For years, fans have wondered what form the next Is the Order a Rabbit? (Gochiusa) anime would take. Now we have our answer: the new project revealed at the 10th anniversary event is officially a feature-length theatrical film, with a fresh teaser visual by character designer Akane Yano, chief director Hiroyuki Hashimoto overseeing the world he helped build, and Tensho and Bibury Animation Studios stepping in to lead the movie production.
Feature-Length Gochiusa Movie Announced After the 10th Anniversary Event
Koi’s slice-of-life café manga Is the Order a Rabbit? (Gochūmon wa Usagi desu ka?) has been running in Houbunsha’s Manga Time Kirara Max since 2011, spawning three TV anime seasons, OVAs and a decade of “healing” coffee shop vibes. On March 1, 2025, during the TV anime’s 10th anniversary special event “Rabbit House Talk Party 2025,” a brand-new anime project was announced without a specified format. The latest update finally answers that question: the new Gochiusa project is a full-length theatrical movie.
The press release confirms that this long-form film will be produced with Bibury Animation Studios, while the overall direction of the series stays anchored by Hiroyuki Hashimoto, who directed all three TV seasons and previous films like Is the Order a Rabbit?? ~Dear My Sister~. For fans, that means a big-screen story that isn’t just “one more OVA,” but a full movie that can take its time with new situations in the familiar European-style town.
Cocoa and Chino Shine in Akane Yano’s First Teaser Visual for the Film
To mark the announcement, the team released the first teaser visual for the movie: a newly drawn illustration of Cocoa and Chino by character designer Akane Yano. While details of the story are still under wraps, the visual is positioned as the first official piece of art made specifically for the movie, not reused imagery, and as a statement that Cocoa and Chino remain the emotional center of the series even as the format scales up to a feature film.
Yano comments that she’s deeply honored to handle character designs for the movie and wants to draw the girls “cherishing every moment, just like Cocoa and her friends do.” She also mentions aiming to get as close as possible to the transparent, “soft and cute” feeling of Koi’s original illustrations. For long-time viewers, that’s a reassuring signal: even with a new studio, the visual identity of Gochiusa is in hands that clearly adore these characters.
Hiroyuki Hashimoto and Tensho Join Bibury for a New Theater Team-Up
The staff line-up for the theatrical film mixes familiar names with a new production base:
Original Work: Koi (Manga Time Kirara Max, Houbunsha)
Chief Director: Hiroyuki Hashimoto
Director / Screenplay: Tensho (Motoki Tanaka)
Associate Director: Munenori Nawa
Character Design: Akane Yano
Animation Production: Bibury Animation Studios
Hashimoto has been central to Gochiusa’s anime identity, directing all TV seasons and previous theatrical and OVA entries. His new role as chief director lets him supervise the overall tone and worldbuilding while handing day-to-day directing and script duties to Tensho.
Tensho, who founded Bibury Animation Studios and previously directed titles like Kin-iro Mosaic and the Grisaia series, is known for balancing soft slice-of-life moods with sharp visual direction. Having him at the helm suggests a movie that can lean into both the cute, café everyday life and the more cinematic side of Gochiusa’s town and seasonal events.
Associate director Munenori Nawa, who has directed series such as Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu and worked on numerous character-centric anime, joins as a long-time colleague of Tensho and Hashimoto — a small “drinking buddies reunion,” as Nawa jokingly puts it in his comment. It’s a team that blends history with fresh energy.
Staff Messages Promise a Gentle Yet Surprising Cinema Experience
The announcement comes with heartfelt comments from the main creative staff:
Koi (original creator) expresses sincere happiness that the series can come to audiences as a theatrical film, thanking the teams that made the previous TV series and the new staff at Bibury for taking on the movie. She says she’s just as excited as the fans to see how the world of Gochiusa will look on the big screen.
Chief director Hiroyuki Hashimoto says he’s glad to finally share concrete news and believes that the combination of a movie format and a new staff line-up will let fans enjoy the world of Gochiusa even more. As chief director, he’ll supervise the whole project so that viewers can still feel “this is the same Gochiusa I’ve loved,” while leaving room for new surprises.
Director / writer Tensho admits he never imagined he’d be directing Gochiusa, and calls it an honor to work on such a long-loved series. He promises to bring out the café atmosphere, cuteness and charm of the characters at “120%.”
Associate director Munenori Nawa jokes that he’s thrilled to finally work alongside Hashimoto and Tensho instead of just cheering from the sidelines, and pledges to give his all even as a “newcomer” to the franchise.
Character designer Akane Yano says she wants to enjoy every moment of drawing Cocoa and the others, treating them preciously, and aims to get as close as she can to Koi’s transparent, “cute” illustrations.
Taken together, the comments reinforce a simple promise: this movie is meant to feel like coming back to Rabbit House — just with a bigger canvas and some new tricks behind the counter.
Implications for Long-Time Is the Order a Rabbit? Fans Around the World
For overseas fans who found Gochiusa through simulcasts or Blu-rays, the move to a feature-length film means a few things. The franchise is entering the same territory as other Kirara alumni that jumped to the big screen, with room for longer emotional arcs and seasonal set-pieces. With Hashimoto supervising and Tensho directing at Bibury, the staff blend looks designed to keep the “healing café” heart intact while pushing the visuals to theater standards.
The core cast — Ayane Sakura (Cocoa), Inori Minase (Chino), Risa Taneda (Rize), Satomi Satō (Chiya), Maaya Uchida (Sharo), Sora Tokui (Maya), Rie Murakawa (Meg) — are all confirmed to return, keeping the sound of Gochiusa familiar. We don’t have a release window or distribution details yet, but previous Gochiusa projects have made their way overseas in various forms, from streaming to home video, so it’s reasonable to expect international availability to follow after the Japanese run.
Guides to Following Movie Updates and Revisiting the Original Manga
A dedicated theatrical information page has already opened for the film:
Official movie information page
Ongoing updates will also be shared through existing official accounts:
Official X account @usagi_anime
Official YouTube channel @gochiusa_official
For anyone who wants to catch up or rewatch before the movie, the original manga volumes 1–13 are available in Japanese, with sample pages here:
Preview the manga on Houbunsha’s reader
A feature-length Is the Order a Rabbit? movie feels like the natural next step for a series that has spent ten years turning coffee breaks, part-time jobs and festival nights into something quietly special. Now the only real question is: whose latte art will steal the show on the big screen?
© Koi・HOUBUNSHA/Gochiusa the Movie Partners
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