REVIEW: ‘Let’s Make a Mug Too,’ Episode 6 – “The Garden of Sky and Wind”

Last time in the Pottery Club, the junior members of the club rode the rails to follow Koizumi-sensei, their teacher with a secret. After exploring the rural city of Kotaru, the girls caught up to their teacher and spend a heartfelt evening with her before the episode ended. Now, in Let’s Make a Mug Episode 6, the girls are back in the clubroom getting ready for a big event!

Episode 6, “The Garden of Sky and Wind”, kicks off in the brutally humid Japanese summer with Himeno lamenting how hot it is. Thankfully, Koizumi-sensei quickly comes to the Pottery Club clubroom bearing cool treats. Looks like the girls will be beating the heat sooner than later! However, that’s not all Koizumi-sensei’s got for the girls. Once she passes out some popsicles, she gets into the nitty-gritty.

This year’s 41st Minoware Contest, a pottery contest that Touko mentioned way back in episode 2.  Naturally, the Pottery Club participates annually. This year won’t be any different. Only this time, the girls will have Himeno as part of their club activities. There’s even a festival and celebration, coupled with the contest as well. This year’s theme? “Ideas for including Mino Ware in Your Daily Life”, which seems straightforward and easy enough. Yet as fun as that sounds, Touko is quick to remind the girls that it’s not all fun and games. Making craftware for the contest will mean working hard. Thus, we have the central problem and plot for Let’s Make a Mug Episode 6.

From the start, Let’s Make a Mug Episode 6 feels quite different from previous craft-tastic episodes. That’s in large part because the typically peaceful antics of the Pottery Club are exchanged for Himeno really having to buckle down, just like she did in episode 4, to create something. However, I think that’s for the better. Slice of life anime are often at their best when there’s a little bit of adventure thrown in. I’m all for cozy pottery feels, but seeing Himeno rise to the occasion feels just as good as well.

In the live-action segment of Let’s Make a Mug Episode 6, the voice actors head to Taijimi’s national treasure, Eihouji Temple, a gorgeous, 700-year-old temple with an incredibly soothing atmosphere. They also, as they so often do, grab a bite to eat. This time, they’re sitting down at a cafe for some drip coffee and toast heaped with azuki beans. Of course, it’s all served using Mino Ware, which perfectly fits Let’s Make a Mug Episode 6, and the show in general. And as always, this brief, 9-minute segment is a joy, especially because viewers get to see the voices of the Pottery Quartet

Let’s Make a Mug Episode 6, once again, includes beautiful scoring and even more beautiful animation. There’s a lot of scenes where viewers are just with Himeno, too. These scenes further develop her characterization, and honestly, showcase some really charming -and downright beautiful- pottery. In the back half of Let’s Make a Mug Episode 6, we even get to venture into a Pottery Museum, and that’s packed with lots of heartfelt moments and even more gorgeous pottery pieces. It’s all great, and meshes together to make a really stellar episode.

In the end, Let’s Make a Mug Episode 6 is yet another delightful episode in the series. It’s one of the strongest to air yet, and is so well-executed that I found no flaws with the plot progression it showcases. This is peak Pottery Anime at its finest and definitely cements Let’s Make a Mug Too as one of Spring 2021’s best anime, even with its shorter length. Coupled with the ending that has the perfect hook into next week’s episode, I can’t help but reward Let’s Make a Mug Episode 6 with a perfect score, and encourage you to make time in your day to sit down with these episodes every week.

Let’s Make a Mug Too is now streaming on Crunchyroll.