{"id":2746,"date":"2026-06-23T07:05:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T07:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=2746"},"modified":"2026-06-23T07:05:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T07:05:59","slug":"japans-sake-culture-gets-the-animated-documentary-treatment-in-supersub-and-toonz-media-groups-taste-of-water-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=2746","title":{"rendered":"Japan\u2019s Sake Culture Gets the Animated Documentary Treatment in Supersub and Toonz Media Group\u2019s \u2018Taste of Water\u2019 (EXCLUSIVE)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<!-- do not apply CSS styles to this element! --><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n\tIndia\u2019s Toonz Media Group and Tokyo-based studio Supersub LLC have joined forces to co-produce \u201cThe Taste of Water,\u201d an animated feature documentary tracing the history, culture, and future of Japanese sake. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=2744\">Japan\u2019s Toei Animation Impresses at Annecy With \u2018Monkey Quest,\u2019 a Japan-U.S. Animation Blender<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe deal was unveiled at the Annecy Animation Film Festival.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tDirected by Riki Ohkanda and executive produced by Ryo Nakajima, the film is currently in production. It follows a road-movie structure divided into five chapters \u2013 covering sake\u2019s fundamentals, its history, its relationship with Japanese culture, the pressures the industry now faces, and its potential futures. Through encounters with brewers, historians, artists, distributors, and cultural experts across Japan, the documentary builds its inquiry around a single question: what does it mean for a great sake to taste like water?<\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe film\u2019s production pipeline is central to its identity. Live-action footage gathered throughout Japan will be converted into anime-influenced visuals using AI-assisted rotoscoping and 3D Gaussian Splatting, a volumetric rendering technique, both developed in-house by Supersub. The hybrid workflow is designed to convey sensory and emotional dimensions of sake culture that conventional documentary formats cannot easily reach.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cThe story of sake is a story that engages all five senses,\u201d Nakajima said. \u201cThrough this unique combination of live action, animation, and AI-assisted visual transformation, we can bring audiences closer to experiences that cannot be expressed through traditional filmmaking alone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe collaboration marks the latest chapter in Supersub\u2019s relationship with Annecy. The studio first appeared at the festival when its previous feature, \u201cWho Said Death Is Beautiful?,\u201d received an official selection in 2024. \u201cThe Taste of Water\u201d was subsequently presented at MIFA 2025 as part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government\u2019s exhibition programme at the event.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=2742\">Walmart\u2019s New TV Shows, \u2018Join the Club,\u2019 \u2018Backyard Escapes\u2019 Spur Vizio Users to Go Shop<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tToonz, which produces more than 5,000 minutes of animation annually and has co-produced features including \u201cBartali\u2019s Bicycle\u201d and \u201cZombie Town,\u201d brings international sales and distribution infrastructure to the project. The partnership positions \u201cThe Taste of Water\u201d at the intersection of Japan\u2019s animation pedigree and India\u2019s growing role in global content production.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cArtificial intelligence is one of the most discussed technologies in the creative industry today, yet there are few examples of its thoughtful application in storytelling,\u201d said Viswanath Rao of Toonz Media Group. \u201cWith \u2018The Taste of Water,\u2019 we are demonstrating how AI can work alongside artists and filmmakers to create new forms of expression.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cAnimated feature documentary is one of the most exciting and underserved spaces in the international market right now,\u201d added Gulshan David, VP of feature films at Toonz. \u201cWe\u2019re here at Annecy to find the right partners to take it there together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=2740\">Second Note Sent to Media Said Nancy Guthrie Was Dead<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe film is targeting festival circuits in 2027. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Toonz Media Group and Supersub LLC have unveiled a co-production on animated documentary &#8216;The Taste of Water,&#8217; targeting festivals in 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[344,2343,2344,2345],"class_list":["post-2746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","tag-annecy-animation-festival","tag-supersub","tag-the-taste-of-water","tag-toonz"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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