by Character design drawings have arrived from the theatrical animation “Chao,” produced by STUDIO4°C, starring Suzuka Oji and Anna Yamada.
The film is a love story that unfolds when Stephan, who works at a ship manufacturing company, is suddenly proposed to by Chao, the princess of the mermaid kingdom. It won the Jury Prize, second only to the highest award, in the feature film competition category at the 2025 Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
The design drawings depict the unique characters and the various expressions of Stephan and Chao. Director Aoki Yasuhiro conceived the original character idea, and character design and general animation director Kojima Yamato designed it based on that. Kojima recalls the time of production, saying, “The director said that he thought it would be good to have a world like ‘ Dr. Slump Arale-chan, ‘so I was free to design the body shape and other things.”
Regarding Stefan, he said, “He’s a plain character with a slightly timid and dull appearance, but in the end, he becomes a little manly. I designed him with that order in mind.” Regarding Chao, he said, “There were several candidates that I thought would be good for this face.
I incorporated elements from actresses and singers that I liked, and after redrawing it multiple times, Chao was born. He’s not your average ‘cute’ type.” “ChaO” will be released nationwide on August 15th.
