by STUDIO4°C, which has released films such as “Tekkonkinkreet,” “Children of the Sea,” and “Poupelle of Chimney Town,” will release the latest animated film “ChaO” on August 15, 2025. This time, four dynamic character PVs were unveiled at once, featuring the fresh and excellent performances of the gorgeous cast, including Suzuka Oji and Yamada Anna.
Led by Tanaka Eiko, who served as line producer for “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Kiki’s Delivery Service” (directed by Miyazaki Hayao), it has many fans around the world for its high-quality images and unique worldview. Their latest original animation, “Chao,” depicts a story of love and miracles that transcends race and culture.
The film is committed to hand-drawn animation, drawing each picture individually. It depicts the fresh and cute love story between a human and a mermaid with an overwhelming number of drawings and beautiful background art.
The setting of this work is a future society where humans and mermaids coexist. One day, Stephan, an office worker at a shipbuilding company, is suddenly proposed to by Chao, the princess of the mermaid kingdom. Without knowing why, Stephan ends up living with Chao. Stephan is gradually drawn to Chao due to her pure and straightforward love, but what will become of their love? Before its release, the film was nominated for the feature film competition category at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2025, the world’s longest-running animation film festival, and for the competition category at the Fantasia International Film Festival, the largest genre film festival in North America, attracting attention from around the world.
Office worker x mermaid…what will become of their love? Four character PVs, titled “Stephan Edition,” “Chao Edition,” “My Bay Edition,” and “Roberta Edition,” have been unveiled at once. In the “Stefan” episode, Stefan is shown completely shaken by Chao’s sudden proposal. Meanwhile, in the “Ciao” episode, Chao is shown to be utterly unaware of Stefan’s state and to be honest and tell him how much she loves him, saying, “If we can be together forever, let’s get married!” The protagonist, Stefan, and the heroine, the mermaid princess Chao, are played by the highly sought-after young and talented actors Suzuka Oji and Yamada Anna. Suzuka explains to Stefan, “He’s a somewhat unreliable young man, but he has powerful feelings from his childhood memories and what is at his core, which makes him a beautiful character.”
True to his words, in the released footage, he is also impressively flustered and grumbling at the unexpected proposal from the mermaid princess (Ciao). Yamada, who played Chao, who continues to express her love cutely, consulted with her co-stars to express her cuteness to the fullest, commenting, “I tried to say onomatopoeia to match Chao’s movements to make her look charming, and although it was difficult, it was fun.” With her rich expressiveness, she played the charming mermaid princess, who is so lovely that you can’t help but love her, and she has blossomed into a new realm.
The supporting characters are also full of unique personalities. Shishido Kafka and Umehara Yuichiro play the roles of My Bay and Roberta, who support the two behind the scenes. In the “My Bay” episode, we glimpse My Bay’s big sister side, who kindly and warmly supports Chao, who is unfamiliar with life on land but works hard for Stefan. Shishido reveals, “I’ve always wanted to work with my voice,” and uses her husky voice as a weapon to embody the role of a charming big sister with a sensual air. She also commented with affection about the character she played, saying, “It’s a lovable character that I want to have around me.” In the “Roberta” episode, we can see Roberta preaching “love” to Stefan, who cannot accept his marriage to the mermaid princess Chao, with cheesy lines. Umehara explained her role: “He’s an intellectual, romantic, and passionate character who shows many different sides to us in the play.”
In contrast to Stefan, she portrayed the calm, mature man Roberta with a lot of charm. STUDIO4°C’s latest animated film, “Chao,” will be released on August 15, 2025. Be sure to see this film in theaters, where the gorgeous cast’s charming portrayals of unique characters are also a highlight. [Film information] Title: The Movie “ChaO” (read: Chao) Release date: Friday, August 15, 2025, Roadshow Voice cast: Yoji Suzuka, Anna Yamada, Shishido Kafka, Yuichiro Umehara, Kenta Miyake, Shunsei Ota, Anna Tsuchiya, Kukki! Ryota Yamazato Director: Yasuhiro Aoki Character design and chief animation director: Yamato Kojima Art director: Hiroshi Takiguchi Music: Takatsugu Muramatsu Animation production: STUDIO4°C Distribution: Toei (C) 2025 “Chao” Production Committee
