From the endlessly imaginative Japanese studio STUDIO 4°C comes ChaO, a stunning animated feature that marries slapstick comedy with sweet romance, all told through a burst of colour and hand-drawn beauty that feels almost radical in today’s digital-first era. Director Yasuhiro Aoki, making his feature debut, draws on decades of experience in character animation to deliver a film that is as visually vivid as it is emotionally sincere.

ChaO depicts the story of Stephan, an ordinary shipyard office worker whose neatly ordered life is upended when he’s suddenly swept into a whirlwind romance with Chao, a mermaid princess. At first, the setup plays like a comical “fish out of water” tale, but it soon blossoms into something far more tender. As Chao’s openhearted affection gradually melts Stephan’s reserve, their bond evolves into a tale of love, cultural understanding, and the messy, joyful collision of two very different worlds.

Every frame vibrates with life. The characters themselves are a marvel of expressiveness. Chao, with her exaggerated movements and sparkling eyes, is drawn with a looseness that show her spontaneity, while Stephan’s straighter, more rigid lines reinforce his cautious nature. Together, they bring the film’s stunning visual contrasts.

The craftsmanship behind ChaO is staggering. Over 100,000 drawings were created on paper, a feat almost unimaginable in an era dominated by CGI. Producer Eiko Tanaka has called the project an act of cultural preservation – and it shows! The animators play with proportions in bold ways: heads change size, perspectives shift, yet the world never falls apart. Instead, it feels alive, surprising, and human in its little flaws.

Beneath its rom-com antics lies a story about empathy and coexistence. I want to think that Aoki uses the metaphor of a human and a mermaid finding common ground to comment on the world’s fractured state, urging viewers to look past difference and toward connection. It’s a theme expressed not through heavy-handed lectures but through the gradual growth of Stephan and Chao’s relationship.

ChaO is both a love story and a love letter — to hand-drawn animation, to cultural understanding, and to the unruly magic of falling for someone completely unexpected. In its shining colours and fluid character work, it reminds us of animation’s power not just to entertain but to expand the possibilities of human imagination. For STUDIO 4°C, it is a triumph; for Aoki, it is – without a doubt – a superb debut!

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Written by Maggie Gogler

Featured image courtesy of BFI London Film Festival

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