ChaO (チャオ) a 2025 Japanese animated romantic comedy fantasy film. Produced by Studio 4°C and distributed by Toei Company, the film is directed by Yasuhiro Aoki with music composed by Takatsugu Muramatsu. The film debuted in Japanese theaters in August 2025.
Premise
A mermaid princess becomes engaged to a human engineer.
Voice cast
Production
The film is produced by Studio 4°C and directed by Yasuhiro Aoki, with Shōgo Furuya as unit director. Hirokazu Kojima designed the characters and served as chief animation director, and Takatsugu Muramatsu composed the music. Ōji Suzuka and Anna Yamada were cast in the lead roles.[2] The film's theme song is "ChaO!" performed by Koda Kumi.[3]
Release
The film was distributed by Toei Company, who released the film in theaters on August 15, 2025.[4] GKIDS licensed the film for distribution in North America, where it released theatrically on April 10, 2026.[5]
Reception
Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com gave the film three and a half out of four stars and wrote that it "is a real pleasure to watch and listen to".[8]
External links
References
- Rafael Pineda. Studio 4°C's ChaO Anime Film Reveals More Cast in Video Anime News Network, March 25, 2025, retrieved June 18, 2025^
- https://natalie.mu/comic/news/617218 Comic Natalie, Natasha, Inc, March 26, 2025, retrieved June 18, 2025^
- Crystalyn Hodgkins. Studio 4°C's ChaO Anime Film Reveals Kumi Koda's Theme Song in Trailer Anime News Network, June 6, 2025, retrieved June 18, 2025^
- Anita Tai. Studio 4°C's ChaO Anime Film Announces Cast, August 15 Debut in Teaser Anime News Network, March 25, 2025, retrieved June 18, 2025^
- Anita Tai. GKIDS Acquires N. American Rights to Studio 4°C's ChaO Anime Film Anime News Network, June 3, 2025, retrieved June 18, 2025^
- ChaO Rotten Tomatoes, retrieved 17 April 2026^
- ChaO Metacritic, retrieved 13 April 2026^
- Simon Abrams. ChaO RogerEbert.com, April 2026, retrieved 13 April 2026^