_Laid-back Camp △_
Rated Cozy/10 by the online anime community, this is the show you keep in reserve for when your spirits need lifting.
It's a club show about camping.
You can watch it on Crunchyroll.
We open on our five girls, roasting marshmallows over and open fire and drinking cocoa. One suggests a group photo.
The opener is pretty standard. Flashes of the characters doing things, cut with camping gear and campsites.
We really open with Rin Shima on her heavily laden bike riding to Mt. Fuji. She passes Nadeshiko Kagamihara, who is sleeping in a bus stop.
It's getting into fall, and Rin has the campsite to herself. She sets up her pup tent on the beach and sits down to read a book.
At only 5C (41F) out, it's a bit chilly, and Rin reluctantly starts a campfire. (A narrator gives useful tips.)
When night falls, Nadeshiko appears, seriously freaked out. She fall asleep after biking out here and is too afraid to go home at night.
Rin gives her some food.
Nadeshiko has just moved here and does not remember her new phone number. Also, she left her mobile phone at home by accident.
She does remember her sister's number, and borrows Rin's phone for a rescue call.
Before she leaves, she gives Rin her number.
Nadeshiko has caught the camping bug, so she seeks out the Outdoor Activities Club. There she meets Aoi Inuyama and Chiaki Oogaki.
Now is the winter of our discount tent.
That is, they have a super cheap tent and try to set it up in the courtyard. One of the poles breaks.
Rin sees their trouble and tries to dodge them, but her friend Ena Saitou goes to help them and Rin's cover is blown.
Rin is not interested in joining the Outdoor Activities Club; she's a solo camper and doesn't want to lose her alone time.
But over the weekend when Rin tries out a new campsite and has to cut out a campfire due to the fees and is relying on cup ramen... Well, when Nadeshiko shows up with a bag of fresh veggies and suggests they make a hot pot, that's not too bad.
Rin and Nadeshiko enjoy their hot pot. Nadeshiko gets up at 6am to see the sunrise over Mt. Fuji.
Meanwhile, Aoi and Chiaki get part-time jobs to fund the purchase of improved gear.
The Outdoor Activities club experiments: can they make a summer sleeping bag warm enough to use in the winter with wrapping and layering?
Yes, but it's not really feasible. They get winter bags.
Rin has gotten her driver's license, and takes her scooter to a distant campground.
Both parties makes some good food and bundle in for the night.
Nadeshiko and Rin send each other photos of the view by night.
Rin acquires a collapsible miniature fire stand/barbeque.
Clearly, she and Nadeshiko need to go camping so they can try it out.
Difficulties with the barbeque lead to getting advice from their camping neighbors.
And if their neighbor (Minami Toba) is an incoming teacher at their school, well, that's just a bonus.
The outdoor activities club acquire a little new gear and go window shopping for a lot more.
Nadeshiko plans to get a job so she can buy the gear she wants.
A cold puts Nadeshiko out of commission, so Rin goes camping alone.
When her shortcut turns out not to work, Nadeshiko and Aki navigate for her by phone.
Aki also cooks for Nadeshiko's family.
A cozy stop along the way goes longer than expected when Rin naps all day.
Rin gets to her campsite way late.
The Outdoor activities club plans a Christmas camp out, and everyone's invited. Rin and Ena will both join them, and Toba has been recruited as club advisor and will join them too.
The Christmas camp gets off to a booming start.
Playing Frisbee with kids and the dog, tasty dinner and cozy blankets make everyone have a great time.
(Okay, To a complains she doesn't have the matching drinks to go with her food.)
Rin even enjoys the socializing.
A hot bath and a good night's sleep, and everyone will be ready for an early morning to watch the sun rise over Mt. Fuji.
--
Flash forward to spring and we see Nadeshiko biking to set up her own solo camp in the spot she first met Rin.
But by lucky coincidence, Rin joins her.
But are there OVAs? Of course. Three micro-episodes.
Episode 0 is a prequel of Aki and Aoi trying to figure out how to camp on the cheap.
Hobo-chic is not a thing, girls.
Ruse-Camp consists mostly of the other girls teasing Nadeshiko with outrageous lies.
--
In Survival Camp, the girls are trapped on a deserted island and must use their camping skills to survive.
--
Anyway, on to Season Two.
A flashback shows us Rin's first camping trip. She has some beginner's trouble, but still catches the bug.
--
Right after Christmas, the girls plan for the new year. They all have family commitments, but Rin can sneak away for a solo trip.
Almost everyone goes out to see the first sunrise of the year.
Rin is camping near the ocean and goes to see it from the beach. But a surprise snowstorm at home locks her out: her moped won't make it on the icy roads, and she's forced to extend her trip.
Since Rin is down that way anyhow, Nadeshiko invites her to join her when she visits her grandmother and her childhood friend, Aya.
They introduce Aya to camp cooking when Nadeshiko attempts to explain her new hobby.
The girls ponder what gear to buy with their money from working over break.
Nadeshiko finally gets the lantern she's been pining over, and a surprise gift for her sister too.
Aki, Aoi, and Ena go on the next trip.
They have to take a local bus out to their campsite, with a stop to get more gear and food too.
Kudos to the translators for using the word "glomp". I have no idea how that happened.
Once the sun sets, the temperatures drop below freezing and the girls are in for more than they bargained for.
Their neighbors let them warm up near their stove, and Toba takes her advisory duties seriously and comes to check on them. They sleep in her car overnight.
Nadeshiko decides to go solo camping. To entertain herself, she decides to experiment with cooking foil-wrapped vegetables and makes friends with some kids.
Rin and Nadeshiko's sister team up to secretly observe her and make sure she hasn't gotten in over her head.
The girls plan their next group trip.
For _after_ finals, insists Toba.
Everyone will be going. Aoi's younger sister Akari wants to come too.
The trip will also include Nadeshiko and Aoi's birthdays.
Rin upgrades her moped. Everyone else will ride in a van Toba borrows.
Armed with a list of natural attractions to see, they make the most of the trip.
Until they find that the camp site they were aiming for is closed.
A replacement site is found and they get there super late. But still, good food and good sleep make for a good day.
The girls throw a fancy birthday celebration and watch the sun rise from the mountaintop the next morning.
Then, a side trip to watch capybaras bathe in a hot spring.
After that, Rin has to split off to take a moped-safe route home.
That's the show.
So, what's my takeaway?
It's no surprise that people call this show cozy, because it is.
It's nearly devoid of conflict, with what little there is being easily resolved.
The pacing is languid, taking a whole episode to plan a trip, another to arrive at the site and a third to return hone the next day.
_Seinfeld_ was called a show about nothing, but this leaves it in the dust.
Here's an episode: they arrive at camp, set up their tents and cook dinner.
None of this is a complaint.
This show is about enjoying the characters having a good time, and it rivals _K-on!_ at that.
Now, I'd put even money that it was sponsored by the local tourism board, but that's fine.
The characters are very standard; Nadeshiko is the ditzy, high-energy girl we've all seen before. Rin is the quiet one. Nothing out of the ordinary here, but they do a good job playing them off each other and it's all fun in the end.
Now, I never go camping in the winter, but I do ski, so I know the feel of standing next to an open wood fire hen it's cold outside, and this show totally gave me the urge to do that.
I could go for some chili, TBH.
Anyway, if you want a relaxing show, this is definitely one to go for.
There's a movie in the works for next year (2022).
Nadeshiko begins to worry as Rin runs late, and get a ride out to meet her on the edge of town.
Rin's return signals the actual end of the trip, but there will surely be another one soon enough.
~ The End ~