Yuru Camp△ Movie

As time marches forward, Rin Shima, Nadeshiko Kagamihara, and their friends have grown into full-fledged adults. Now with careers and responsibilities, they can no longer freely spend their days camping and adventuring. However, Chiaki Oogaki, who currently works for the Yamanashi Tourism Organization, reunites the group as she comes up with an exciting proposal—to build a campground together to revitalize an abandoned patch of land from their homeplace, the Yamanashi Prefecture.

Motivated by this ambitious project, the girls combine their efforts to create an environment where future generations can enjoy unique moments as they once did, all while reminiscing the charms of camping from their high school days.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Shima, Rin Main

Touyama, Nao Japanese

Kagamihara, Nadeshiko Main

Hanamori, Yumiri Japanese

Inuyama, Aoi Main

Toyosaki, Aki Japanese

Oogaki, Chiaki Main

Hara, Sayuri Japanese

Saitou, Ena Main

Takahashi, Rie Japanese

Kagamihara, Sakura Supporting

Inoue, Marina Japanese

Toba, Minami Supporting

Itou, Shizuka Japanese

Toki, Ayano Supporting

Kurosawa, Tomoyo Japanese

Shinshirou, Hajime Supporting

Ootsuka, Akio Japanese

Inuyama, Akari Supporting

Matsuda, Risae Japanese

Oowada, Tomoyuki Producer

Watase, Shouta Producer

Ozawa, Fumihiro Producer

Shimosato, Satoru Producer

Reviews

Nov 22, 2022

Firechick12012

Recommended

Well-written

It's funny. Laid-Back Camp is a series that I didn't really see myself gravitating towards. I know for a fact that if this had come out when I was a kid, I probably wouldn't have given it a chance because I was pretty judgmental about certain things until I learned more and grew out of certain toxic mindsets. But having seen two seasons and this new movie, it's honestly kind of amazing to see that every new iteration of Laid-Back Camp not only manage to be better than their predecessor, but even expand on the series further while still staying true to its whole ethos ... and what makes the series work. The first season is an admittedly cute show that didn't really hit any highs and was sort of held back by its formula. The second season remedied this by expanding not only on some characters and fleshing them out more, but also throwing in some conflict while making sure it made sense in the context of the series, never trying to overly dramatize it. The Laid-Back Camp Movie, which just came out this year (And is due to be streamed on Crunchyroll in a few short days!), in my humble opinion, actually managed to surpass both in terms of pretty much everything, and I'm honestly amazed at just how wonderful a movie like this turned out to be!

The movie takes place three years after the second season, but interestingly enough, the staff who made the movie expressed that the movie isn't really meant to be viewed as a continuation of the series, more like a "what-if" scenario if anything. Plus, they, with original mangaka Afro's approval and supervision, wanted to make the movie feel like a standalone film that doesn't require viewers to have seen the first two seasons of the series. Basically, our favorite Laid-Back Camp girls have grown up, graduated from high school, landed some jobs, and are moving on with their lives, but still remain good friends even if they don't have as much time to see each other as they used to. One day, Rin and Chiaki go drinking at a bar, and Chiaki, who now works at the Yamanashi Prefecture's tourism promotion organization, tells Rin about her company's plans to redevelop an abandoned facility in the prefecture. Rin offhandedly suggests making it into a campsite as a joke, but the suggestion gets Chiaki fired up, resulting in her dragging Rin all the way there so they can scope it out. After some...persuasion on Chiaki's part, Rin decides to go through with it, recruiting the rest of the girls to help out. With this, the five happy campers put on their coveralls, mow the grass, hold planning meetings, and build a campsite from scratch, in scenes reminiscent of their club days in high school.

Before I get into the nitty-gritty, I'm just going to address what I feel might wind up being a point of contention for some viewers: If you're someone who prefers your movies to have fast pacing, lots going on all at once, and a lot of action, you're in the wrong place. Laid-Back Camp, at its core, has always been a slice-of-life series first and foremost, with slow, leisurely pacing and a fairly episodic structure most of the time, leaning pretty heavily into the realistic side in terms of storytelling and fleshing out its characters. Since this is a two-hour movie, and not a series of half hour episodes, some might say the movie runs too long or the story may seem too simple, bordering on tedious because of the long run time. I can understand where some people are coming from in regards to finding a slow-paced, down-to-earth movie like this to be dull in terms of its pacing and lack of huge conflicts. Earlier, I finished watching the movie Princess Arete, which, while its fairly beloved by people who like it, is also pretty infamous for having agonizingly slow pacing, even if said slow pacing was a deliberate storytelling choice—even slower than Laid-Back Camp's pacing, ironically enough—and while most movies tend to favor trying to take on too much, rush things, and think that not having constant noise or explosions will make people get bored, going too far in the opposite direction does come with its own issues. That being said, in the case of LBC, I personally disagree, firstly because the movie's slow pacing isn't indicative of its quality, but more because of the show's laid-back approach, and because there's a lot of care put into not just the animation but the depth of its storytelling, even down to how it approaches its themes of adult responsibilities. Plus, Laid-Back Camp Movie isn't interested in trying to do too much and be too dramatic, preferring a more subtle, nuanced, understated approach to its story, which is good because this is a franchise that never called for any unnecessary melodrama. Nobody bursts into overly dramatic crying fits when they face an obstacle, there's no villain to defeat, and any issues the characters face are all tackled in a down-to-earth, realistic manner, with the characters reacting to them in ways that people in real life can relate to. All of these things add a whole new layer of realism to the series, allowing it to really shine like no other.

All of this is reflected in the show's strong character writing, which to me helps mitigate the movie's slow pacing. Our favorite happy campers become adults and have jobs now, giving them a lot more freedom to do what they need to as opposed to them being stuck in high school, but the writers were careful to keep their overall personalities and characterization in tact while still allowing them to grow and mature as people. To quote another review, adult responsibilities are a big theme of the movie, but it's not equated to a loss of passion, nor is the transition from childhood to adulthood played up as this huge, dramatic, super life-changing thing that makes everything different the second it happens, like other media tend to portray it to be. I also like a lot of the more unexpected directions the writers took with the characters in terms of their jobs and what they managed to accomplish, yet they still manage to be not only refreshing compared to other moe series, but actually give more depth to the characters than previously shown. I mean, did anybody expect Nadeshiko of all people to get a license to use a friggin' excavator machine and be able to use power tools, and actually be really good at them? It's so out of nowhere, yet not only do these details make sense for the core story, but also help to make Nadeshiko feel more than just a cutesy pink-haired moeblob, with more depth to her than...say, Yui from K-On. The other characters are given this treatment as well, and it just works wonderfully. Also, the idea of Ena working at a pet salon is just adorable, and makes sense considering she has a dog that she dotes on. The animation and music are also pretty top-tier as well, and I don't think I need to repeat myself on that front.

There is one detail that really confuses me: Akari is said to be going to an art school, but whenever I think of art school, I think of college or a high school that specializes in art. If you take into account the fact that Akari is in elementary school when we first meet her in the series, and this movie taking place three years after the second season, it also seemed like they were trying to imply that she somehow got into high school within three years. Granted, Japanese middle schools go for three years as opposed to America's four, so maybe the movie was trying to say that Akari just started high school or is in middle school during the movie. For a second I thought the movie was implying that Akari got into college within three years, but I know that's impossible. I do wish the movie was just a bit more clear on what grade level Akari is in during the movie, rather than just saying she's in an art school. That's really the only issue I had with the Laid-Back Camp Movie as a whole.

The past few years have been pretty great for anime movies, not just ones based on popular IPs, but even original ones as well. Most of the time, anime movies are just lazy recaps of their main series or take too little risks out of fear of angering their fanbase. Thankfully, there are plenty of movies, both original and based on IPs, that really try to explore their own ideas and visions while still staying true to the ethos of the source material, with the Laid-Back Camp Movie being one of them. There are plenty of big ones like Demon Slayer or Jujutsu Kaisen 0, sure, but even the small, low-key movies like this one prove that you don't necessarily have to be epic, incredibly complex, or rely entirely on special effects to work, no matter what certain bigwigs in the movie or animation industry may claim. Laid-Back Camp, both as a series and as a movie, may not appeal to everyone (Especially those who want their rollercoaster movies full of high octane action), but whether you're a fan of the series or just getting into it, the Laid-Back Camp Movie is a nice, wholesome, heartwarming time killer that actually manages to enhance its source material, so I say don't miss out on it. Do keep in mind, the movie hasn't been billed as the grand finale of the series. There's a third season for the TV series due to come out next year, and you can bet your ass I'll be watching that as soon as it drops.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Nov 27, 2022

RPWPA

Recommended

"It's as beautiful as the day I left it"

Life goes on, and so do we. It's always a very strange concept no matter how much one can experience it. The fact things go forward no matter what is something that can be both calming and anxiety inducing. But well, that is life.

Haven't watched almost any of Yuru camp since the last special but it's still so wonderful to see the cast is still together even after so long into the future which I really though was a strange way to create a movie with such a big timeskip as the premise.

Yuru Camp has ... never been about going through hardships or drama. It is not the type of anime you go in expecting to work your brain through it or even laugh. I guess comfy is the perfect way to describe it. It's a comfy show and this movie is no exception.

To not spoil anything I just want to say that the premise and plot of the story was wonderful. We went through a lot with, surprisingly enough, actual hardships yet it was never really the hardships that made it good. It was the characters and how they overcame it. It wasn't the type of thing were you just need to go at something or anything like that but actually more of an adult way of handling things which was a very unique way of dealing with it.

The soundtracks, art, animation and almost every little detail was amazing. I guess the only issue I had with the show was the design of Sakura because I absolutely loved her OG design but the new one was very good as well.

The anime provided me with everything I needed. It was enjoyable, relaxing and fun.

Absolutely lovely and the change in the atmosphere from a kind of happy to our usual wonderful happy one being presented simply by a very adorable way using the pinecone was fantastic.

It really is as wonderful as it has always been.

I would give it a 10/10.
Would recommend the whole series.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Nov 17, 2024

AldoArcadia

Not Recommended

Wow, so much glowing praise. Really? Come on, let's be frank... it's honestly not very good. Sluggishly paced, meandering, and quite boring. Look, I enjoyed the first two seasons of 'Yuru Camp'. It was like comfort food. I had no issue with the pacing. I liked the relaxed vibe. It's about process, not payoff. It's about learning as you go along. Taking pleasure in the little things, soaking in the environment, either alone, or with friends. I get that, and I like that. It was a refreshing change of pace to the fan-service drenched fodder we're usually served up. Majestic landscapes, "food porn", hot springs... ... Loved it.

Now, what ever they were trying to achieve for the movie, didn't work for me. Sure, 'Yuru Camp' has always indulged in the detailed procedures of camping and cooking activities, almost to an educational step-by-step extent, but it's completely bonkers-level here. Half of the movie is like a DIY video on how to build your own campgrounds. Now, I know what you're thinking... "'Yuru Camp' has always had cute little 'How-To' tutorials"... Yeah, sure, but I don't particularly find constructing campgrounds and facilities to be all that interesting. There's about 20 minutes alone dedicated to cutting tough grass (I kid you not!!!!!!). The girls are all grown up, and that's fine, but they're less adventurous at this point in their lives. And I find it odd that none of them are in a relationship, but that's never been what 'Yuru Camp' was about. If anything, the food always looks delicious in this series, and it comes through once again here.

What more can I tell you? I don't know, man, this just wasn't it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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	Poll: Yuru Camp△ Movie Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 ) William03 - Jul 5, 2022	99 replies	by Drewnax »» Oct 4, 2:14 PM
	Nadeshiko Boss hopp17 - Dec 30, 2022	2 replies	by Rafdrk-n8 »» Oct 31, 2023 12:46 PM
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	Watching Outside Of Japan Roderick24_ - Jul 6, 2022	5 replies	by Tuna_Fresh »» Nov 25, 2022 9:50 PM
	Anyone else saw it? contain some spoilers NekoToChiru - Jul 1, 2022	6 replies	by Gigas001 »» Nov 11, 2022 2:58 AM