The city of Tajimi is well-renowned for its Mino ware ceramics and being the hometown of Himeno Toyokawa's mother. Considered a legend in the world of pottery, Himeno's mother suddenly passed away when Himeno was four. However, her legacy lives on in the dozens of unique mugs that adorn the Toyokawas' new restaurant in Tajimi.
Having moved back to the city recently following the bankruptcy of her father's company in Tokyo, Himeno brings some of her mother's mugs to her first day of high school in an attempt to make friends. One person who immediately takes an interest is Mika Kukuri, an eccentric girl in Himeno's class who soon introduces her to Tooko Aoki, the president of the Pottery Club. After learning more about her mother's contributions to the club and the art form, Himeno asks her father for permission to join, which he gladly gives.
Alongside Mika and her childhood friend Naoko Naruse, Himeno enters the Pottery Club to continue her mother's beloved work and discover her own passion for the craft.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
Kechio
I'm not a fan of long reviews so I'm going to keep this short and to the point... If you are bored and have nothing better to do in life while wanting to have some wholesomeness then sure go for it and watch it. Its just mugs and bowls, made by cute girls. The art is pretty basic. With the 'look at me I'm the protagonists' character designs. The story is mugs. We have no mugs, then we make mugs. That's how we have mugs. They have colourful mugs, they have unique mugs, and they also have normal mugs! They avoid ugly mugs! Ugly mugs are bad. Nice mugsare nice! Main mug girl finds out her dead mother made mugs, she uses mugs to find out about her mother and her mugs and why she made mugs!
So listen, they made mugs, and some other stuff, so if you like drinking out of mugs, you will like watching making mugs!
and has cute girls.
Story - 5
Art - 6
Sound - exists (5)
Characters - 6
Enjoyments - mugs nice! (5)
Overall - Mugs
Luubie
Ah, Japan! What to think about its cultural beauties? This time pottery is the main theme of another honest and simple show, but one that deserves attention and care 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 forthis 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. ;)
IrrelevantGuy
I have been rather unacquainted with pottery throughout my entire life. Despite being born in a country where it's recognized as a long-established profession (although neglected now, unfortunately), pottery never really caught my interest. However, after watching Yakunara Mug Cup mo, I might have become a little eager to learn about it. Yakunara Mug Cup mo takes place in Tajimi, a city which is known for its pottery. The story mainly focuses on high school student Himeno Toyokawa, who moved to Tajimi after her father's company went bankrupt. On the first day of her new school, a boisterous girl named Mika Kukuri invites her to visitthe pottery club. There, she learns that her late mother was an exceptional potter who was known for creating remarkable ceramic objects. Now eager to pursue pottery and learn more about her mother, Himeno decides to join Mika's club, where she is accompanied by her childhood friend Naoko Naruse, Mika's senpai Touko Aoki, and Mika herself.
Yakunara Mug Cup mo seems like a typical CGDCT show at first glimpse, and for the most part, it absolutely is. Most of the anime revolves around our main characters – a group of four adorable, lively, and passionate girls – making mugs (and other ceramic utensils) and occasionally traveling around the city. What's somewhat interesting about Yakunara Mug Cup mo, though, is that it does have a recurring theme prevalent throughout its 12 episodes, which is surprisingly well-executed for the most part.
The underlying (kinda) theme of the anime concerns our protagonist Himeno's self-discovery and her growth as a person. When Himeno started doing pottery, she wasn't confident if she could improve herself to the adequate standard. However, as she spent more time in the profession alongside her friends, she gathered up more confidence and gradually rid of her anxiety. By the end of the anime, Himeno does not only improve as an artist, but she also shapes up her persona and finds her ambition in life. Her relationship with her father plays the most important role in this, which is by far the best part about the anime.
Pottery is actually a nice addition to the story; not only because it makes Yakunara Mug Cup mo stand out a little from other CGDCT anime, but also because it serves as an effective foundation for Himeno's characterization. This topic is expounded upon in a technical regard as well; the series provides the viewers a short glimpse of what it's like to work in the profession. Of course, you wouldn't learn how to make ceramic objects simply by watching the anime, but honestly, I learned a few interesting things about pottery that I wouldn't have known otherwise.
The slice-of-life moments of Yakunara Mug Cup mo are also not bad, mainly because of its small yet playful and endearing cast of characters. The series sticks to a semi-episodic format for the most part; as I previously said, each episode follows our main characters partaking in fun little activities surrounding pottery (mostly). Most of the episodes are enjoyable to watch, and while there are quite a few segments that feel rather out-of-place and awkward, all in all, the anime is unexpectedly good at maintaining consistency.
Honestly, almost all the characters of the show aren't much more than what you would find any other CGDCT anime, but they sort of compensate for that with their energetic personalities and natural dynamic. On their own, they probably wouldn't able to be as amusing, but together they manage to make the show enough entertaining. With that being said, I do genuinely think that the drama is well-executed, and it adds a noticeable layer of depth to Himeno's character and makes her a little bit nuanced.
The animation of Yakunara Mug Cup is satisfactory. The backgrounds are decently drawn, and the ceramic objects look very well-made when they need to. The soundtrack isn't bad either; it mostly consists of cheerful tunes that aren't bad to listen to. The opening song titled "Tobira wo Hiraketara" is pretty okay, and the ending song "Pale Blue" sung by Aya Uchida is actually very catchy.
To conclude in a sentence, if you are looking for a simple CGDCT with somewhat well-executed drama, there is a chance that you will enjoy Yakunara Mug Cup mo. It is far from the best the subgenre can offer, but if nothing else, it should be praised for providing some insight into a profession that's barely discussed.
KANLen09
Well, this is a bit of an odd ball. It's the stereotypical CGDCT, with pottery, that is nothing more than just product placement and advertisement for the city of Tajimi, Gifu. Unsurprisingly, when you research about Tajimi's attractions as a Gaijin tourist, Mino-yaki ceramics will be the first thing that pops up since it's very highly regarded over there. And this short show attempts to replicate all of that in the similar "tourist attraction" mood. As for this show, like I've said, it's just CGDCT with making mugs that slowly evolve into more ambitious earthenware like bowls and sculptures. There's nothing that makes this show standout, unless you feel like you're watching something akin to NHK's educational content (which this does not air on that channel). Grab some kids and make sure they're glued to the screen and see them go in awe.
One thing's for sure: everything feels monotone at first, until the Minoware comes around and pops the livery of the show to color. That's just the extent of this show, with both an anime and live-action part, teaching you how to make mugs with characters and the actual Seiyuus who voiced those characters in real life. Sure works well for advertisement at a wrong time, but garnering interest this will wane.
Overall, it's fine across all boards. Feel free to hit this one if you really don't have time, or just want to find something for the younger generation to learn while studying at home in the current global situation.
chips901
Let's Make a Mug Too is one of the more underappreciated and underestimated animes because... well, it's pottery. It's not Berserk. Much like any other craft like drawing or painting, the underlying process behind such crafts are often tedious, underwhelming through intense self-scrutiny, and often-times boring to the outside observer. In other words, the uninitiated would only be able to appreciate the end result of fine art. Let's Make a Mug Too is about the beginning of an artist's journey, and it's a pretty damn good representation of it! It comes in two parts - half anime and half special. Let's start off with the specials, which arethe reason why this show gets a high rating. In it, the VAs go on a field trip to Tajimi and have the opportunity to make a mug and more! They also participate in its culture, eating local specialities as well as checking out some neat spots that really makes you FEEL like you're in Tajimi! The specials are able to convey the brevity of the craft, something the anime couldn't because y'know.. beautifully drawn anime mugs - while colourful - can't convey the real thing.
The light-hearted story follows Himeno Toyokawa as she begins her pottery journey. Throughout the season, she goes through the highs and lows commonly found in an artist's journey. As a rookie, she explores the craft. But as she becomes more serious, the frustrations of a rookie begin to catch up with her. What's important to recognize is that this show isn't aiming for excitement. While the show could be pretty exciting if it had SHOKUGEKI-style battles between high-schools over which mug is more colourful, it wouldn't fit in with the spirit of pottery.
The process of pottery is tedious, more nerve-racking than drawing because the kiln can waste your time and materials if done improperly, and requires laser-focus to produce results. As a result, pottery competitions are as exciting as it can get, and it can be pretty interesting to see what people can produce with ceramics! The show does an excellent job at showing creativity and (sometimes) technicalities, whether it'd be the history of Tajimi or pottery contests itself.
That's to say that if you find this sort of stuff thought-provoking in a creative sense, you have the right mindset to appreciate this show in its entirety - you'd be able to appreciate the process AND whatever result the artist produces.
And I do. Or, at least I think I do. I'm trying to get into drawing myself and I'm seeing the exact highs and lows of the artist's journey here, B-tier life drama and everything. Whether or not I succeed is entirely up to me, much like how Himeno's journey is entirely up to her. As long as the artist is having fun with the creative process... who the fuck cares!
In conclusion,
Let's Make a Mug Too is a very light-hearted, easily digestible anime for the mature and the mature alone. If you treat it like a write-off, then a write-off it shall be. If you treat it like an artist's journey and the exploration of the craft as a whole (both anime and specials), you sorely won't be disappointed. 9/10
Until next time.
Mhliadesu
It could be yes for other people tho. When i watch this anime, there some sort of scene that kinda relate to my real life experience. When everyone around you is so talented on their own way like creativity or aesthetics, you just want someone special for you to notice about how you capable on and don't want to live behind someone shadows. And when someone react "normally" to what you make without any reaction, it kinda hurt a lot like so relate to my real life experience. kinda coincidence right ? Also i never know there's a lot of cup type in japan. afterall, thisis pretty chill anime you can actually enjoy it on your free time to watch it
ren0080
This is one of the short anime that I've watched for a very long time. And it's definitely worth my time... Probably lmao I don't know what to say because while it had a coherent story and a nice pacing, I don't think it really accomplished anything in the end. Like, I sometimes think what's the point of this anime. It just ended so abruptly. But that's aside the point. How about the pottery and sh*t that it introduced? Well, it's introduced well and properly. It had some scenes that taught the audiences on how to do certain potteries. But because it is a short anime, it neededto limit those said scenes in order to make room for the boring story. Honestly, if this anime was all about pottery and not about some cliche sh*t, then I'd have like it more. Good thing there's no romance though.
The characters aren't super well done, mainly because of the nature of this anime. Being short and all. It had to cram so much characters and stories, as well as the basics of pottery for audiences to learn. So yeah, it makes sense for them to be underdeveloped. But even then, some of the characters are so fun to watch (mainly the blonde with glasses) that I had to give it plus points for that.
The animation is pretty basic. It's not outstanding or consistent by any means. But it's average at best.
The music however is pretty d*mn great. The op and ed are so catchy, and the ost is pretty decent as well. Good stuff.
Overall, it's an anime that is nice to watch if you're bored and want some slice of life anime.
(5.2/10)
AnimeEnjoyer420
Recommendation: It's short (half-length episodes) and inoffensive, so there are worse shows out there that you could watch, but this is one you can safely skip. Story: Mug Cup has the bare-bones story setup that you'd expect from a cute slice of life show. The main character, Himeno, has moved to a new town famous for pottery, and joins the pottery club to learn more about her mother, a famous artist from that town that died when she was young. It's part hobbyist anime and part tourism ad for the city of Tajimi, but the tourism parts aren't so in your face that they'rea turn off. It also does a pretty good job of translating the hobbyist part for a general audience without getting bogged down in boring details. The problem with the story comes in Himeno's relationship with her father and deceased mother, which is completely loaded down with unearned sentimentality. Himeno's desire to make something that impresses her father is a good enough, if basic, storyline, but the entire part with the mother seems like cheap tragedy and fails to connect because of how obvious the emotional manipulation is.
Audio/Visual: Visually, things are pretty hit or miss with this show. The character designs are iffy and the animation is functional at best, but it uses its obviously very limited budget to display the pottery artwork nicely and the more-cartoony-than-usual character animation at least gives it a somewhat unique look. The audio is more nicely done. Sounds and effects are warm and comforting, the VA work is good if unremarkable, and the music is catchy and fits well with the laid back theme of the series.
Characters: There's not really much to say about any of them unfortunately. This is the weakest part of the series. Himeno is your standard shoujo protagonist to a T. Kukuri is a loud idiot and Touko is aloof and serious, but both are talented and helpful. Neither of them receive an ounce of character development or backstory until a brief look into Touko's past as a competitor in the pottery contest in literally the last episode of the series. Nao is slightly more interesting, but what her entire deal is is never explained, so she's more of a curiosity than a real character. Somehow she has incredibly detailed knowledge of anything the characters need to know, and this is quite literally just hand-waved away without ever properly acknowledging how weird it is. She seemingly keeps a diary or or is writing a manga about Himeno and narrates what she's doing in one episode, but there is no explanation of why and it's never followed up on. There really aren't any memorable or good characters the entire time in this series, which takes it down from being a no-stress slice of life relaxer to just being boring instead.
Overall, it's a cute girls doing cute things show that lacks fun characters and isn't entertaining or unique enough to be worth watching.
Firechick12012
Not gonna lie, the only reason I even learned that Yakunara Mug Cup mo, or Let's Make a Mug Too, is that I lurk on the website Anime News Network like a madwoman. This is yet another "cute girls doing cute things" anime which surprisingly flew under the radar this past season. There is one thing that made me decide to watch it though: The fact that Nippon Animation animated the series. Nippon is primarily responsible for producing all the anime for the World Masterpiece Theater back in the day, along with shows like Future Boy Conan, Fantastic Children, the 1999 Hunter X Hunter anime,and the Haikara-san ga Tooru remake movies. But they hadn't done much in the way of TV series since 2008, coming back with...this. Yeah. It's easy to think that Nippon Animation has fallen from grace from their glory days, but...after having watched this, I don't think they've lost their touch. For the sake of convenience, I'm shortening the title to Yakumo.
So what's this anime about, anyway? The story centers on Himeno Toyokawa, a young girl who just moved to the town of Tajimi with her father and grandmother. She transfers to a new school and makes new friends. One of them, Mika Kukuri (the blonde girl), tries to recruit her into her school's pottery club. At first, Himeno isn't too sure about joining, but when she learns that her late mother, Himena Tokigawa, previously made a lot of famous ceramic pieces for Tajimi, Himeno decides to join the club and try her hand at it. Gradually, she learns more about the ins and outs of pottery, the impact her mother made on the city of Tajimi, and more about herself in the process.
For a show that's just about girls in a pottery club, Yakumo is surprisingly well animated. Character movement is smooth but not overly so, the backgrounds are detailed and full of life, and from what I can tell, the animators really tried their hardest to replicate the city of Tajimi in animated form. But I do have one quip with it: Why does Himeno have pink hair but purple bangs and shading? Other than her mother, none of the other characters have this, and I find it kind of jarring because it looks like she dyed parts of it. I've seen weirder, so normally I'm not put off by this design choice, and it is in the manga as well, but it feels jarring because none of the other characters have dual-colored hair and they look more realistic. The music is definitely one of the stand outs, as it makes use of a lot of unconventional instruments like ukuleles and acoustic guitars that give it a sort of country music feel to it at times. It's especially prevalent in the opening theme song, though the soundtrack is much more varied and versatile than other CGDCT shows similar to Yakumo.
One thing you'll notice about Yakumo is that all the episodes are 12-15 minutes long, including the opening and ending themes. This is because for some reason, the creators decided to shoehorn in live-action parts showing the voice actresses for the characters going to Tajimi, practicing pottery, and other shenanigans. I skip those, as I don't think they add anything to the story. That being said, I think the shorter episodes were to the show's benefit, as even though Yakumo is rather slow paced and low key, it never drags on longer than it needs to, and gets whatever it needs to get done without meandering or trying to bite off more than it can chew. This also forces the creators to really flesh out the characters in that short time frame, and I think it works here. All four of the main leads are fairly interesting and nice, even if they may seem like archetypal moe characters at first, and they do get fleshed out over the course of the series. A lot of the series focuses on Himeno learning more about her mother's legacy and trying to make something that her father will genuinely like on its own merits, and not simply like it out of superficial obligation as a father. I can definitely see Kukuri getting on people's nerves though, as she's the hyperactive genki girl with a screechy voice that you've seen in pretty much every moe anime at least once. I wish more had been done with Himeno's friend Nao, though. All we know about her is that she's Himeno's friend and that she likes Godzilla/Sentai movies, that's it. That'll probably change when the second season comes around.
In all honesty, the only real critique I have for this show is that episode 8 was kind of a weird episode. It's basically a dumb filler episode where Kukuri falls asleep in a restaurant and has a weird dream based on things people next to her are talking about. It did nothing to advance the story and seemed mostly just there to shoehorn in some pointless comedy. It wasn't a bad episode by any means, but it did feel very out of place in an otherwise grounded show. Plus, the title is rather misleading, because even though it implies the girls will make mugs, they never actually do so in the show. Again, this'll probably be rectified when the second season comes out, and yes, as of this writing, a second season has indeed been confirmed. And I'm super stoked, because I really like this show and I wish more people gave it a chance! The story, conflict, and characters may not seem like much on the surface, but there's just enough nuance, subtlety, and little details that make it stand out from all the other CGDCT anime out there. It's not ambitious like, say, A Place Further Than the Universe, nor overly sugary and saccharine like Kiniro Mosaic. It strikes a fun, heartwarming balance, and I think after this, I can say that Nippon Animation is still as good as it's always been.
Not something that's going to bring the house down, but Yakunara Mug Cup Mo is a nice, laid-back, heartwarming anime that deserves way more love and recognition than it gets.
NextUniverse
(TLDR below, thanks for reading) Every season, there is that one simple CGDCT anime. It may not mean a lot, but honestly, they mean the most when you want something to sit back to and generally pass the time with ease too. For Spring 2021, 2 of these types of anime caught my attention. One other I will mention for another time, the other being today's reviewed "Let's Make a Mug Too" (will abbreviate to "Mug Cup"). Mug Cup doesn't have too much of a real story, and whilst that may be looked down upon, it must be understood that this is no anime trying to bebeyond what it sets out to do, something I would imagine people find pleasure in watching, considering how it also implies the simple nature of the anime is maintained throughout. Anyways, as it says on the tin, or in this case mug, Mug Cup is about girls making pottery, it also goes the extra mile and looks into pretty much everything there is about pottery. That's pretty much most episodes of the anime. One thing I have noticed with Mug Cup though is that it somewhat ties in real life affairs with pottery, it's not like everything is based around the girls doing pottery, there is some look into the background of the characters, to make stuff more interesting than your basic CGDCT anime. I will also say that sometimes the way the anime goes around it makes it slightly melodramatic, so you are there thinking can some drama and wholesomeness in a show of this kind even work? And, it kinda does, but it is slightly awkward. You shouldn't need to worry about this too much but I thought I would comment on this a little. As for characters, they follow their personalities, so I wouldn't tell one to go in hoping for some huge developments, for the most part, they are really likeable, and do what they must well. Not a lot to comment on with them honestly, but I would imagine they are fine for people who want to watch this.
The technical aspects of the show are for the most part, as you would expect your usual anime of this day and age to look like. The visuals are average, but something that I find with nothing to dislike about, the audio checks out too, I think some of the OST was really good, but it never hit me in a way I could actively tell people to watch this for the OST if nothing else, on that note good OP and ED for its kind, so were seiyuus.
I quite enjoyed this anime. I ended up bingeing the rest of it after episode 3 instead of watching this religiously every week, which tells me I should really do that from now on if I want my weeks to be ever so slightly better. But that also means that I can tell everyone that watching this as fast as you can is probably as enjoyable as it were to watch this every week. I suppose as long as you don't pause for the longest minute between episodes, this should be a good watch for fans of the genre. In a universal sense, it does everything it needs to do quite rightly for it to be enjoyable.
TLDR: A good CGDCT anime, mostly made up of general conventions with an ever so slightly better storytelling method. Time-efficient too.
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Would recommend it for sure, it is time-efficient so you could watch the entire thing in a day if you really wanted to. Idk why anime like this get the lowest attention at times, but I suppose it was the same with another CGDCT anime I really enjoyed. Well, let hidden gems be hidden gems. I must also add that there is a live-action segment you can check out, basically the same thing as this anime only the seiyuus are doing more practical stuff I suppose. They are really fun to watch, there is something about real Japanese women doing things that somehow make for oddly entertaining watches. Anyway, that is for you to decide, you do you.
Overall - 6.2 (6)
