Sorawo and Toriko fight monsters and demons almost with ease, but even they reach their limits when they are repeatedly drawn into the Otherside without warning. In the second volume of Otherside Picnic , we find out how the two manage to get by and what they learn in the process. Episodes 5 through 8 will be available on DVD and Blu-ray through KSM Anime on December 2, 2021. John Victor Schwab

ATTENTION: Any statements in this review only reflect the personal opinion of the author and not (!) those of ITweakIT and its partners.

Another world

Legends and stories report again and again about creatures that do not want people to be good. However, it seems difficult to imagine that they exist. But there are! These beings, with names you can hardly pronounce, come from other worlds. It would be more relaxed to imagine that they only exist there, but that is not the case. Again and again monsters from other dimensions manage to dive into ours.

They abduct and kill people without anyone noticing. But humans can also penetrate this so-called “Otherside”. There are places in the world where the transition between worlds is possible: sometimes it's an elevator and sometimes it's an old shrine. Two girls who meet each other by chance in the Otherside want to rebel against the monsters and earn some extra money at the same time. Their names are Toriko Nishina and Sorawo Kamikoshi.

They have us in their sights

Just recently, Sorawo and Toriko were in the otherside. But after they narrowly escaped with their lives and at the same time had to involve their best customer and friend Kozakura, they now want to celebrate together. Together they visit one of their favorite restaurants and fill their bellies.

After Kozakura has already left and Sorawo and the rather drunk Toriko also want to go home, strange events suddenly begin to pile up. The way to the train station seems strangely long to both of them and the lights in the city are almost completely missing. Before the two realize what happened, it's already too late. You are in the Otherside. But here, too, there is no time to take a breather. Chased by a giant monster, they run into US Marines who have been stuck in the Otherside for months. After some questions, Sorawo and Toriko arrive at their camp, where they try to call Kozakura. But they quickly regretted it because the conversation made it clear that the Otherside had plans for them. A race against time begins.

image and animations

Otherside Picnic is based on the light novel of the same name by author Iori Miyazawa and illustrator Shirakaba, which was directed by Takuya Satou, who also wrote the screenplay, and was produced at the studios Liden Films and FelixFilm. The former is known for works such as Yamada-kun & the 7 Witches and the latter for NekoparA , among others.

The anime series consists of one season with a total of twelve episodes, which aired in Japan between January and March 2021 and were simulcast in Germany on aniverse . KSM Anime secured the rights to it and is releasing the adventure Yuri anime in three volumes on DVD and Blu-ray. Volume 2, containing episodes 5 through 8, went on sale on December 2, 2021.

The image of the anime remains true to itself so far. It's fresh, high definition, and strikes a good balance between detail and minimalism. In terms of color, you work a lot with pastel tones, which underscores the character of the dreary human world. Excluded from this are action-packed scenes and certain sequences, the effect of which is enhanced by richer colors. The character design is still kept very simple, but still catches the eye. Animations are displayed fluently and have a convincing effect. In addition, I noticed in these episodes that there weren't quite as many still images used as before and the lip movements were also more precise. With the last point and the fact that more color was used for the scenes in the episodes of this volume, I am positively surprised in terms of optics.

German translation and music

The German synchronization was carried out in the Hamburg dubbing studio DMT Digital Media Technologie. While Toni Michael Sattler wrote the dialogue, Yannik Raiss directed the dialogue. Both the DVD and the Blu-ray contain the German and Japanese language versions with German subtitles.

What volume one got right, volume two continues. Otherside Picnic 's soundtrack is really appealing. The voices fit the characters perfectly and successfully breathe life into them. Appropriately, there are again many beautiful and profound dialogues that are very reminiscent of the dialogues from the anime Girls' Last Tour . Lovers of the original soundtrack will also get the Japanese soundtrack with German subtitles (OmU version) in the second volume, which I can also recommend to everyone.

The opening and ending go well with the anime. The opening, with its short-tempered nature, becomes quite exhausting after a while. The musical accompaniment was on point and supported the events and the atmosphere well. It's nice that the opening and ending can also be watched separately.

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Conclusion

Otherside Picnic still had some weaknesses at the start of the first volume and the plot and its characters in particular weren't quite convincing yet. With the second volume, many of these initial discrepancies have been resolved. The characters have evolved and are able to impress with their charm and humor. The story has also gained variety and mass, which means that the second volume of Otherside Picnic is far more pleasant to look at overall.

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The action factor is still not neglected and goes hand in hand with the interesting dialogues. Contrary to expectations, the picture is of high quality and knows how to remove its initial impurities. Together with the successful German dubbing, episodes 5 to 8 are far more appealing and also make you look forward to the final third volume with the season finale.

short conclusion

The other episodes of Otherside Picnic improve on all points and manage to pick up speed by correcting initial discrepancies. The story is expanded, characters develop and there is a lot of variety and humor.

Images: © Kii Kanna/S-EP, © KSM Anime, Koch Films