Mermaid

Characters
The characters are, a skinny young boy with really soft hair, a fish, a beautiful mermaid that is only visible to the boy, the boys parents, a military that regulates peoples imaginations, and other citizens living in this distant country.

Setting
The short film was created in 1964, so I assume this is about a country back in the 1950s or the 60s. In a place where the freedom of imagination was forbade.

What do the characters want?
The boy wanted to daydream about this beautiful mermaid. However, the military hindered him from thinking about it.

What is the conflict?
The problem is that the boy couldn't stop thinking about that mermaid. No matter how much pain the military made the boy go though, he was unable to stop his imagination.

What is real? And what is fantasy?
What's real is that everyone has their own imagination. I don't believe that mermaids exists, but it's okay to have your own way of thinking. For example, I don't believe in aliens. However, I know there are people who believes in them, and also it is said that there's some evidence that it is living somewhere out in space. Therefore, there is no problem with following your belief. On the other hand, what I believe is fantasy in this film, is the part where the boy actually goes into the ocean and swim with the mermaid. Humans can not be in the water for so long. Believing in mermaids can be reality, but actually interacting with the mermaid sounds too fake.

Ending
The boy was forced to erase every imagination about the mermaid, but the mermaid was so attractive that he couldn't forget her completely. So, he took the fish back into the ocean. Then, as soon as the fish turned back in to a mermaid, he followed her into the ocean, and then I think he died.

What will happen next?
I think more citizens in this distant country is going to start imagining a lot of stuff. Therefore, at the end, the military is going to allow everyone to have their own beliefs.

Theme
I think what Osamu Tezuka is trying to tell us is that, we should follow our beliefs. Not let other people stop us from doing the things we like to do. It's a little off topic, but I think it is a message to Japanese people. Japanese people tends to care what other people think about yourself, and I know I'm one of those person... But, I think it's telling us to be who we are, and do what we like to do, without worrying about the surroundings.