Japan’s anime industry will happily make animated films about anything. Komada: A Whisky Family is a case in point: as its title suggests, the film is a drama about a family business distilling whisky. There is nothing in the film that could not have been presented in live-action: there are no fantasy or science fiction elements, no colourful dream sequences or unusual design work. Instead there is an opportunity for artists to tell a familiar human story in a slightly abstract, rather artful fashion.

The film also feels very much in keeping with its producing studio PA Works’ earlier workplace-focused anime works. For director Masayuki Yoshihara it represents a feature directing debut, although his television work includes Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and his previous animating work has included Shirobako, Maquia, and other titles dating as far back as Jin-Roh in 1999.

In Komada, the young journalist Kotaro (Kensho Ono) is dispatched to the countryside to write a commissioned series of articles on a local whisky distillery. He is embarrassingly ill-informed: not only of the Komada family distillery but of whisky in general. Given a second chance, Kotaro is invited to come work at the business and write about what he learns.

The main thing he learns is that the business is struggling. The family patriarch has died, the eldest son has defected to a rival distillery, and Komoda’s future sits squarely on the shoulders of daughter Rui (Saori Hayami). Since the 2011 earthquake destroyed their stocks of raw whisky, Komada has not made its signature “Koma” release – and that is something Rui desperately wishes to change.

It is a simple and straightforward narrative, combining light romance, woman-in-a-man’s-world stereotypes, and the sort of upbeat against-the-odds formula commonplace to Japanese cinema. It does not attempt to vary that formula significantly, and that is honestly to its detriment. Combining an overly familiar plot with a relatively dry delivery makes this 90 minute drama feel at least 20-30 minutes longer than it actually is. A lot of time is spent explaining to the audience – via Kotaro’s research – how whisky is made, and what makes each individual distillery’s product distinctive.

There is a small problem in that, since like most anime features of this kind Kotaro takes place over a couple of months. On the other hand, whisky literally takes years to take from original distillation to final release. The film essentially builds a sense of anti-climax into its structure: it might be possible to revive the beloved “Koma” brand, but it will be a long time after the credits roll when the characters discover whether or not their effort was worth it.

There is an even chance of this feature making it out to international audiences – the appetite for new anime in the USA and Australia is fairly voracious after all – but it is unlikely if it will make anything but a minor impact. Its whisky-making focus pushes it into a niche, and there is simply not enough to the story or the characters for Komada to transcend that. It is pleasant. It is competently made. It is not, despite admirable effort, a keeper.