Published Feb 12, 2026, 12:30 PM EST
As a graduate of Columbia University in New York City, Tatiana studied theater and comparative literature. She has been passionate about all manner of storytelling from Jane Austen adaptations to anime. Aside from writing for Screen Rant, she co-hosts podcasts: The Flash Podcast and Ladies With Gumption.
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Fresh off its world premiere at Annecy International Film Festival in June 2025, where it won a Jury Award, ChaO has unveiled its North American trailer and release date. ScreenRant is proud to present the first look at both, thanks to the animated romance's Academy Award-winning distributor, GKIDS.
ChaO hails from Japanese animation production house Studio 4°C, responsible for this year's All You Need Is Kill as well as 2013's fan-favorite Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, and veteran animator Yasushiro Aoki. In addition to previously directing Batman: Gotham Knight, Aoki was a key animator for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. His unique style is evident in the trailer for his newest film, which can be seen below:
A Closer Look At ChaO's Trailer & Release Date
ChaO is a romantic comedy with a wild, literal fish-out-of-water premise. Set in a world where the existence of mermaids is known to humans, the new movie sees a simple office worker, Stephan, receive a marriage proposal from the mermaid princess Chao. Though their unlikely romance flounders at first, adventure and understanding await them in equal measure.
This film is a labor of love, both due to the hilarious and heartfelt themes it espouses and the 7 years of development it took to bring Aoki's vision to the big screen. Now, GKIDS is bringing the critically-acclaimed animated production to North American theaters on April 10th, and they shared a delightful new poster to mark the occasion:
Other recent GKIDS titles include Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, and the Oscar-nominated film Little Amélie or the Character of Rain. They also have plenty of live-action projects to look forward to, including another Oscar nominee, Kohuko, and the hotly anticipated follow-up to director Takaski Yamazi's beloved kaiju reimagining, Godzilla Minus Zero.
ChaO arrives in North American theaters on April 10 through GKIDS.
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