Otherside Picnic

Episode 7

Admittedly I'm not the most responsible partygoer myself, but even I think that Sorawo and Toriko should have learned to maybe lay off of drinking so much. I'm just saying, the worst that happens to me is I wake up with a bad hangover, whereas impulsive benders have repeatedly caused these two to end up on an unintentional trip to a dangerous alien dimension that communicates via fear. But then again, this particular episode seems to be here to illustrate the more cavalier attitude the girls are able to have regarding their inter-world trips. Your mindset is what makes an experience, and resonating a positive outlook with each other can let Sorawo and Toriko turn what should be another spooky side-stranding into the obligatory anime beach episode.

It's admittedly a focal point that helps get our minds (and possibly theirs) off of the narrow escape and the people they left behind in last week's episode. Jumping in media res as we do here is almost as confusing for the audience as Sorawo waking up in the morning trying to piece together what happened the previous night. So we come to understand that the two have made do with an intentional vacation at a seaside resort, before a mysterious cab ride takes them right back to the Otherside. The sequence of events here seems to be deliberately disorienting, jumping to and fro on a timeline between a couple scenes, alluding to past events we didn't see and the dimensional drinking buddies we barely remember, before Sorawo's odd fixation on an adorably tiny hermit crab lulls her to sleep and the two of them wake up again having crossed over. The dreamlike logic of the occurrence gets the tone right, down to the beautiful shot of the grown-over cab they find themselves in, and that appealing execution is the main reason I'm giving a pass to this plotting and exposition that pointedly confused the heck out of me at first.

It's pure storytelling whimsy as well, since all that's really just an excuse to get the girls on the beach, in swimsuits, making the most they can of the situation. I definitely feel like there's some inconsistency in the show's portrayal of how intimidated our heroines are by the Otherside, though it's admittedly not nighttime this go-around and they do make a show of checking the area out to see if it's safe before they get to kicking back on the beach and knocking back drinks (Girls that's what got you into this mess!). And if it's a bit jarring in terms of plot or characterization, it does at least fit into communicating things thematically. They're really taking that “It'll work out as long as we have each other” motto to heart, having survived their last close encounter by staunchly sticking together. The strength of their bond lends them more irrational courage than any amount of booze does.

That concept is communicated effectively within this episode's framework. It's pretty clear at this point that Sorawo and Toriko aren't the best long-term planners, figuring things out on impulse and navigating an interplay of advice as they go. And if the Otherside feeds off fear to begin with, what better way to counter that than to face it unafraid? Toriko gets into the swing of it right away, but it was seeing and understanding Sorawo's slightly slower adjustment period that eased me into going with the flow as well. I enjoy the revelation that her difficulty dealing with people, crowds, and so forth meant she actually found real-world beaches scarier than the desolate Otherside version. Plus seeing her reduced to a gay disaster at the prospect of spending swimsuit time around Toriko was adorable. We all engage with different situations in different ways, and even as I continue to feel out Sorawo and Toriko in their treatment of others, I can appreciate the story regularly rounding back to their relationship being their primary behavior motivator.

Being as this is that story about exploring how people deal with being dropped into drastic situations, it only follows that Otherside Picnic's little beach excursion has to get weird at some point. The general vibes mean we can guess that the sudden seemingly-human attackers actually aren't, but it still prompts a compelling self-interrogation from the girls, where they question if they'd be able to use their guns against people as easily as they do inhuman horrors. And fair play to Sorawo for realizing she'd have no issue taking out someone who was threatening her or her gal-pal. Embracing this situation at the Otherside beach, instead of spending every moment fearful of it, turns into a revealing, characteristic learning experience. Will this mean anything long-term for Sorawo as she continues to grow through her adventures? I can only hope so, carrying on the motif that this alternate world changes people in ways beyond altering their eyes or hands. There are some fascinating opportunities for analysis here if the show would really commit to it.

That conceptual stuff still feels very tentative, and is left a little too by the wayside for me as this episode attempts to shift into pure spectacle for its finish. Yes, finally demonstrating the dreaded ‘blue’ mentioned back in the first episode feels like a compelling call-back, but too much of the rest of the climax is heralded by more of the show's janky CGI critters and under-communicated chaos. The resolution feels fairly abrupt as well; while the previous arc demonstrated that Lady Hasshaku's hat worked as a gateway between worlds, Sorawo's application of it comes off as flimsy. I mentioned being interested in the way the girls just make things up as they go along, but the successes they attain in doing so still need to feel plausible enough to engage me. This finish just comes off like a spooky indulgence out of obligation than anything else. It continues the uneven feeling I've had towards Otherside Picnic for the past couple episodes, but in the parts of this one that I thought worked, I did really like what it was doing.

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Otherside Picnic is currently streaming on FUNimation Entertainment.