Introduction
Hello, fellow adventurers! Blaziker is back for another adventure, and after chronicling the first two parts of my journey to the Annecy Film Festival, I think it is time we explore a secret island to get some heat off, don’t you think? And that brings us to perhaps one of the most surprisingly anticipated animated movies of 2026, Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island!
Based on the extremely popular Japanese manga and anime series of the same name, Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island focuses on Chiikawa, Hachiware and Usagi (and their friends) being invited onto a mysterious island that holds a long-lost secret that brings forth an exceptionally unexpected journey that turns what could paradise to something else altogether.
Despite being a relative newcomer in the Chiikawa franchise, a few of my friends are passionate about this franchise, and watching some of the episodes, I can understand why, as the Chiikawa franchise is quite serious and sometimes focus on real-life matters and issues that would resonate with the fans of the series. As such, it is not surprising that the movie release was a rousing success, considering its critical acclaim and insanely high box office numbers in Japan and a few countries that had gotten this movie. Will I become part of the Chiikawa fandom with this movie?
Time to get on a ferry to Mermaid Island to find out, shall we?
Key Information
- Director: Kei Oikawa
- Animation Studios: QTORY and CyPic (with Toho)
- Country of Origin: Japan
- Rating: PG
- Release date: 20 August 2026 (in Singapore)
Trailer
The Review
Story and Characters
Prior to the movie screening, I was well aware that despite its cutesy style and characters, the Chiikawa franchise has a lot of darker and more mature elements that felt more grounded into the real world than what the style first suggests, and that is one of the main reasons this series has a huge following. However… I was not expecting this movie to go THAT deep!
I honestly do not know whether I want to delve further into this movie, especially considering we are getting dangerously close to spoiler territory. I am going to try my best not to spoil the whole story. The story honestly goes way, way darker than first expected, especially regarding certain elements of the story that would be spoilers for sure, but it is so well executed and paced very well, so much so that there was no boring moment throughout the movie screening as far as I saw.
This movie is also unapologetically funny and helps to break up the dark tone when needed without dominating the whole movie. I was laughing so hard at certain moments throughout the movie and had a fantastic time at the screening, that was until the movie’s darker elements returned the movie to a more traumatising state. Seriously, while this movie was rated PG here in Singapore, the story itself is anything but, and I do not think this is for kids who are not Chiikawa fans. In fact, the fact that some were traumatised by this movie is all you need to know regarding the tone.
However, the heart and soul of the Chiikawa franchise came from the characters, and if you ask a Chiikawa fan which character is their most favourite, different Chiikawa fans would have differing answers, and this showcases the versatility and love the fandom have towards their characters, as each of them would have different personalities that would resonate with different fans. Here in the movie, it is no different. From the main trio, we have the titular character, the timid but hardworking Chiikawa (voiced by Haruka Aoki), whose cowardliness attribute to the character’s determination and eventual heroism when this movie needed the most, and that was what I admire about them (since the characters do not have any strict genders per se). Hachiware (Makoto Tanaka), the bright and friendly cat-like creature who is also as brave as Chiikawa, has equally shining moments throughout the movie’s runtime.
With that said, those two characters pale in comparison to probably my most favourite character in the Chiikawa series, and the final piece of the main trio: the multi-talented and hungry rabbit himself (yes, I mentioned all characters do not have strict genders, but I am certain that character is male), Usagi (Ari Ozawa). I was already in love with this lovable and chaotic rabbit prior to this movie, but this movie made me love him even more, as not only was he the funniest and most entertaining, but he was the most talented thanks to his love for food, his free spirit resonates a lot with my personality, but most importantly, he is very good at rapping, and trust me, we will get to that when we get to the soundtrack later on.
Of course, there are other characters in this movie, but I think I will say this: all the characters (even my arch nemesis, the troubled and evil Momonga (Yuka Iguchi)) are very well-developed and memorable, and even there will be fans of Siren (Minori Suzuki), the main villain of this movie, and that rounds up how much I love the writing in this movie. Even with its darker tones, there is no boring moment in sight thanks to how tight the writing is in this movie.
Animation
I mentioned the cute style of animation the Chiikawa series strives for, and now, let’s talk about the animation in the Chiikawa Movie!
Honestly, the animation itself fulfils its purpose to be as cute and wonderful despite its dark story and acts as a veil for the story, while at that! While I would not be surprised if the cute style has resulted in many Chiikawa fans, the animation style itself is quite unique, even compared to other popular Japanese cartoon franchises that has that cute style. In fact, the fact that this style helps to hide the grounded tones of the many stories within the world of Chiikawa makes the animation and its style even more memorable.
Firstly, the character and background designs are very distinct and colourful, and you can tell a lot of thought and effort was put into making the movie so deceptively simple and cute even considering how dark and traumatising this movie can get (especially towards the end of the movie). Secondly, I had to commend the animators for this animation, because you can tell they had a lot of fun animating the various animation sequences in the movie, with a lot of variation of genres, like action, comedy and even some horror towards the end.
Thirdly, and most importantly, the animation lets the charm of its writing shine even more with how expressive this movie’s animation is. It can be easy to muddy up the story if the animation is not done well, but the animation in the Chiikawa is a classic example of simple animation styles done right. Sure, it is not as complex and expressive as some of my top animated movies of 2026 are, like In Waves and We Are Aliens, but the Chiikawa Movie operates at a different lane, and that I find myself enjoying a lot of the animation in this movie.
Honestly, I have nothing to complain about the animation as well. The Chiikawa Movie succeeds in executing this simple yet distinct and fun animation style that I am certain the die-hard Chiikawa fans can appreciate a lot. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix the animation style at all, I guess!
Soundtrack, Other Elements, and Level of Enjoyment
I am honestly way too excited about the movie’s minor elements, and part of the reason is the soundtrack, and man, this may be one of my most favourite animated movie soundtracks of the year so far!
How on earth was this soundtrack jam-packed with so many iconic and memorable music tracks throughout the movie’s runtime??? It has to be illegal for a movie to have so many fantastic sounds, despite not being a musical at all. The score has different versions of The Island Song with different melodies and lyrics, but those versions sell the dark atmosphere this movie was aiming for, and of course… We have to talk about the Usagi Rap, because if that does not solidify my love for this chaotic rabbit, I don’t know what will. How on earth is he so talented at everything???
Can we also talk about the marketing for a second, because the marketing campaign for this movie is insane. Sure, that is not surprising considering this one of the most popular franchises of recent years, but even so, there is a lot of marketing for the movie merchandise and its collaborations with many brands, whether within the Chiikawa brand or third-party brands, such as the Uniqlo collection (which I bought a shirt for to prepare for the movie), and the movie promotion was so massive, it resulted in many screenings for this movie being sold out in most of the countries that show this movie, especially here in Singapore. The level of commitment this movie has for its marketing makes the marketing for some of the bigger Hollywood animated movies to shame.
As for my level of enjoyment, I knew I was going to have a blast with this movie, but even I felt shell-shocked at how far this movie would go to leave a lasting impression. Even by Chiikawa standards, which has gone into the depths in some episodes, the Chiikawa Movie is going to traumatise even the most die-hard of its fans for a very long time, and this is the point of the movie itself. Nothing was off the table, and that resulted in such a deeply moving and traumatising experience that I will never forget for a very long time.
Conclusion
After my Annecy Film Festival adventure, I had a feeling there would not be any major animated movie that would as emotionally impactful as my top 3 animated movies from that Festival (they are In Waves, We Are Aliens and Decorado), but after seeing the Chiikawa Movie… I was so, so wrong.
Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island is the animated movie that gave me the most unexpected gag of the year so far. The writing, especially in the final moments, flipped the entire movie on its head, complete with very clever writing and comedy, as well as unexpected character development that made me fall in love with those characters even more, especially as a newcomer to the franchise. The animation, while simple, is gorgeous and well-animated, with the movie having a lot of hilarious visual comedy with its animation, and there were a good number of iconic animation sequences, especially towards the climax, that made me excited about this movie. The soundtrack is one of the best for any animated movie this year, the marketing is one of the strongest for the year and to say I was amazed by how versatile and traumatising this movie was is an understatement.
Even if you are not into the Chiikawa series, I can assure you, this is easily one of the best animated movies of 2026 so far with how amazing this movie was, and if you are a huge fan of the franchise, even as a newcomer like myself, I can assure you, this movie is damn worth running to movie theatres for.
Thank you so much for joining me on this adventure. After my trip to the Mermaid Island, it is time we return to explore the final 2 parts of my Annecy Film Festival experience. Until next time, see you on the next adventure!
Blaziker’s Hot Sauce Rating
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