Chiikawa Anime to Pause New Episodes for a Special 25-Episode Revival Run

<p>Sometimes an anime takes a quiet breath, like a lantern flickering before it shines again, and <strong>Chiikawa</strong> is doing exactly that. The series will step away from its regular stream of new episodes for a while and instead bring back <strong>25 older “influential” episodes</strong>, a move that feels less like a pause and more like a gentle rewind for fans who have stayed close to it from the beginning. The rebroadcast will continue until <strong>December 25</strong>, with a clear focus on the early chapters of the show and the episodes tied to the recent film.</p> <h2>A return to the episodes that shaped the series</h2> <p>This revival run is not random; it leans into the episodes that helped build the series's small but lasting emotional weight. In particular, it will highlight stories from the <strong>early run</strong> of the anime, the ones that introduced viewers to its soft rhythm and its quietly expressive world. I have always felt that these kinds of episodes work like the first pages of a handwritten letter: simple at first glance, but carrying the shape of everything that comes after.</p> <p>The broadcast will also include episodes connected to <strong>Eiga Chiikawa: Ningyo no Shima no Himitsu</strong>, the film that gave the franchise a stronger push on the big screen. That connection matters, because the movie has become a major landmark for the series, and the TV rerun seems designed to keep that momentum warm rather than letting it cool off.</p> <h2>A series that keeps finding new life</h2> <p><strong>Chiikawa</strong> first premiered in <strong>April 2022</strong>, airing on Fridays as part of Fuji TV's morning program <em>Mezamashi Terebi</em>. By <strong>April 2023</strong>, it had already grown enough to expand into a <strong>twice-weekly schedule</strong>, running on Tuesdays and Fridays. That kind of shift tells you something important: the audience did not just watch it, they made room for it.</p> <p>The anime later began another new series in <strong>July 2025</strong>, after previously cycling through older standout episodes when the last regular run of new material ended in <strong>April 2025</strong>. It is a pattern that gives the show a soft heartbeat, alternating between freshness and memory, and it suits the tone of the franchise very well.</p> <h3>The film helped lift the whole franchise</h3> <p>The movie <strong>Eiga Chiikawa: Ningyo no Shima no Himitsu</strong>, which opened in Japan on <strong>July 24</strong>, has already made a striking mark at the box office. It earned more than <strong>15.84 billion yen</strong>—around <strong>US$100 million</strong>—and sold about <strong>10.86 million tickets</strong>, placing it at the top of Japan's box office for the year. Those numbers are not just tallies; they are proof that the little characters have grown into something much larger without losing their charm.</p> <p>From my perspective, that is what makes <strong>Chiikawa</strong> stand out: it does not shout to be noticed, yet it keeps gathering attention like a small stream carving a wider path over time. Even a brief rebroadcast can feel meaningful when a series has built that kind of quiet trust.</p> <h2>Where fans can watch it</h2> <p>For international viewers, the anime has already been picked up by <strong>Sentai Filmworks</strong>, and it is streaming on <strong>HIDIVE</strong> with English subtitles. In North America, <strong>Amasian TV</strong> also began streaming a selection of <strong>20 episodes</strong> on <strong>August 20</strong>, giving the series another doorway for new audiences to step through.</p> <p>The main characters continue to be voiced by a cast that has become closely tied to the show's identity: <strong>Haruka Aoki</strong> voices <strong>Chiikawa</strong>, <strong>Makoto Tanaka</strong> voices <strong>Hachiware</strong>, and <strong>Ari Ozawa</strong> voices <strong>Usagi</strong>. That familiarity matters, because the voices carry much of the series's delicate warmth.</p> <p>In the end, this special rebroadcast feels less like a detour and more like a pause held with care, a way to let fans revisit the episodes that gave <strong>Chiikawa</strong> its shape before the next stretch of the journey begins.</p>