Yuru Camp/Laid Back Camp (Season Two) (2021) [REVIEW] | A Comf Supreme

I’ve been waiting for a second season of Yuru Camp for 3 years, like most fans of the series, and i was ready to “jump on it” as soon it was announced, Room Camp was nice and served its purpose, but my lust for more comforting camping and anime girls being cozy in a world where you still can.

Not that i was gonna go camping anyway even without the pandemic thing, at least not in the japanese mountains, probably i would have stayed at home and catched up with the episodes late at night after work, with a blanket and hot cocoa, just to enhance the experience. 🙂

Given the nature of the show and the fact i “recently” reviewed the first season and the short spin-off series, i won’t be going over what the series is about in detail or attempt a plot summary because i would need to describe what happens in every single episodes, and still, it wouldn’t work because it’s a slice of life about camping, with 5 young girls going around and “relax to the max” with said outdoor activity and all that it entails.

They are not trying the create the “Gamera tent” seen in the opening of the first series, there are no supernatural elements or risks, and while – as i said in the review of the first season – the way the series handles the subject it’s more “realistic” and down to earth, it’s not about drama, just about friends that share this hobby-passion, the art of “doing nothing” and appreciating moments of “downtime”, of quiet, positive nothingness. Nothing “happens” but it all happens at the same time.

And like the best slice of life series, Yuru Camp has mastered the “beauty of simplicity”. It’s all simple but not shallow, nor it’s breaking its back to come off as “more deep”, there’s no need to since heavier themes or subjects can naturally happen in conversations anyway, and they don’t necessarily have to dampen the mood. It also manages to be very cute and very honest about camping, like, you can go alone or not, but it’s better to plan ahead so you don’t just eat to pass the time, and still feel disappointed that’s all you did, even if you were entusiast at the idea.

Even more than before, this second season manages to capture the feel of camping, the experience, it doesn’t glance over its potentially annoying or mundane bits (like the ways of building tents), at all, as in they’re part of the trade and experience as well.

There are no character arcs (as in most people reastically don’t have such things), but we see how the girls became a little more indipendent (especially Nadeshiko), we learn more about them (like not just her grandpa, but all of her family had a thing for travelling and motos) and how things changed (or not) in the meantime, and how they enjoy the moment but also start thinking of the future and what they want to do, not even in the sense of career, but interests and small personal goals, which is more interesting. We also get new characters, like Nadeshiko’s very chill childhood friend Toki Ayano, Inuko’s little sister (seen in the OVAs and Room Camp mini-series but not in the main one), and some others, also pretty wholesome and cute.

Without disregarding its winter theme, this season focuses more on seaside locations and scenery, with some excursions to mountainside museum, geospots, and tourism attractions, with amazing photography and colours to the varied backdrops. The focus is still mainly on Rin and Nadeshiko, it makes sense to keep still the focus on Rin, since she is the one with the most fervent interest in camping, she’s the most dedicated one and goes camping by herself by choice often, but her passion rubs off on Nadeshiko more than before, and even secondary characters that didn’t do much before gets some extra screentime, like Rin’s mom and dad. Or the classic school teacher that loves to drink and can transform into an Initial D-level driver when necessary, love this trope.

I would have been happy it this season was just “more of the same”, because i loved the “same”, and while Yuru Camp Season 2 delivers on that regard, it manages to be even better in pretty much everything, from the opening, being even more cute, wholesome, and they got noticeably better at the comical reactions and visual gags, so i really can’t find anything to complain about.

I guess “watch out” for a fairly detailed killing and gutting of the eel, all “live”, didn’t expect a detailed eel “murder” when going into that episode. Looks tasty, though.

I really couldn’t ask for more, personally, and i don’t have anything to “nitpick” even for the animation, it’s pretty damn good as it was before, arguably C-Station got better at integrating some CG (mostly for vehicles) for medium shots when they can, it looks quite good and while it’s not seamless, it ain’t distracting by any means. Great job.

It’s a slightly longer season this one, but not by much, and it just lasts long enough, i’d want even more but i can easily wait some time for this quality, and aside from the second season of the live-action adaptation (we’ll get to those eventually), the VR simulator/adventure videogames that recently cam out, there is also a movie in the works slated for a 2022 release…. which i’m glad will exist, i just hope it doesn’t do the same error the Non Non Biyori film did, the scenario for these type of slice of life anime is as essential as the characters.

But we’ll have to wait and see, for now i can’t but recommend this second season of Yuru Camp even harder than i did the first one.

Absolutely loved it.