Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
TL;DR, Studio CLAP revealed a teaser visual for the Wasted Chef anime film at the Annecy showcase during the Cannes film events. A special trailer will screen with Pompo revival screenings in Japan starting May 29, and more details are due at a May 31 Pompo anniversary event.
Studio CLAP unveiled a teaser visual for the Wasted Chef anime film at Cannes’ Annecy Animation Showcase. The reveal spotlights director Takayuki Hirao’s next feature and sets the immediate rollout. A special trailer will screen in Japan with Pompo: The Cinéphile revival showings.
” CLAP set two dates: trailer screenings from May 29 and a details drop at a May 31 stage event. The Pompo team’s reunion signals continuity in direction, design, and music.
What the Wasted Chef teaser visual revealed
Studio CLAP unveiled the Wasted Chef anime film’s new teaser artwork at the Annecy Animation Showcase during the 79th Cannes International Film Festival, held from May 15 to 17. Presented as one of the featured works in progress, the Wasted Chef teaser visual arrived under the Annecy showcase banner with a clear statement of intent. The visual bears the tagline, “That day, ‘you’ and ‘taste’ disappeared from the world.” The studio confirmed the reveal on Monday and framed it as the latest public step for director Takayuki Hirao’s project.
A special trailer will follow right away in theaters. CLAP stated that the trailer will screen in advance at the Pompo revival screenings in Japan, which begin on May 29. The company will also share more information at the Pompo: The Cinéphile 5th Anniversary Stage Greeting at Shinjuku Piccadilly on May 31.
Together, these dates set a tight early rollout: a Cannes debut for the visual, then a domestic preview of the trailer tied to Pompo, and an event update two days later. The tagline sits at the center of this push, signaling tone to viewers before the full marketing wave starts.
Fans of Pompo: The Cinéphile have another reason to pay attention. Director Takayuki Hirao, animation studio CLAP, character designer Shingo Adachi, and composer Kenta Matsukuma are reuniting from Pompo for Wasted Chef. That creative lineup connects the new film to a proven team in direction, design, and music.
The project was first announced in June 2023, and the staff revealed a new imageboard concept in June 2025. Variety reported that the film is slated for completion in 2027, which is not yet confirmed. For now, the reveal of the teaser visual at Cannes, the immediate trailer plan tied to Pompo revival screenings, and the May 31 stage event mark the concrete next steps on the path to release.
What the Wasted Chef visual hints about the story
The image’s message points to a world where a person and taste vanish at once. That implication dovetails with the Wasted Chef story as outlined by Variety. The trade’s write-up paired its synopsis with a Variety 2027 completion note for the feature.
- A young chef hunts a lost flavor that defines his purpose and memory.
- His journey leads to a ruined city without taste, emptied of desire.
- Kasumi rescues him, and his cooking revives buried memories in the aftermath.
- A dark force targets desire itself, threatening to erase it entirely.
- The chef’s craft becomes a last hope to reconnect two threatened worlds.
- Food, memory, and identity braid into the stakes of each choice he makes.
- The pursuit of flavor doubles as a fight against cultural and personal erasure.
- Completion is slated for 2027, per Variety’s reporting alongside the synopsis.
Read against that outline, the tagline telegraphs a sensory void and an intimate loss. The “lost flavor” functions as a compass for the hero, while a “ruined city without taste” sets a stark battlefield. Culinary skill is positioned as resistance, with cooking awakening histories that the enemy seeks to wipe away.
Addressing “you” in the line personalizes the crisis, hinting at bonds the chef must restore. The absence of taste suggests collapsed community, memory, and pleasure. Together, the visual and synopsis frame a character-first struggle where creation pushes back against a widening emptiness.
Where to see the Wasted Chef trailer and when more details arrive
If you want to see footage first, head to Japanese theaters. The Wasted Chef trailer screening will attach to Pompo revival May 29, with the promo playing before showtimes. CLAP identifies this as an advance presentation for attendees ahead of the next information drop on the Wasted Chef anime film.
- Start date: May 29, when Pompo: The Cinéphile returns to cinemas.
- Format: the new promo plays before Pompo revival showings in Japan.
- Next announcement: May 31, during Pompo’s 5th Anniversary Stage Greeting.
- Venue: Shinjuku Piccadilly, a central Tokyo theater for stage events.
- Project path: announced in June 2023 by CLAP.
- New material: a fresh imageboard concept surfaced in June 2025.
- Marketplace context: Cannes’ animation showcase highlighted in-progress international titles.
- Staff continuity: direction, design, and music reunite from Pompo.
- External report: Variety has pointed to a 2027 completion target.
Two days after the trailer’s kickoff, Shinjuku Piccadilly May 31 hosts the “Pompo: The Cinéphile 5th Anniversary Stage Greeting,” where CLAP will share more details on the project. The studio has not specified topics, but it positioned the stage as the next official update point.
The creative setup matters for fans. A Takayuki Hirao staff reunion brings back character designer Shingo Adachi and composer Kenta Matsukuma under Studio CLAP, promising cohesion across tone and craft after Pompo. For wider industry context on collaboration frictions, see Katsuhiro Harada Vs Studio Snk.
Source: ANN
