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Dandelion's Odyssey by Momoko Seto and "The Graffiti" by Ryo Orikasa have both received recognition in France and Belgium.

On Saturday at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, ChaO by Yasuhiro Aoki and Studio 4°C won the Jury Prize. Dandelion's Odyssey by Momoko Seto received the Paul Grimault Award (formerly known as Jury Special Mention). Ryo Orikasa's "The Graffiti," produced by the Yanai Initiative, earned the Off-Limits Award.

GKIDS licensed ChaO , and it describes ( link ) the story:

From acclaimed Japanese animation production house Studio 4°C comes a wild romantic comedy and true “fish out of water” story. In a futuristic world where humans and mermaids coexist, ChaO follows Stephan, a mild-mannered office worker at a shipbuilding company, whose life is upended when he is suddenly proposed to by Cha o — a princess from the mermaid kingdom. With no time to make sense of what's happening, Stephan soon finds himself living with the unpredictable, wholehearted Cha o. As her sincere love begins to break down his emotional barriers, an unexpected and touching romance begins to unfold.

Stefan is portrayed by Ōji Suzuka in the series "Kimi ni Todoke" or "The Tunnel to Summer," while Anna Yamada plays Cha O in "Golden Kamuy" or "Saki." In these shows, Stefan is a salaryman at a ship-making company, while Cha O is the pure princess of the mermaid kingdom.

The film also stars:

- Yūichirō Umehara as Roberta
- Nankai Candies comedy duo member Ryōta Yamasato as President Shi
- Kavka Shishido as Maibei
- Yasei Bakudan comedy duo member Cookie! as Ambassador Omede
- Kenta Miyake as the King Neptunus
- Octpath idol group member Shunsei Ōta as Juno
- Anna Tsuchiya as Editor-in-Chief


Studio 4°C was responsible for directing the film with Aoki at the helm. Hirokazu Kojima was in charge of character design as well as serving as the chief animation director. Hiroshi Takiguchi was the art director for the film. Takatsugu Muramatsu composed the soundtrack for the film. Toei is responsible for distributing the film.

Kumi Kōda performs the opening theme song "ChaO!," written specifically for the film.

The movie was shown during a French festival that took place from June 8th to June 14th. It will be screened on the opening night of JAPAN CUTS Festival of New Japanese Film on July 10th in New York City. Additionally, it will be shown at Fantasia International Film Festival, which takes place in Montreal from July 16th through August 3rd.

The film will open in Japanese theaters on August 15.


Seto directed his first movie with Dandelion's Odyssey. This film, titled Planètes in French but not related to the manga or anime of that name, has no dialogue and lasts 75 minutes.

Dendelion, Baraban, Léonto and Taraxa, four dandelion achenes rescued from a succession of nuclear explosions destroying the Earth, find themselves hurled into the cosmos, stranded on an unknown planet, in search of a soil suitable for the survival of their species. But the elements, fauna, flora and climate are just some of the obstacles they must overcome.

At the 78th Cannes Film Festival in May, the movie received recognition from the International Federation of Film Critics.





Annecy describes "The Graffiti" ("Rakugaki"), a 13-minute black-and-white short:

The moment the first gleam of sunlight trickled in gently stirring the folds of a shallow sleep… that was when the graffiti appeared. The film brings a prose poem by Makoto Takayanagi to life, read here by the poet himself.

Sources: Annecy International Animation Film Festival ( link ) ( link 2 ( link ) ), Deadline ( link ) (Melanie Goodfellow)