Laid-Back Camp¶
Warning
Spoilers ahead
Yuru Camp is a 12 episode 2018 Anime with almost no plot. While for some shows this would be a significant weakness, here it plays as an advantage. The stakes are small, the presentation light, but it’s also surprisingly moving.
The story revolves around two girls, Nadeshiko Kagamihara and Rin Shima with the former being outgoing and the latter a seemingly introverted girl who prefers camping by herself. The two meet and Nadeshiko begins becoming interested in camping.
Episodes are light on plot, each moving the overarching story further along and occasionally giving simple educational camping trips to the viewer. This might not sound like enough to build a series around but that’s the point. From Rin, Nadeshiko learns to be more independent. From Nadeshiko, Rin learns to enjoy the company of others more.
The entire series culminates in Nadeshiko gaining the independence to undertake a solo camping trip. That’s it. Everything builds towards the final moment which is simple but touching (and I won’t give away everything).
Often as adults we forget how monumental something like that can seem. We rush into adulthood as fast as we can, each milestone feeling monumental. But at some point we look back and milestones in our steps towards independence no longer seem as big. Laid-Back Camp captures the wonder and gives the gift of letting the little things seem big again.
You can watch it for free on CrunchyRoll:
Sunrise over Mount Fuji¶