Summary
The animated film is about how a boy filled with imagination meets a mermaid, lived in a world that was forbidden to imagine. After swimming in the ocean and spending sometime together the boy decided to show the mermaid to his parents. However, his parents were only able to see a fish. The boy was then taken by the government and was brainwashed to not make him imagine again. After the government succeeding, when the boy went to go see the mermaid, instead only saw a fish. In the end when the boy releases the fish into the ocean, it turned into the mermaid that he was able to see in the beginning of the film.
Message
This film was made in the 1960's and I believe that still at this time, no form of diversity was allowed here in Japan. Having living in Japan, I noticed how rules are strictly meant to be followed and if you do not you can not fit in with the society. In the year now, rules and regulations are starting to bend little by little and the generations now are fine with that. However, if Japan is still a harsh environment to live in, I think that it was normal for a person to be treated as it was for the boy in the 1960's.
I believe the direct message that Osamu Tezuka was trying to tell us was simply, to not let anyone judge you for who you are and to tell you what you are. In the world we live in now, it has become a habit for a person to determine what a person is like just by looking at them. No matter what a person believes in, if no one else supports a person with that idea then they are made fun of and would not be taken seriously. In 2019 people are still trying to figure out what diversity means when Osamu Tezuka has realized how absurd it was more than fifty years ago. This meaning, I believe that this film is still relatable and should be meant for everyone to watch.
Ending
I believe that in the end, when the boy was sent into the ocean by people with the wish represented how a person being pushed into a corner because of having a different idea than others. However, when the boy looked at the fish, it turned into the mermaid which he was able to see in the beginning of the film. I believe that this shows us how no matter what another person says or does to you, to just believe in yourself because someday, someone will realize how you were right this whole time.
