Depicting the Flavors and Memories of Sake A 100-minute feature-length animated documentary film “Taste of Water” International co-production with Toonz Media Group confirmed

New Main Visual and Trailer Released: From the 2025 Production Announcement to a Global Rollout

2026.08.18 09:30

合同会社ズーパーズース

ZooParsus LLC (Suginami Ward, Tokyo; Representative Partner: Ryo Nakajima) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an international co-production agreement with India’s Toonz Media Group for the feature-length animated documentary film *Taste of Water* (English title: *The Taste of Water*), whose production was announced in July 2025.In conjunction with this announcement, the company is releasing a new main visual and trailer.

メインビジュアル

Main Visual

This 100-minute road movie follows manga artist Okado as he travels to sake breweries across Japan with Kobo-kun, the spirit of sake yeast, in search of the meaning behind his father’s words: “High-quality sake is like water.”While tracing the history and production methods of sake, as well as the local culture, the film uses animation to depict intangible experiences such as taste, aroma, and memory.

Approximately one year has passed since the production announcement in July 2025. Following support from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and an exhibition at MIFA, the project has progressed to an international co-production with Toonz Media Group and the release of the new main visual and trailer. Upon completion, the film aims to be submitted to major international film festivals in 2027.

■Press Release Details

Co-production: Toonz Media Group

Release: New Visuals and Trailer

Runtime: 100 minutes (planned)

Goal: Major international film festivals in 2027

Official Website: https://mocap.co.jp/the-taste-of-water

New Trailer: https://youtu.be/oJXxo81OG1k

International Film Introduction: https://toonz.co/feature-film/the-taste-of-water/

■ Film Introduction: What Does “Sake Like Water” Taste Like?

Manga artist Okado travels across Japan in search of the meaning behind his father’s words: “Good sake is like water.”

Accompanied by Kobo-kun, the spirit of sake yeast, he visits breweries across the country to interview master brewers, historians, and artists. In addition to learning about sake-making techniques, he traces the local history, nature, culture, and memories of each region.

発酵の音を聞くオオカド

Okado Listening to the Sounds of Fermentation

This work consists of five chapters and explores the basics of sake, as well as its history and connections to festivals, food, and crafts. Through his travels and conversations, he depicts the local environment and human activities that support every cup of sake.

一杯から始まる物語

A Story That Begins with a Single Cup

酒米と手仕事

Sake Rice and Handcrafted Work

日本酒と神事

Sake and Shinto Rituals

能登半島地震について語る

Reflections on the Noto Peninsula Earthquake

■ Unique Aspects of the Work: Visualizing the Taste, Aroma, and Memories of Sake Through Animation

Because sake is transparent, it is difficult to convey differences in taste and aroma based on appearance alone.

This work combines live-action footage, hand-drawn animation, 3DCG, and AI rotoscoping animation to express the taste, aroma, texture, scenery, memories, and emotions associated with sake through animated imagery.

日本酒の味わいから広がるイマジネーション

Imagination Sparked by the Flavors of Sake

酒にまつわる父との思い出

Memories with My Father Tied to Sake

日本酒の文化を描く

Depicting the Culture of Sake

日本酒の歴史を描く

Depicting the history of sake

酒酵母の妖精、コボくん

Kobo-kun, the Sake Yeast Fairy

■An International Co-Production Between Japan and India

ZooParsus will handle on-site research across Japan and oversee hybrid production. Toonz Media Group will provide animation production capabilities and its distribution network.

While the subject is sake, the film explores craftsmanship, family memories, and the relationship between nature and people. It conveys the voices of those passing on culture to the next generation, transcending national borders and languages.

This film is currently in production. We aim to submit it to major documentary and animation film festivals in 2027.

■ The Two Co-Producers

SUPERSUB LLC

A Tokyo-based creative studio exploring new possibilities in visual expression through live-action direction, motion capture, CG, and generative AI. Led by film director Ryo Nakajima, the studio is developing a unique AI rotoscoping animation technology that transforms human performances into expressive animations.The feature film *Who Said Death Is Beautiful?* was selected for the Annecy and Puchon International Film Festivals and won the Best Animation Award at the Philip K. Dick International Film Festival. The studio believes that AI technology does not replace human creativity, performance, emotions, or cultural context, but rather extends them.

Web https://supersub.mocap.co.jp/

Toonz Media Group

A 360-degree media company with over 20 years of experience, it is one of the world’s leading animation production studios, producing over 5,000 minutes of 2D and CGI content for children and families each year.The company handles a wide range of animation, live-action series, and feature films, having produced titles such as *Pierre the Pigeon-Hawk*, *Zombie Town*, *Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story*, *Bartali’s Bicycle*, and *Bunyan and Babe*.The company is also expanding its business into new technology fields such as AR, VR, and gaming.

Web https://www.toonz.co/

■Comment from Gulshan David, VP of Feature Films at Toonz Media Group

“Feature-length animated documentaries are one of the most exciting yet underserved genres in today’s international market.*Taste of Water* is an emotional road movie that traces the history, culture, and future of sake, seeking to depict the taste, aroma, texture, history, and emotional resonance of a single cup of sake through the actual voices of master brewers, historians, artists, distributors, and cultural experts.

The AI rotoscoping animation and 3DGS production technologies developed by Zoupersus combine the authenticity of live-action documentaries with the expressive power of animation.We see great potential in this project because, rather than using AI as a substitute for creativity, we are working alongside artists and filmmakers to visualize memories, sensations, emotions, and cultural experiences that are difficult to convey through traditional documentary techniques alone.

Teams from Japan and India will pool their respective strengths to create a work that celebrates the Japanese tradition of sake while resonating across cultural boundaries.This film has the potential to travel across film festivals, streaming platforms, and national and regional borders. We look forward to leveraging Toonz Media Group’s animation production capabilities and distribution network to nurture this project alongside partners who will help bring it to the world.”

■New Main Visual & Trailer Released

The new main visual dramatically depicts cherry blossoms and mountains, inspired by the imagination sparked by the flavors of sake.

The trailer introduces not only a journey centered on sake but also a behind-the-scenes look at the hybrid production process.

新メインビジュアル

New Main Visual

https://youtu.be/oJXxo81OG1k

■ Concept Artist Uta Mizuno, Who Brings the Visuals to Life

Concept artist Uta Mizuno is participating in the creation of this film’s world. She will visualize flavors, aromas, the passage of time at the sake brewery, and the local water and terroir.

Uta Mizuno

Concept Artist / Visual Designer / Illustrator

Born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. As a concept artist, visual designer, and illustrator, she has been involved in visual production for animation and films.

In recent years, she has worked on TV anime series such as *The King of Fire Hunting*, *Mashle*- The Divine Awakener Candidate Selection Exam Arc,” “I’m the Only One Leveling Up Season 2,” “Marie the Automaton,” and the film “Peleliu: Guernica in Paradise,” handling in-show artwork, harmony illustrations, Japanese-style patterns, and ending sequence designs, among other roles.

■ From Tokyo Metropolitan Government Support to the World—A Japan-India Co-Production Realized Through MIFA

In February 2025, this project won the Excellence Award at the “Tokyo Anime Pitch Grand Prix,” held as part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s “Animation Overseas Expansion Step-Up Program.” In June of the same year, with support from the program, the project exhibited at MIFA, an international animation trade show in France, where it presented the concept to overseas production companies, distributors, and investors.

Following this, development of the project continued, and in June 2026, coinciding with the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, an international co-production with Toonz Media Group was announced in advance. Now, the new main visual and trailer are being unveiled in Japan.

The film is currently in production, and we aim to submit it to major documentary and animation film festivals in 2027.

MIFAで行われた海外制作投資家・配給関係者へのピッチ

Pitch to international production investors and distributors at MIFA

■ Message from the Staff

Comment from Riki Oogata, Producer and Director

“When I came to Japan at the age of 20 and first encountered sake, I was amazed to discover that within a single clear glass lay not only flavors and aromas, but also the history of the land, the seasons, the craftsmanship of the artisans, and even a sense of gratitude toward nature.

In *Taste of Water*, we travel across Japan alongside the protagonist, Okada, encountering the stories of those who brew sake, those who deliver it, and those who carry on the culture. We also explore what the saying ‘High-quality sake is like water’ truly means.

“One of the great strengths of animation is its ability to depict the intangible—such as taste, aroma, memories, and emotions. As someone who has observed Japanese culture from outside Japan, I want to share the unique charms I’ve come to appreciate with audiences both in Japan and abroad.”

■Comment from Executive Producer Ryo Nakajima

“What we’re prioritizing in this co-production is not simply adapting Japanese subject matter for an international audience, but rather developing a work that transcends borders while preserving the voices and textures captured during our research.By combining Zupersus’s on-site research across Japan and hybrid production capabilities with Toonz Media Group’s animation expertise and distribution network, we’ve created a single international team capable of overseeing the entire process—from development to completion and global distribution.

We don’t use live-action, AI, or 2D and 3D animation simply to showcase technology.They are tools for translating the information gathered on location—such as the movements of those working in the sake brewery, the local water, and the time spent on fermentation—into a form that audiences can experience as a story. We hope that this film will serve as a gateway for both those familiar with sake and those encountering it for the first time to discover the world that lies beyond a single bottle of sake.”

■Film Overview

Title: The Taste of Water

Japanese Title: Taste of Water

Format, Structure, Runtime: Feature-length animated documentary film /

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 100 minutes (planned)

Genre: Culture, Travel, Sake

Language: Japanese with English subtitles (planned)

Producer/Director　　　　　　　　　: Riki Oogata

Concept Artist: Uta Mizuno

Executive Producer: Ryo Nakajima

Co-Production: Zupersus LLC, Toonz Media Group

Production Status: In Production