Yuru camp season 2 plays it safe, and overall, is just a step down Non Non Biyori. While nature shots are adequate in Yuru Camp, they're sporadic and are usually still shots that aren't the greatest. Non non biyori features them both in greater frequency and quality. Plus, Yuru Camp is largely a show centered around camping and nature, yet, again, the feeling that you're being immersed in nature while not being overpowering is done so much better in Non Non Biyori. Hell, let's not talk about other series, season 2 isn't even better than season 1 since it barely builds off or branches off anything from season 1.
What makes Yuru Camp a middling show is definitely how it plays it safe and repetitively. Again, season 2 mainly features similar scenarios to season 1 without much change. The formula is always some people in the outdoors club going camping, and going to do some leisure activities unique to that area. This formula actually doesn't sound bad, but Yuru Camp executes it on such a surface level. Hot Springs, cafes, specialty foods, famous landmarks, Yuru Camp dabbles in these areas but never truly dives into depth into any particular activity. Describing the action of camping might have been the only thing that there was a huge focus on. You mainly have the characters doing these random activities in quick succession, as well as eating, but you're not satisfied. The scenic shots are pretty decent, but can't carry the entire show. The landmarks and activities just have the characters quickly visiting them without much meaningful dialogue or events happening, and the cooking process is briefly mentioned despite being food emphasized quite a bit in the entire series.
It's always the "activity" being emphasized over the characters, and that's my biggest problem with the series. Which characters do you really get to know. For a story that's largely about the many interactions of the characters when camping, you sure as hell barely get to know them in any particular depth. This mainly has to do with the many "nothing" conversations that happen. I'm totally happy to watch the characters have mundane conversations, but the conversations these characters have always have to do with the particular activity that they're doing and never really have to do with their own personalities, hobbies, problems, etc. There's only so much you can do when camping, especially when it gets darker after dinner, and even when doing other activities like hiking and visiting landmarks, there's always time for random conversations, and that's certainly one beauty of camping. Yet, this show does not capture this aspect very well. I never get to really see any silly conversations or slice of life conversation like I do in Non Non Biyori, for example, but rather it's always about "look at this food I'm eating," "wow this mountain looks great," or "it's cold!!!"
Overall, I wished for there to be more fun character interactions that aren't always focused on the environment around them, and just some more in depth focus on the particular activities they're doing. Again, close up shots of the cooking progress, some fun events or dialogue that happen when they're at a particular location, this stuff never happens.
Overall, you're stuck with barely developed characters sticking to their pet lines and interactions for the entire series, with nothing else to carry it, whether it be the scenic shots, locations, dialogue, and activities.
