The imaginative new anime film ChaO, directed by Yasuhiro Aoki, blends romance, comedy, and fantasy in a future world where humans and mermaids coexist in unexpected harmony and chaos.
Produced by the acclaimed Studio 4°C, it features a voice cast led by Ouji Suzuka as Stephan and Anna Yamada as the free-spirited mermaid princess Chao, along with eye-catching visuals, dynamic character designs, and an offbeat sense of humor.
ChaO first premiered at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, where it won the prestigious Jury Award in the Feature Film category — the first Japanese entry to win this honor in eight years. It also screened as the sole Japanese entry at the 2025 Ottawa International Animation Festival, competing for the Grand Prize for Feature Animation, and appeared at JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film in New York City, and Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Canada. The film is now set for a U.S. theatrical release beginning April 10, 2026, courtesy of GKIDS.
Here is the official synopsis of ChaO: In a fantastical future, humans and mermaids share a troubled coexistence. Stephan, an anxious employee at a shipbuilding company, has big ideas to save the sea. But his life explodes into ecstatic chaos when bubbly mermaid princess Chao proposes marriage out of the blue. Between shopping sprees, giant robots, and actual fireworks, the unlikely pair flounder through their new romance and unlock their true feelings. Crafted over 7 years by the acclaimed STUDIO4°C and veteran animator Yasuhiro Aoki, ChaO is an inventive and genre-defying delight bursting with color and character. Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, ChaO’s singular narrative is an ode to boundless love.
At the Annecy Festival awards ceremony, Director Yasuhiro Aoki expressed disbelief and gratitude while explaining the film’s approach to comedy, saying, “I can’t believe I’m standing here. Although ChaO is a comedy packed with gags, we deliberately avoided punchlines based on dialogue. I think that’s why the humor resonated so well with international audiences.”
Eiko Tanaka of Studio 4°C said, “Directed by Yasuhiro Aoki, ChaO is a film that embraces contradiction — delicate yet bold, romantic yet absurd. It was crafted with great care and imagination by our team, and we are deeply grateful to GKIDS for recognizing its spirit. We hope audiences in North America will enjoy diving into this dreamlike, vibrant world as much as we enjoyed bringing it to life.”
Watch the official trailer for ChaO above.
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