Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island ranked fifth at the Japanese box office in its fifteenth weekend, a quiet persistence that mirrors the franchise’s louder triumph across the strait.
South Korea’s Sustained Embrace
Cumulative earnings reached $20.1 million from 2,583,851 admissions since the September 30 release. SBS reported the film surpassed 2.5 million viewers in 33 days. Brad Pitt’s Heart of the Beast finally displaced it on November 2, though Chiikawa added another 15,158 viewers that day to reach 2,599,013 total.
From Tweet to Franchise
The property began as a May 2017 tweet by Nagano, expressing a wish to escape modern life and become a simple creature that cries over troubles, runs away, sleeps, and dances. Serialization on X started in January 2020. By November 2024, Kodansha reported over 3.6 million copies in circulation including digital. An anime adaptation by Doga Kobo premiered in April 2022 and continues into a second season. The film, directed by Kei Oikawa and produced by Cypic, adapts the Siren Arc and opened in Japan on July 24, 2026.
Resonance in the Job Market
The salient point is why. The Korea JoongAng Daily found young Koreans in their twenties and thirties queuing for hours at the I’Park Mall store in Yongsan, some with suitcases, saying the characters’ struggles — odd jobs, failed certification exams, counting meagre daily earnings — look a lot like their own. A pop-up in Seongsu-dong sold out entirely within seven days in August. Three batches of Chiikawa-shaped popcorn buckets at CGV cinemas did the same. The franchise’s world, pastel and soft, regularly shows its hamster-like protagonists weeding, hunting monsters for pay, and crying over failed tests. It would seem the “healing” label attached to such content in Japan has found an export market in economic anxiety.
Retail Footprint Expands
Nagano Market Seoul opened in Seongsu-dong in February, carrying goods across Nagano’s character lines. The Yongsan store, Korea’s first dedicated Chiikawa outlet, opened the same month. On a Wednesday in late October, joining the waitlist at 10:30 a.m. meant 402 people ahead and a near-four-hour wait. Merchandise ranges from 15,000 to 60,000 won ($11 to $45).
English Arrival
The first official English dub began airing on the Chiikawa Official YouTube channel on October 1, 2026, one episode weekly. Suzie Yeung, known for Makima in Chainsaw Man and Yuffie in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, voices Hachiware; her casting was confirmed in the dubbed Season 1 Episode 11 on October 25. The English theme song, “Mumbling to Myself,” adapts the Japanese “Hitorigotsu.” Official Korean and Chinese dubs predate this release.
The film’s fifteenth weekend in Japan is this weekend.
Sources
- Chiikawa
- Korea Box Office: Anime Hit ‘Chiikawa’ Retains Lead as Brad Pitt Thriller ‘Heart of the Beast’ Debuts
- Chiikawa English Dub: Suzie Yeung Voices Hachiware – Voice Over Talent Industry News
- The struggle is real cute: Weary young job seekers are drawn to Chiikawa
- Movie Version Chiikawa: The Secret of the Mermaid Island Tops Weekend Box Office for 4 Consecutive Weeks, Surpasses 2.5 Million Admissions
- Brad Pitt's 'Heart of the Beast' Overtakes 'Chiikawa the Movie' to Top Box Office in Korea
Photo: Solomon203 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
