Yakunara Mug Cup mo

This anime series is set in the city of Tajima in Japan's Gifu Prefecture; it is a city famed for its Mino-ware pottery. The story is centred on four girls who are part of their school's pottery club; particularly new member Toyokawa Himeno, who has recently moved to the city with her father. Her late mother was from Tajima, where she was renowned as a particularly skilled potter. Over the course of the series she learns more about pottery and becomes quite skilled herself, eventually entering a competition alongside her friends. Each fourteen minute episode is followed by a nine minute live action segment where we see the voice actresses who play the four girls as they explore Tajima and learn about its pottery and make some for themselves.

There are plenty of slice of life series about school girls pursuing an interest in a school club; this one stands out a bit though as it manages to teach the viewer something about an aspect of Japanese culture they might not now about. It manages this without feeling like it is trying to be educational. The story proceeds at a gentle pace and is enjoyable even though it doesn't provide surprises. The animation is good and gives an impressive feel for the pottery creations. The live action segment is also surprisingly enjoyable; the four voice actresses are fun company and their experiences reinforce the fact that the anime is grounded in reality. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to anime fans looking to expand their knowledge of Japanese culture while also enjoying a good story; I'll certainly be watching the second season when it airs.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.