

Hold on, inklings aren't necessarily the same as squids. If inklings die after giving birth, then how would it be ossicle for captain cuddle fish to have 2 granddaughters and be over 100 years old and still alive?

 

[BlackZero]

Hold on, inklings aren't necessarily the same as squids. If inklings die after giving birth, then how would it be ossicle for captain cuddle fish to have 2 granddaughters and be over 100 years old and still alive?

I said the majority do. There are exceptions to every rule. Still, this is purely speculative since the devs really didn't go into any depth why there are no adults.

 

[SoftySquidGal001]

I believe Inklings range from 13-17 years old. I think it's similar to Homestuck, where the adults are sent off to become soldiers and the kids are training through Splat Fests. This would kind of make sense as there are Secret Agents, and why have a 14 year old do that...unless they were training? <_< Plus, the shops do not have one Inkling running them. They focus more on battles and fighting, because they NEED to so they can fight the Octarians.

Still fun to think about.

 

[G1ng3rGar1]

Inklings are 14 in game, but are designed in game art(I think) to be 17-18. And I had a head canon that when Inklings turn 14, most move to Inkopolis for Turf Wars. They often live by themselves or with their squad in a sort of dorm situation. And I think that Inkling adults(wherever they might be) consider 14 old enough to live on their own/without parents, seeing that they have full control over both kid and squid form. And we do know from the scrolls that they don't think much outside turf wars/ranked and fashion. That's teenage behavior, there. :P
And I imagined Callie and Marie to be 16-18.