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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Unevaluated |
 Stretch
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[series:4917#628] | ||||||
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(20 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). In episode ten Shizubu happens to meet Maki at long last, and is left with all sorts of questions for Gen that she'd like answers to but doesn't dare to ask. But most of the episode was camping instruction as usual. However, we learn that like Gen some person of the opposite sex has come back from Shizubu's past. But, as it turns out in episode 11, not as saucy a matter as it had initially seemed. At last we get an episode about Gen and Maki's romantic past. She was an ambitious, hard-driving person who set a high goal for herself and relentlessly pursued it, while, like most of us, Gen was content to drift through life and grab whatever opportunities presented themselves. Perhaps Gen's highest goal was a matter of recreation, not career. I was uncomfortable with the suggestion at one point that he considered camping to be more important than her, because that would basically make him a jerk. Maki decides to return to New York, but Gen shows up as she is about to board her plane. He offers a semi-convincing excuse for why they broke up acrimoniously ten years ago. I thought maybe he had made the temporary mistake of deciding to go with Maki rather than Shizubu (but would realize he was wrong later), but no. Instead, more camping and cooking tips. I also had thought this would be the final episode, but it turns out that there's a 13th one. Gen actually has a long-term goal after all, one that could combine the camping he loves with making a living. Holy crap--this is a two season show! That was about the last thing I was expecting from a show in which the main plot is stretched so thinly, yet one day an 'episode 14' showed up. Actually, episode 13 is the first of the second season, with a new OP sequence. Over a phone call Saya, one of Shizubu's old friends, bursts in and demands to know what Gen thinks of her. He says he isn't sure, but he comes up with a pretty good little speech that leaves everyone--especially Shizubu--satisfied. In episode 14 Gen meets Yui Hoshizaki, another young woman who like to solo camp—and Shizubu learns that he has met her, and is jealous. Yui likes to travel by bike and seems to have taken an interest in Gen, though he displays none in return. Shizubu creates a feast of Mexican food for him. There must be something wrong with me, because I still enjoy this show considerably; perhaps Gen's introverted personality reminds me of myself. Episode 15 was kind of wistful and fun. It's basically Akihito's version of his long semi-friendship with Gen, what he has learned about Gen and what he has learned about himself. I don't think Shizubu appeared at all. We don't learn anything radical but Akihito's revelations flesh Gen and himself out a bit more, which never hurts. In episode 16 Gen asks Shizubu to choose a campsite for them for once, to help him get an idea of what his own will need if it ever gets built. Plus, a lesson on smoking meats. In episode 17 the flirty Yui Hoshizaki is back, and invites herself to accompany Gen and Shizubu on their next trip—solo camping for three. Shizubu's friends urge her to be more romantically aggressive, and she sees she may have a rival. In episode 18 a tense atmosphere at the campsite loosens somewhat when Shizubu and Yui get to talking, largely about cooking. Shizubu mentions she hopes to make a living as a cook, and I wondered if this series might end with her running a little restaurant at Gen's new campground. Another thought was that the reason I have enjoyed this looked down upon show might be simply because the main characters have some depth, unlike most. In episode 19 Gen struggles to muster the courage to tell Shizubu about his dream of operating a camp ground himself--plus a lengthy lesson on sleeping bags. In episode 20 Shizubu gets the idea that Gen now considers her a fully qualified camper and therefore doesn't see any need to go camping with her anymore. He finally shares his dream with her but she is confused about exactly what he meant to say. Say what you will about Solo Camping, but I really do care about these main characters and hope things will work out well for them. Last updated Friday, December 05 2025. Created Thursday, July 17 2025. | ||||||||
