Iyashikei

Super Cub Season – Episode 9 (ANN)

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The trio isn’t quite a genuine girl gang yet. There’s still a good deal of cohesion that hasn’t happened. Shii is their friend, true, but she’s not as close as Koguma and Reiko are. Yet Shii slots into their dynamic so well that it feels like it won’t be long before she’s on a cub of her own. I’d really like to see Shii become just as close as Koguma and Reiko. She’s the perfect balance to their dynamic, and fits like a glove… almost. But almost is a word heavy with potential, and there’s so much potential in every single episode of Super Cub. I get the feeling that next week’s episode -episode 10- will be another Shii-centric episode, and maybe… she’ll upgrade her bike to a cub.

Read the rest of Super Cub Season Premier – Episode 9 on the Anime News Network

Super Cub Season – Episode 8 (ANN)

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Episode 8 is soundly the food episode, in my book, even if food isn’t the sum total of the episode. It’s even better than episode 4’s okonomiyaki, which lives rent free in my mind. Food fills this episode like buns in a basket, warming up the soft, quiet moments shared between Koguma, Reiko, and even Shii as the series brings in a new character to fill out the main cast. Speaking of Shii, she gets amazingly dynamic character growth in this episode. She’s no longer just the kind, serious member of the student council. She’s a fully fleshed out character with her own life, her own mannerisms, and ultimately, a life outside of school, just like Koguma and Reiko. I really hope that Shii will one day get her own cub: I want this gang of two to grow to three, especially since Shii is the happy medium between quiet Koguma and the more brash Reiko.

Read the rest of Super Cub Season Premier – Episode 8 on the Anime News Network

REVIEW: ‘Let’s Make a Mug Too,’ Episode 8 – “Kukuri of the Strange River” — But Why Tho? A Geek Community

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In Let’s Make a Mug Too Episode 8, the plot steps back from the 41st Minoware Contest for a bit of magical realism aIn Let’s Make a Mug Too Episode 8, the plot steps back from the 41st Minoware Contest for a bit of magical realism and… eels? Yes, eels.

REVIEW: ‘Let’s Make a Mug Too,’ Episode 8 – “Kukuri of the Strange River” — But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Super Cub Season – Episode 7 (ANN)

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There are so many little things in this episode that remind me why I love writing about Super Cub: details like Reiko’s torn gloves, Koguma’s shivers at the coming autumn, a golden ginkgo leaf signaling the latter months of the year; the subtle thrill of hosting the school festival in the second semester, the girls drinking espresso while leaning on their cubs. As always, it’s a beautifully sculpted twenty-four minute experience that almost always brings me to tears at some point during my watch. Thankfully, they’re always happy tears, especially for best bike girl Koguma.

Read the rest of Super Cub Season Premier – Episode 7 on the Anime News Network

REVIEW: ‘Let’s Make a Mug Too,’ Episode 7 – “Himeno’s Piece” — But Why Tho? A Geek Community

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In Let’s Make a Mug Too Episode 7, Himeno is still stuck on the contest’s theme. Thankfully, she has friends and family to help her figure thigns out!

REVIEW: ‘Let’s Make a Mug Too,’ Episode 7 – “Himeno’s Piece” — But Why Tho? A Geek Community

REVIEW: ‘Let’s Make a Mug Too,’ Episode 6 – “The Garden of Sky and Wind” — But Why Tho? A Geek Community

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In Let’s Make a Mug Episode 6, the Pottery Club gear up for the 41st Mino Ware Contest, to push their crafting skills to the limit!

REVIEW: ‘Let’s Make a Mug Too,’ Episode 6 – “The Garden of Sky and Wind” — But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Super Cub Season – Episode 6 (ANN)

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In my review of episode 4, I mentioned “dreading” the day that Super Cub finally had a bad episode. I can soundly say that I don’t believe that day will ever come for this series. It’s not that Super Cub can’t do anything wrong. Rather, it’s that Super Cub is so openly earnest in its storytelling that every episode feels like a good meal: delightfully satisfying from start to finish. It feels like getting to eat cake, pie, AND ice cream, a positively sweet delight that carefully, thoughtfully, opens itself up to being candid about depression and loneliness without ever coming off as inauthentic.

Read the rest of Super Cub Season Premier – Episode 6 on the Anime News Network

REVIEW: ‘Let’s Make a Mug Too,’ Episode 5 – “The Teacher’s Secret” — But Why Tho? A Geek Community

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In Let’s Make a Mug Episode 5, Himeno, Naoko, and Mika leave the pottery clubroom and play detective and spy on their teacher’s secret date.

REVIEW: ‘Let’s Make a Mug Too,’ Episode 5 – “The Teacher’s Secret” — But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Super Cub Season – Episode 5 (ANN)

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It’s so nice to see the girls just being kids together. While they’re still not good friends, episode 5 demonstrates that Koguma and Reiko are friends now. They’re no longer just two students who happen to really love Super Cub. They’re two girls who love Super Cub and while Koguma and Reiko initially bonded through that, they’re at a point where that’s no longer the sole reason for them chatting with one another. They have a genuine friendship, and it’s really, really wonderful to see. Plus, their friendship is even pushing Koguma to get her motorcycle license, which I bet we’ll see in the back half of this cour. (At least, I really hope so! I wanna see this kid pass her test!)

Read the rest of Super Cub Season Premier – Episode 5 on the Anime News Network

REVIEW: ‘Let’s Make a Mug Too,’ Episode 4 – “The Taste of Ochazuke” — But Why Tho? A Geek Community

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In Let’s Make a Mug Episode 4, the girls of the Pottery Club come together and help Himeno craft a new ochazuke bowl for her father.

REVIEW: ‘Let’s Make a Mug Too,’ Episode 4 – “The Taste of Ochazuke” — But Why Tho? A Geek Community