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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Rent | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
 Ggultra2764
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[series:4231#1552] |
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Otherside Picnic largely involves the adventures of college students Sorawo and Toriko who venture into parallel worlds they call the Otherside that are home to urban legends and Internet creepypastas coming to life. Said encounters give the series a horror element to them as the two girls do often find themselves being at risk psychologically and physically in their encounters with the paranormal, even occasionally having to rescue other humans who unwillingly venture into the Otherside. It also gives the series a solid foundation of world-building as Otherside Picnic does a solid job dabbling into the rules and observations that Sorawo and Toriko make throughout their travels into the Otherwise and dealing with the paranormal creatures they have to confront. There is some fleshing out of major characters within the series, but development is largely minimal with introducing the general backgrounds and personalities of key characters. Toriko's character is attempting to track down someone close to her missing in the Otherside, but the series is currently no closer to providing clues on the missing person's whereabouts. Plus, the series may require some suspension of disbelief with the two girls typically coming into the Otherside with firearms to fend off paranormal threats, considering Japan's strict laws on gun possession and ownership. But otherwise, there's enough in Otherside Picnic for solid entertainment between the charming personalities of its two main female leads and their exploration of the paranormal phenomena found on the Otherside.
Last updated Monday, March 22 2021. Created Monday, March 22 2021. | ||||||||
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 Stretch
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[series:4231#628] | ||||||
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(All episodes watched): I was initially confused by episode one of Urasekai Picnic; for the most part, this 'Otherside' is identical to our world, except that it is a desolate, post-apocalyptic place and ghost-like 'wiggle-waggles' exist there. I didn't catch the secret of defeating them--something about you should look them in the face (even though that is supposed to drive people insane), just not too much(?). How did Toriko and Sorao get back to the real world after they met over there? It seems that gateways between the two realms can appear anywhere, like just outside the door of Sorao's meager apartment. But Toriko and Sorao seem like interesting people--Toriko finds the Otherside exciting and enjoys going there, while Sorao is terrified of it (she nearly died during her first visit). For the time being, I was intrigued and curious where this would go. But the basic explanation of how this parallel reality exists and operates had yet to be revealed, and it would need to be pretty good. In episode two we meet Kozakura, the person who buys the 'cubes' Toriko brings back from the Otherside. She's a grouchy, sometimes abrasive person, but is genuinely intrigued by this place (you would think she would beg for a chance to accompany the two girls and see it for herself). The Otherside seems to be a place where the numerous urban legends in the real world really exist. We encounter a tall woman in a summer dress who has a legend of her own (how did Sorao know what was needed to beat her?). I hope there will be more to it than just this; I would like some sort of intriguing explanation of how such an alternate reality could exist, not just a succession of little horror stories. Episode three did not raise my hopes much; the girls have another terrifying experience within the Otherside and narrowly escape with their lives. Why do they keep going back there? Toriko is supposedly searching for a missing person, but by all rights Sorao should swear she will never go anywhere near there again. Their luck can't last forever. And, as is often the case in anime, mind-blowing experiences are shrugged off, because if they were taken seriously the plot would come to an abrupt end. I couldn't help asking myself 'where is this all going?'. The theme seems to be 'scary urban legends really do exist', which was disappointing to me. Still, I decided to continue to watch for now, because this is weird, uncharted territory where anything could happen after all. In episode four Sorao and Toriko get into an argument over whether the risk of venturing into the Otherside is worthwhile. Sorao points out that this Satsuki person may well already be dead. Some common sense, just an episode late. In the end Toriko goes on another adventure alone, but Sorao and Kozakura wind up there as well, though not because they wanted to. Some entity is playing with their minds, making each of them see different things, but what the significance of these things was largely escaped me. The idea is mentioned that maybe some force is trying to use the emotion of fear to communicate with them; this was sort of interesting even though it seems counter-intuitive and I doubt if much effort will be made to explain it convincingly. What's frustrating about the plot as a whole is that we don't seem to be getting anywhere. Weird stuff turns up, but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it, other than them being based on urban legends. The girls narrowly escape, and decide to risk another visit (or are drawn there against their will), and a completely new threat appears--but we never make much sense of the last one. Surely this can't go on forever, can it? At some point we need some sort of climax and resolution. But there don't seem to be any signs of that happening. We were only at episode five or so, but already I was getting impatient for some sort of progress towards a conclusion. Maybe the reason the girls are increasingly drawn into the Otherside against their will is because there would be no way to convince viewers that any sane person would keep going there if they had any choice. In episodes five and six the girls wind up there and make a surprising discovery: an entire unit of US Marines from Okinawa has wound up there as well. These men speak English about the way a Japanese VA would. The incident seemed kind of anti-climactic to me; Toriko and Sorao find a way to return to the normal world but leave everyone else behind. Will they make any effort to rescue these men? At least one of them was kind to them and only one or two were assholes. And why didn't they immediately ask the girls how they had wound up in the Otherside and if they had any idea how to escape? I was left thinking 'what was it all for?'. This show in general seems to take a scattershot, throw-it-against-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks approach to storytelling. I am left with little or no confidence that this will all come to a climax someday and we will get a measure of resolution to the story. It's frustrating, because I usually enjoy isekai anime and I can't help feeling that one of them was largely wasted here. Yet I keep watching. Toriko and Sorao are likable, understandable people and the bizarre things they encounter are interesting. Episode eight is sort of a joke (?) as we meet another girl, Akira, who has been troubled by the Otherside--this is the girl who we've been seeing in the OP sequence performing karate moves alongside an auto mechanic. In this case it seems that the somewhat ridiculous problem is completely solved rather than just being escaped from. But we also get a lead on what might have become of Toriko's missing friend, Satsuki. We learn more about her in episode nine, which has the effect of making us wonder why Toriko remains so loyal to this person. This episode seemed distinctly unsatisfying to me; something about a bizarre urban legend of an old woman who comes looking for teeth and will curse you if you don't give her any. The girls had an urn full of teeth, so why didn't they just let her have them? And this all happened in the normal world, not the Otherside, didn't it? Didn't anybody notice that, and wasn't the newcomer at all spooked by her first taste of the supernatural? It made little or no sense to me and seemed like a wasted episode. It turns out that the girls haven't forgotten about those missing soldiers after all. In episode ten a mention is made of them, and the idea of rescuing them from the Otherside is floated, but that's about as far as it goes. Toriko and Sorao (and Akira and Kozakura) are distracted by yet another encounter. Perhaps the problem in general is that since the Otherside is based on nothing more than urban legends it makes little sense, has no discernible structure or rules, and apparently cannot be 'defeated'. I don't sense any clues being provided to us about how it might be beaten someday, and all you can do is escape from it. Yet it just keeps coming, whether you want to engage with it or not, so it's hard to see how you can possibly break permanently free of it. We get a short-term, visceral thrill but apparently little or no long-term structure. In episode 11 Toriko and Sorao go looking for the Marines. Toriko says she hasn't been able to keep from thinking about them, even though there was no mention of them for several episodes. Still, the climax and conclusion were satisfying: a major task is accomplished, and the two girls reaffirm their friendship. As I said back when reviewing episode one, I felt that the basic explanation of how the Otherside exists and operates would need to be pretty good in order for this to be a good anime. Ultimately there was no explanation at all--weird shit just happens, and these girls somehow manage to deal with it. This was horror (with a touch of comedy) rather than science fiction. It felt unclear whether a second season was likely or not; Satsuki is still missing, and the Otherside might still come looking for Toriko and Sorao, but the way this season wrapped up was kind of cathartic and the whole story could end acceptably here. I wish this story had been told more neatly, but it never got to the point where it was starting to feel like a burden to watch. The reason I had so many complaints about this show was not so much because it was bad as because it could easily have been much better. Last updated Saturday, March 27 2021. Created Thursday, January 07 2021. | ||||||||
Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Official Japanese Series Web Site | https://www.othersidepicnic.com/ |
