Review | Laid-Back Camp the Movie review: Japanese camping anime is a serene celebration of friendship and the great outdoors
- Voiced by Nao Toyama and Rie Takahashi, this movie is a follow-up to the successful Japanese anime series about a group of young women who love to camp
- The film reunites the women as they build a campsite near Mount Fuji; it’s uneventful but soothing, with photorealistic animation of Japan’s countryside
4/5 stars
A group of young women – who were members of a high school camping club – reunite a few years after graduating to build a campsite in Laid-Back Camp the Movie.
Adapted from the popular manga series created by writer/illustrator Afro, this feature-length sequel continues on from the two-season anime series, with the original voice cast and director Yoshiaki Kyogoku all returning.
A huge success in Japan, Laid-Back Camp, otherwise known as Yuru Camp, has helped nurture enthusiasm in camping across the country, aided, no doubt, by the international travel restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Featuring photorealistic animation of real locations, especially in Yamanashi Prefecture around the base of Mount Fuji, the show champions a love and respect for simple pleasures, self-sufficiency and the great outdoors.
Fans have flocked to locales featured in the anime, and have voraciously acquired the series’ branded camping equipment, further fuelling its success.