Movie 'Chiikawa: The Secret of Mermaid Island' - Winning Against Monsters with Clam Soup Katsu Curry

2026/8/9
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Why I went to see it

Honestly, I had no intention of watching it at all. I knew of the character Chiikawa, but I assumed it was just a fancy children's work, so it was zero priority for me.

The tide turned because of the box office performance and the strangely good reputation, and then watching Biwako-kun's YouTube video.
I realized it wasn't just a 'cute' work, so I did a light preview of the world-building during the first half of the Obon holiday and headed to the theater.
(Although there seems to be some criticism of Biwako-kun's review)

Overall Review

To start with the conclusion, it's 4 stars.
However, to be honest, it was a mistake to gather too much prior information.
Since I watched it while already understanding the flow of the story and the double meanings of the lines, my consciousness was drawn to the conversations and lyrics, and I feel I lost a bit in terms of pure immersion. This is the score I would give if I had watched it in a flat state without being influenced by prior information.
It's a bit late to say this, but I would recommend those who are going to watch it from now on not to look up too much.

Visuals and Sound

While the visuals are cute and clear, fitting the world-building, the depiction of the sea is strangely realistic, and that gap bothered me the whole time. There is no doubt that this was intentional.

The sound was wonderful. The surround sound was effective, and the fireworks, underwater, and song scenes were particularly good. In any case, the sound effects were so realistic that I was a bit bewildered by the gap with the art style.

Spoilers ahead from here.

The foreshadowing of the apple at the beginning

The apple they eat casually at the beginning is not just a prop when you think about it later. It serves as a metaphor for the 'fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil' from the Bible, and it seems to play on the fact that the Latin word 'malum' for 'evil' and 'mālum' for 'apple' sound similar. The entire theme of this work, which is the substitution of meaning and secrets, is already planted in a casual scene at the beginning, and when you make a discovery like this, your perspective on the film changes instantly.

Direction that doesn't rely on dialogue

Chiikawa, Usagi, and the island residents (except for Shimajiro) hardly speak. It was a very elaborate production that depicted the nuances of emotions and thoughts solely through expressions and gestures, rather than carrying the story through dialogue exchanges. Because of this, the story moves along properly even in scenes with little conversation.
The direction of Chiikawa gripping the pochette they are wearing with their hand is clever!

A story that doesn't boil down to simple good and evil

The story is also good in that it doesn't boil down to simple poetic justice. The structure doesn't clearly define who is bad, leaving room for thought after watching.

However, just because it doesn't clarify who is bad doesn't mean it's a gentle story. What happens behind the cute art style is quite brutal, and the depiction of revenge—where you get back at those who hurt you—is particularly intense.
Apparently, in Taiwan, it was rated as not suitable for children under 6, and children between 6 and 12 require a guardian, which is understandable. It's actually strange that it's released in Japan without any age restrictions. Honestly, I think you should think twice before showing it to small children.

Shimajiro

One character I want to touch on is Shimajiro. The main characters go without saying, but among the islanders this time—Hitoha and Futaba, the Siren and the mermaids, and this Shimajiro—Shimajiro was overwhelmingly cool.

When coming up from the water, he senses the presence of the mermaids just by the movement of the water, yet he plays dumb, saying, 'It looks like they're about to wake up,' so as not to make Chiikawa and the others anxious. Furthermore, after sending them ahead, he heads off alone to stall the Siren under the pretext of 'going to get some clams while I'm at it.' And it's not just talk; he actually has the strength to stand up to the Siren.
Including the fact that he secretly runs a clam soup shop that no one visits, he is just too much of a stand-up guy.

By the way, I suspect that the fact that the shop's menu only has clam soup and cutlet curry isn't just a random idea, but a play on words.
In the second half, there is a development where they defeat the monster (Siren) with curry, so

a 'Curry to defeat the monster (Siren)'
is perhaps the setup.

Siren

The Siren was also quite charming when you see her actually moving, not just a big, scary presence.
She apologizes properly for her mistakes and has an innocent side.

However, this innocence is also another kind of scary, and the flashback scene where she plays with a squid is exactly that. It looks like she's playing, but if you look closely, it's quite cruel to treat a living thing like a toy and toss it back and forth, and the squid's legs decrease every time it's thrown. The fear lurking within her innocence is well-directed.

The Islanders

The islanders, well, I think you can call them victims. They received the benefit of the island's plants growing well and having no shortage of food thanks to the Siren's arrival, so when they offered tributes or offerings, the Sirens liked them and ended up staying. This beginning of mutual dependence is a delicate point, and it can't simply be dismissed as an 'island attacked by a monster.' There is also a depiction of an islander who was caught on suspicion of being the culprit who ate a mermaid being pickled in miso and eaten by the Sirens, which is also quite brutal. You can watch it because of that art style, but if it were live-action, I don't think I could look at it directly. They even put a lid on it to finish them off.

Hitoha and Futaba

I think Hitoha and Futaba are also characters who carry the weight of this work. Hitoha, who learned the secret of the mermaids and became interested, and Futaba, who wasn't very interested. If the two of them had had a proper sense of crisis at that moment when they saw the mermaid while fishing from a boat, this tragedy wouldn't have happened.

To save Futaba, who was severely injured after being caught up with the Sirens and mermaids who were playing innocently, Hitoha kidnaps and beats a mermaid to death. This isn't shown visually, but the two thudding sounds played with realistic audio convey the horror; this technique of not showing the act is quite effective.
Choosing 'Shiruko Sand' to lure the mermaids is also quite something.

And Futaba, having gained eternal life, becomes pessimistic imagining a future where she will eventually be all alone, and forces Hitoha to eat the mermaid as well. Here, the meaning of 'Kyo no Hi wa Sayonara' (Today is Goodbye), which is also the movie's theme song, hits with a terrifying impact.
This song plays in the final act, and while it sounded like a simple song of friendship when Hachiware sang it on the night they arrived at the island, by this point, it had transformed into something curse-like, which gave me chills.

The echo of 'I understand'

In the final battle with the Siren, there is a scene where the Siren, having been fed super-spicy curry, says, 'I understand, I'll stop now.' When I was watching it, I thought it was a line that concluded just within that scene, and honestly, it felt a bit abrupt. But after that, a scene appears where the culprit utters the words 'I understand,' and at that moment, I was struck with horror. I realized that those words weren't just a one-off line, but were carefully planted to echo with another scene.

Why was it such a hit?

The reason it was such a hit, besides the strength of the original work, is that the original author's intentions were allowed to pass through as-is for the theatrical adaptation. Usually, with film adaptations, sponsors and vested interests get involved, leading to unnecessary direction or changes, or the way characters are handled changes, often making it unclear what the work is trying to convey.
This time, there was none of that, and it was able to faithfully trace the original work. It's likely also significant that the original author was in charge of the storyboards, script, and even the song lyrics.

I hesitate to compare them, but it reminded me of 'Poupelle of Chimney Town'.

That was also a work where the author was heavily involved, but despite spending so much money and effort on the visuals, and even resorting to word-of-mouth mobilization and review manipulation, the content was only that good. Rather than whether the author is involved, it's about whether the story has no flaws, whether the supporting characters each have a role and don't interfere with the main plot, and whether foreshadowing and wordplay are carefully laid out.
This 'Chiikawa' clears those points honestly, and in the end, I think this difference is purely a matter of talent.

Other wordplay

Speaking of wordplay, there's 'mermaid' (ningyo) and 'doll' (ningyo), 'carbonated' (tansan) and 'AA battery' (tan-san), and even tricks in the lyrics; the level of detail is just incredible. The content itself has already been discussed extensively in other reviews, so I'll omit it, but I think it would be fun to watch it again while looking for these kinds of gimmicks.

The last scene

And the last scene, after the end credits. Hitoha and Futaba leave the island and arrive at what looks like a deserted island. The cut ends with the Sirens swimming toward it. This gave me real goosebumps. Even though it's shown with cute drawings throughout and the dialogue has a gentle atmosphere, if you were to replace this work with humans and make it a live-action film, it would be pure horror.

Moreover, there's even a gimmick with the timeline.
When Chiikawa and the others depart from the now-peaceful island, the sun has already fully risen.
On the other hand, the scene where Hitoha and Futaba arrive at the deserted island is directed as if the sun has just begun to rise. In other words, this deserted island scene takes place before Chiikawa and the others' departure.
If that's the case, the laughter Chiikawa and the others heard on the boat was highly likely the laughter of the Sirens heading toward this deserted island.
The moment I realized this, I was truly horrified.

Finally, if I had to say something about this movie, the 'aftertaste' is incredible.
Clam soup, katsu curry, and mermaid meat—it was a movie where food appeared constantly, but what really remained wasn't the aftertaste of the food, but that sense of unease that doesn't disappear even after you've finished watching.

Why did Chiikawa keep the truth silent? Did Usagi actually realize the truth? There are many things to consider, but since it would get long, I'll end it here...