A Reflection on Super Cub

You probably have to have a desire of your own. Like, say… wanting to turn at an unfamiliar corner you’ve never turned at before.

-Koguma

And that I had, plenty of, having spent a big part of 2022 looking at countless places I could travel to, and crafting concept travel plans to get there with public transport. But international daytrips are hard to do with regular public transport around here, so there was always something missing. There were a handful of such options, ofcourse limited by the “density” of the timetables (which weren’t very dense). Or for more “obscure” options I’d have to go through too many transfers taking too long for it to make sense. Oh and ofcourse, there’d always have to be money for tickets. And what would happen if I miss a connection or the one and only returning bus/train?

I never wanted to be forced to drive but was there any other option? Since entering Schengen I even considered doing trips to the closest place to the border and then literally walking through the border to then catch trains from the other country to additional places.

I got to use my old heavy and bad bicycle around the city again after not having it around for years. And some thoughts and ideas started forming.

Koguma from Super Cub had the desire to go quicker (and easier?) on her way to school after getting overtaken by better bicycles and a motorcycle. Super Cub is about her experiences of getting into a new hobby, in her case motorcycling.

In my case the hobby is cycling. And the series happens to also include a character who was cycling (for most of the anime at least), and is also a lover of Italy and Italian things. Just like me.

We follow the MC learning about her Cub. How to do basic things. The joys after figuring things out, even if it took some effort to get there. The excitement of looking at the newly acquired thing and using it. Getting all the necessary equipment for the best experience.

By the middle of the series, she goes on a longer ride. She got briefly sick the morning of the school trip on a bus. Then felt better just a few hours later. She didn’t make it to the trip on the bus.

But then she was like “fine I’ll do it myself” and drove herself to the destination. Such a lovely episode. She channeled the same energy as I do on my bicycle trips.

I love the way the show does subtle visual narrative. In episode 2 we see her look at a road sign showing directions for different places multiple times, but she doesn’t take a turn, instead goes forward as usual. Until later in the episode she takes a turn, starting to experience new places, expanding her world. It was as simple as riding to a store she hasn’t been to before. But even such simple things could bring joy. I can attest with how just cycling to the nearby village a few kilometers away felt like success on my first rides (on the old bicycle) last year.

In the “missed bus trip” episode, she kicks a rock which then hits her cub, before she commits to heading out on the ride, in what was probably my favorite moment of the anime.

Another subtle thing is the change in what she ate. We see her eat store pre-prepared food for school lunch but gradually we see her cook her own food at home. It could mean that she started thinking more about what she eats. Which the cycling did for me. Nutrition is an important part of bike rides, so I started to think a lot more about what exactly I’m eating.

Speaking of food, they also subtly introduce Shii’s love for Italy. First by indicating she repeatedly ate pasta for lunch at school, and then also by showing her using a light blue colored fabric (light blue being the national color of Italy). All long before she had any significant involvement in the story.

I love the beautiful audio and the use of colors to enhance certain scenes. All in all, Super Cub was a joy to watch, making me relive some of the emotions of getting into a new and exciting thing. This brought some positive changes to Koguma’s life: new friends, new experiences and knowledge, new places became reachable. She seemed to become more confident as well. Once again, I can attest to a single thing like this bringing with itself a set of positive changes. Cycling has been a “winning combination” for me because it allows me to travel while improving my fitness and it also has a calming effect. I’d like to think it also improved my confidence at least a little bit.

Super Cub made the elapsed wOrk week better. I’m gonna miss watching it.