Camping and Anime Fan Compatibility

出典 : Amazon.co.jp

According to the “Auto Camping White Paper 2019” published by the Japan Auto Camping Association, the number of people participating in auto camping in 2018 increased by about 100,000, up 1.2% from the previous year.
In fact, the number of auto campers itself has been increasing for the past few years, and the growth in 2018 is not a particularly large number compared to the previous year, but this alone is enough to show that the number of people camping has increased by 100,000 due to the loose camping effect! I cannot say that.

However, if you look at the section on camper trends, you can see that the loose camping effect is definitely evident.

This is because the number one trend among campers in 2018 was “more solo campers”, and the number two was “more winter campers”.
There’s no doubt that loose camping has had an impact on these.
The subtitle of the “White Paper on Auto Camping 2019” is also “Relaxing Solo Camping”, which proves that the loose-camping effect is definitely evident.

It’s not just because the anime was a hit that so many people started camping so far.

There is a tradition among anime fans of making a pilgrimage to sacred sites, but in the case of Yuru Can△, there are many campsites and other places that are based on real-life motifs, and there are many spots that are inevitably sacred sites.
Most of them are scenic as well as filmable, so it can be said that it is an anime that makes it worthwhile to make a pilgrimage to the sacred places.

It is also important to note that it is possible to combine a pilgrimage to the sacred sites with the pastime of camping.
People tend to think that anime fans and the outdoors don’t go well together, but that’s just because many people don’t like events like barbecues where a lot of people get together and have a good time, and there are many people who don’t mind going on a solo camping trip.
There’s an adage that says, “An anime that lets a pretty girl do an old man’s hobby is a hit,” but it actually works well with “hobbies that you can do alone.

Distance and Relationships

出典 : Amazon.co.jp

There are a number of conditions for the success of a Nichijo anime, but the first and foremost is that the main characters must be supported by the audience.
Nichijo anime is not a genre where the storyline is a strong pull, so inevitably the character moe is important.
Without the ability to not only have a high level of likability, but also to make the audience love and be attached to the characters, it will be difficult to succeed in the daily life anime.

From the time Yuru Can△ aired, the two main characters, Shimarin and Kagamihara Nadeshiko, were very popular, and they drove the popularity of the work as well.
Aoi Inuyama (a.k.a. “Inuko”), Chiaki Ogaki (a.k.a. Inuyama Aoi), and Ena Saito (a.k.a. Saito Ena) also have their own unique personalities and clearly defined roles, and they do not seem to get in the way of the story at all, making for an ironclad lineup.

However, what I would like to focus on more than that is the sense of distance and relationship.
For better or worse, the relationship between the main characters in a daily life anime is often childish and sticky, but the five members of Yuru Can△ have maintained their relationship with each other with the right amount of distance.

For example, Nadeshiko is an innocent character who at first glance seems to try to get along with people she gets along with without hesitation, but in fact, she respects their personal space and pulls back when she has to.
On the other hand, Simarin seems to be a solitary girl who loves solo camps, but in reality, she is a flexible character who is able to build interpersonal relationships with others and has a mischievous and considerate nature.
Whether it’s Chiaki, who seems to be lively and unassuming, or Saito-san, who is very fast-paced, or even Inuko, who is a whore-bearer, she respects the feelings of others and acts accordingly.

In short, all the Yuru Can△ characters are adults.
In the old days, it could be described as delicacy.

The type of daily life anime where the girls take their time to bond with each other while maintaining a certain distance between them is something that seems to exist, but it is rare.
Since this genre has to have a strong comedy element to some extent, it is common to make the characters act recklessly or take drastic actions, and depending on the spoonful of comedy, it may feel like it is too much, but this is not the case with Yuru Can△, and it maintains a calm atmosphere while having a lot of fun.

This is the biggest feature of this work and one of the reasons why it was so successful.

Another great feature is the expansion of relationships.
In the beginning, the story was only about “Nadeshiko and Shimaririn” who became camping buddies, “Nadeshiko, Chiaki, and Inuko” who are members of Nokuru, and “Shimaririn and Saito-san” who are friends before, but later on, it is discovered that Shimaririn is not good at Chiaki, but gradually they get closer… This is a development not often seen in daily life anime.

If it were a normal daily life anime, this too would be a bit of an awkward situation, but Shimalin does not make any secret of his dislike for it, and Chiaki understands that Shimalin is not very good at noisy scenes, so there is no awkwardness at all.
It can be said that this relationship is only possible because the characters are all adults in Yuru Can△.

The relationships that are unique to the Yuru Can△ become more prominent in the episodes after the first season of the anime, and it is carefully portrayed how the characters who have not been involved with each other through the camping process become closer little by little.
Since it is a daily life anime, it is not a storyline, but there is a solid story behind the relationships between the characters.

It is because the anime is able to express the characteristics and charm of the original work that the audience was able to enjoy the anime without feeling any discomfort.

However, it is not a style that is far removed from the usual daily life anime, and it is a work that can be enjoyed by those who are usually fans of this genre.

It has been roughly described as “loose camping” or “uncle’s taste and beautiful girl’s”, but underneath the surface of the work, it is because it depicts exquisite and meticulous human relationships and provides a direction that does not destroy the atmosphere of the work, that Yuru Can△ was a great success.

Summary

Personally, I feel that Yuru can△ is a “daily life anime for adults”.
The main characters are all high school girls and there are a lot of childish comments and actions, but the best part of this work is that you can enjoy the “moderate wacky banter” that is never too much.
I’m sure we’ll be able to enjoy the charm of the show in the second season and in the movie as well, so I’m looking forward to it!