1. setting
Taken place in a beach of a faraway country, where the boy rescues fish (mermaid) by letting her go back into the sea. The fish turns out as a mermaid and they spend time together.
2. conflict
It's the boy vs the society. The boy had mermaid stay in the water tank at his house and showed it to his parents, but they just saw it as a small fish. Later he was taken to police the police station and was punished. Everybody, including his parents, didn't believe him.
3. climax
When the boy freed fish into the sea, finally everybody saw the same mermaid. Then, the boy turned out to be a merman and the two swam away and never came back.
4. symbol
mermaid and the boy- a symbol of freedom, infinite imagination. The two could literally change how they are seen and go anywhere.
5. irony
With everyone trying to force the boy to limit his imagination, he kept believing what he believes. Lastly, everyone saw what the boy had been seeing.
6. theme
The story shows the customs of 1960s that everyone being the same and not allowing unique imagination. Tezuka is trying to convey that imagination is okay and make the place more diverse.
