Iguana no Musume is a bizarre 90's drama intended to be viewed as a modern fairytale, complete with magic. (Alternately, it can be viewed as a romantic and family drama studded with devastating mental illness. I prefer to view the show through this lens.) A high school girl, Rika, has lived her entire life shunned, villified, and verbally abused by her mother. Her mother is disturbingly mentally ill and openly unable to love Rika. This mistreatment all stems from the fact that Rika's mother only sees an ulgy iguana when she looks at her. Rika grows up entirely convinced that she is actually an iguana and that everyone will shun her when they find out the truth. The story mostly follows painfully shy Rika in high school, finally coming out of her shell, making friends and falling in love. Her mother attempts to sabotage progress at every turn and is quite easy to dislike. This show very clearly shows its age, is based on a ridiculous premise and has some aggravatingly oblivious and over-simplified characters portrayed by blunt actors. However, it does have its strong moments. Highlights include clear, consistent character growth and an unexpected level of tradgedy. It's a wonderful example of the incessantly victimized heroine of shoujo manga. It's an easy, engaging and entirely bizarre watch.