Urasekai Picnic

Initially I did not want to watch Urasekai Picnic because I very well know from the synopsis itself that this is going to be a supernatural horror series. You’re damn right that I better chicken out now rather than having sleepless nights. Not going to frighten myself to death for years to come. But wait… What the heck changed my mind to watch this? Oh… The promotional poster. A couple of cute girls as protagonists. Mmm… One of them looks very cute. Right up my kind of alley. Okay then. There’s the green light to check this out. Sighs… SIGHS… *Intense deep breathing*… I guess I never learn. Still a sucker for a pretty face. And that my friend, is how I ended up watching this series for the most stupidest of reasons. Horror genre, nope. Supernatural factor, nope. Mild yuri, okay but still nope. For the adventure and mystery plot, not to sure about it but still a nope. But one glimpse of a cute blonde girl on the front poster, SIGN ME UP NOW!!! Yeah, I know. Sighs… Stupid brain. Stupid libido. Stupid me.

Episode 1
In the Otherside, Sorawo Kamikoshi is attacked by some hazy smoky-like creature and almost left for dead. Until Toriko Nishina stumbles into the area looking for somebody and somewhat saves her. Sorawo warns her not to look directly at it or she’ll go mad. Didn’t listen, huh? With the creature still dangerously lingering around, Toriko throws a rock salt and the creature disappears! All that’s left is a shiny cube. Then they take refuge in an abandoned cabin as they talk about their experiences entering the Otherside. So this creature is called wiggle-waggle, huh? Sorawo read up some urban legend about it but its existence is still shrouded in mystery. Toriko is interested to sell the cube. A loud bang is heard on the door. Toriko whips out her gun just in case. Sorawo peeks into the peephole and sees all blue. This is bad news as Toriko’s experience tells her something bad will happen. As they prepare and open the door, they are relieved to have returned to their own world. A week later, Toriko visits Sorawo at her university to bug her and go wiggle-waggle hunting. I guess she has someone interested to buy the cube. Don’t worry, she has bought lots of rock salt at a bargain! They’re going to hit it rich! The duo enter some building to take an elevator. Well, according to Toriko, pressing the floor buttons in certain order gets you to the Otherside. Just don’t let all those crazy spirits from other floors rush in! SHUT THE DOOR QUICK!!! Finally they enter the Otherside. After searching around, they see a corpse. Shortly, wiggle-waggle pops up. Toriko throws her salt. Nothing happens. She shoots her guns. Nothing happens. Is this all they’ve got? Yup. Now cower and panic! As they think of what to do, Sorawo thinks of playing this side’s rules and that means staring into wiggle-waggle directly. However she has to do it herself and in the event she really goes mad, she needs Toriko to bring her back. Staring game begins and when it sounds like Sorawo is losing herself, Toriko slaps her back to senses. Sorawo now realizes and remembers what needs to be done. When she stares at it intensely, shoot it! This works as the creature turns into a shiny cube. The girls are relieved but also their fear set in. But hey, it was fun. Because now they can strike it rich! Time to celebrate. Sorawo narrates she wanted to keep Otherside to herself despite how scary it is. But she thinks it is more fun with this weirdo around.

Episode 2
Sorawo’s right eye is blue thanks to staring too long at the wiggle-waggle. Likewise, because Toriko tried to help her pull out whatever wiggle-waggle effects from her eye then, now her right hand is translucent. Toriko suggests visiting a professor friend of hers who has been researching this Otherside. So Kozakura is a grumpy loli? Okay, don’t judge a book by its cover. Damn, Kozakura freaking out when she learns they encountered the fourth kind. After explaining it briefly, this all stemmed for searching their friend, Satsuki Uruma whom they believed disappeared there. Satsuki was obsessed with the Otherside and like other fanatics, get involved with it too much and you’ll never return. Kozakura who was dragged into studying this supernatural, definitely didn’t want to go to the Otherside like she did and because of that, Satsuki brought in Toriko as her apprentice to explore more. Then 3 months ago, she vanished. After selling her the cube, too bad Kozakura can’t treat her translucent hand. She’s not a doctor, you know.

Next time Toriko and Sorawo meet up, they journey back to the Otherside. Sorawo feeling jealous she got dragged into this mess just to look for her friend. Before the argument could blow up, a guy points his gun at them and tells them to stop. Abarato just saved them from a supernatural trap called glitches that would have zapped them to nothing. Abarato mistakes Sorawo as his wife but soon comes to his senses. He tells his story that his wife was spirited away, the reason he came here looking for her. She disappeared one night after dinner and after all his research and possibilities, he concluded that and tried to find ways to get to the Otherside known to him as the Zone. He managed to get here via some shrine at certain time and angle. He also cautions them there are denizens of the Zone who have infiltrated their world, tapping their phones and meals just to abduct humans to their world. He knows they aren’t because they were arguing and Zone denizens don’t have emotions. As they follow strange footsteps into a strange building, before them is a strange woman in white. Sorawo knows that isn’t Satsuki as Toriko claims but rather Lady Hasshaku. However the latter ignores and continues to walk forward. Abarato too sees his wife in her and runs forward. Shortly, he disappears. Sorawo tries to force Toriko back but then suddenly it is Toriko who is trying to get Sorawo back! Sorawo realizes she was being tricked by Hasshaku. Was it playing her feelings for Toriko? So she likes Toriko? But what to do now? Sorawo realizes her right eye can see things in its real state so this has her realize Toriko’s hand can touch things and make them physical. She has Toriko touch Hasshaku as Sorawo pumps bullets into it to kill it for good. Next thing they know, they are back in reality but far from home. No money. Call Kozakura for help. Too bad, she tells them to walk home. You can do it! Ah well, it beats dying, right?

Episode 3
Another day, another adventure in the Otherside. Damn, that elevator jump scare almost got me!!! Anyway, as they trek to the village that Toriko supposedly wants to go, they have to watch out for glitches. Sure, Sorawo’s eye can spot them but she fears there may be some that are hidden. Yeah, it’s going to be troublesome to keep throwing and picking up stones just to check their path. Better safe than sorry. Even when Toriko suggests tying a rope to it, sounds like a great idea until they realize what if you also get hit by the glitch because it is connected to the rope? Back to square one. Better safe than sorry. Finally they enter this supposed village. Looks empty, looks strange. They think denizens of the Zone stay here. As they leave, Sorawo realizes Toriko has wandered off. Oh sh*t. As she looks for her, Toriko suddenly grabs her to hide in the shed. So something separated them then? Anyway, they feel something is looking for them and to remain inside here. Not sure why Sorawo is so conscious about Toriko’s face being too close to hers and that’s why she falls through the dilapidated shed. Freak out time! Because WTF this big headed alien monster???!!! RUN!!! They shoot a few shots and it shrivels up and dies. Phew. But what now, the entire village of big headed aliens are running after them! RUN FASTER!!! Thanks to the bad CGI, they don’t look as scary… With finite bullets, Sorawo then sees a small altar that connects back to their world. She has Toriko touch it as they jump in. Damn, the aliens also follow?! When they made it into their world, the altar disappears altogether. Phew. What a close shave. Then they start arguing about their head size. WTF. But Toriko is glad Sorawo is reliable and that they should continue teaming up. But Sorawo needs to really rethink all this.

Episode 4
Sorawo sees weird visions of what is believed to be the Space-Time Man who tells her not to return to Otherside again or she’ll never come back. It is believed that this guy guards the Otherside and prevents any intrusion into the world. Because Sorawo doesn’t want to risk her life looking for someone she doesn’t know, Toriko takes this the wrong way and leaves. She’ll find her precious Satsuki alone. Sorawo feels bad over saying that as she didn’t intend it that way. She just wanted to say she’s scared. Hence Sorawo goes to seek Kozakura’s help but she’s not going into the Otherside with her. Sorawo shows strange photos on her phone and one of them includes the day she met Toriko. That photo she didn’t know she has is actually Satsuki. When strange neighbours come banging on Kozakura’s door, she takes out her shotgun and tells them to scram. It all quiets down after she opens it. But jump scare!!! A big head eats them! Woah. Kozakura freaking out and pumping a few lead into but no use. They’re in the Otherside. Kozakura really getting scared as she admits she is useless here and not cut out for this fieldwork. So we hear her talk about what makes one scared easily or not. Also, a bit on Toriko’s past as her parents served in the Canadian military, that’s why she is good with guns. Also a bit on Sorawo’s past, her mom died while her dad and grandma joined some cult. They then kidnapped her as they camped out in some ruins. Some spirit thingy asked her if she needed them and since she didn’t. She was told to walk home with a kerosene and wait. Later, their bodies were found dead in the news. Sorawo had nowhere to go and somehow ended up taking a student loan for university. Can she repay that without any inheritance?

Sorawo thought she spots Toriko. She fires a warning shot but no response. Even weird, Kozakura walks off by herself without taking her shotgun. As Sorawo goes to look, she sees glitches everywhere and the Space-Time Man asking her why he did not heed his warning. Next thing she knows, everyone before her turned into plants. She snaps out of it after hearing Kozakura calling her. It seems Kozakura heard Satsuki’s voice and followed it. By the time she realized, she was in the middle of this place. Sorawo decides to further look for Toriko by using her eye to see the glitch’s true nature. So Kozakura not coming along? Will she be alright alone? Better believe in Sorawo then. Sorawo sees a version of herself that leads her to a blue room where Toriko is waiting. Toriko can’t come back with her since she has found Satsuki. Of course Sorawo can tell that is not Satsuki but a monster in disguise. Toriko in a trance as she talks about fear. Because humans only imagine it, the reason they use it to gain access to their minds. It is just their way of interacting. Sorawo continues to insist and tell her not to fall for this crap. She won’t let her be taken and pumps a few shots into the monster. After it disappears, Toriko returns to her normal self as she realizes that isn’t Satsuki. Then they get into a little squabble about Sorawo’s ambiguous words earlier on that caused their friction. But they soon make up and return to their world. Oh, did they forget all about poor Kozakura?! She’s waiting…

Episode 5
It’s going to be an expensive affair making up to Kozakura. Man, look at the pile of plates she ordered. After she’s done, Toriko orders more on the menu for themselves. It’s a party to celebrate their reconciliation. Toriko shows Sorawo that Hasshaku’s hat she’s got and tries it on for size. Good fit. Sorawo then talks about wanting to stop doing such dangerous stuffs because one day they’ll end up dead. Toriko isn’t worried. As long as they’re together, things will work out. Once done, looks like the bill racks up to 19 grand!!! OMFG!!! So trying to request a separate bill for Kozakura, eh?! Yeah, think about the trouble later. However the cashier seems to say something odd as they leave. Toriko doesn’t notice anything since she’s a bit drunk. Walking in the streets, Sorawo starts noticing it is getting darker and darker. I don’t think they’re saving electricity. Before they know it, they suddenly find themselves in Otherside. I suppose they’ve never been here at night. Sorawo thinks it’s because Toriko touched Hasshaku’s hat that got them into this spot. Then they spot this weird robo creature (discount AT-AT Walker?) with corpses hanging from it! Don’t want to wait to find out. Run! Plus, some strange face ghost thingy is chasing them too! They stumble into a railroad and hope to follow it to reach the station. They get down when they hear gunshots. Turns out to be the military. Lieutenant Will Drake talks to them and learns they are from Tokyo. But his men are wary and think they are one of the creatures. But Will knows they are human since they were being chased. Also, there’s this strange horned man that just walks pass them. Will continues to explain they are US marines from Okinawa. A usual training day turned into this when they suddenly realize the different vegetation. They had a few casualties and the robo mule they had carrying their dead comrades stepped on a glitch and turned into that monster. The marines take the girls to their base that is next to Station February AKA Kisaragi Station. Wow, it’s like they made a mini military base camp here.

Episode 6
Asking why they didn’t make it around the station, Will says because it is dangerous when the train comes. He takes them to see their commander, Major Ray Barker who explains how they experienced many casualties when they got here. Many losing their minds so they had to put them down. Those who step on glitches were far worse as they altered their bodies. He wants them to accompany the scout team tomorrow to look for more glitches but when they ask why they didn’t follow the tracks since there are none over it, they did send a team in both direction but only 1 came back and he became mad. As Will sees them to their tent, he also advises them not to use their handphones. Of course they disobey that order as Toriko has Sorawo call Kozakura. Yeah, that loli scientist isn’t impressed but he tells them to get whoever the f*ck behind them to stop being so noisy! Only, there’s no one behind them! Yikes! After explaining the marines they are with, Kozakura wonders if they are a top secret unit because she has never heard of this legion before. There is a chance that they might silence them. Especially so when they find out their bodies are altered. Then it gets weirder as Kozakura starts talking in an ominous way about the incoming train. Then something happens has all the marines scramble. Will is disappointed to find they have used the handphone because now a big battle is going to start. It seems the face ghost is rushing down from the mountains and the marines are pumping all the bullets at it but nothing happens. Sorawo wonders if the face ghost is just trying to scare them. Then she uses her eye to see a bull as its true form. She has Toriko snipe at it but nothing happens. Thinking perception has something to do with it, she snipes it herself and the face ghost is gone. The marines are happy that they have won but when they see Sorawo’s different eye, they become agitated that they might be one of the wild things. The girls make a run towards the station as the marines chase them. The train is coming as Sorawo could see their real world in it. They have to get on this train no matter what. So on the right timing as they jump on the tracks, Toriko grabs it as they ride inside the train. However Sorawo could see other ominous things and protects Toriko not to look at them. By the time they wake up, they’re back in their own world. Meanwhile Kozakura is creep out replaying the handphone conversation with Sorawo and Toriko because it has very creepy and random lines. She thinks they were playing a prank on her and will make them pay.

Episode 7
Beach episode! Sort of. The last time the duo jumped onto the tracks and back to their own world, they now find themselves in Okinawa. Oh yeah. Time to party. From bar hopping to shopping, is this what heavenly youth tastes like? Too bad for us hoping to see any yuri intercourse because they troll us with Toriko being naked in bed the next morning and Sorawo wondering if they actually did it. Only our imaginations will enlighten us… Eventually as they take a taxi home, something strange happens. Before they know it, they realize the taxi they are in turns out to be an abandoned car with lots of overgrowth on it. Clearly they have gone to the Otherside but since it is the beach, let’s have fun! From sunbathing to more drinking and target practice, fun is over when they heard strange voices nearby. Turns out to be punks beating dead a kid. When the punks target them, they did not hesitate to shoot and kill. Of course, Sorawo could tell they aren’t humans in the first place. Uhm, some animatronics made from various junk? Then the whole place turns night and blue. Uh oh. Scary monsters pop up as Sorawo reminds Toriko what she said that things get real bad when it turns blue. Yeah, Toriko just getting scared thinking bad about that. More creepy sand dolls rush out from the house to attack them. Shoot! Sure, unless you have unlimited ammo. Sorawo suggests running back to their parasol. Then she takes out Hasshaku’s hat and has Toriko’s hand run some run pattern around it. It then opens a portal back to their world just in time before the monsters close in. Although Hasshaku’s hat is broken, at least they come back in one piece. Still, Toriko wanted to sell the hat to Kozakura. But noticing a seashell from the Otherside came along with them, looks like this will do. Got to think positive after all. But for Sorawo, she noticed seeing someone at the end of the portal before it closes right after they land back here. Satsuki?

Episode 8
Akari Seto approaches Sorawo and thinks she has sixth sense and is an expert in the supernatural. She needs her help because she is being attacked by… Ninja cats! So any pizza? Just kidding! Sorawo dismisses that reputation of hers but Akari leaves her number to be contacted. Sorawo tells this to Toriko and Kozakura and of course they laugh it off. But the urban legend is real as there are stories about it popping up on the internet recently. So what’s this tanuki Kozakura have? It’s her own way to help cope with the fear. By the way, that’s a racoon… The doorbell rings. Oh no. Will history repeat itself? Just the delivery guy. So who ordered this strange vehicle? Toriko did during her drunken stupor. She thought it might be a good mode to traverse the Otherside. Kozakura kicks them out of her house as she will have nothing to do with them! Don’t want to be spooked like last time. Later Toriko talks to Sorawo about taking up Akari’s case. Sorawo seems to have her doubts. From what I understand, she finds cats cute and can’t bring herself to harm or kill them even if they are not really cats and from the Otherside. Toriko assures to leave everything to her. So they meet up with Akari who explains her situation. About a month ago, she stumbled into a group of cats. They started following her and subsequently attacked her during the daytime. She has some photos but they’re all blur. Don’t look now but there is a couple of them right now! Oh sh*t! Real ninja cats! Sorawo realizes they’ve stepped into the Space-Time dimension. They make a run for it as the ninja cats attack. Thanks to Akari’s karate, that is what helped her stay alive. Sorawo still cannot bring herself to attack the cats. Damn, those ninja cats faster than bullets! Sorawo also realizes because these ninja cats are like the Space-Time Man, they can only see but cannot touch. When the ninja cats search Akari’s purse, Sorawo asks her if she had something they want or did anything to abuse cats. None. Sorawo uses her eye to see and finds whatever the ninja cats are looking for is inside of Akari. This causes Akari to act hostile and weird so Sorawo forces Toriko to use her hand to grab whatever it is inside of Akari. She returns to normal and recognizes this cat charm that she got from her tutor but somehow lost it. Sorawo throws it away and the ninja cats immediately go after it. Damn, Sorawo actually thought of selling it to Kozakura? Now that they need to find a way out, suddenly they are surrounded by white cats! Furry dive attack! Next thing they know, they’re back in their world. Akari promises to keep this a secret and further explains how she got this charm. Apparently her tutor went missing 6 months ago. Guess who? Yup. Satsuki.

Episode 9
Kozakura calls Sorawo and Toriko to get their asses down here now. Oh, Akari is here too?! Apparently she knows about Kozakura thanks to Satsuki. She needs Sorawo’s help again. She asks if she knows about Kanno Sannuki. Looks like her friend, Natsumi “Nattsun” Ichikawa met a strange monkey that talked to her. Sorawo knows about this urban legend too. From what I understand, you are given human teeth and you’re supposed to give it to this old lady named Sannuki later. Problem is, Nattsun threw it away. So they go see Nattsun as she explains her woes ever since that day. After throwing away the teeth, she saw an old lady hung from the tree. More bad luck befall on her family (getting into accidents) and strange and creepy things start to happen to her. Sorawo uses her eye to look around the area. She sees something buried underneath a tree and digging it up reveals an urn filled with human teeth! It looks like there are many other things buried in the vicinity from skeletal remains of a dog and an old altar. As they continue searching, Nattsun talks to Sorawo about Satsuki. She feels she has this creepy vibe around her and had this feel she might take Akari away. Suddenly, Sannuki pops up before them. She claims she has not receive any teeth from them and is going to take them. And just like that Nattsun loses a tooth?! Akari tries to fight her but also loses one! However Sorawo wants Akari to continue fighting her. Don’t worry. She’ll be her eyes and will be watching her. In that instant, it’s like Akari falls into a trance and becomes some badass b*tch to give Sannuki a wholesome beat down!!! Until Sorawo says that’s enough that Akari returns to normal and Sannuki disintegrates. In the aftermath, things are looking up now for Nattsun and her family. Akari praises Sorawo because when she said those words to her, it was like she didn’t feel scared anymore. Sorawo quickly dismisses her that she likes urban legends. However she is into real life horror stories. Unlike urban legends based on sketchy origins, real life horror stories are first person accounts of direct contact with the paranormal. They are clues that lead to the other world and tales of those who lived to tell the tale. Akari changes the subject about Sorawo growing out her hair. Because it makes her look a bit like Satsuki now. What… Oh sh*t…

Episode 10
Toriko invites the gang to a BBQ restaurant. When Sorawo meets up with her, it seems she brings up the topic of Kisaragi Station. Thought you all forgotten about it, eh? Anyway, she wants to save those soldiers and can’t abandon them like that. Before they can discuss on how to go about that, they receive a call from Akari. It seems she can’t find the restaurant. What does she mean? She’s in an elevator and messing around with the buttons but now she’s on the rooftop. Oh sh*t… Don’t tell me… WHAT ARE THE CHANCES?! Then she thinks she saw them waving at her and goes to them. WAIT! DON’T GO!!! Line cuts off. Oh dear. Time to go get her back. As they are about to close the elevator door, Kozakura quickly rushes in. Can’t miss out on the BBQ, right? Wait till she hears about the detour they’re going to. F*CK THIS SH*T!!! LET ME OUT!!! Too late, you’re in for the ride. And so a panicky Kozakura has to suck it up and follow them. They finally reach the floor where Akari is supposedly on. They see and call out to her but it seems she just ignores them and walks ahead. As this place isn’t technically the Otherside and in between, this limbo might be stranger than the Otherside. Other than Kozakura complaining the usual, we see strange stuffs and experience strange things. I think this is just for the jump scare! Oh, how’s your heart, Kozakura? They follow Akari deep into different and strange platforms until Sorawo manages to catch up to her. It is then Akari is glad to see her. However Akari claims she has been following them. How can it be when they’re the ones chasing her? She also claims she was following Sorawo with long hair. Oh… But Sorawo has short hair. Oh… Akari doesn’t even know why. Don’t look now but a strange figure is before them. Since Sorawo’s eye and Toriko’s hands are twitching, they know it’s dangerous. Run back to the elevator! Oh Kozakura, you can run faster if you stop complaining! Not sure how this mist works because it’s like it’s hesitating despite catching up to the girls who are now in the elevator. The door closes. Phew. Safe. JUMP SCARE! IT OPENS THE DOOR! Next thing Sorawo knows, the door opens, it’s hell. Everywhere fire. And before them is Satsuki?! She uses Toriko’s hands to touch the scene and return them to reality. And here they are at the restaurant. Man, what a trip to work up an appetite. Yeah, do you still have an appetite? Kozakura better learn her lesson not to eat out with these girls anymore. But they’re still going to pay so it’s on them. Oh well… Everything’s back to normal, I guess?

Episode 11
So the girls call Kozakura because they want her help to go rescue the marines? Can they not get her involved? So they’re at the restaurant trying to recreate all their steps that led them there again. Yeah, at least this time they’re doing it at day time. Thankfully, Kozakura won’t be going with them but if they manage to get back alive, she’ll gladly buy this Hasshaku hat from them. After going everything they think would lead them to the Otherside, nothing seems to happen until they step back in to the Otherside. Oh, it’s night time. When they reach the tracks, a few gun shots are fired at them. Toriko fires a few shots in Morse code to signal SOS. The shots then stop. Then they rendezvous with Will and his soldiers who are surprised to see them. Apparently it has only been a few days here after the girls went missing. Sorawo explains her eye can spot glitches and they’re back to help them get out. Back at the base, the remaining survivors pack up what they need to prepare for home. Will shows the girls a couple of huge anti-mine tanks that they’ll be riding. Also, Toriko teaches Sorawo how to use an assault rifle and confirms her story that her mom served in the Canadian military. The gang gets moving as Sorawo leads the way and spot glitches in their path to be avoided. After a few hundred metres, the camp explodes. Will has set explosives so as to leave as few traces of their presence as possible. As they are seemingly at the home stretch, they spot a soldier waving for help. Sorawo can tell he is not human but the enemy. Fire at will! Oh sh*t! Lots of mud monsters charging???!!! How to defeat them when they regenerate? Even more so when Sorawo achieves a direct headshot at the strange horned man but his entire head rejuvenates. But after a certain distance, the enemies stop attacking and just stood there. Arriving at the place where the marines supposedly first entered this Otherside, Will can’t seem to remember at first but his hazy memories indicates he saw something nightmarish. The girls go to investigate the well ahead that could be a portal but to their horror they spot a woman watching them from behind a tree. WTF IS THIS KAKANDARA???!!! DON’T GIVE ME THE SCARES LIKE THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Episode 12
FIRE!!! SHOOT! SHOOOOOOT!!! Oh, it’s not working. HOW?! Kakandara transforms to its hideous true form and lets loose some paralyzing ultrasonic wave. Then some weird staring competition with Sorawo. She won’t lose until she finds its weakness. She needs Toriko to find something big to attack. Why, she rams it with a tank! Keep hitting and firing! Eventually it dies. Woah. That was… EASY?! Using Toriko’s hand to open the well, it also opens a gate back to reality. The soldiers are relieved as they give their lifetime of gratitude to the girls. Once all the soldiers are out, looks like the girls aren’t coming with them and close the gate. At least they got some moment to themselves. Sorawo crying from all the scary stuff as she reveals she didn’t actually care about the soldiers until Toriko brought it up and only did so because she asked. Toriko dismisses that and claims she is a kind person. Then they get out of here. Not sure how or where but eventually they did. Because now they’re back in Kozakura’s place and she’s reprimanding them about that vehicle still parked at her place. Do something it in 3 days or she will! As they look around for a gate big enough to drive it through, Sorawo realizes the one right in front of Kozakura’s house. Uh oh. Look at Kozakura’s reaction when she is told about it. Don’t freak out now! Can’t blame her for being grumpy and mad. Yeah, a gate of scary stuffs just right at her doorstep. You think they should buy her land too in that case? Show me the money! And don’t bring back scary stuffs! You hear?! The duo drive the vehicle into the Otherside. They talk about things. Like Toriko noting how Sorawo tagged along with her despite having no interest in Satsuki. Well, that’s because she’s her friend, no? But Toriko wonders if she is alright because this might hold her back since she has other friends. Toriko thinks she was once like her. She only wanted Satsuki in her life and nobody else. The irony was that she disappeared first. Her fear was to be alone in this world. Sorawo also thought when she first came to Otherside, she was happy to have a world of her own. She didn’t care about what others feel for her or feel scared about dying or alone. Until she met Toriko. Although Toriko still misses Satsuki and wants to see her, she is no longer afraid. I think we all know why. After returning to reality, they invite Kozakura and Akari for BBQ. So they think of splitting the bill, huh? Screw that. If they want to keep their vehicle at her place, you better treat her as much as she wants! Yeah…

Hello From The Otherside…
Oh, that was quite a pretty tame ending to say the least. But I don’t think I don’t want to have anything other than that. I mean, leaving everything with a cliff-hanger, something that scares the sh*t out of you and then just ends, leaving the heroines’ fate unknown, or some mind boggling scare teaser about Satsuki (like, she’s saying hello to you girls as she peeks from the edge of the gate! FFFFUUUU!!!!), man, I don’t think I could handle that. So with this tame ending to wind down things and to somewhat cement the friendship of Toriko and Sorawo, I find that acceptable. I’ll have it no other way!

Very safe to say, I was very spooked while watching this. Never have I felt such a way for a very long time. Even the seemingly less spooky ninja cats episode that looks so tame (and perhaps cute?) in comparison to other episodes, it still somewhat scared the hell out of me. Even when there are a few scenes that feel like red herring and nothing much ado (that strange limbo place where they try to get Akari back), it still adds to the scary factor. Most probably I have been conditioned to be prepared to be scared after the few initial episodes. Especially the ones riding the elevator to the Otherside and the damning episode of Hasshaku that sealed the fear factor in me. Ever since, every subsequent episode feels close to a jump scare for me even if the monsters or spirits weren’t mean to be that scary and maybe just ordinary to veteran horror buffs. But to me, it was really one hell of a scary ride. Yes, even as I type this line, I am still having goosebumps and my hair standing on ends all over! Yikes… I hope it was all worth the pretty face, my dumbass highness…

One of the reasons why I am scared this much or generally why humans are so is because of the fear of the unknown. Because I am not very well versed or knowledgeable about the supernatural, watching a supernatural horror series like this one enhanced that childhood fear of those eerie stories our grandmas used to tell us. It’s very flimsy and sketchy but those kind of creepy stories get etched in your mind forever especially when you’re a kid. Of course one obvious way is to do more research and find out more about the urban legends. However the fear of being further spooked the more I know, I just didn’t feel like doing any Google search. And hence it is that very same fear of the unknown as well as my blatant ignorance that contributes greatly to my frightfulness. Therefore there are a lot of stuffs here that have big questions marks and probably not solved (mainly Sorawo’s questioning of things that didn’t really amount to any concrete answers at all). Yes, people. I am not willing to risk the danger of being further scared even if there is a slight chance of me overcoming that fear with new enlightenment!!! NEVER!!! Better stay ignorant and in the dark. And be where the monsters lurk… Oh sh*t…

Therefore the other thing the further compounds my fear while watching this series is the musical score. Oh man. It was pretty damn effective in playing a part in scaring me. While it is not the creepiest of all soundtracks that I heard, one of the effective way of enhancing the fear is sometimes the track gets really loud at the most suspenseful and frightful of moments. Each time I heard the weird music, the back of my mind must be preparing for sh*t hitting the fan. And when it starts to gradually get loud and all the spooky suspense happening before my eyes, my mind will be ringing like mad, “OH SH*T!!! OH SH*T!!! JUMP SCARE COMING!!! PLEASE DON’T COME… PLEASE DON’T COME!!! PLEASE, NO… AAAAARRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!”. Yeah. I don’t know how I survived a dozen episodes without getting a heart attack. And the irony is that the background music aren’t that memorable to begin with. Can’t remember the tune right now but I know it’s going to be a scary one if I hear it again.

Now that I’ve got the horror aspects out of the way, let me move on to the story. It’s just a simple story of a couple of girls trying to find their lost friend on the other side. Nothing really spectacular. And that setting itself is an ‘excuse’ for the main duo to go on several excursions to find Satsuki, hence the encounter of many weird and spooky beings. Thus many of the episodes feel episodic and stand alone in nature. Because it’s like they want to try a certain path to reach their goal but it turns out to be a miss so back to square one. Hey, don’t know if you don’t try, right? Looking back in hindsight, sometimes it feels funny that most of the time they just run away when the enemy is spotted. I mean, could a mere mortal human take on those unexplained beings? I suppose that is your jump scare and horror factor because had they been heroines and go in to fight them head on, it wouldn’t have been much of a horror genre that was intended to be.

Of course there are some things that don’t make sense to me but as I have pointed out, that is because I don’t want to do any research so as to further scare myself. But others like Toriko and Sorawo arming themselves with guns to shoot at apparitions? Like, does it really work?! Are the bullets imbued with silver coating or holy water? I don’t know. I don’t see any effect of them firing at the apparitions and it’s like as though they’re taking pot shots. Hey, better than standing there doing nothing and just screaming. At least you have a gun and you could just divert all your fear while shooting at the enemy (hit or miss is a different story) and screaming. There. Feel better already? And it’s like they’re always lucky to get out in one piece and alive. I don’t know how they make it out but they did. Not that I care to know any further.

As for the main characters, not that I really give a damn at this point but yeah, as you could tell, cutie pie Toriko is the reason why I jumped in watching this horror fest. Sorawo’s a bit plain and their personalities are almost polar opposites. Toriko being the cheerful and positive one but Sorawo being gloomy looking and a bit more cautious. There’s some mild friendship thingy that hints it could blow up into some yuri thingy but I was too spooked to even care about it. Oh, Toriko and Sorawo getting a bit close to each other. Oh, I suppose it’s yuri time- WHAT THE F*CK DID THEY JUST JUMP SCARE ME???!!! Yeah… More often it feels like that. And their supernatural abilities feel flimsy because I don’t really know how it works. Sure, Sorawo’s eye could see things while Toriko’s hand could enable things. They just use it sparingly and not rely on it when they can. So more often I feel this is for convenience to get the plot moving or get them out of a pinch. Otherwise it would’ve made them God characters if they overused it and that won’t be fun anymore, right?

The best character and my personal favourite whom I can always relate to: Kozakura!!! Yes, this girl is literally the embodiment of my fears of the supernatural and I can actually feel for her when she gets drag into supernatural shenanigans by the duo. She may be a supernatural research expert but that doesn’t mean she isn’t supposed to be scared of them. It might be selfish of me to think this way but for Kozakura to be dragged into the Otherside by the rest, it somewhat makes me feel assured and ‘safe’ knowing that I am not the only chicken sh*t who is following Toriko and Sorawo into the Otherside. There’s another coward with me too. Phew. Thanks Kozakura. I knew I could count on you! Even in times of such scariness, Kozakura still thinks of the girls albeit with some sarcasm (like how they’ll have to compensate her for this scary sh*t). Yeah, I understand. Trying to be funny to ease the fear, huh? I’d do the same too…

Lastly, there’s Akari whom I feel is like the odd bunch. Introduced in the later half, she doesn’t add much to the table. Not even a potential yuri threesome whatsoever. Heh. Anyway, she her link to them is that, you’ve guessed it, Satsuki. This only further makes me speculate a flimsy conspiracy theory of mine that Sorawo is Satsuki herself because Akari noted she looked like her. After all, how much do we know about Sorawo’s past? And then there’s some mind bending memory altering conspiracy thingy… WTF… Hey, better I get confused than get spooked! Also on Akari, I think for her to be good in martial arts is to provide some variety because Toriko is good with guns, Sorawo just an amateur, so someone who can do close quarter combat should be ideal. Though, same problem of not sure how her punches and kicks can connect with the supernatural. Yeah, her alter ego part feels confusing. Is she possessed or does she have another side of hers?

Art and animation feel pretty standard. For the umpteenth time, yeah, have to note Toriko is the cute anime girl who made me watch this series. The rest just feels plain like Sorawo and Akari. Kozakura having white hair, I am deducing she got spooked so much that it lost their colour! HAHAHA!!! Oh sh*t, will mine to?! I hate to admit it but even if the apparitions are weirdly designed, some of them really spooked the hell out of me. Especially Hasshaku… I DON’T WANT TO REMEMBER FURTHER ABOUT HER!!!!! There is also CGI used but not as common and not so obvious. The more obvious CGI part is at the end whereby we see mainly Toriko and Sorawo (sometimes Kozakura) chilling out, talking nonsense with a cold one. Horribly weird but cute low quality CGI. But I guess it beats the scary looking ones. This anime is jointly done by Felix Film (Nekopara series) and Lidenfilms (Yamada-kun And The Seven Witches, Koi To Uso, Beelzebub-jou No Okinimesu Mama).

For the voice acting, I recognized Ai Kayano as Toriko since she is in her usual cutie voice. The only other one I recognized is Junichi Suwabe as Will. As usual, sounds weird as an American when trying to speak some lines in Engrish… Rina Hidaka as Kozakura sounds different. Probably she wasn’t in her loli mode and more of a grumpy sarcastic scaredy cat so it went over my radar. Other casts are Yumiri Hanamori as Sorawo (Seth in Radiant), Miyu Tomita as Akari (titular character in Gabriel Dropout) and Miyuri Shimabukuro as Nattsun (titular character in Yuragi-sou No Yuuna-san). The opening theme is Minikui Ikimono by Chico With Honeyworks. Feels a bit out of place because it’s a lively rock outfit. Hey, can’t complain. Don’t want to hear a spooky opener to further aggravate my fears. Though, I prefer the ending theme is You&Me by Miki Satou. Still a bit weird for a horror series since it has some hop elements in it and honestly even if this song isn’t my cup of tea, it does sound a bit calming and soothing after a scary episode. Hmm… Maybe I can get used to liking it after hearing a few more times. Machi Wo Nukete by Rionos is the special ending for the final episode. It is a slow and calming song that would’ve suited shows like Aria The Animation. However seeing this is a horror genre, I can’t help feel it creeps the hell out of me.

Overall, if there is going to be another season of this, for hell sure I’M NOT GOING TO BE WATCHING THIS SCARY HORROR SH*T AGAIN!!! Yup, definitely learnt my lesson here and it is a good thing I didn’t get sleepless nights. Thanks to me watching a few sleazy animes of the season after that to help calm my nerves. Heh. All in all, this supernatural horror with a pinch of yuri salt in it might be nothing to seasoned horror veterans and those who are looking for some sort of meaty story. But for those who are horror averse like me, stay way clear out of it. Don’t engage what you don’t know! So when something strange is in the neighbourhood, who am I going to call? Certainly not Ghostbusters or even Toriko-Sorawo combo. Because I’m going to run like hell! So was it really worth the pretty face? I don’t know. I mean, I came in expected to gawk at Toriko but I became like Kozakura instead. And I’m not even a lolicon! Yeah, the pretty face didn’t save me at all… Worst picnic of my life… More like, urusei panic!