The main visual for the animated film " Chiikawa: The Secret of the Mermaid Island," based on Nagano's popular manga " Chiikawa ," has been released. The visual features Chiikawa holding something resembling red scales, Hachiware wielding a sasumata (a type of pole weapon), Usagi holding the "binyoyo" weapon given on the island, as well as other characters such as Momonga, a used bookstore owner, Kurimanju, Shisa, and an otter. The important characters Siren and the mermaids, Shimajiro, the islanders holding hands, and Hitoha and Futaba have also been revealed.
The theatrical film will be an animated adaptation of the popular "Siren Arc," a feature-length story written by Nagano specifically for the film. Nagano will be in charge of the script, and Kei Oikawa, known for the "Uma Musume Pretty Derby" series, will direct. CygamesPictures, known for the theatrical film "Uma Musume Pretty Derby: The Door to a New Era," will produce the film. It will be released on July 24th.
In the "Siren Arc,"Chiikawa are led to an island after receiving a suspicious flyer that reads, "We invite you to a special island." The flyer promises, "Earn 100 times the reward for an easy monster hunt on the island," and "Limited island ramen, limited sweets, everything sweet and spicy is practically free." Although suspicious, the group is lured to the island by the rewards and ends up having an unforgettable summer.
"Chiikawa" is a manga series that Nagano has been posting on X since 2020. The contrast between the small, cute characters and the harsh worldview has made it popular, and the series has over 4.6 million followers on X. It has won the "Japan Character Award Grand Prix" three times, and the total number of views for the YouTube catch-up streaming of the short anime series that began airing in 2022 has exceeded 400 million, making it a hugely popular content loved not only in Japan but all over the world.
