The series focuses on Sorawo and Toriko, two young women who discover the “Otherside” of their own world. It is a dangerous world where many monsters from ghost stories come to life. There is always a secret door or item that leads to the other world. Sometimes it could be in an old apartment or at other times the access can be made possible by pressing a certain combination in an elevator, even a special item like a hat could be a trigger.
Both of our main characters have different reasons for entering the "Otherside". Toriko, a very beautiful girl with waist-length gold-colored hair, is looking for her missing friend Satsuki. Since Toriko was taught everything about survival as a little girl, she is very good at handling weapons as well. She protects Sorawo in every dangerous situation when the ghosts want to pounce on them again. They met by chance on the "Otherside", but quickly realized that they are a perfectly harmonious team and should therefore undertake the actions together. Sorawo, our shy university student, has always had problems dealing with other people. The only person whom she is comfortable with is when she's with Toriko. She really likes Toriko and wants to be on her on side at all costs. Their relationship is very important for Sorawo who has always been interested in ghost stories. With the curiosity in mind, she also wants to find more what the "Otherside" is all about. Besides their own interest in the "Otherside", both have their hearts in the right place and are ready to save other people who are stucked there. Due to their special ability (Sorawo can detect glitches, while Toriko's left hand allows her to directly "touch" the true forms of the “Otherside's” entities) they are the only ones who can save these people and are even ready to put their own lives at risk.
In addition to our two main characters, there are two other friends of theirs who play an important role: Kozakura and Akari. Kozakura is a young researcher who is very interested in the "Otherside". She buys every interesting material that Sowaro and Toriko bring back for her as a “souvenir”. Before Satsuki disappeared, she and Kozakura used to do research together on the other world. But after a while Kozakura gave up because it was too much for her to handle. Therefore, she also wants to find out what happened to Satsuki. Akari, on the other hand, attends the same university as Sorawo. She is a lively, friendly and energetic personality who is also carefree and sophisticated, not worrying what others think about her. After being relentlessly attacked by ninja cats, she came to Sorawo for help. Later it was also found that Satsuki used to be her tutor.
The art is very nicely designed, especially when it comes to the transition between the two different worlds. While on their "real" world the sun is shining and rather a light color appears, everything is very dark and gloomy on the "Otherside" in terms of color. The contrast is displayed very well. The ghosts are also portrayed in a high quality, their movement and the effects are clearly visible. But I would particularly like to emphasize the few Yuri moments between Sorawo and Toriko. Their special moments always stand out, be it through the light, the background or even the sound, their relationship is definitely something unique and wholesome.
Urasekai Picnic's OP is very energetic and powerful. It is about one of the most important things in our life: friendship. CHiCO with HoneyWorks is a perfect combination, which is also very successful here. The ED "You & Me" is a bit calmer and more relaxed. Back from the dangerous journey from the "Otherside", you just want to end the day. This song is also about another very important topic in life: love and feelings.
Despite the good OP and ED selection, it is again the small details that stand out here. In the scary scenes ghost noises can be heard in the background, in the decisive scenes the tension is built up by the sound or even the up and down of an elevator scene, the sounds are very suitable everywhere.
As already mentioned at the beginning, I went into this anime full of enthusiasm because of the many Yuri scenes I had hoped for. I was disappointed from this side, but the story and plot grabbed me tight. Almost every episode is about a new encounter on the "Otherside". Unexpected things often happen there, but that's exactly what makes this anime so special. You never know what to expect on the other side of the world. Perhaps we also have glitches in our world that lead somewhere else…who knows? Our world is mysterious and so is Urasekai Picnic with all its open questions. As someone who has not read anything from the novels, it would be great getting a second season that could answer all these things. Then it wouldn't necessarily be about the Yuri moments, but what more exciting things we can expect on the "Otherside"!
