First Impressions / Yuru Camp

「ふじさんとまったりお鍋キャンプ」 (Fuji-san to Mattari Onabe Kyanpu)
“Mount Fuji and Relaxed Hot Pot Camp”

The weather outside is frightful. Good thing Yuru Camp has been delightful. Although the holidays have passed, Winter still persists, so it feels at home to see the girls of this series doing their best to stay warm with heating pads and warm food. Mt. Fuji is still the destination to be, but with the wide-open atmosphere of the camping grounds, it offers a nice, open view of the mountains that the artists continue to do an excellent job soaking up.

And what better way is there to keep warm in this chilly weather than bonding over hot pot? Admittedly, my discovery of hot pot was fairly recent with last October being my first time at a hot pot restaurant, but it was mind-blowing to combine a smorgasbord of toppings in their Sichuan spicy broth. Nadeshiko’s hot pot of choice is the vein of a Dandan noodle broth which she fills to the brim with dumplings. If they kept the burner on, all those dumplings would quickly dry up the broth, but at the same time, it’d also soak up a lot of that broth to create massive delicious dumplings, so it all balances out somewhat in the end.

I am reveling too much in the hot pot, but it is key to the episode as it helps thaw out any of the frost that Rin had about Nadeshiko and the idea of camping with someone else. It was big for Yuru Camp to have Rin open up to Nadeshiko about how it might’ve looked for her to look horrified at her suggestion to camp together, and to have the characters communicate this well without any misunderstandings or periods of loathing. Aoi tells Nadeshiko about how Rin can be after putting her on the spot about camping together, Rin mulls over whether she should be nicer before the hot pot really changed her mind, and Nadeshiko realizes that she was being a little overbearing in expecting Rin to be okay with being forced out of her comfort zone because they went camping one time.

The biggest bro of the episode was Sakura, who was willing to drop everything she had planned to do in order to take Nadeshiko out to Mt. Fuji and camp in her van. She did skimp on the breakfast for Nadeshiko, but she really did bend over backwards to cart her little sister over to see her friend and stay overnight just to make sure she slept comfortably. It was also fun to see Aoi and Chiaki this episode with the role Aoi played in letting Nadeshiko know about Rin, and Chiaki’s quest for more money. It was interesting that Chiaki would be up for consideration as an employee for a liquor store, but at the very least, there’s some revenue coming into the club afterwards, and she didn’t torpedo the interview after getting stuck in a crate. They also had fun teasing Nadeshiko about her obsession with Mt. Fuji, and hinted that they might be interested in taking the next step towards hiking up there one day. At this point though, it’s great to see everything come together this smoothly, and open up the potential for Rin to want to hang out with Nadeshiko and the Outdoor Activities Club.

As a side note, the OP has been creeping into my mind more lately. Kokkoku‘s is the only one I’ve been watching in its entirety, but I can’t help, but love the Jackson 5 influence in Yuru Camp‘s theme. Between that and the insert song from Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san that sounds similar to “21 Karat Magic”, there’s been some good funky pop in anime music this season.

23 Comments

  1. This show just hits all the right notes for a feel-good SOL. Even for someone that really couldn’t care less about camping, this is a treat to watch every week. Except now I want that spicy hotpot like no one’s business…

    And I’m just a little in love with Sakura. XD

    Aex
    Reply

    1. Nadeshiko is one of those people who have the skill to sleep anywhere (as seen in 1st ep). In truth sleeping directly on the tent floor would get both cold and uncomfortable after a while even wraped in a kakebuton/duvet. There is a reason that Rin uses a thin air matress even with her good quality sleeping bag.

      Gars
      Reply

    2. Not only the cold ground in a tent, but also a car seat. Not sure how easily Nadeshiko and Sakura could’ve slept inside of their van with how rigid the seats can get, not to mention the seatbelts jamming into your sides if you turn the wrong way.

      Choya
      Reply

  6. This series is the best thing ever. Or at least for several seasons. Haven’t had something comfy on this level since Flying Witch, at least. It makes me want to just bundle up in a blanket with a mug of hot cocoa when I sit down to watch.

    Wanderer
    Reply

    2. Ah, Flying Witch. That was a great comfort show. That came to mind recently because I remembered the Mandrake part XD. Yuru Camp is such a cozy series though, and it’s been feeling great to visit week after week.

      Choya
      Reply

    1. They’ve got alot of burners going off. Not sure if they’d ever venture towards eating drier food like homemade energy bars, trail mixes, or jerky, but they’ve got a decent enough set-up for making ramen and hotpot.

      Choya
      Reply

    3. All these lavish meals for camping. Where is the simpler foods like a carton cold cereal served with water (not milk). Where’s the trail mix of nuts? I’m not saying it’s a bad thing but it’s not real camping.

      Fixed your spelling and grammatical mistakes. You talk awfully big for someone who doesn’t read other people’s bogs, Rena Sayers, and yet, you struggle to communicate clearly. Perhaps if you’d broadened your horizons and read other blogs, your English would be better. What’s more, you’re in no position to talk about what is or isn’t “real” camping, if your perspectives are this narrow. Yuru Camp is getting a season two in January 2021, and from your attitudes, as well as a stubborn refusal to read and comment on a greater variety of sources, do us all a favor. Sit out the second season and let better minds comment on it, or at the very least, refrain from commenting here with your incomplete knowledge.

      ViolinStar
      Reply

  8. Wow, I couldn’t stop grinning this entire episode. This series takes “life’s simple pleasures” to a whole new (relaxing) level. Also, Nadeshiko really does make the food she eats look absolutely delicious. I totally want to try spicy gyoza nabe now…
    *adds spicy gyoza nabe to my ever growing list of foods seen in Anime that I need to eat IRL*

    Aoihoshikage
    Reply

  9. the comfyness continue, they cleverly control the output of the characters cuteness, and at the same time work on the background, atmosphere and music, is what makes this series amazing and pleasant to watch.(｡>∀<｡)

    frost
    Reply

  10. I agree that this slice of life anime is amazing and it took me quite by surprise. I simply love it!

    It also took me 3 viewings before I realized that the song playing on the radio is the ED.

    Hikarub
    Reply

  11. I’m so enjoying Yuru Camp ! Partly because i’ve been around Mt Fuji (Kawaguchiko, Hakone…) and it really resonate with me, also C-Station while a rather unknown and new studio is doing a fine job here.
    We’ve been getting pretty good slice of life series lately ! (Sakura quest, Flying Witch, Isekai Shokudou, Amaama to inazuma…)

    Makoto
    Reply

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