By Paul Salfen, Christine Thompson for AMFM Magazine
In a fantastical future where humans and mermaids share a troubled coexistence, an anxious shipbuilding company employee named Stephan finds his orderly life turned upside down when bubbly mermaid princess Chao proposes marriage out of the blue. What follows is a whirlwind of shopping sprees, giant robots, fireworks, and heartfelt discoveries in ChaO, the inventive and genre-defying animated feature from acclaimed Japanese studio STUDIO4°C.
Crafted over seven years by veteran animator and director Yasuhiro Aoki with character designs and supervising animation direction by Hirokazu Kojima, ChaO bursts with color, character, and emotion. Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, it’s an ode to boundless love. AMFM Magazine’s Paul Salfen sat down with Aoki and Kojima to discuss the making of this delightful film, now delighting audiences in North America.
On the Story and Characters
Salfen opened by expressing how captivating the film is: “We love the story. And of course, when a man falls for a mermaid, what could go wrong?”
Aoki reflected on developing the characters, particularly the mermaid princess. “Even when I was storyboarding him [Stephan], he’s really just as he’s depicted. He’s calm at times, where he gets flustered at times. But I really wanted Chao to be fascinating… The character designer [Kojima] did well on that because even if she’s a mermaid, she’s lovable. We really hope that she leaves an impression on the audience.”
Proudest Moments in Production
Both creators recalled key moments when they knew the project was special. Aoki, who handled much of the storyboarding, shared: “I do all the storyboarding, but they always came up better than what I had on paper. There were so many scenes that just came out better than what I had storyboarded. I think just over that course, I knew that it was going in the right direction.”
Kojima added his perspective on character integration: “When I was working on the character designs, I was really doubting myself… Is this the right direction? But once the art director came up with the image boards for the background, and then when we put the characters on top of that background, it really fit and meshed well. When I saw that, I knew that we were going in the right direction.”
Advice for Aspiring Animators
When asked what advice they’d give to those wanting to follow in their footsteps, the pair emphasized passion and enjoyment. “Being an animator is really hard… but it really is about liking drawing and having fun,” they noted. They stressed it’s not just about static images: “Not just drawing, but really just about the moving art is something that, if you’re interested in, that would make a better fit for this kind of job.”
What Audiences Should Take Away
With its dense, layered visuals and narrative, ChaO offers more than surface-level entertainment. “There is a lot going on,” Aoki acknowledged. “Because of that, I don’t think I could put it into one sentence what I want them to take away from it. I do want various answers… I want the audience to say different answers… Maybe I’ll go watch it again. That kind of feeling would be nice.”
Kojima echoed this: “There’s a lot of stuff going on in frame, each frame. Just watching it once won’t be enough. It would be nice if the audience could keep going to the theaters and watching it and discovering new things. And it is different from other movies… If everyone could just share their opinions with each other on how they thought about the film, that’ll be great.”
Aoki and Kojima, along with the entire STUDIO4°C team, have delivered a singular cinematic experience. STUDIO4°C is one of Japan’s most innovative and boundary-pushing animation studios. The studio has gained international acclaim for its diverse, creator-driven works that transcend genre and convention, consistently challenging the possibilities of animation as a cinematic art form. The studio’s name is inspired by the temperature at which water is most dense — symbolizing its creative philosophy to always create works “dense with substance and quality.”
Over the past four decades, STUDIO4°C has collaborated with visionary filmmakers and creators from around the world, producing an eclectic body of work that spans feature films, shorts, music videos, and international co-productions. Highlights include MIND GAME, Tekkonkinkreet, The Animatrix, Children of the Sea, Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko, and PHOENIX: Reminiscence of Flower.
Don’t miss ChaO in theaters. It’s a chaotic, colorful celebration of love that will leave a lasting impression—just as its creators hoped.
