She is the President and CEO of Science Saru, a Japanese animation studio which she co-founded with Masaaki Yuasa in 2013, and has served as producer of the company's works.
[1] In 2020, following the announcement that Yuasa would step down from an executive role at Science Saru,[2] Choi assumed responsibility for the management of the studio.
[6][14] However, Choi felt that the ideas of mixing digital and hand-drawn animation techniques, as well as working with a multicultural staff, were important for the Japanese industry to continue.
After the studio was founded, several of Ankama Japan's former members, including Creative Team Director and Flash Animation Chief Abel Góngora, were among the first to join the new company.
[18] Choi was instrumental in establishing Science Saru's production methodology (combining hand drawn and digital animation) and recruiting its multicultural staff.
[24][25] As Science Saru increased its number of productions, Choi shifted her focus from animating and directing to producing and managing the studio.
[9] By early 2016, the company was ready to undertake its first large-scale project and began production on its first feature film, Lu Over the Wall (2017).
[18] During production of Lu Over the Wall, Science Saru was approached with the opportunity to produce a second film, the comedy romance The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl (2017).
[49][50][51] Choi also produced the comedy television series Super Shiro, inspired by the popular Crayon Shin-chan manga and anime franchise.
[3][66] In 2021, Choi produced a pair of related projects: the feature film Inu-Oh and the animated television series The Heike Story, both based on works by the novelist Hideo Furukawa.
Inu-Oh, directed by Yuasa and adapted from Furukawa's novel of the same name, made its world debut at the 78th Venice International Film Festival in September 2021, with a worldwide theatrical release following in August 2022.
It premiered on global streaming platforms in September 2021 ahead of its broadcast on Japanese television in January 2022,[78] and was named one of the best series of the year.
In addition to Akakiri, Choi produced another short film that Science Saru contributed to the anthology: T0-B1, directed by Abel Góngora.