Six new pieces of information about the animated film " Chiikawa: The Secret of the Mermaid Island," based on Nagano's popular manga " Chiikawa, " will be announced on July 3rd. Titled " Chiikawa: Summer is Coming Day," the six pieces of information will be revealed one after another until 8 PM, starting with the broadcast of the TV anime on "Mezamashi TV" (Fuji TV) in the 7 AM hour. To conclude the day, a special new video from the film will premiere on YouTube at 8 PM.
In the lead-up to the July 24th release date, various events will be held throughout July. Chiikawa, Chiikawa, and Usagi will appear on the music special "FNS Music Festival" (Fuji TV), which will be broadcast from 6:30 p.m. on July 1st. Hachiware will perform the opening theme song of the movie, "Kutsuzure," for the first time together with the Suginami Children's Choir. In addition to Chiikawa, Hachiware, and Usagi, characters that appear in the movie, such as Shimajiro, Siren, Momonga, Kurimanju, Rakko, Shisa, and the used bookstore owner, will all be making an appearance.
New stills from the theatrical version have also been released. They depict Chiikawa crying, Usagi holding a sword, Chiikawa being chased by a siren, Hachiware, and Usagi.
The theatrical film will be an animated adaptation of the popular feature-length story "Siren Arc," which Nagano wrote 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. Cypic, known for the theatrical film "Uma Musume Pretty Derby: The Door to a New Era," will produce the film.
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 4.7 million followers on X. It has won the "Japan Character Award Grand Prix" four 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.
