Super Cub (スーパーカブ, Sūpā Kabu) is a Japanese light novel series written by Tone Kōken and illustrated by Hiro. Originally serialized online as a web novel on Kakuyomu from March 2016 to December 2021, Kadokawa Shoten have released eight volumes and one reserve volume from May 2017 to April 2022 under their Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko label. A manga adaptation with art by Kanitan has been serialized online since December 2017 via Kadokawa Shoten's Comic Newtype manga website. It has been collected in eleven tankōbon volumes.
An anime television series adaptation by Studio Kai aired from April to June 2021 on multiple television networks across Japan and on Crunchyroll elsewhere. It has received generally positive reviews.
Contents
Premise
Super Cub is set in the Mukawa area of Hokuto in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. The story follows Koguma, a lone wolf without hobbies or interests. After an encounter with a Honda Super Cub 50, she begins to grow and her world expands beyond herself. The novel promotional posters and the official novel site promote the commemoration of 100 million units sold for the Honda Super Cub.
The series focuses on Koguma, an orphan lone wolf without hobbies and friends. While riding her city bike to school one day, Koguma decides she would like to get a motorized bike of some sort. She resolves to get a Honda Super Cub from a local dealer. Because of this, she eventually makes friends with Reiko and Eniwa.
Characters
Koguma (小熊)
Voiced by: Yuki Yomichi (Japanese); Jackie Lastra (English)
The main character, Koguma is a high school student in Hokuto with average grades in school. Her father died when she was juvenile, and her mother disappeared when Koguma entered high school. As Koguma does not have any relatives, she relies on a stipend for living and school expenses. Koguma lives by herself in an apartment building in front of Hinoharu Station. She does not have any hobbies or friends in school. When Koguma buys a Super Cub to use to commute to school, her life begins to change slowly. Due to her isolation, she has a brusque way of speaking with others.
Reiko (礼子)
Voiced by: Ayaka Nanase (Japanese); Dawn M. Bennett (English)
Reiko is a reserved and knowledgeable tall girl who is in the same class as Koguma. Her father is a city councilman, her mother manages a catering business in Hachiōji, and they both live in Tokyo. Reiko lives by herself in a log house the Mukawa area of Hokuto, an area with many vacation homes. She does perfectly at school, including sports. Although her favorite Cub is a restored MD90, it was wrecked during her second year summer vacation to Mount Fuji, and she subsequently acquired a CT110.
Shii Eniwa (恵庭椎, Eniwa Shii)
Voiced by: Natsumi Hioka (Japanese); Skyler Davenport (English)
A classmate of Koguma and Reiko, Shii was in charge of the annual cultural festival. She has medium-length hair that is depicted as pale bluish-gray in images from the novels and manga, but grayish in the anime. Although Hiro illustrates her with a mole under her right eye, Kanitan omits this in his illustrations for the manga. She is slightly shorter than Koguma, and has not changed in height since junior high school.
Media
Web serialization
Super Cub was originally serialized online as a web novel on Kakuyomu from March 2016 to December 2021, before being picked up for publication as light novels by Kadokawa beginning in May 2017.
Manga
A manga adaptation with art by Kanitan has been serialized online since December 2017 via Kadokawa Shoten's Comic Newtype manga website. It has been collected in eleven tankōbon volumes.
A spin-off manga by Sakae Saito, titled Super Cub Rei, was serialized on the Comic Newtype website from April 29, 2022, to January 12, 2024. The manga focuses on the character Reiko years before she met Koguma and Shii.
Anime
An anime television series adaptation by Studio Kai was announced on November 20, 2019. The series was directed by Toshiro Fujii, with Toshizō Nemoto handling series composition, Tōru Imanishi designing the characters, and Tomohisa Ishikawa and ZAQ composing the music. It aired from April 7 to June 23, 2021, on AT-X, Tokyo MX, TV Aichi, KBS Kyoto, and BS11. The opening theme song, "Mahō no Kaze" (まほうのかぜ; lit. 'Magical Wind'), was performed by Akane Kumada, while the ending theme song, "Haru e no Dengon" (春への伝言; lit. 'A Message to the Wind'), was performed by the main cast members Yuki Yomichi, Ayaka Nanase, and Natsumi Hioka. The series ran for 12 episodes. Funimation streamed the series, releasing new episodes on Wednesdays.
A Blu-ray box set containing all 12 episodes in the series was released in Japan on August 25, 2021. A Blu-ray collection with both the original Japanese audio and an English dub was released in North America by Funimation on May 31, 2022.
Reception
The Asahi Shimbun described the first novel as a realistic story told with simple and honest language, showing the changes in the life of Koguma as she expands and explores the world opened up to her after she buys the Super Cub.
The anime series received generally positive reviews. Briana Lawrence at The Mary Sue described the first five episodes as "a warm hug delivered at 20 MPH", praising the series for its celebrations of small victories in the life of Koguma and how those change the character's outlook on life. At Anime News Network, Mercedez Clewis called it "the anime to watch this year", going on to call the first episode "a masterpiece of a premiere", full of "a lot of truly beautiful moments where...[the art and colors]...come together to make really striking, evocative scenes".
Another Anime Review was mixed regarding the setup of the series. While praising the beautiful animation, they complained about possibly "lazy writing and/or sloppy production" due to Koguma's living situation. However, they praised the overarching plot of Koguma finding her world opening up due to her purchase of the Super Cub bike, ending with "There's a lot to love here, folks." In his review for Motor Biscuit, a motorcycle enthusiast website, Matthew Skwarczek praised the details showing Koguma learning how to use and take care of her bike, stating the "show gets motorcycle riders".