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Studio 4°C is working on a new original anime movie! The project was announced during Toei’s 2025-2026 lineup press conference, because Toei (Dragon Ball,One Piece) will distribute the movie, at least in Japan.
4°C was founded in 1986 and has been increasingly involved with anime production since the 2000s — they animated series before the 2000s, but their involvement with this kind of production was more sparse. They produced a fewAnimatrix(2003) episodes and also animated theBerserk: Golden Age Arctrilogy.
The newmovie is titledChaO, and it’s set to debut in Summer 2025 in Japan. As Toei is involved with this production, there is a chance they are aiming to release it internationally, be it in theaters or directly to streaming services.
No information regarding international releases has been unveiled so far, but Studio 4°C posted about the movie in English, also giving the impression they want the movie to reach overseas audiences:
According toOricon, Studio 4°C has been working on this movie for seven years, and the production is hand drawn, with over 100,000 drawings.
Directed By Naruto: The Last Assistant Animation Director
Yasuhiro Aokiis in charge of the direction. Heis credited as assistant animation director onThe Last: Naruto the Movie, a movie leading to Naruto and Hinata’s wedding and considered canon by many fans. He also worked, this time as director, onSenjutsu Choukoukaku Orion, Honey Tokyoand Episode 4 ofBatman: Gotham City.
Hirokazu Kojima (Deadman Wonderland) is the character designer and chief animation director, while Hiroshi Takiguchi (Ajin,Weathering with You) is the art director. The head writer (or writers) has not been revealed, but there is a chance Aoki is also writing the script.
ChaO’s Plot Premise Looks Like Some Sort of Funny Little Mermaid Tale
The story is set in the future, but a future in whichmermaids and humans live together.In this scenario, Chao, a princess of the mermaid kingdom, suddenly asks an office worker named Stephen to marry her.
