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[series:4917#628] | ||||||
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(Nine episodes watched): Early on, as Gen describes his personal philosophy, I was wondering if this would be a show with only one significant character who talks to himself over the course of twelve episodes or so. And then Gen happens upon Shizubu, who has fallen into a stream and gotten her pants wet and taken them off to dry them on Gen's campfire. And of course we get the endlessly hilarious situation where they trip and fall in a suggestive position. She gets the idea that what she needs is for Gen to teach her 'Solo Camping for Two', and is extremely insistent. But even at the end of the episode it didn't seem to me that she had gotten to know Gen well enough to trust him as her Solo Camping sempai. Her one virtue is that she's a good cook, but that didn't seem anywhere near enough to convince Gen to agree to teach her, since it would demolish the pleasure he gets from camping by himself. This show wasn't completely vapid, with touches like “Solo Camping means you can't blame anybody but yourself, but you get to have all the fun to yourself, too”. We learn a fair amount about how to camp successfully. As weak as the premise is, I am sort of curious where things will go for these two. I enjoyed episode two; in fact, I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. Gen and Shizubu go on their second camping trip, and we learn a lot about camping but I didn't feel that this was an infomercial rather than a serious anime. The two argue a good deal but that enhances their personalities. Shizubu experiences her first thought regarding whether she might be becoming romantically attracted to Gen; he would still rather she go away. She comes up with a set of rules for Solo Camping by Two which might make her presence tolerable to Gen; sort of like Solo Camping by One-and-a-Half. That, and her excellent cooking. Episode three did feel somewhat like infotainment as we go to a camping equipment store and learn a good deal about tents. Two friends of Shizubu have taken an interest in this strange hobby of hers; this show will definitely need some material to fill another nine episodes or so. In episode four we meet Akihito, an old sort-of friend of Gen, who is a solo camper himself (and learn about campfire stands). I sort of wonder why I still look forward to new episodes of this show; I guess that's just what happens when the main characters are given interesting personalities, even if not all that much interesting stuff happens to them. In episode four we meet Akihito, an old sort-of friend of Gen, who is a solo camper himself (and learn about campfire stands). I sort of wonder why I still look forward to new episodes of this show; I guess that's just what happens when the main characters are given interesting personalities, even if not all that much interesting stuff happens to them. Countless times after watching the first episode of a new anime I have concluded that I didn't care where the story went since I didn't care about the main characters, but here I do, at least a little. In episode five Shizubu and her friends meet Akihito to learn some more about him and about Gen (who is enjoying canned foods while on a true solo camp). We don't learn anything radical but I enjoyed the episode nevertheless. Episode six was pretty much entirely about the tricks of getting campfires started plus some Brazilian cooking that might be employed while camping. Episode seven teaches us about making an unusual form of tinder, but then something tantalizing happens: it seems Gen once had a girlfriend, Maki, and she's back in Japan after a period overseas. Romantic triangle for sure. Somehow this show manages to remain a favorite of mine for this season, even though I recall it hasn't gotten particularly good reviews at ANN. Indeed, at one point it was tied for last place in the ANN poll of viewers. The first half of episode eight is about the proper use of a backpack and some Chinese dishes. This seems like a story that wasn't nearly long enough for a full twelve episodes and as a result was heavily padded with camping and cooking tips. In the second half Maki is back in Japan after ten ten years overseas and tracks down Akihito, who is uncertain whether he should inform Gen. I thought the Maki thread would take off in episode nine, but no, not yet. The episode was about tips for camping on ground that is not level, avoiding harm to terrain from campfires, dealing with fog, and some more exotic dishes (this time Vietnamese). Last updated Friday, September 12 2025. Created Thursday, July 17 2025. | ||||||||
