The "Otherworld" is a vast and dangerous realm hidden from the knowledge of the common folk. It is also home to many creatures that threaten any human who dare visit it. To witness its desolate yet oddly absorbing environment, one must search for portals that could reside anywhere, from secret elevators to shrine entrances.
After a fateful encounter with a horrendous Otherworld denizen, Sorawo Kamikoshi ponders whether to keep going or give up in life. Meanwhile, Toriko Nishina scours the Otherworld in hopes of finding her friend Satsuki, who she believes is lost somewhere within the realm.
When the two cross paths, friendship blossoms. In order to acquire as much information about this obscure dimension, the two travel back and forth from the real world to the other. Sorawo and Toriko's bodies are soon influenced by the Otherworld, preparing them for the many horrors to come as both of them try to fulfill their goals.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
SanaeK10
Urasekai Picnic is proof that attaching a competent director to good source material doesn't necessarily result in a good adaptation. For whatever reason, the anime adaptation of Urasekai Picnic is plagued with issues through and through. From the moment the first PV dropped I should have been alarmed, the audio mixing was completely messed up, and the animation quality was subpar at best. Still, I tried to convince myself that it's just a bad PV, surely the actual show would be at least decent right? I gotta start with the first thing that came to mind when I started watching the adaptation: Audio. The audio mixingis awful. I think I get they want to do a creepy vibe, but even that doesn't work and most of the time the whole experience ends up being uncomfortable, like having loud sound effects drown out important dialogue or background noise overriding the whole scene. Music placement is also baffling at times, not that the score is any bad, but the placement truly leaves much to be desired with the BGM sometimes starting too early or too late, or ending too early or too late. The OP and ED are fine though. Maybe a bit too cheerful for my liking, but the days of having an actually scary OP for your horror anime has long past. (Even Higurashi has some generic pop OP now) The animation is subpar at best. The monsters are all janky, but not in a creepy sorta way, more in an ugly PS2-era CG kind of way.
I honestly don't know what production troubles the studio was under (perhaps doing 4 different shows in the same season counted towards it), but some of the creative choices can't be blamed on a rigid production schedule alone. Very odd choices like rearranging chapters beyond their intended order, which results in many plot holes as well as strange lapses in character development and pacing, really make this such a mess. Especially since they've added a few anime original chapters to compensate (?) for the gaps in between. I don't know.
If there's anything that's salvageable in this mess, it's the voice acting. Not because the performances are particularly groundbreaking or anything, it's a thoroughly average performance from your usual gamut of A-list seiyuu, but it's because you can now imagine in your head how the girls would sound like when reading the novel or manga.
The reason I'm being generous with my score is because
1. Kozakura is super cute
2. The anime introduced me to the (far) superior novel and manga, of which I am currently enjoying.
3. Watching this and Tatoeba Dungeon and contrasting the mains is hilarious.
4. The end of episode skits where Toriko and Sorawo goof around in a bar is the sole good anime original thing.
There. 4 points. Done and dusted.
Thing is, in this relatively packed season, there is nothing Urasekai Picinic does that isn't already better accomplished by a different show. If I wanted horror-mystery, I have Gekidol. If I wanted yuri hijinks, I have World Witches. If I wanted something with weird monsters, I have that Yuuki Aoi Spider Anime. If I wanted comedy, I have Higurashi GOU.
If I wanted a show that airs on Monday night made by Lidenfilms starring Kayano Ai and Hanamori Yumiri as the mains with the former playing a more confident foil to the latter's lack-of-self esteem character and both being in a romantic relationship...I have Tatoeba Dungeon.
4/10
MrBrawlz
Fantasy animes in my opinion are crazy. Both in a good way and a bad way. There is so much the creator can do around with fantasies and can make it as "crazy" as possible. Urasekai Picnic is an anime about traveling to an alternate world called "Otherside" where they fight off weird creatures while searching for their friend. I watched this anime since it has the "Shoujo Ai" listed in its genres because I love Shoujo Ai and it is one of my favorite genres and I expected somewhat romance but I didn't get it, even though I felt it. The CGI used here issomewhat decent, the studio made long-distance shots with the main characters in CGI for the first 6 episodes then stopped for 2 episodes and went at it again.
One of the policies I like to follow while rating animes on this website is how much I enjoyed it and how much I enjoyed the plot. Some of the parts in this were scary. Even though there were monsters/ghost-like figures in the "Otherworld", it is almost weird that almost none of them completely creeped me out.
One more thing I noticed is how the US Marines in the anime spoke english in a Japanese accent, it felt very weird to hear them say their mother tongue that way.
The characters were really cute and interesting and they made the most out of working with each other. One of the things I would like to say is that the two main girls say that they're second years in college but they look like they are not even third year in high school which I found kind of weird.
The OP gave me a vibe of Naruto for some reason and the ED is amazing, my favorite ending of Winter 2021. The song used in the ending, "You and me" was very touching and pretty nice to listen to after watching a cliffhanger episode.
I'll summarize the main aspects of this in some sentences -
Story (8/10) - Pretty good pacing and nice episode cliffhangers. I love how they make it super clear - what they are doing, where they are going, and what they will do. The decisions taken by the main characters in this are agreeable and lead forward to a better story.
Art (7/10) - Pretty but I felt the long-distance CGI shots were a bit lazy but another CGI was pretty well made.
Sound (9/10) - As I said, my favorite ending of the season; this anime has good OSTs and music. Also, the voice acting is on point and pretty good.
Character (9/10) - Characters were very cute and super compatible and they supported each other the most.
Enjoyment (9/10) - I enjoyed this anime a lot and it was pretty fun to watch every week on Monday, starting my new day. Most episodes were enjoyable and very nice.
Overall rating - (8.4/10).
P.S. - if you like fantasies with a cute relationship in them, watch this.
dlxuniuniu
Without many premonitions what “Urasekai Picnic” is about, I watched the anime mainly because of the genre-tag "Shoujo Ai”, one or the other of you may have been magically attracted by this one too. I expected some action combined with sci-fi and of course a lot of Yuri. But I was completely wrong! The series focuses on Sorawo and Toriko, two young women who discover the “Otherside” of their own world. It is a dangerous world where many monsters from ghost stories come to life. There is always a secret door or item that leads to the other world. Sometimes it could be in an oldapartment or at other times the access can be made possible by pressing a certain combination in an elevator, even a special item like a hat could be a trigger.
Both of our main characters have different reasons for entering the "Otherside". Toriko, a very beautiful girl with waist-length gold-colored hair, is looking for her missing friend Satsuki. Since Toriko was taught everything about survival as a little girl, she is very good at handling weapons as well. She protects Sorawo in every dangerous situation when the ghosts want to pounce on them again. They met by chance on the "Otherside", but quickly realized that they are a perfectly harmonious team and should therefore undertake the actions together. Sorawo, our shy university student, has always had problems dealing with other people. The only person whom she is comfortable with is when she's with Toriko. She really likes Toriko and wants to be on her on side at all costs. Their relationship is very important for Sorawo who has always been interested in ghost stories. With the curiosity in mind, she also wants to find more what the "Otherside" is all about. Besides their own interest in the "Otherside", both have their hearts in the right place and are ready to save other people who are stucked there. Due to their special ability (Sorawo can detect glitches, while Toriko's left hand allows her to directly "touch" the true forms of the “Otherside's” entities) they are the only ones who can save these people and are even ready to put their own lives at risk.
In addition to our two main characters, there are two other friends of theirs who play an important role: Kozakura and Akari. Kozakura is a young researcher who is very interested in the "Otherside". She buys every interesting material that Sowaro and Toriko bring back for her as a “souvenir”. Before Satsuki disappeared, she and Kozakura used to do research together on the other world. But after a while Kozakura gave up because it was too much for her to handle. Therefore, she also wants to find out what happened to Satsuki. Akari, on the other hand, attends the same university as Sorawo. She is a lively, friendly and energetic personality who is also carefree and sophisticated, not worrying what others think about her. After being relentlessly attacked by ninja cats, she came to Sorawo for help. Later it was also found that Satsuki used to be her tutor.
The art is very nicely designed, especially when it comes to the transition between the two different worlds. While on their "real" world the sun is shining and rather a light color appears, everything is very dark and gloomy on the "Otherside" in terms of color. The contrast is displayed very well. The ghosts are also portrayed in a high quality, their movement and the effects are clearly visible. But I would particularly like to emphasize the few Yuri moments between Sorawo and Toriko. Their special moments always stand out, be it through the light, the background or even the sound, their relationship is definitely something unique and wholesome.
Urasekai Picnic's OP is very energetic and powerful. It is about one of the most important things in our life: friendship. CHiCO with HoneyWorks is a perfect combination, which is also very successful here. The ED "You & Me" is a bit calmer and more relaxed. Back from the dangerous journey from the "Otherside", you just want to end the day. This song is also about another very important topic in life: love and feelings.
Despite the good OP and ED selection, it is again the small details that stand out here. In the scary scenes ghost noises can be heard in the background, in the decisive scenes the tension is built up by the sound or even the up and down of an elevator scene, the sounds are very suitable everywhere.
As already mentioned at the beginning, I went into this anime full of enthusiasm because of the many Yuri scenes I had hoped for. I was disappointed from this side, but the story and plot grabbed me tight. Almost every episode is about a new encounter on the "Otherside". Unexpected things often happen there, but that's exactly what makes this anime so special. You never know what to expect on the other side of the world. Perhaps we also have glitches in our world that lead somewhere else…who knows? Our world is mysterious and so is Urasekai Picnic with all its open questions. As someone who has not read anything from the novels, it would be great getting a second season that could answer all these things. Then it wouldn't necessarily be about the Yuri moments, but what more exciting things we can expect on the "Otherside"!
octAY
Where do I start? I’m quite confused as to why this anime exists I guess? I don’t quite get this series. It’s basically combining urban legends and putting it into a title with characters to explore these said urban legends. Oh there’s also a side “B” story where a friend is missing but it doesn’t really talk about that. Story (3): It’s quite episodic. Every episode we get a different urban legend and our two MCs explore said legend. The formula is the same; somehow the MCs get themselves into these situations naturally and they try to find their way back to their own world. And that’s literallyit. The MCs go back, the legend is done. Now next episode move on to the next one. It’s eh.
Art (6):
It’s a typical, production type anime art we’ve seen for the past few years. It’s nothing new. It’s not astonishingly great or horrible. Just fine.
Sound (7):
The OST does fit with the situation/environment well though. I quite like the ED when the episode ends. OP is quite forgettable for me.
Character (4):
Characters are pretty weak in my opinion. We don’t get to see much backstory, I guess. The characters don’t really grow. It seems they treat each urban legend a bit like it’s business as usual; the MCs aren’t scared at all. Even though the directors tried to put in that the MCs are scared and stuff, it doesn’t feel that way. It feels that the characters will get over the challenge and return home safely. There’s no twist or anything.
Enjoyment (7):
Regardless, watching this every week was bearable. It keeps my attention span long enough and it’s interesting to see the characters explore. However, this anime is not something you can binge as you’ll probably lose interest pretty quickly. Unless you’re into this kind of genre, I don’t see how one can consume all of the episodes in one sitting.
Overall (6):
It’s fine. Big plus on sound, meh on basically everything else.
I haven’t read the source material, but I have an inkling it’s better than what’s presented in the anime.
maitawa
Starts good with great premise but dissolves into a series of disconnected "ghost story of the week" episodes, losing world building, lacking logic, romance, character development and, most important, story. The show starts with "Roadside picnic" world building, you have a whole another world with its own logic, creatures and traps to explore, make a map of, learn about, find ways to use it. All of it goes up in smoke in the later episodes. All due to a "ghost story of a week" format. The other world is used only as an excuse for the heroes to be spirited away into a setup of one anotherghost story or an urban legend. Because the show is a patchwork of the different urban legends, there is not even an attempt to make the other world somehow connected or whole. The research of the world becomes a joke, any attempt to use it becomes a joke because the characters have lost any resemblance of a life and life goals to use the world for.
The show starts with interesting characters with complex backgrounds. Sorawo is a broke student and an avid urban explorer. Toriko is from Canada an military family with some military training, deep previous connection with the new world, knowing scientists who research it. And Toriko was close to a girl who she has lost in the other world and tries to find.
All of this goes up in smoke in the later episodes. None of the background is used later in the show. Most shocking, Toriko forgets about her love, who is probably dying in the other world, and goes drinking, playing on the beach and having fun. Both of the characters have no life outside of the other world, no life goals, they are making no life decisions.
Basically they become a placeholders for a character in a random ghost story. Like "one day two girls were drinking at the bar but when they have exited the bar they have realized they are in some strange place". This is it. Both main characters are reduced to "two girls", a protagonist whose life is totally irrelevant after she/he got into a life-changing situation. While this is a point in the urban legends, exactly no matter who you were, it all doesn't matter when you encounter the unknown, in this show the characters are supposed to shuttle between the other world and the real life. Which they have none.
The fact that "two girls" are the same girls from one disconnected urban legend to another comes across more like a laziness of the authors who do not want to create a new character for the new urban legend.
The show starts with the hint of an intriguing sprouting romance and a potential love triangle.
All this goes up in smoke. The characters have no life and making no life choices. All their choices are tactical. The third girl is dropped and forgotten like an old toy. Where is no character development there is no love story progress. And there is no love story whatsoever. You see no chemistry, no revelations, no growing connection. They go eat and drink together but this is it. You do not see why Sorawo likes Toriko, you do not see vice-versa. All yuri is: Sorawo occasionally sees Toriko half-naked and blushes. Or she has been driking too much and in the morning she is like "we woke up in the same bed and Toriko is naked but I'm fully dressed with jacket and stuff. Did something good happen?"
The story.
The story is a patchwork of the random urban legends with a weak attempt to connect them through the heroes. The attempts to connect, or rather attempts to extract the heroes from one another urban legend of the week are forced and defy any logic.
Like, to leave the place where nobody leaves according to the urban legend, Sorawo "uses her eye" and tells Toriko to "use her hand". And whoops, one girl reaches to the passing ghost train and jerks herself and her friend on board. End of the episode. Next episode they are already in the other ghost story.
Overall - 3. Random empty illogical stuff. By episode 8 you regret the wasted time
TheJH1015
Honestly, it had a lot going for it at the start of its running (the first 3 episodes or so). However, the longer the show goes on, the more it starts to leave all the setup and buildup it introduces back where it first popped up. Especially the second half felt just completely dragged out and it seemed like it was constantly dancing around the things it set up - Satsuki mostly. With the buildup the show has around her, you would expect her to pop up at the end as some kind of challenge to the way Toriko and Sorao have been going aboutthe Otherwold, or some connection to Sorao because of the comments Akari makes about her kinda looking like Satsuki, but nope - the only glimpse we see of her is by an apparition in the Otherworld that isn't even her. That's it.
Pacing is a complete mess, artstyle is kinda bland but not bad. Sound was good and did its job in creating very eerie atmospheres. Voice acting felt kinda 'off' sometimes and don't even get me STARTED on the Engrish with the American soldiers.
Overall, if you like creepy and unsettling shows this one is great, but don't expect a satisfying or logical ending, because you won't get it.
Marinate1016
Ura Sekai picnic is one of the most unique shows I’ve seen in some time. It blends Sci-Fi, mystery and Shoujo Ai romance in a way that I’ve never seen before. Unfortunately, the show on its own merits felt like a teaser for something greater. Ura Sekai was enjoyable throughout, but it was obvious that like most LN adaptations, the purpose of this anime was to get you to buy the books. Over the course of the one cour series many storylines are set up and never fully explored. The show has a rather unique storytelling method where it’s both monster of the week, as wellas an overarching narrative. Unfortunately, I think the monster of the week elements of the show take up a few too many episodes that could have been dedicated to tying up loose plot ends. In fairness, this is probably just the way the books are written, therefore the studio can’t do much about that.
I did really enjoy the two main characters’ chemistry and their personalities are different enough to make them unique, while similar enough to make a cohesive team. The series is listed as Yuri romance, but we were really only teased in the anime. I’ll have to check out the LN to see how they ultimately develop.
The anime also does a great job of creating a mysterious and tense atmosphere throughout. Several episodes, particularly towards the end genuinely made me uncomfortable with the eerie OSTs and direction. Hats off to the studio for pulling that off. The art and animation are really good in the series as well. There’s not a ton of fights in this show, but when they happen they’re well done. My only gripe is the CGI, which may look fine to others, but for me I always find jarring.
Overall, Ura Sekai picnic is definitely one of the two most unique shows this season. The other being Wonder Egg. I really think it’s worth a watch and at the minimum will introduce you to an interesting setting and concepts. Ura Sekai picnic gets 7 creepypastas out of 10.
zwolf12
I will try to keep this short, but my feelings about this anime are complicated. I knew of the story before the anime adaptation was announced, but I only read the first chapter of the novel, knowing the anime would come out made me mildly excited as I really like the concept for it. Unfortunately, now, after the anime finished airing I am very conflicted. The world is incredible and the depiction is amazing. How do you even visualize something that is described as so otherworldly that it makes a person mad just by looking at it, but somehow they succeeded better than anyone could have expected. The otherworlditself seems to be a success as well as it oozes the vibe of unique difference to the normal world.
The other thing that is exceptional are the characters, sure some might say they are stereotypical, but I think they are unique enough and have great synergy and if you like Yuri you might even give bonus points (it never gets explicit though).
The problems start with the structure and flow of the story itself.
It is incredible hard to understand the actions the characters take. This might be part of an issue due to it being an adaptation, but that can't be all, the flow is just plain weird.
(Very mild spoilers)
For example the girls go out drinking after coming back from a trip from the other world and suddenly end up in the other world while on their way home.
The stay is dangerous and they barely make it back, just to go back to drinking to celebrate that they made it back alive, just to get transported to the other side again, this time in a more peaceful place, where they continue to drink until the dangers catch up with them again.
That whole sequence doesn't make sense, sure the girls grow more confident in their abilities to survive in the other world, but that whole sequence is more a showing of zero learning and near suicidal behaviour. A normal reaction would probably be to find out how they end up on the other side after the first incident and make sure that it can't happen again on accident and celebrate that instead of just repeating that incident and even continue drinking while on the other side.
There are multiple instances of inconsistencies like this and it kind of takes you out of the experience. It doesn't make the rest of the show bad, but it puts a damper on things.
In general, I would say the show is an amazing watch and give it an 8/10, but if the inconsistencies and logical holes irk you the show might as well be a 3/10. If you really like psychological horror, the subtle horror in this show is one of the best and way more horrifying than some show that pride themselves on their shock value.
veemon23
Otherside Picnic has a unique concept and idea that I wish they explored more on as it leaves us with more questions then answer as we finished the series. So with that, I do hope we get more with future seasons but if not, dang that would be sad not knowing. We get a idea of what's on the otherside but it feels like we're just scratching the surface. I will say one of the weakest point to this anime that I was disappointed in was the horror element or the suspense. Since most of the issue were resolved rather quickly and often with thesame concept. I'm not saying it's terrible, just wasn't what I was expecting.
One of the main reason I even watched this show that did not disappoint at all was the animation and voice acting. I knew going in I loved both the voice actors so off course I was gonna love their voice. The visual was beautiful and never disappointed me throughout at all. The characters were unique, even with the side characters too. Off course we can complain about the bad broken English from the soldier lol... yes yes...
It does have a pretty good element of suspense in a few of it's episode but for the most part it lacks it more then anything else. A few episode really captures how great this show could've been but it's not a terrible show regardless. I think it's worth a watch if you have nothing else to watch and though it has the "Shoujo Ai" tag there's nothing really there beside just a crush. So don't worry, it's not really "yuri."
Overall, it was a pretty fun watch with a unique idea that I believe future installment can make it better, but for now, as it is, it's not good nor is it bad. It's pretty fun to watch. If you're expecting something suspenseful or some sort of crazy element to it, I won't... if you just want fun with some good suspense once in a while, it's worth watching then. So I won't go into this with a high expectation or you'll come out more disappointed.
Firechick12012
I initially skipped over Otherside Picnic as it aired because I'm not really into anything horror. Not because I hate it or anything, but I just never really found it interesting. But I was bored one day and had nothing to watch, so I decided to try checking this out. It turned out to be better than I expected, though I do feel more could have been done with this. The story centers on two girls—Sorawo and Toriko—who meet in the mysterious realm they refer to as the Otherside. It's a vast and dangerous realm that hardly anyone knows about, filled with all manner ofhorrors straight out of ghost stories. In order to get more information on this strange world, Sorawo and Toriko travel back and forth to it from the real world, though one incident alters their bodies in ways that actually manage to be somewhat helpful in both investigating the Otherside and dealing with the monsters and ghouls that inhabit it.
As far as animation goes, Otherside Picnic isn't really winning any awards. I mean, the animation itself is fine, and the character designs, while very simplified from the illustrations from both the light novel and the manga, do their job. Liden Films as a studio isn't always capable of doing justice to the things they adapt into animation. They've gotten better as they've gone on, especially compared to the disaster that was Goodbye My Dear Cramer, and they're set to adapt an anime of the first Atelier Ryza game coming up, and their work here is pretty good for what it is. That being said, the CGI is REALLY hit-or-miss. Seriously, the CGI monsters don't look like they blend well with the show. They're so clunky they look like they came right out of a bad PS3 game. Also, whose bright idea was it to make the far-off shots of Toriko and Sorawo CGI models? Because those were just flat-out bad. They move really awkwardly and clumsily, like disjointed Barbie dolls, and it's really noticeable when you're watching the show on a big TV. Why couldn't they just animate their far off models in 2D? And no, this isn't just a product of the broadcast version, they're in the home media release, too! Why?!
I don't have as much to say about the music, as a lot of it is pretty heavy synth that's meant to sound eerie and horror-like. The soundtrack, again like the animation, does its job, but isn't really anything memorable. I did really enjoy the song that played at the end of episode 12, though. For the characters, again I'm kind of mixed. I do like Sorawo and Toriko as a pair, and their chemistry really blossoms as the series goes on and we learn more and more about them as people. They pretty much carry the show, and while they're not exactly three-dimensional, I did find them interesting enough to care about. I did find Kozakura to be a bit too whiny for my liking, and I feel like more could have been done with Akari and Natsumi. That being said, I found out the anime only adapted the very first light novel and nothing else, which explains why Akari and Natsumi don't do much beyond their introduction.
As for the anime's attempts at horror, I do appreciate that Otherside Picnic doesn't try to rely so much on jump scares or gratuitous violence for the sake of it. A lot of it is atmosphere or character-driven, something I'm definitely a big fan of. Plus, rather than the typical monsters like zombies or ghosts, Otherside Picnic takes inspiration from Japanese urband legends and creepypasta stories, using them as the scaffolding for its story and lore. I've never even heard of stuff like Lady Hasshaku or the Kunekune until I looked them up on the series' TVTropes page. Believe me, I want to like this show more than I do, but a lot of its problems do come down to the fact that it's an adaptation of one light novel in a whole series of them. As a result of this decision, its build-up never goes anywhere and the characters don't evolve too much throughout its run. It's likely we'll ever get a second season of this, and that sucks because I do want to see more of Sorawo and Toriko. Then again, there's always the light novels and the manga. I know the anime itself is meant to be a commercial for the light novels, which is fine, but I'd gladly watch more of it.
Overall, Otherside Picnic is a fairly low-key, intriguing horror anime that's bogged down by the fact that it's a commercial for the light novels, and its narrative doesn't get resolved. But I still like it for what it is.
Kuro218
Came for the shoujo-ai tag but stayed for the story concept. Usually, I would turn away from horror and thriller elements,but each episode unfolded an interesting part of the Otherside (other world). The art style was so-so. It didn't bother me nor capture my interest. Each episode continued to explore the other side, which is not necessarily bad, but it started to feel repetitive when one mission or story finishes in just one-two episodes. I was expecting to see more built up that would have made the last few episodes have more at stake and challenges for our main leads. I wish the later episodeswould have focused on Toriko finding her friend, but I guess that wasn't the story's main focus. From my take away, it was about finding new connections and enjoying one's company. Also, in terms of shoujo-ai, it's subtle, and with or without it, the show would still be the same.
The ost didn't stand out to me, but I think it suited the show's eerie tone.
I loved the opening and ending song choices—also, kudos to the ending song artist for including shoujo-ai elements in her Official MV.
AJmythos
Otherside Picnic is a bland disappointment. This anime does "cute girls in scary place" and they make no questions about their troubles and how much they escalate. They don't questions how scary things keep happening to them when trying not to adventure. They just happen, and they have drinks at the end. Adding onto it's mediocrity, it also displays the recent batch of "Engrish" that may make it live long enough for memes-sake. The first two episodes showed promise with the premise of friendship and mystery with plenty of thrills. This is quickly deflated by the characters and repetitive sound cues. The story shows no impact ontheir troubles encountering problems from the Otherside that are described in ways to be haunting. But it all falls flat over and over again. Character development is tossed aside for randomness that is quickly shrugged off each time.
There is no mystery or intrigue save for how anyone would think this story even works as an ad vehicle for the light novel series. This series is a slice of life "thriller" that lives on it's potential and dies by it's blandness.
VyperMsc
I have very mixed feelings about Urasekai Picnic. On one hand, I enjoyed a lot of what it had to offer, but on the other hand, it was dragged down by a few (pretty important) pretty mediocre aspects. To be honest, I didn't have super high expectations, but I was a bit disappointed. This anime stood out to me because it seemed pretty unique. The Sci-Fi Mystery tags intrigued me, and since I haven't seem very much Shoujo Ai, I thought it would be good to watch some more. Story: The story involves a bunch of different short arcs following a similar pattern: The two main charactersencounter something strange, which either happens in the Otherside or prompts them to enter the Otherside, they encounter some sort of creature, they use the same tactics to get rid of it, and find their way back home. While the formula tends to be the same, there is enough variation between them that it doesn't get too repetitive, and the arc with the soldiers is especially unique.
However, there were a few inconsistencies that threw me off, such as a certain object that had disappeared/been destroyed in a previous episode somehow existing again. This ended up happening because the anime switched the order of some arcs in the manga, and I'm not really sure why they made this decision.
Art:
The art itself was pretty mediocre, nothing really special. There was some CGI involved, which isn't a huge deal when used on vehicles or other inanimate objects. However, especially in the beginning, CGI was used for the main characters during long shots, which looked really off. Some monsters were also done in some pretty bad CGI.
Sound:
The soundtrack itself was pretty interesting - I really enjoyed listening to it. It helped build up suspense and excitement quite well, contributing to the atmosphere in the Otherside. The OP and ED were both quite good. However, there were some mixing issues that I noticed throughout the anime, which isn't terrible but was definitely noticeable.
Characters:
I didn't love the characters, but they weren't bad either. Sorawo and Toriko didn't go through too much development, and they didn't feel completely real (especially since they often seemed not be scared about things they definitely should have been scared about). On the other hand, Kozakura did get scared of things, and reacted the way a normal person would. Plus she was pretty cute.
Enjoyment/Overall:
Watching this weekly, I didn't really look forward to each episode, but I didn't feel like dropping it. I enjoyed it, but didn't love it: it was just fine.
coolcaterpillar
Otherside Picnic deserves a higher score on MAL. Don’t let the rating deter you from watching a cute and slightly scary shoujo ai anime! Sorawo and Toriko explore another realm called The Otherside Picnic in search of items they can sell in the real world and Toriko’s friend (maybe girlfriend) who got sucked into the Otherside Picnic. During the 12 episodes, the show involves some urban legends from Japan I think. I hear that a lot more happens in the light novel which means more content for a potential 2nd season lol Significant stuff*** Opening song is amazing. The mixing/mastering of the music throughout the series is socrisp. Voice actors’ performance were top notch. Art style’s great even the little bits of CGI here and there. The closing song is cool, too.
-Lunarian-
If you're a fan of adventure/horror media such as the STALKER games or the SCP universe, you're likely going to love Otherside Picnic. Otherwise, chances are it'll be a mildly entertaining but unmemorable show for you. I watched the anime first, liked it enough to read what has been translated of the light novels, then re-watched the anime. Aside from shifting around a couple chapters with some necessary plot modifications, the anime was a close adaptation of the first two volumes of the light novels. I think a good arc was picked to serve as a central plot to this show, with avery satisfying ending which still leaves plenty of questions and room for a potential future season.
The relationship between the main characters is well developed, but I wouldn't say the "shoujo ai" tag should be applied to this anime. This can either be a positive or negative depending on your preferences. I thought the character designs and voice acting are very good and really bring them to life.
One of the first things you'll notice are the backgrounds. While not quite up to the level of classics like Jin-Roh they are still uncommonly good, and combined with a good music selection will immerse you into the setting. Unfortunately, one of the things you will also notice is some pretty janky character CGI at parts. The main characters' animations generally aren't too bad, but there was one part where I almost dropped the show due to how badly the animation undercut any sense of immersion (you'll know it when you see it).
In conclusion, while the Otherside Picnic anime isn't exactly a technical masterpiece, I found the story engaging enough to be rate it a 9/10, held back only by the poor CGI at parts. Hopefully any future anime adaptation will address this deficiency while preserving the close relationship with the source material, excellent backgrounds and voice acting, and other positive aspects of the show. If you liked it and want more, I highly recommend the light novels, there are four volumes translated into English as of this review date.
Lost_Viking
My review may be biased from me not having yet read the novel or the manga, but in my opinion Otherside Picnic is a greatly underrated anime that deserves a much higher score and more praise than it currently has. -I thought the story was interesting and was excited to watch each episode. It felt like a mix between Girls' Last Tour and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. with some Japanese folklore and internet/urban legends mixed in, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The anime had a good mix of action, horror/suspense, and humor. What more could you want? -The art was decent. -The sound was decent, and I especially enjoyed the OP andED.
-The character development was really good. As I watched the anime I saw a friendship form between Sorawo and Toriko from their adventures together, later also including Kozakura and Akari. Each character had an interesting backstory.
I do plan on reading the novel and manga eventually, but I doubt this will change my view of the anime: Otherside Picnic is an underrated gem of an anime that deserves much more praise than it got. My overall score is therefore 10/10.
OneFaintingRobin
"Otherside Picnic" certainly doesn't push itself to be anything too complicated, but, in a lot of ways, I don't think every show needs to. It's got some fun characters, who each feel unique and are likeable from the start, while giving them time to expand a little as the show goes on. The urban legend aspects find a nice balance between being decently creepy, but largely keeping the tone of the show fun and not overly edgy. As far as running plot, there's not much there, and I would certainly appreciate another season or two to continue playing out some of the threads that didn'tquite get wrapped up, but the developing friendship between the protagonists was enough to make the show feel like it flowed decently enough.
Ultimately, it's not a complex show, but it seems content with just being fun, which I think there's room for.
Yuu_Kanzaki
Urasekai Picnic (Otherside picnic) is a shoujo ai anime combined with sci-fi elements. Before we start, let me tell you a couple of things: 1) I like the shoujo ai genre. I think anime with said genre has more romance than 'normal' romance anime out there, and usually sweeter, too. 2) I haven't read the source material, be it the light novel or the manga, so this review is based on my opinion solely from watching the anime, therefore I won't be commenting on things that aren't accurate to the source material. Now that we've got that out of the way, let's get into it.TL;DR: Even if you don't enjoy shoujo ai, this anime is still very enjoyable for its thrilling moments
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*MINOR SPOILER AT THE STORY PART*
Story - 7
The story is about two girls, Nishina Toriko (Toriko for short) who encountered another girl named Kamikoshi Sorao (Sorao for short) in the otherworld/otherside; a place (world) of bizarre creatures. The story itself doens't really explain what the creatures are in the otherside, other than what Sorao explains herself. Basically the otherside is a place full of urband legends, be it ghosts, mononoke, or other bizarre beings (which are very creepy by the way). At the start of the series, it is mentioned in order to get to the otherside you would have to ride an elevator, press a series of floor buttons, and there you go! You made it! In order to go home, however, Sorao must search for the 'exit doors' which are random and scattered. Now, everything I've said up until now is all Sorao's explanation on what the hell is going on, and if you don't want to get lost on what's happening, then you'd better pay attention. Because Sorao is the only explanation you'll get from.
It is revealed that the reason Toriko goes to the otherside is to look for a certain someone whom she lost there (and also to take things to sell). However, this plot is soon abandoned and will not be mentioned for quite some time, and turns the story to just about monster hunting. Seriously, they're not even shown profiting anything after the first episode. Each episode (mostly) features a different monster so you don't have to worry about waiting for the resolve to come. Here's how an episode usually goes: Toriko asks Sorao to come with her to the otherside, Sorao agrees, they go there, meet an urban legend creature, kill or run away from it, Sorao explains what that creature is, and they successfully escape. That's the kind of anime this is. That being said, the story is not at all boring. Each episode is very thrilling and the things they encounter are always scary enough to make you think you don't want to meet them. Which brings me to my next point: the art.
Art - 10
The art for each character is beautiful. Toriko looks very pretty and Sorao is the polar opposite of her. Sorao looks bland when standing next to Toriko, but that's what makes it good. You can clearly tell that Sorao is not a very interesting person or the kind who goes to parties or has many friends just from the way she dresses. On the other hand, Toriko has silky hair, dresses modestly and has a fun personality. Just one look and you'll know she is that kind of character. The supporting characters are also well designed. Kozakura wears sloppy, white t-shirt, messy hair, and speaks kind of rudely. Akari wears short pants and has short hair; indicating she's a sporty person. Not only the main and supporting characters, but the creatures are also very well designed. Some look simple enough but you can feel the terror through that simplicity, and some have big heads (literally). Of course they nailed the background as well. You can clearly tell that it's different from the 'real' world. All in all, I'd say a 10 is a solid score for the art.
Although the drawing is good, I can't give the animation the same praise. They use a lot of cgi models. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. They use cgi for the monsters for most of the time, but there are times when Toriko or Sorao, or even both of them are cgi models. This usually happens when there's a lot going on in the scene (like 100 monsters chasing them), so I can slide this off. When the cgi models appear on screen however, the camera angle is far from the characters, so they won't be a bother to anyone watching. The cgi models don't bother me, so it's still a solid 10!
Sound - 6
While I did say the art is splendid, I can't really say the same for the sound. The voice actresses are doing a very amazing job voicing their characters. What I have a problem with is the sound effects. I'm not sure they don't have many things to work with or what, but the effects sound really mediocre. I'm not going to say it's trash, though. The quality is not that bad, it's just very mediocre. Nothing I can say other than that.
Character - 7
Did I mention this is a shoujo ai anime? I did, didn't I? If you're hoping for some 'action' scenes from this show, then forget it. You won't get anything even close to that. The furthest they would go is hugging and Sorao getting embarrassed from it while Toriko being oblivious to it. That's as much as you'll get. Now, talking about the actual characters, I would say they're very normal. Nobody is quirky in the show. They do have some traits which makes them kind of different, but they're not unique in anyway. Not that it's a bad thing. As the matter of fact, I actually like the fact that they are 'normal'. All of them love to help each other's back, genuine good girls. That's a plus from me. If you're curious about how the character development is in this series, I'd say there's almost none. They're basically the same people they were in episode 1. Then again, it's not bad.
Enjoyment - 10
With all of its flaws I can still say this with a high degree of certainty that I enjoyed this show very much. I'm always at the edge of my seat waiting for the next episode to come out, and when it did come out, I'm at the edge of my seat because of how intense it is. I never get bored watching every episode each week just because of how good the thrill is. This anime is 23 minutes long and damn it sure doesn't feel like it. Each episode ends so fast, which makes me crave for more, which makes me sit at the edge of my seat for the next one. IIf you want to know how much I'm enjoying this anime, let me tell you this: I never yawned while watching it even once. That's just how good this is.
Overall - 8
Urasekai picnic is a solid anime which I very enjoy watching every week and I hope more people would watch it.
In conclusion. If you like shoujo ai and expects a lot of 'action' scenes, then this is not for you. However, if you do enjoy a light sci-fi (you know, the kind that doesn't hurt your brain) with a bit of comedy here and there but is still thrilling to watch, I'm sure you're going to love this. All in all, I hope more people are willing to check this anime out because I really think it's very good. Thanks for reading this review.
The question is, is Urasekai Picnic worth watching? Yes, it really is.
Sarehar
Thought this is an anime that takes itself very seriously which is very story driven? Nah it ain't... sorta. Urasekai Picnic's title somewhat says it all, the two mc's go into an unknown world being all happy go lucky looking like they're just going for a picnic. Although with what I said earlier, it's not to say that Urasekai Picnic is an sol comedy anime, i'd say it's a balance of sol comedy and them experiencing the horrors of the so called 'other world'. Oh the shoujo ai genre is very toned down so if you came because of that, sadly it isn't really thatmuch but it is somewhat there I guess. And lastly the music is really good, the op reminds me of ops from shounen anime. The ed and the post ed scenes are also a good change of pace from the episodes.
