The official website for the Miki no Mikoto (literally: Lords of Sacred Sake) franchise, which personifies various famous sake brands as ikemen, revealed on Wednesday that the project is inspiring a 13-episode series of anime shorts in 2020. The anime is a collaboration between Bandai Namco Entertainment 's interactive livestream app &CAST!!! and Production I.G 's app Anime Beans . Bandai Namco Entertainment is credited with planning, and the series will stream on &CAST!!! and other services.

The story of the franchise takes place in a large shopping area called "Yayoimachi" where gods and ayakashi (supernatural monsters) are rumored to appear. The Seishu no Miko (refined sake princes) work at the "Matsuyoian" drinking establishment there as shop-keeps, learning the way of Japan's famed omotenashi (hospitality).

The franchise features eight sake princes, with each character corresponding to a real sake variety available for purchase from a real brewery. The franchise has already inspired several anime promotional videos since 2018. The returning characters and cast members include:



Kanbai Koshino, voiced by Kaito Ishikawa . Design by Suzuka Oda ( Psychic Detective Yakumo ). He's based on the sake Koshi no Kanbai, made in Niigata at Ishimoto Sake Brewery.



Hikari Tamano, voiced by Ryohei Arai . Design by Shiramine ( Touken Ranbu ). He's based on the 340-year-old sake Tamanohikari, made in Kyoto.



Sawanoi, voiced by Masaya Matsukaze . Design by Nitaka ( Touken Ranbu ). He's based on the sake produced by Ozawa Brewery in Ome City.



Kinkame, voiced by Eiji Takemoto . Design by Shiramine ( Touken Ranbu ). He's based on Kinkame sake, a small sake brewery based in Omi that uses methods from the Edo period.



Reizan, voiced by Yōhei Azakami . Design by Nitaka ( Touken Ranbu ). He's based on the iconic sake brand from Takamori, Kumamoto, near Mt. Aso. The brewery has been open since 1762.



Zakura Dewa, voiced by Hiroaki Miura . Design by Cocokanata. He's based on Dewazakura sake from Tendo, Yamagata founded in 1892.



Kunimare, voiced by Motoki Takagi . Design by Cocokanata. He's based the sake from the brewery of the same name, located in Mashike, Hokkaido.



Dassai, voiced by Satoshi Inomata . Design by Ruka Urumiya. He's based on the sake brewed by Asahi Shuzo in Yamaguchi.

Seiki Takuno ( Boarding School Juliet , Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere ) directed the previous anime promotional videos for the franchise with assistant director Fumiaki Usui ( Poco's Udon World , Love and Lies ) at LIDEN FILMS ( The Heroic Legend of Arslan , Terraformars ). Eriko Itō ( Love and Lies , Midnight Occult Civil Servants ) provided the anime character designs. Yukiko Yamamoto composed the music.

Source: Miki no Mikoto project's website via Nijimen