Urasekai Picnic is an anime from Lidenfilms & Felix Film. You may recall Liden from Arslan Senki and that dumb anime about cockroaches from Mars. It's based off of an ongoing series of novels by Miyazawa Iori. Let's open shoujo ai month with a look at Urasekai Picnic.

Story:

We open with Sorawo, a young University student, thinking about death while a monstrous creature looms nearby. She's rescued by another young woman named Toriko. Turns out, Sorawo stumbled upon a strange place referred to simply as Urasekai. Toriko is there in search of her former mentor Satsuki. Toriko convinces Sorawo to explore the Urasekai with her. The pair encounter all manner of strange creatures and circumstances while deepening their bond.

The worst I can say for the series is that it gets a bit cheesy at moments where the girls are expressing their deep affections for one another. It doesn't go into purple prose territory, but it definitely veers near the border of it. There are also a few moments where something significant happens and they don't really address the repercussions fully. Like when they see a man die and don't really talk about it afterwards.

With that said, this series is highly compelling. The adventures into the Urasekai are presented in a largely episodic way and they're very interesting with lots of different scenarios and some brilliant world building as Sorawo & Toriko endeavour to solve the mysteries of the Urasekai and find Satsuki. The romantic elements are absolutely adorable as well in spite of the slightly cheesy moments. The series manages to hit a good balance where the slightly serious moments work but it can also be more light-hearted and offer a sense of fun. I do also appreciate the fact that they replace the usual preview segment with a more comedic segment with the girls just having cutesy, funny bits that tie into the episode you just watched. The anime also does end at a pretty good point. Which is always good when you're looking at an anime that only covers part of the story.

Characters:

There are a few things I really appreciate about the characters in this. The first is that they aren't all connected through going to the same university or being childhood friends or some such David Copperfield coincidence. Instead they find their way to the Urasekai through varying means, as do the other humans they encounter within. They also have varied motivations for engaging with the Urasekai and they're just a very endearing group. Even the side characters who show up for one or two episodes manage to have some complexity.

The main cast also have some interesting dynamics. Both those that are clearly being established as romantic and those that aren't.

Art:

The artwork is actually pretty spectacular. The monster designs are very interesting and otherworldly. Some of them are based around putting a twist on traditional monsters while others are very unique and bizarre. I also really like the character design. I think the alterations Sorawo and Toriko get from exposure to Urasekai creatures gives them some interesting physical traits and I do appreciate the way the anime actually handles that. The animation is smooth and the backgrounds are strong.

Sound:

The acting in this is really good. Hanamori Yumiri, Kayano Ai, Hidaka Rina, Tomita Miyu and the rest of the main cast all do really well. The one issue I can bring up is that the American soldiers they encounter speak a lot of dialogue with very stilted, awkward English. While I do fully understand that these are Japanese actors trying to speak a language that they aren't necessarily strong with, it does feel a little bizarre to hear these characters who are supposed to be native English speakers slur their words like they aren't quite sure what they're saying or how to say it. Watanabe Takeshi's soundtrack is very well composed.

Ho-yay:

There's a lot. Sorawo and Toriko are portrayed as developing feelings for one another. Two of the more important side characters, Akari and Natsumi, definitely have feelings for each other that go beyond friendship. It's also implied that their researcher companion, Kozakura, had a thing for Satsuki before she disappeared. So, none of these girls are straight.

Areas of Improvement:

  1. They could go just a little less cheesy with some of those romantic moments. Hearing Natsumi and Akari say each others' names longingly is all well and good but when they do it back and forth for a hot minute it's a little excessive.
  2. The series probably could have gotten some actual Native English speakers who understand Japanese to act as the American soldiers and had it come across a bit better. Or, alternatively, just had them speak Japanese.
  3. The series could have addressed the events they witness a little more.

Final Thoughts:

Urasekai Picnic is pretty fantastic, actually. While it wasn't a resounding masterpiece, the complaints I do have with it are relatively minor and it definitely delivers in entertainment, endearing characters, a compelling narrative and a strong world. It's like a cross between Mushishi and one of those slice of life series about lesbians. Which is pretty much exactly the kind of anime I really go for. I do hope it gets a second series because I want to see how the narrative resolves and more of that cutesy les-yay. I'm giving it a 9/10.

This free site is ad-supported. Learn more
​