First Impression: Otherside Picnic

I caught the first episode of Otherside Picnic and I wasn’t too impressed.

We meet our protagonist laying in a puddle of water on the verge of death. She is saved by Toriko, a beautiful blonde with long, flowing locks. Immediately, the scene is set for romantic feelings. We have our protagonist, Sorawo, who is a college student that keeps to herself. She is a bit distant and quiet. Toriko, on the other hand, is vibrant and full of life.

We discover that both girls have access to a different dimension filled with dangers. Sorawo has figured out that many of the creatures are from urban legends and ghost stories. As they escape back to the real world, Toriko wants to continue their friendship, however, loner Sorawo chooses not to share her contact information. Leave it to Toriko to find her and ask her to go back to the “otherside” with her. Allegedly, an artifact that they collected was worth a lot of money and she had a potential buyer. They work together to defeat another creature and Sorawo hints that maybe she is willing to stay by Toriko’s side and share this “otherside” with her.

Honestly, the show is very “meh” for me, but it is a bit unfair to call it boring without giving it a few more episodes. I can’t really even articulate what I don’t like about it. Maybe it is the blatant setting up of a love story that bothers me. I did not know this was categorized as a shoujo ai when I watched the first episode, but immediately felt that was the direction it was headed. Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against shoujo ai. I’m just not sure what kind of place it has in this very sci-fi setting of other dimensions. I could be wrong. I’ll give this one the three-episode treatment just to be sure.