Komada: A Whisky Family

Recommended for those who appreciate fun and heart-warming stories. This has to be one of the most Japanese pieces of media I have ever watched. It is as Japanese as it gets. A heart-warming and fun story about a Japanese family-run whiskey manufacture. During the screening at Anilogue International Animation Festival, the audience laughed at so many of the little details that the creators added. We were laughing hard even after 20 minutes with my friend on how Japanese some of the jokes were. The direction and editing were solid, it felt like you were watching a really well done documentary style drama movie with some animated flair.The animation for a drama was nice, there were even sakuga shots of whiskey. Good art direction and key animation from the folks behind the Ghost in the Shell movies and series, The Eccentric Family and Vinland Saga. The movie had a great flow - it had great shots, shot composition, but rarely something that goes beyond what could be deemed necessary. It does the job really well though, with a few shot composition ideas that make you appreciate it even more. Even though one may say it's not that special in today's anime market: It doesn't have the action that some other anime have, and I would have to agree. However, 'Komada: A Whisky Family' distinguishes itself with a heartwarming story, well-written dialogue, and jokes and themes aimed at mainly working adults. It is 8/10, because it is beyond your average "good" anime, but nothing that would be deemed exceptional or outstanding. It does what it wants to do really well. And it wants to be a warm and fuzzy Japanese story about a family running a small whiskey company. We have enjoyed it way more, than the new Miyazaki movie, The Boy and the Heron, just before it.

The film's strengths lie in its meticulous animation and attention to detail. The visuals depict the distillery's scenes and objects in great detail. Additionally, the film references many real-world landscapes, giving viewers a sense of being there. The story is also heartwarming and healing. Although the Komata family has experienced a series of difficulties, they have all worked hard to overcome them, and finally successfully revived the "Dokuroku" whiskey. However, there are also some flaws. First, the characters are somewhat thin. Although their personalities are distinctive, they lack sufficient depth, making it difficult to understand their inner world truly. Without enough emotional twists, it is difficultto resonate or sympathize with them. In addition, the explanations and introductions of alcohol, whiskey, and distilleries are also somewhat insufficient. The film mentions the process of making whiskey, but does not delve into the history, culture, and tasting methods of whiskey. This may be a bit of a disappointment for viewers interested in whiskey. Overall, it is a well-made animated film. Although it needs to be strengthened in terms of character design, the heartwarming and healing story, and the realistic and detailed visuals are still worth watching.

I approached Komada Jouryuusho e Youkoso with virtually no preconceptions and little knowledge of its premise. Though I watched it in Japanese, the thing that grabbed my attention was the English title, A Whisky Family. Although I am not a seasoned whisky enthusiast, I am intrigued by the sociocultural dimensions of alcohol consumption, provided it does not involve the highly hazardous home-brews that are popular where I live. Made by P.A. WORKS, the anime fits nicely into their line‑up of workplace‑focused shows, much like Shirobako in tone and feel. Nevertheless, the film has a few issues, and I’m not entirely sure who it’s aimed at. The writers clearly did their homework, whichis commendable, but might make some parts hard to follow for viewers not into alcohol culture. Yet, due to its limited runtime, it cannot elaborate upon the intricate mechanisms of whisky distillation, being too shallow for real whisky aficionados. A serialized format would have allowed the brief references made here to expand into full episodes. For example, the narrative opens at the distillery without identifying the grain employed, omits discussion of the fermentation phase, and showcases pot stills without sufficient explanation, not to mention the oak barrels and their significance. Allocating an episode to each stage of whisky production would align naturally with the premise of a journalist mastering the process to compose articles. To compensate, connoisseurs of whisky will find numerous references embedded throughout the work. If you stick around until the credits roll, you’ll spot the names of several real‑world Japanese distilleries. Within the narrative, most of these are presented under alternate names, save for one: Saburomaru Distillery (三郎丸蒸留所), which provides the protagonists with a bottle of “KOMA” whisky. Notably, Saburomaru is renowned for its intensely peated spirits and markets itself as “The Ultimate Peat,” a characteristic that aligns with the flavor of the fictional KOMA whisky the characters seek to resurrect. It feels as if the whole anime was a joint effort with Japanese distilleries to produce an elaborate whisky advertisement. KOMA serves as the signature whisky of the distillery around which the narrative revolves. Manufacturing of the spirit ceased in the aftermath of a catastrophic tremor that chronologically corresponds with the 2014 Nagano earthquake, which registered a magnitude of 6.2 on the Richter scale. Rui, the young chief executive officer who inherited the family business, was born in 1994. That means she was about twenty when she left art school and twenty-five in the plot takes place five years after the quake. Rui can most aptly be described as “suppressed.” Within the diegesis and as a constructed persona, she embodies a state of inhibition. Her departure from art school reflects a lingering feeling of non‑belonging that continues to frustrate her. Notably, her fondness for bara provides one of the scarce comedic moments in the anime and functions as a catalyst for the ultimately positive resolution. The portrayal of the distillery's employees is rather shallow. The majority are unnamed, and their responsibilities are never clarified; they merely appear intermittently among the barrels, enthusiastically shouting when emotional support for Rui is needed. Even the malt-blender character gets written off later when Rui steps into his shoes and tries to craft the perfect mix. While the distillery staff are indeed portrayed superficially, the primary source of irritation lies with Koutaro, the protagonist. Throughout roughly half of the anime, he incessantly complains about the monotony of his surroundings and expresses profound dissatisfaction with his job. This is particularly aggravating given his role as a journalist, a career I’ve always wanted and imagined would be rewarding. The narrative frames his journey as a coming‑of‑age tale, where he grows out of his childish attitude and embraces adult life, but he starts off as downright unbearable. He does get a bit more enthusiastic later, yet he still screws up in a spectacular way, showing that his newfound drive is just a temporary spark and he still doesn’t really care. Although the mistake is actually a clever implementation of a real-life reference into the story: Koutaro accidentally publishes an unedited article claiming that companies import foreign base spirits, bottle them in Japan, and label them “Japanese whisky,” after which he is forced to issue an immediate apology. This scenario would've actually been plausible in 2019, the year the anime’s above identified timeline points to. At that time, the legal definition of “Japanese whisky” had not yet been established; it was only codified in February 2021. Prior to that, any whisky bottled in Japan could be labeled as such. Even though this blunder makes Koutaro even less likable, it is a well-implemented reference to an authentic regulatory gap. Although I have listed several drawbacks, my overall impression of Komada Jouryuusho e Youkoso is decidedly favorable. The criticisms I raised are largely minor grievances, and the anime leaves a positive impression despite some occasional lapses and its identity crisis about the intended audience. It works more like a whisky commercial than anything else, but it succeeds in that role by sparking curiosity and encouraging further exploration of the subject. If you can put up with Koutaro’s whiny attitude, you'll probably have fun watching it, especially if you enjoy a good drink now and then.