Note: This post is considered an episode review and it dives into spoilers for the movie.
I’m back from procrastinating on catching up with Laid-Back Camp again. This time, I’m here to share my two cents on the last thing on the to-do list, Laid-Back Camp Movie. I’m not sure why I didn’t get around to this movie alongside Season 2. By the time, I finally finish covering the mainline episodes of Season 2, the movie was already streaming on Crunchyroll. I think I just left it in the backburner in favor of other anime that needed attention. Well, now I can’t take my sweet time with the movie because Season 3 premieres in April. Time to get cracking.
Laid-Back Camp Movie is a somewhat odd installment in the anime. It’s an anime-original story that takes place a couple years after Season 2, with the main cast now all young adults with full-time jobs. Honestly, if I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought this movie was a legacy sequel or a one-off revival special that came out years after the show finished airing. There are a lot of callbacks to the first two seasons in this movie, even for very specific one-off jokes. In one particular scene, Rin (Nao Toyama) busts out her original moped from the show as if it’s the Millennium Falcon during Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It honestly comes across a trip down memory lane for fans of Laid-Back Camp, so it’s really strange because this movie only came out a year after Season 2 finished airing and we’re now getting a third season that’ll presumably pick up where the show last adapted the manga. I can’t help but think that this movie was going to be the series finale but then someone remembered that this anime makes money so they changed their minds about ending things here. It’s like The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie but for anime.
The plot of the movie has Rin, Nadeshiko (Yumiri Hanamori), Chiaki (Sayuri Hara), Aoi (Aki Toyosaki), and Ena (Rie Takahashi) reuniting to help Chiaki with reforming an abandoned youth center in Fujikawa, Yamanashi into a new campsite. The five run into a couple of roadblocks along the way, the most notable one being the discovery of old pottery that threaten to suspend the campsite project and turn the area into an archeological site. By overcoming every obstacle, the gang eventually opens the Fujikawa Matsubokkuri Camp Base to the public.
Oddly enough, there is very little camping in this movie. The cold opening has the main cast camping together though this it’s brief and it’s when the ladies are still in high school. Rin revisits many of the previous campsites from the show (further adding to the whole legacy sequel/revival vibe) though she’s there to research for the Fujikawa project. As far as actual camping goes within the main narrative, there’s one scene where the girls camp at the abandoned area as a sort of trial run and that’s honestly it. The characters also don’t tour a whole lot in this movie. The usual, cathartic sightseeing montage only occurs at the abandoned area (and to be fair, it is a serene sight even in its most derelict state). When someone is traveling in this movie, it’s usually to get to Yamashi from where they currently live.
This approach does feel baffling at first. I mean, part of Laid-Back Camp‘s charm is the sightseeing and, you know, the camping. Surprisingly, this approach actually works and I think it’s because the movie isn’t telling the same story as a typical episode in the show. The girls aren’t in high school anymore. They all lead different lives and they’re all busy with their full-time jobs. Some of them don’t live in Yamanashi anymore. They actually have money now (shocking, I know) but they seldom use it for camping. Before the campsite project, they barely had time to go camping, be it solo or as a group. This movie is not about five teenager girls adventuring to different places together. It’s instead about five women returning home, reuniting with each other, and reconnecting with their favorite pastime. It would be neat if a Laid-Back Camp movie was just one big road trip for the characters but I applaud the movie for not going that route. The plot the movie opts to do feels like a legitimate exploration of how the girls would do in adulthood and it’s a very interesting contrast to their adolescent adventures. By keeping the camping and sightseeing infrequent, it makes the ladies’ goal of having their own campsite more meaningful and satisfactory.
It’s pretty cool seeing what each of the five main characters are up to as adults. Some of them are very obvious choices such as Ena working at a pet salon or Chiaki working in event planning and tourism but I wouldn’t want it any other way. Definitely the funniest update to a character is Chiaki being an alcoholic. I guess working in a liquor store and hanging out with Toba-sensei (Shizuka Ito) really inspired her to try the booze. I didn’t expect Aoi to be an elementary school teacher but it does make sense considering that she looked after Akari (Risae Matsuda).
Nadeshiko working at an outdoor equipment store is another no-brainer but it does stand out since she’s the only one whose job is directly related to camping. Her passion for camping alone makes her choice of career fitting but it also hints at the role she ends up playing in the movie, where she keeps the others motivated in seeing the campsite finished (this is especially true during the whole archaeology conflict). I also find it funny how she encourages her customers to cheap out with their gear. Boy was she guilty of that in the first two seasons.
Out of anyone in the main cast, you’d think Rin would’ve picked a career that’d involve camping. But as it turns out, she instead works for a travel magazine. To be fair, Rin likes traveling almost as much as camping so I can understand her picking this path. That said, there’s no denying that it doesn’t fully line up with her interests. The movie explores Rin’s work life a fair amount, more so than with the others. There’s even a whole arc where Rin tries to prove herself in her company but she only truly finds her stride when she connects her job to her favorite pastime.
While the movie mostly highlights the main cast, the supporting cast do have their moments. I particularly like the addition of Rin’s co-worker Kariya (Kentaro tone). He has a fun, laid-back attitude (pun not intended) and it’s really cool how he looks out after Rin, helping her get her big moment and even hesitating to push busywork onto her so that she can focus on what she’s most passionate about. Another highlight is Chikuwa (Sayuri Hara). He’s a dog so of course he stands out. I was actually afraid Chikuwa might be dead at this point in the canon. It’s a dark thought but it’s also Laid-Back Camp‘s fault for having Ena talk about her inevitably losing her precious doggo. The movie does show that Chikuwa is much older now, he’s not as sprightly as he was before and that’s a little sad to see. Still, he’s as adorable as ever. I love that Chikuwa is the one who finds the first pottery piece. Poor boy just wanted to help friends and he accidentally put their whole project in jeopardy. One supporting character that I was irked to see is Ayano (Tomoyo Kurosawa), if only because her cameo makes me realize that she isn’t in the show enough. Maybe that’ll finally change with Season 3.
It’s worth noting that this movie is studio C-Station’s last outing with Laid-Back Camp. Eight Bit will be taking over animation duties for Season 3 and this change also results in many of the anime’s staff getting replaced. I’ll give the new studio and staff members a chance but this change is a bitter pill to swallow. I adore C-Station’s art style for Laid-Back Camp and I think it’s a big reason behind the anime’s success. I’m really going to miss it. For what it’s worth, C-Station still delivered the goods with this movie. The art is still as charming as ever and while the lack of sightseeing means less gorgeous vistas to show off, there are still some really evocative shots in the movie.
Laid-Back Camp Movie is a strange follow-up to its parent show. It feels like a legacy sequel but it’s a legacy sequel that came out just a little over a year after Season 2. It feels like a series finale but it’s for a TV anime that is continuing for at least one more season. But while its existence is a little strange, it is still a very good installment in the series. It’d be nice if the movie was just one extended camping trip with the main characters but I really enjoy and really admire that this movie went with a completely different direction and instead opted for an earnest look at how the characters would do if they were all grown up.
Watch Laid-Back Camp Movie on Crunchyroll
Xenodude Scribbles 