It has been announced that the first animated feature film adaptation of Nagano's popular manga "Chiikawa," "The Secret of the Chiikawa Island," (directed by Oikawa Kei), will be released on July 24th. A teaser trailer has been posted on YouTube, showcasing footage from the film. The film will be an animated adaptation of the popular feature-length story "Siren Arc," which Nagano wrote specifically for the film. The teaser trailer features an orchestral arrangement of the TV anime's ending theme, "Hitorigotsu," as well as scenes of flyers falling on a lying down rabbit and Chiikawa and Hachiware Chiikawa a boat bound for a certain island, hinting at the start of the epic journey that awaits them.
Three cuts were also released: Chiikawa Chiikawa and Hachiware boarding a boat to head to the island and looking incredibly excited, Usagi lying down on a tree stump, and the other showing the backs of a lively Chiikawa and Hachiware holding their Chiikawa sasumata poles, just before setting off on their adventure.
The movie will be written by Nagano and directed by Oikawa, who has worked on the "Uma Musume Pretty Derby" series. It will be produced by Cygames Pictures, which has also produced the movie "Uma Musume Pretty Derby: The Door to a New Era."
In "Siren Arc,"Chiikawa are seduced by a suspicious flyer that reads, "Invitation to a Special Island." The flyer states, "Earn 100 times the reward for simple subjugation on the island," and "Limited island ramen and limited sweets, all sweet and spicy food essentially free." Although they find it suspicious, they are lured to the island by the reward and end up spending an unforgettable summer there.
"Chiikawa" is a manga that Nagano has been posting on X since 2020. The contrast between the cute, small characters and the harsh worldview has made it popular, with X now having over 4.6 million followers. It has won the Japan Character Award Grand Prix three times, and the short anime that began airing in 2022 has been viewed over 400 million times on YouTube, making it a hugely popular content loved not only in Japan but all over the world.
*Staff (titles omitted)
Original story and screenplay: Nagano ▽ Director: Oikawa Kei ▽ Character design: Tsuji Tomoko ▽ Color design: Nagai Ayaka ▽ Art director: Masaki Moe (Deho Gallery) ▽ CG director: Nakano Yoshinori ▽ Director of photography: Okazaki Masaharu ▽ Sound director: Tsuchiya Masaki ▽ Music: Tokumaru Shugo, Kamimizu Taru Chikara ▽ Animation production: Cygames Pictures ▽ Production manager: QTORY inc. ▽ Distribution: Toho
*Cast (titles omitted)
Chiikawa: Haruka Aoki ▽ Hachiware: Masato Tanaka ▽ Rabbit: Ari Ozawa
