Super Cub

Koguma, a reserved second-year high school student, has nothing—no parents, hobbies, friends, or goals. On her way home one afternoon, she visits a vehicle shop in hopes of acquiring a motor scooter. With only enough money to make ends meet, she is disheartened by the price tags and prepares to turn back. However, as she is about to leave, the shop's owner offers her a pre-owned Honda Super Cub for ten thousand yen. Believing that the motorcycle will help brighten her monotonous world, she accepts the deal. As Koguma journeys through her town on small adventures with her Super Cub, she begins to build irreplaceable friendships and eagerly advances toward her new life.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Super Cub

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Characters & Voice Actors

Koguma

Main

Yomichi, Yuki
Japanese

Reiko

Main

Nanase, Ayaka
Japanese

Eniwa, Shii

Main

Hioka, Natsumi
Japanese

Shino-san

Supporting

Uo, Ken
Japanese

Driver

Supporting

Takeuchi, Ryouta
Japanese

Homeroom Teacher

Supporting

Hara, Eriko
Japanese

Boy Student

Supporting

Fukuhara, Katsumi
Japanese

Girl Student

Supporting

Fukagawa, Seria
Japanese

Girl Student

Supporting

Horiba, Miki
Japanese

Clerk

Supporting

Yamamoto, Kanehira
Japanese

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Staff

Cook, Justin

Producer

Herek, Samantha

Assistant Producer

Fujii, Toshirou

Director

Aiura, Kazuya

Episode Director, Storyboard, Assistant Director, Key Animation

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Opening Theme

"Mahou no Kaze (まほうのかぜ)" by Akane Kumada

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Ending Theme

"Haru e no Dengon (春への伝言)" by Yuki Yomichi, Ayaka Nanase, Natsumi Hioka

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Reviews

Jun 23, 2021

Alfredo_Elric

Not Recommended

Mild Spoilers in a marked section

"I have no parents. No money either. Nor do I have any hobbies, friends, or goals for the future. But, where I didn't have anything in my life before.... now I have a cub."

I have always considered myself as a Slice-of-Life enthusiast. I have hardly rated any Slice-of-Life anime lowly but Super CGI has done it. It has broken my streak and that isn't a good thing.

I’m just going to begin with the art. Wow, the character designs are ugly. Just take a look at how Studio Kai draws lines. The lines on Koguma's face makes me think that ... a cat showed up and scratched her face. Why did the cat do that? It probably couldn't handle staring at a moe blob anymore. Or maybe the cat had some of the Grappa that the anime staff added "Caution: too much makes it alcoholic and actionable." But there’s more… The lines drawn on the hair reminds me of someone who pulled out their sturdy fingernails before deliberately scratching a chalkboard! My eyes cringe just as much as just looking at the characters of Super Cub. Continuing on, there is so much CG in this anime. I understand with the Super Cub but using CG for almost every background character and switching between animating the Cub motorbike rider as half 2D and half 3D is just too much. Even if the CG is considered fine, I’m sure the blatant usage of reused animation will get anyone’s disapproval. The one scene that always gets reused is Koguma arriving at school. There will always be the presence of two girls walking together towards the right with two other male characters, one walking towards the camera and the other also walking to the right as the camera pans to the right as Koguma arrives on her Super Cub. I should’ve counted how many times they used this one scene in particular. Throughout this anime, there are many moments where Koguma is just driving around on her Super Cub for entire minutes. The same backgrounds were used so many times, especially at that one intersection and that road she sees outside of her classroom. All in all, the shots and scene durations all made this anime feel like I’m watching the same episode over and over.

Speaking of loops, I did not care for the music. There is recycled 'sad' or 'peaceful' oriented music playing for Koguma as she drives around. But these scenes are so long and Koguma’s thoughts are so bland that I don’t care for the music. Many times this music failed to impact me at all since most of it tends to follow a specific formula: 1. Find a cool 2-4 second part, then just keep looping it, 2. Take one finger and play something on the piano that sounds like a song, or 3. Combine 1 and 2! Very creative I say. This even applied to the opening! To start, we hear Duu 40 times in the beginning of the opening! It won't be getting out of my head any time soon even if I duu try. Also, when the characters are talking with music playing in the background, I feel that the music is more important than the actual dialogue (which I can't quite disagree with this). Most interactions between Koguma and others make me feel like I’m waiting in the elevator while trying to ignore the conversation next to me or I’m trying, and failing, to listen to my online Zoom lecture because I fell asleep.

Finally to the plot of the anime. Sad girl gets a Super Cub and finally makes friends. I think that's all you need but I will persevere. Koguma is a girl living alone with no parents, income, goals, or friends. She then makes an impulsive decision to buy a Super Cub without having a license. Thankfully, a sudden time skip happens so she can get her license real fast before getting a one minute driving tutorial from the seller. First off, where does she get her money to buy it? How did she learn road rules before learning what gasoline is? I have so many questions without any logical answers. There is another person at her school who notices Koguma’s cub, therefore wanting to befriend Koguma. Moral of the story: Super Cub makes Super Friends. Koguma then learns more about her Cub and runs into possible issues of not having the right gear nor a full understanding of her Cub. However, whenever these problems arise, there is always another random background character that shows up that just so happens to have the answer she needs. Wow, so realistic.

Koguma is a very flat and basic character. As Koguma continues to understand her Super Cub, the noises she makes whenever she runs into any issues has gotten on my nerves. I’m sick of hearing her whining and I’m sick of her always looking at herself in the Super Cub mirror for no reason. How was she able to take care of herself for so long if she decided to buy a whole cub and not read the owner's manual (or even search up information about the vehicle) online? Later, as she is able to meet a friend, she starts to smile more. Smiles like these in Slice-of-Life anime are generally meant to be touching for the audience since the character is finally portraying actual happiness past all that they have been or are going through. However this smile was not that. It looked ugly and I did not ever feel for Koguma at all. This smile was not character development nor showing us more about her. It was a forced, placed in smile with no emotional impact whatsoever. I have an easier time smiling with the opening song’s super creative background lyrics of Duus than with Koguma.

Reiko is kinda better than Koguma. She is a Super Cub enthusiast who desired to be Koguma’s friend because of their similar interest in Super Cubs. Reiko is the bright, happy friend that contrasts Koguma’s sad, quiet character. However, that's really it to her. She becomes such a side character that she's basically there for Koguma to have lunch in the same spot in their Super Cubs every single episode.

[Spoilers]

Reiko is revealed to dream about being able to climb Mount Fuji with her Super Cub. There's one episode dedicated to this where she is constantly trying and falling off her Super Cub all while boss battle inspired music is playing. Wow it's like the mountain is her final boss, it's as deep as the river in episode 11. Two questions come up during the montage, why is she not looking for bumps in the road to avoid? Why doesn't she just slow down a bit? I think the real question is: Where did she learn how to drive? Sure the bumps and not being able to slow down can be because of the incline of the road but if she doesn't know how to deal with it, then why doesn't she practice and learn how to properly deal with these issues safely? I'm sure off-roaders didn't just up and go one day to begin their new hobby up a steep mountain. They most likely build up to something more dangerous or risky. But no, Reiko decides to just go all the way. Also, why did the adults just keep letting her go on a road that is easy for her to fall to her doom? Well she has a Super Cub so she'll be safe even if she herself is being unsafe about driving it. What Reiko really needs to do is pick up a new book about proper off-road driving instead of reading the same random one over and over in class.

[End of Spoilers]

Overall, this anime is one of the worst Slice-of-Life anime I have seen (To make sure I am clear, I have nothing against actual Super Cubs in real life). Honda really should’ve done better. Now at least I know where to find a real life CG Super Cub if I really wanted to drive one. A character whose name I forgot once said, "Please save me again with your Super Cub." Let me rephrase it: Please save me FROM this Super Cub.

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Jun 23, 2021

IrrelevantGuy

Recommended

Watching Super Cub kind of feels like taking a bath. It's a bit plain and simple, yet never fails to soothe you even when you are having a bad time.

Super Cub revolves around high school student Koguma, a timid and lonely girl who has never had anything that she could cherish. As Koguma herself describes, she has nothing—no parents, no hobbies, no friends, and no goals. However, after buying a pre-used Super Cub, she finally finds something that even she could enjoy. The anime chronicles the now adventurous days of Koguma's life, showcasing how vastly she has changed and continues to change.

Super Cub seems like ... a simple CGDCT anime at first glance, and if you take the series at face value, it's likely that you won't change your opinion even after watching it. Most of the times, the characters of the anime simply travel around various places while riding their beloved scooter. Due to this and the seemingly unimaginative subject matter, it's easy to mistake Super Cub for another typical CGDCT, but in reality, there's far more to the show than just that.

The narrative of Super Cub is fairly simple, but the themes that surround it are surprisingly thorough. Unlike most of its predecessors, Super Cub consistently maintains a solemn tone throughout its 12 episodes, which complements the themes that it tackles. That doesn't mean this is a sad show, though. Despite the serious undercurrent, Super Cub is actually very relaxing to watch; partly because the atmosphere is charmingly calm and quiet, and partly because most of the events that occur in the anime are intrinsically light-hearted and easy to follow.

This casual approach to storytelling can be a double-edged sword, though. Super Cub follows a rather basic storyline and mostly relies on the characters to move the plot forward, which places some obvious limitations on the potential scenarios. Due to the apparent lack of "innovation", some parts of the show can feel a bit monotonous. There are other areas where the writing is very lacking—the prime example of this being the first half of episode 11 which suffers because of the characters' unusually irrational actions, and the fact that Koguma's unusual background is never explored despite it being the introductory point of her character.

Luckily, Super Cub balances this simplicity and makes up for its shortcomings with substantial characterization. The most compelling character of the anime is by far Koguma, the protagonist of the story who is a bit of an oddball. If you overlook the fact that her past is shrouded in mystery for no reason, she is surprisingly a very relatable character. Koguma's initial inability to find motivation in her life is something that resonates with me a lot, so seeing her gain confidence and create genuine friendships is uplifting to say the least.

In a way, Super Cub is also a very encouraging show. The entire anime delivers a generally wholesome and optimistic message, and all of the main characters beautifully reflect that statement. Koguma, Reiko and Shii—they all have something they love from the bottom of their heart, and they will do pretty much anything to protect that. At first, that something was simply Super Cub (Alex Moulton bike for Shii), but as the three grow closer through interactions, they gradually forge a precious and long-lasting bond that they don't want to lose either.

This is essentially what makes Super Cub such an encouraging experience. Seeing Koguma and the others wholeheartedly pursue their dreams honestly made me very motivated and electrified, something which very few shows can manage to do. Additionally, all of our main characters display a remarkable degree of realism and relatability, because of which I quickly found myself rooting for them.

For the most part, the script of Super Cub is fittingly simple and straightforward, but the lines are crafted in a way such that they are subtle and meaningful. While there aren't a whole lot of dialogues or monologues in the show which is understandable), ones that are there mostly exist for a significant purpose; they are relevant to the contemporary events and provide insight into the characters' emotions. That said, some of the conversations about motorbikes can be a bit difficult to follow, especially if you are someone like me who has little to no knowledge of vehicles. But hey, this may be something bike enthusiasts can rave about.

Suitably, Super Cub takes a bit minimalistic approach in terms of its soundtrack. There are quite a few scenes that are intentionally barren of music, which is a clever choice given how neatly it fits in with the calm ambience of the show. Most of the other scenes are fittingly accompanied with tranquil piano music. The sound effects are pretty good; they add more realism to the environment of the anime. The opening song titled "Mahou no Kaze" is alright, and the same could be said about the ending "Haru e no Dengon" which is sung by the voice actors of the main cast.

Super Cub's animation is generally very beautiful, albeit the artstyle is a bit cutesy. Since the characters travel a lot in the anime, the scenic designs are rather diverse, memorable, and beautifully animated. Simple backgrounds such as school, shops, houses, etc. are nicely drawn as well, which has become an uncommon trait in anime nowadays. Occasionally, there are some odd uses of CGI, though (usually while the characters are riding or paddling), that don't really blend in with the background and are a little jarring to look at. Besides that, I honestly don't have much to complain about.

It's saddening that Super Cub hasn't gained much popularity—it's arguably one of the better anime of this season. Honestly, I didn't expect much going into the series, but it didn't take much time to win me over with its refreshingly calm nature. If you are a fan of the iyashikei subgenre, you will probably enjoy Super Cub as much as I did.

And who knows, you might even become inclined to buy an actual Super Cub.

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Jun 23, 2021

Luubie

Recommended

What's a bike for you? Well, it's a strange question, but at the same time, Super Cub questions this during his episodes. It is peculiar that for some people is just another type of vehicle, which can be used for work or simply take us faster anywhere we want. But is it just that?

Koguma has an experience with a Super Cub, a kind of common motorcycle in Japan, which at the same time would not be such a great achievement for us, but that for her, it is a unique and incredible achievement. She lives in a region right away from the rest of the ... city, a quiet, morbid and often dark place. Koguma is a character that fortifies this melancholy perspective, from the first scene of the show, which defines all the simplor sentimental transmission, but at the same time it is very shocking. How can a high school be so shy and absorb the environment naturally and make it an external representation of the introspective of koguma? Super Cub is a show that even with its financial limitations, was competent in his direction, which is honored. The Kai studio is not well known, even though I had some shows. This in specific was the first that really brings a better substantiality of the anime.

Along with Koguma, we have Reiko and Shii Eniwa. Okay, it is normal to think that both will enter the life of Koguma and will soon disappear from the show, because the anime itself is combined in episodes that do not interconnect. But no, Reiko for example is the first friend that Koguma has in her life. Even if for a simple comment on a school job, the two have the Cub in common. She is dreamer and aims to climb Mont Fuji with the bike. A dream impossible at first sight, but which represents her internal realization. Shii, another trio girl, also knows Koguma (this time with Reiko) by accident. In a need to use the bikes of the pair, shii begins to be interested in this practice and what it has to offer. They are really simple attitudes that are not evidently interesting, but conceptualizes all the magic that Super Cub produces.

Still on technical quality, the show is concise in the use of colors, contrasts and background sounds. Remember the Koguma scene linking the bike for the first time? This moment represents a change within the character itself with the outside world. Koguma and her motorcycle right now became one. It's like the feeling of taking care of a pet. For Koguma, a motorcycle is what brings a little happiness and rejoicing it in shady and cold days. It is immeasurable to see the character having his daily difficulties to finally give a rewarding smile. It is a unique emotion in the life of a young schoolboy, who had nothing, at the same time having a Cub represents absolutely everything. Whether at work, in a rain, in a lack of fuel or even in an unknown place, the character slowly overcomes obstacles.

Friendship with Reiko and Shii is also intensified in these minimal details. For Koguma, it's a huge challenge to get into and get new friends. Many people go through this uncomfortable sensation daily and the character also represents a little of these people. The message that the show brings is not just taking advantage of the small achievements, goes beyond that. Super Cub causes a strong connection with the public precisely by convincing us to accept and create changes, even if this can be outside our comfort zone. The world is giant and has countless possibilities, only we just act as well.

Finally, the show is a very pleasurable structure and that teaches us, even with few dialogues or interactions. Even with problems in your artistic production, such as CG (which on some occasions could bother the visual environment), Super Cub is a great synesthetic experience. It's a show that knows how to be emotional and at the same time is realistic and at the same time is dreamer. It is liberating and aware of your human and personal characters issues. They are aspects like this that I miss in the current animes. The highlight of a season with more than 20 or 30 animes is not in what is more quantitative in information and technical qualities, but in the minimum messages and the affection visible that the creators of the show had with history, animation, characters and everything The remainder that composes an audiovisual project.

Of course, an anime like Super Cub needs a greater significance character during your events and I wait a lot for a better continuity, whether in the manga, in the light novel or even in a second season (I really really want this to happen , it would be really good!!!). But with only 12 episodes, it's a show that marked me and you can dial you too. It is an experience that many need to enjoy and have in their lives. Sometimes an anime like Super Cub can make you buy a bike, for example, or convince you to continue dreaming of traveling to a distant place. There are so many things an anime can offer, this is one more that certainly deserves applause for simplicity and impact. Congratulations, Super Cub, you convinced me. You're a show I needed.

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