*Don't worry there's no spoilers in this review!*
You've read the synopsis right? right? ok although there's no spoilers I do mention things that the synposis did too:
Story (6/10):
Like most slice of life anime, there's no concrete storyline/plot. This is usually the main issue many anime fans who dislike slice of life anime have. To compensate most slice of life anime try to make the characters as cute or as dynamic as possible (Kobayashi's Dragon Maid), try to make it as relaxing and beautiful as possible (Yuru Camp), or try to be informative/educational to some degree (Houkago Teibou Nisshi). Super Cub basically embraces all those ideas. However because they try to forge all of these traits into a 12 episode anime a lot of the times the story becomes incohesive and weirdly paced. But the staff did a commendable effort to try and keep people interested in a few girls riding a motor vehicle around for 12 episodes.
Art (6/10):
The art is pretty unique with a sort of late 2010 look. As an artist myself, it's hard to find fault in a simple art style, and it pairs well with the sort of antiqueness of the anime subject. However there's a reason why anime art styles have slowly evolved away from the sort of broken lineart, and loose shapes that this anime embraced.
1. It's usually hard to immerse them in a typical anime background without their style feeling out of place.
2. Converting the 2d style to 3d CGI is kinda hard and the difference between 2d and 3d is much more visible.
3. Many of the facial expressions that older anime styles have can feel quite cheesy and unnatural compared to current styles.
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And although Studio Kai did a remarkable job at preserving the style throughout the 3d scenes, and did a good job at immersing the characters in the background. The problem still persists and is noticeable somewhat. I understand that they want to be faithful to the Super Cub manga, however in my opinion it would have been better if they updated the style slightly for an anime adaptation.
Sound (7/10):
I'm not too familiar with sound but I can say that I didn't really have a problem with the sound design and music in the anime. Although I really quickly realized that they use the same few music scores over and over again, it's hard to fault it especially since many anime do the same thing. I guess the fact that I so quickly realized this may be because the scores are distinguishable and catchy. Nothing really special, just plain solid sound design.
Character (6/10):
It was really easy to tell that a major theme of this anime was the character development of the main girl 'Koguma' through the interactions that she got from riding the Cub. In the beginning they emphasize the type of sad boring life that Koguma had been living up till her 2nd year of high school, in which she decides to buy a Super Cub. And we see changes and growth in both her personality and social interactions with others due to her buying a cub. However they really quickly decided to abandon this theme and isolate the story to just her and the few friends she gained during that short period of development. And although it's not a big deal, I think it would have been better if they stuck through with the theme (or at least reference it at the end to bring it full circle) or just have not emphasized the theme so heavily to begin with. Other than that the character designs are pretty average, the girls are mostly likable and have their own quirks. But there wasn't anything really to write home about.
Enjoyment/Conclusion (7/10):
During the fantasy battle heavy Spring 2021 season of anime, it was pretty nice to relax and turn my brain off for 20minutes each week while I watched cute girls do cute things with their cubs, and even learnt some things about the motor vehicle industry here and there. And although I feel that there were many things that were lacking it was still an overall positive experience. However due to the lack of a concrete story, and due to some of the decisions about the character development... like most other slice of life anime I don't recommend binge watching this show. Take it easy and watch it slowly!
TLDR: Decent anime with no concrete story/plot (like most slice of life). It's use of artistry is relaxing and beautiful although sometimes may feel forced or cheesy. The art is meh but has a unique style. Character development is a little shaky. Decent watch, but I don't recommend binging it.
And because many people also want to know about the quality of the 3D CGI in anime, in Super Cub the CGI is not amazing but it's competently done.
