Welcome to Komada Distillery
Published on Friday, November 10, 2023, “Welcome to Komada DistilleryI saw a movie called ``.
I'm going to review the movie from the perspective of a whiskey lover!
delivery
As of September 2024, it is being distributed exclusively on DMM TV.
The monthly fee is 550 yen and the first 30 days are free, so if you cancel within the free period, you can watch it for free.
Overview
The following contains spoilers, so please be careful if you haven't seen it yet.
Synopsis
Rui Komada, a young female president who took over her family's Komada Distillery after her father passed away, aims to rebuild the struggling distillery, raise her broken family, and revive the phantom whiskey that could be called "family ties" that could no longer be produced due to the effects of a disaster.
『Welcome to Komada Distillery” is an anime production company located in Toyama Prefecture.P.A.WORKSThis is an animated film set in a Japanese craft whiskey distillery run by .
『P.A.WORKS” If you say “Hanasaku Iroha” and “SHIROBAKOI think it's famous, but personally I haven't taken it yet.
The work I saw produced by P.A.WORKS was broadcast in 2010.Angel Beats!'That's right.
2010 was the year I entered university, and I looked forward to watching it every week when it was broadcast on Niko Nico Douga, and I loved it so much that I bought the Blu-ray.
Returning to the topic, “Saburomaru Distillery” and “T&T TOYAMA” Takahiko Inagaki is in charge of supervising the whiskey settings.
If you're a whiskey fan, you've probably heard about the release of a movie based on whiskey, as it was announced on various social media sites and flyers were handed out at whiskey events.
And I'm sure you've been looking forward to the screening somewhere.
I finally watched it about two weeks after it was released, so I'd like to write about my impressions.
Impressions
There will be spoilers from here on out, so please be careful if you haven't seen it yet.
The story begins when Ryusei Komada, the young female president of Komada Distillery, visits various distilleries and interviews the people in charge, and Takahashi, a reporter for an internet news site, is ordered to accompany her and write an article about it.
The first half of the story is irritating with this reporter's actions.
I was asked to be in charge the day before the interview, so I don't know much about the whiskey manufacturing process, but I was told the location and company name in advance, so I can't get the company name wrong.
Although I get irritated by his actions and words, when I think about the reward of work and see other people doing their jobs with enthusiasm, I can relate to how he feels compared to them.
There was a scene in the middle where Takahashi changed his mind and started asking questions to the people at the distillery that made me a little nervous, and it made me want to start working more seriously from tomorrow.
A story is not just about good things happening;I published the article before it was edited.” and “The aging warehouse caught fire due to an electrical leak.” and other negative things happen, so there are some scenes where your mental state gets a little worn down.
Although there are some negative aspects, this is also the purpose of the story: the sake that was previously manufactured at the Komada Distillery.topThe story progresses with the aim of reviving the famous whiskey.
『topAt the time, they used unprocessed sake produced at the Komada Distillery, but now there is no unprocessed sake because the equipment was damaged in the earthquake.
Crowdfunding has made it possible for Komada Distillery itself to produce whiskey and unblended sake, but whiskey cannot be shipped immediately after production.
It cannot be called whiskey unless it is produced, packed in barrels, and aged for at least three years, so as the three years have not yet passed, Komada Distillery's unblended whiskey cannot be used.
Therefore, through many twists and turns, we collected unblended sake from various distilleries.top”
The final part of the story.
At first, Ryusei Komada and other members of the distillery tried to revive it, but they had difficulty reproducing the taste.
『Tops are family drinks'', such as reconciling with his estranged brother, ``topA family that had been torn apart will become one again in preparation for the revival of ``.
With the help of my brother, I was able to reproduce the taste better, but there was something missing.
Although the manufacturing process is written in the notebook left behind by his late father, Ryusei Komada and his older brother are unable to decipher it due to the notebook's deterioration and his late father's quirky handwriting.
When I showed my late father's quirky handwriting to my mother, she read it easily and was able to get to the final step.top” will be reproduced.
And although I don't like alcohol,top'', my mother who could drink it drank it, and my late father could tell from the expression on her face that it was well made, which is why I revived it this time.top” was also well done, I was so moved and I even cried a little.
『family” was the theme, and after watching it I thought it was a very heartwarming and good work.
Impressions from a whiskey lover’s perspective
From here, I will write down some impressions about whiskey.
An actual distillery appears
Several real-life distilleries appear in the story.
The model of Komada Distillery is ``Saburomaru Distillery” and other “Mars Komagatake Distillery』、『Hachigo Distillery』、『Chichibu Distillery』、『Nagahama Distillery” will appear.
Although the unique name is not used as is, the scenery and interior of the distillery will appear as they are.
Among these, I amMars Komagatake Distillery (Mars Shinshu Distillery at the time of visit)'', but if you've seen the movie, you'll probably recognize this scenery at the beginning.
The images are beautiful, and you will feel as if you are touring a distillery.
Touring the actual distillery is fun, and I think it's also a good idea to visit as a pilgrimage to a sacred place.
Reproduction of top
Since Komada Distillery's unblended sake could not be used, we used unblended whiskey and whiskey from another company's distillery.top” is being reproduced.
I've never actually been involved in the production or blending of whisky, but even within Japan there are currently many different distilleries, each with a completely different personality and taste.
I have also tasted some of the constituent unblended sake before it was made into a product, and the taste varies from distillery to distillery.
I think it was said in the story that unblended whiskey arrived from overseas, so if you look at Scotch, the home of whiskey, there are even more distilleries.
I think it's amazing that there are so many distilleries and unblended brews out there that they are able to recreate the taste.
On the other hand, it means that you can recreate your own whiskey using other companies' whiskey.
For example, if you use Suntory's unblended whiskey and make it on purpose, you can recreate Nikka's whisky..? I thought so too.
I'm curious if this is a story in the story or if it's possible in reality.
cask finish
『topThe final step in recreating the shochu that we make in-house is thethreadThe wine was given a cask finish in barrels made from
Filling barrels is a job that cannot be done by one person, and I thought that even if the president and blender at the time weren't there, someone who had been involved in the production since then would understand.
Well, let's not worry about the details.
Closing Thoughts
Personally, I was soothed by Saori Hayami's voice from start to finish, but since I was watching Jujutsu Kaisen in real time at the time, Gojo Satoru was flickering in there somewhere. .
I think this is a great work that everyone should see, not only for whiskey lovers, but also for voice actor fans, and for everyone who has worked in the industry even if they don't know anything about whiskey or voice actors!
