On the broadcast of M Countdown on October 1st, characters from the popular Japanese manga Chiikawa appeared on stage in mascot costumes, capturing viewers’ attention.
The Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island surpassed 10 million viewers domestically. The film premiered in Korea on September 30 and immediately topped the domestic box office.
When asked how the Chiikawa characters came to appear on M Countdown, the production team explained, “Since Chiikawa is very popular among K-pop fans, who are the main audience of M Countdown, we naturally became interested. We are always thinking about what content viewers are currently passionate about, and how we can present that in a unique M Countdown format.”
They continued, “We have continually experimented with various genres and stage formats, from musical numbers and drama project group performances to virtual production stages owned by CJ ENM. Under the direction of expanding the possibilities of music show stages, we wanted to create a different kind of enjoyment this time by collaborating with the Chiikawa characters.”
Since the stage featured giant mascots singing rather than human performers, there were aspects like camera angles that required special attention. Regarding this, the production team said, “The most novel part was the camera angles. When we met the members in person, they were larger than expected, so framing the shots felt different from filming typical K-pop artists. We carefully considered their size and proportions to capture their distinctive cuteness and movements visually.”
When asked what effects they hope to achieve through this special M Countdown stage, the production team answered, “For fans of Chiikawa, we hope the stage offers a new way to enjoy the characters’ charm, and for M Countdown viewers, that it sparks interest in the animation and the movie as well.”
They added, “We also hope to communicate that M Countdown is a program that continuously links diverse content with music and stage in new ways. We want to create anticipation around what new stages can be seen on M Countdown.”