"Reminiscent of That Scene in Evangelion..." Ominous Trailer with Hachiware Singing Sparks Buzz for Chiikawa The Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island

On the official X account for Chiikawa The Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island, footage of Hachiware (VA: Makoto Tanaka) singing "Today is Goodbye" ("Kyo no Hi wa Sayonara") was released, generating a massive buzz across social media. The film claimed 1st place in the national weekend box office ranking during its opening weekend from July 24 to 26, surpassing 2.24 billion yen in box office revenue and over 1.5 million in attendance. (According to Kogyo Tsushinsha)

The posted video begins with Hachiware wearing a flower crown on his head, humming the song with an adorable expression. However, as the video progresses, the surrounding atmosphere gradually changes, shifting into a tension-filled presentation that portends the story's upcoming developments.

In response to this post, while some fans shared warm comments such as "It's so nice that we can stay friends forever and ever," others raised reactions of unease, saying, "It gets more and more ominous as it moves into the second half..." and "The official account dropping an even more chilling trailer at this point..."

Furthermore, because "Today is Goodbye" was used during a cruel scene in the 2007 anime film Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, comments were also drawn referencing it, such as "Reminiscent of that scene in Evangelion..." and "This ominous turn of events is just like Evangelion."

Chiikawa is a hugely popular manga originating from social media by Nagano. It depicts the story of Chiikawa, a small and cute character, and his friends living through fun, bittersweet, and somewhat tough days. Chiikawa The Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island, the first theatrical film in the series, opened in theaters on July 24. Animation production is handled by Cypic.

(C)nagano (C)ナガノ/ 2026「映画ちいかわ」製作委員会