Himeno is the character that plays the key role in the construction and the sample of the show. The protagonist has an interesting past with ceramics. In fact, her mother is the cause of this. She was an excellent artist in this profession, which requires concentration, creativity, and especially innovation. Himeno doesn't remember much of the past she had with her mother, not even with the ceramics she made. In fact, Himeno had a greater appreciation for this art only at school, when she joined a club with Naruse, Mika-chan and Tooko. All of them together go on to build a strong relationship with ceramics, regardless of the reason they were convinced to be in this club.
Over time, the show creates an appropriate and simple ambiance, using elements such as scenery, contemplation, and colors that harmonize and cause an approximation with the audience. And it is the audience, that is, us, the main character of this show. Ceramics is a subject that is not appealing to everyone. In fact, many belittle even the ability of a show to do 12 episodes of this without being boring or repetitive.
Yakunara really has episodes that don't cause much interest in us, but it is a great show to show a small portion of Japanese quality. Like Olympia Kyklos and the more recent Mashiro no Oto, Yakunara aims to herald a new vision in the culture and consumption of new cultural experiences from its country or region. Of course, each anime has its own goal, Olympia for example focuses on Greece, while Mashiro no Oto tries to convey a new perspective on Eastern musicality. Yakunara shows a timid artistic manifestation, but at the same time it causes an interest to the public, from the moment the show does not take place entirely in a closed room, such as a club, but promotes actions such as walks in cities that have ceramics as a public representation in squares and sidewalks. It is a simple action, but one that makes this show a good company during the week.
However, along with these elements, the anime needs to sustain its quality in being an anime, but this is where the show loses some of its excitement. As I said before, the show has moments that don't matter much. Generally these are episodes that do not add to the relationship of the characters or do not convey a message or empathy to the audience. The show has a special attention in being simple, but at the same time it is necessary to have a special attention in its own execution in order not to seem like an unnecessary anime. The early episodes of the show don't draw as much, but it manages to sustain a theme that is better used in the future. But those same themes make the show "forget" for a while about the past and the interpretation of each of the characters with their perspective on pottery. Of course, Himeno has a very good moment when she makes a new piece of pottery for her father, but gets frustrated because she feels it didn't please him. But for the most part, the show fails to carry an absorption of these elements in a pleasing way and hurts its composition of episodes. The director and the person responsible for the script were good with their work, but it is a show that still needs to improve a lot if it has a sequel.
Even with these problems, I must applaud Yakunara Mug Cup mo. It was a really fun experience and I enjoyed every little moment. Nippon Animation is not a studio that usually brings out good things lately, but this show was a positive leap for the studio. It really is a title for the few, it won't convince everyone of its relevance. It is even more likely that people didn't even care about this title while it was being released during the last few months. However, Yakunara is a show that delivered what it wanted in a positive way, I must acknowledge.
The pottery may not interest you, but the friendships and small slice-of-life action may please you. If you haven't given this show a listen, please give it another try. You will find that it is more honest than most recent anime. No wonder Yakunara has a manga with many volumes, don't be a person who underestimates anime just for being simple. ;)
