Have you ever heard of a stamp rally? The premise is simple and you’ve probably participated an analogous activity before (we did one for the Alita: Battle Angel film): get stamped at various destinations and upon completion, perhaps win a prize! A stamp rally for the Yamanashi Prefecture, where the Outdoor Activities Club girls live, is the impetus for Room Camp, the new short-form series spin-off of Laid-Back Camp. No camping on the docket? No problem, as Chiaki has a plan for the group to visit (and eat) their way through Yamanashi, and win the grand prize!
A flimsy setup? Yes, but not much is needed for me to tune into anything featuring the Outclub girls. These three-minute segments seem like they’ll do what the original series did best—portray landmarks (but this time not just camping features) and feature the engaging personalities of its characters (though Rin and Ena were missing from episode one). And I’m totally in: Room Camp seems like a wonderful way to spend a few minutes a week (or half an hour at the end of the season) while also acting as a bridge to the impending movie and season two of the series. All the seiyuu are back, as are some of the staff, so the ingredients are there for what should amount as a nice, weekly snack, including really pretty, poppy theme song (“The Sunshower” by Asaka). In the meantime, you might want to check out the manga, which is being published in English and has now surpassed the timeline of the original series.
Room Camp can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
