Mermaid

Setting…I think the setting of this animation is in Japan after W.W.II.

Character…a boy who likes to imagine, mermaid(a fish), policemen, and boy's parents.

Conflict…A boy versus a nation. He likes to imagine. However, the nation where he lives has a rule not to imagine. Although he wants to imagine, he doesn't allowed to imagine by a nation.

Symbol…A mermaid, a fish, symbolizes a boy's imagination. A sea sometimes hit us as Tsunami. Therefore, a sea symbolizes a destruction of ability to imagine. I think this animation symbolizes Japan after the W.W.Ⅱ 

Climax…The climax is the scene the boy had come not to see a mermaid and not to imagine.

Irony… After he was forced to read so many books and was trained, he come not to be able to imagine.

Theme…The theme of this animation is the desire that people want to express their emotion and feelings freely. As I mentioned in the setting, I think the setting is in Japan. After W.W.II, Japan had been controlled by GHQ. At that time, GHQ issued Press Code for Japan. The rule　included regulation of freedom of speech. As this regulation spread among Japan, a lot of people are robbed of their freedom of speech and imagination. I think this animation may symbolize what Japan was after the war.