Juru Camp - Season 1

The original review is from 2018, updated for 2021: This was definitely the most pleasant surprise of the anime season Winter 2018 and was a very impressive and enjoyable show. I too was worried that this would be just another typical school club anime series with some cute girls, yet surprisingly the whole school club thing remains in the background and the show focuses on what its title promises - camping. I was in the Scouts for a few years and went camping with my friends, and I think they were the best years of my life (I was at high school), so this subject matter is very close to my heart. It was very gratifying to see that this show captured the spirit of camping (and not only camping with friends) very faithfully and in an incredibly endearing way. After all, camping is about adventures, finding beautiful places to enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside, for example by a nice crackling fire. Years later, I still have fond memories of when I saw the sunrise over Amerika (a flooded quarry near Beroun), so I understand how such powerful moments and beautiful scenery can be found in the great outdoors. In general, I have a very positive feeling from this show, not only because of the respectable way they presented the subject matter but also due to the quality of the soundtrack and the well-chosen cast of characters. Personally, I have to declare the opening as the best opening song of the year 2018 and I am going to add "Shiny Days" to my playlist. Sure, one should maybe not factor the opening and closing songs too much into the overall rating, as it has a trivial effect on the story, however, with a vibey anime series like this one I just cannot ignore it, because, unexpectedly, the opening and closing songs add a lot to the overall vibe of the show, and they both work so perfectly well in the show. Furthermore, they chose some really good music to underscore the story throughout the show as well. For example, I really liked the subtle guitar motif that popped up so often. As for the characters, I have seen similar ones before and there is nothing new about them. However, the characters in this show are well designed. The central duo nicely contrast and complement each other, and the other characters have their place as well (not necessarily that important, however, they are still enjoyable). Additionally, the work on the characters and just the fact that this is not a typical show where the characters are falling over each other and having supposedly amusing interactions is incredibly refreshing. The story about the two camps and Rin’s solo camping were something quite new to me and I enjoyed them a lot more than if all the girls were just hanging out together the whole time. Aside from all that, it is also a rather cute and amusing anime series that really put a smile on my face. So for me personally, this is the best “slice of life” anime series of the anime season Winter 2018 (Hakumei and Mikochi has its undeniable qualities, however, I found this a little more charming) and it is also one of the best anime series this year in general... 8.4/10. (07.01.2021) (menos) (más)