Stefan finds himself betrothed to a mermaid princess, which brings the promise of a brighter future for both humans and merfolk. But Stefan’s not sure he can make it work with his fishy fiancée, no matter how sweet she may be. ChaO contains some nice messages about marital love and sacrifice, but the film’s whimsy is pulled down by an undertow of suggestive moments and dialogue.
Safe to say, Stefan isn’t quite sure about his newfound relationship.
First of all, it’s moving far too fast: Stefan had barely met his betrothed, ChaO, before they were arranged to be married. Second, they have nothing in common—two people from two very different worlds.
After all, ChaO is a fish.
Okay, technically she’s a merperson. But she sure looks like a fish, from head to toe—er, fin. And while water reveals her true, humanlike appearance (which hews closer to the common popular depiction of mermaids), on dry land ChaO looks more like an overgrown salmon.
So, yeah, Stefan has doubts about their prospects. But not ChaO. She’s utterly devoted to Stefan, willing to leave her aquatic life behind and become part of his world as his doting and dutiful wife.
No small thing—she is a princess, after all.
That’s right. ChaO is the daughter of King Neptunus, sovereign of the seas. And while diplomatic relations between humans and merfolk have always been chilly, Stefan and ChaO’s sudden engagement has started to melt the ice. The mismatched pair becomes a celebrity couple overnight, and their wedding is hotly anticipated. Think the British Royal Wedding, if the bride had gills.
It doesn’t help that his engineering career is tied to this matrimonial decision, either. The big boss at Stefan’s company, Mr. Sea, was dismissive of his idea to make a ship propulsion system safer and more ethical for sea life. But after learning about Stefan’s relationship with an ocean princess, Mr. Sea can’t wait to promote Stefan’s idea (not to mention Stefan himself).
Fame, professional advancement and a more collaborative and prosperous future for humans and merfolk alike. All that is on the table if Stefan can make things work with ChaO.
No pressure.
Stefan and ChaO do indeed tie the knot. And despite her royal heritage, ChaO exhibits incredible selflessness in her love for Stefan. She leaves behind everything she knows to live with him in an unfamiliar environment. Despite frequent fish-out-of-water (pun intended) moments, ChaO works hard to be a good wife to Stefan. She is kind, forgiving and accepting of their differences. She even chooses to give away the many treasures given to her and Stefan as wedding gifts to better live a simple, peaceful life.
Stefan’s journey to become a good husband takes a bit more time. But as he works through his trepidation (and more than a few careless, sometimes hurtful, comments), he comes to appreciate ChaO’s inner beauty, whichever form she may take.
Maibei and Robelt, two of Stefan’s friends, are kind to ChaO and help her learn about human culture. They also straighten out Stefan when necessary.
Though his parents died when he was young, we see in flashbacks that Stefan had a loving homelife with them.
King Neptunus loves his daughter and wants the best for her.
ChaO does a sort of “water dance” for Stefan that creates a pool in the shape of a taijitu (better known as the yin-and-yang symbol). We see another taijitu on a young boy’s shirt.
A fisherman reverently says, “The blessings of the sea keep us alive.” ChaO vows to stay with Stefan “for eternity.” Someone says that it was a “miracle” that Stefan and ChaO met. There is brief mention of a pop band called “The Idols.”
ChaO certainly has some sweetness, but the film also includes a surprising amount of suggestive content—by far its biggest issue.
Though Stefan has doubts about their relationship, he is attracted to ChaO’s rarely glimpsed mermaid form. In one scene, ChaO showers in her humanlike form and Stefan tries to catch a glimpse of her nakedness. They are married at this time, but the moment still feels voyeuristic, especially considering the viewer sees ChaO’s bare shoulders, back and a brief glimpse of the edge of her breast as she showers. She turns the water off as he pulls back the shower curtain, returning to her fishy form.
A reporter asks Stefan following his wedding night if he “consummated” his marriage with ChaO. (They didn’t.) Robelt jokingly gives Stefan a credit card before a date with ChaO in case the couple need to “get a room.”
Men ogle a shapely nurse. A woman is portrayed with an enormous bust—for which a coworker gives her the nickname “Boobie Rocket Missiles.” We see a cartoon character that has guns for breasts.
A fairy tale-like introduction depicts a stylized mermaid with a small seashell bra as the only coverage for her torso. When Stefan expresses concern over marrying a mermaid, a man tells him that Japanese men have married “a crane, a fox, even a snake”—references to Japanese folklore.
The ambassador to the merfolk appears to be a man (with a five ‘o’clock shadow) who dresses as a woman, sporting a skirt and a feminine hairstyle.
Stefan and ChaO kiss on their wedding day. (As a gag, Stefan first kisses ChaO’s more human form before she transforms into her fishlike appearance mid-smooch.) The pair go on a few dates and get to know each other better.
Robelt and Maibei have feelings for each other but are hesitant to reveal them. A man says that he and his wife fell in love after they were married, implying their marriage was arranged.
King Neptunus appears shirtless in his human form. A small man (or a large baby, it can be hard to tell at times given the film’s loose, stylistic animation) walks along the street in a sumo mawashi (or diaper—again, difficult to tell).
Characters declare their love for one another. Maibei wears revealing clothing. We are told that a man “has no interest in girls, only [inventing] his robots.” (We later learn that is not the case.) A man asks out Mr. Sea’s assistant.
The violent content found in ChaO is generally played for exaggerated, comedic effect. Stefan is often on the end of this slapstick humor: He conks his head several times, is swept up in a giant wave, chomped and pulled into the ocean, slapped by a robot, shocked by eels and blasted by water projectiles.
ChaO sets off a large collection of fireworks in a house, unwittingly causing a lot of damage. Other characters are slapped, punched, or take painful tumbles. A few crash their vehicles. One man is hurled into the stratosphere, à la Team Rocket.
However, there are a few more serious moments of violence found in this film. One comes when Stefan tries to defend ChaO from a pair of bullies. He fights them, landing a few punches and kicks before the tables are turned and he is beaten. A man kicks him repeatedly, and the violence causes a young bystander to burst into tears. Stefan eventually loses consciousness due to his injuries.
Another instance involves a well-meaning but disastrous attempt by ChaO to celebrate Stefan’s birthday with a robot suit. The suit malfunctions and causes plenty of destruction, and Stefan and ChaO are injured (we see some blood).
We learn that Stefan’s parents died at sea, possibly as part of accident involving their ship’s propeller, orphaning him as a young boy.
Children fight and one receives a painful beating. A man and woman perform a faux martial arts battle. A grotesque (but fake) zombie is seen in a theme park’s haunted house.
“D–n” is heard once. There are uses of “crap,” “geez” and “boogers.”
Stefan gets black-out drunk on his wedding night.
People wonder if Stefan and ChaO will have children—and what those children would be. We do eventually see the product of a human-mermaid union: Two children who look human out of water and like merfolk while in it.
Stefan steals a ship. He retches after riding a rollercoaster. A man picks his nose and wipes his finger on Stefan’s jacket. People make rude comments about Stefan and ChaO’s relationship.
Mr. Sea initially leverages Stefan’s relationship with ChaO for his own ends, hoping that it will result in the end of the merfolk’s interference with his business. A child innocently wonders if people can eat a mermaid. A cat cleans its crotch area.
ChaO is a fantasy romantic comedy from Studio 4°C, which has produced animation for everything from Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox to this year’s All You Need is Kill. With ChaO, they’ve created another visually arresting film—though this is much more due to the strange and even sketch-like quality of the animation rather than pure, hand-drawn beauty.
The plot follows suit. While the premise is certainly creative, its execution feels a bit spotty, with herky-jerky storytelling following a predictable romcom formula.
ChaO is unrated, but if the MPAA asked me what I thought, I would say this anime generally falls into the PG space—with some reservations. While you can catch some nice messages here about marital love, sacrifice and accepting people as they are, you’ll find some distasteful issues cluttering your net, too. Brief near- nudity and plenty of winking, suggestive content sully the film’s whimsy.
Parents might also be concerned about the amount of violence (even if it’s mostly played for laughs), and even Stefan and ChaO’s relationship. While we’ve seen a human-mermaid romance onscreen before in Disney’s popular take on The Little Mermaid, viewers might have found it less palatable if Ariel spent 75% of the runtime as a literal fish.
While some families will find the film a colorful fantasy cruise with some sweet messages, others may want to skip the boat ride due to the barnacles clinging to its hull.
Bret loves a good story—be it a movie, show, or video game—and enjoys geeking out about things like plot and story structure. He has a blast reading and writing fiction and has penned several short stories and screenplays. He and his wife love to kayak the many beautiful Colorado lakes with their dog.
