Japanese Anime Studio Fugaku Upgrades to OceanStor Storage

Anime, that instantly recognizable, uniquely Japanese style of animation, is big business. In 2021 alone, sales revenues reached US$9.6 billion, marking the industry as Japan's biggest cultural export worldwide.

Located in Suginami Ward in Tokyo, Fugaku Inc. is an anime studio immersed in creating memorable anime hits.

Digitalization has immersed influence on Anime production around the world

As in every other walk of life, digital transformation has impacted the anime industry and its workflows, which have, largely, been digitalized. So, anticipating data growth, Fugaku knew that its legacy Information Technology (IT) infrastructure required an upgrade, to better support the studio's output.

Anime production requires a lot of data and storage capacity. With a single 25 min anime involving thousands of drawings, data loads quickly build, testing capacity. The production process involves creating and editing numerous animation frames, character designs, backgrounds, sound effects, and music compositions. These elements are usually created using digital tools such as drawing tablets, animation software, and digital audio workstations.

In anime production, data and files are typically stored locally on workstations or laptops to ensure fast access and optimal performance. However, to facilitate collaboration and file sharing among the production team, NAS systems are utilized to store and access files across a network. In addition to storing project files, anime studios also back up their data to prevent data loss. Here, data security is the key: any spoilers, should they leak, have the potential to negatively impact advertising revenues. This is crucial as losing data can also result in significant setbacks and delays in production. Furthermore, studios may invest in cloud storage services for additional backup and accessibility options.

Storage becoming the critical aspect of animation production project

OceanStor Hybrid Flash is a storage solution for enterprises that require high-performance data storage and management. It combines both flash and traditional hard disk drives to create a hybrid storage system that can deliver fast data access and high-capacity storage. The system is designed to provide a balance between high performance and cost-effectiveness. It uses flash storage for frequently accessed data and traditional hard disk drives for less frequently accessed data. This helps to reduce the overall cost of storage while still maintaining high-performance levels. OceanStor Hybrid Flash also includes a number of features to improve data protection and management. These include data deduplication, compression, and encryption. It also allows for the automatic tiering of data between flash and disk drives to optimize performance and reduce storage costs.

In this regard, a Huawei OceanStor hybrid flash Network-Attached Storage (NAS) solution has proved to be a wise choice for Fugaku's upgrade, intelligently allocating file resources and seamlessly accessing materials stored, supporting the studio's creative work and safeguarding security. It combines both flash and traditional hard disk drives to create a hybrid storage system that can deliver fast data access and high-capacity storage. The system is designed to provide a balance between high performance and cost-effectiveness. Fugaku uses flash storage for frequently accessed data and traditional hard disk drives for less frequently accessed data. It helps to reduce the overall cost of storage while still maintaining high-performance levels by automatic tiering of data between flash and disk drives. OceanStor Hybrid Flash also includes a number of features to improve data protection and management. These include data deduplication, compression, and encryption. Indeed, when it comes to rendering complex animations and special effects — a process that can take hours — reliability is key, and OceanStor guarantees availability. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used to proactively detect then locate faults in minutes, helping to keep the studio's output flowing. Overall, Huawei storage in anime production is a critical aspect of ensuring efficient and secure production.

Animating success, indeed.