Creative Staff:
Story/Art: Afro
Translation: Amber Tamosaitis
Lettering: DK
What They Say:
Every since Rin began talking about the unique joys of solo camping, it’s been on Nadeshiko’s mind—and now she’s intent on trying it herself! But while Nadeshiko has her heart set on going it alone, both Rin and Nadeshiko’s big sister, Sakura, can’t help but worry. Can such an easygoing girl handle the outdoors all by herself?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
It’s solo camping time, because Rin is the trendsetter of the group. This time, Nadeshiko is interested because she seems like the type of person that’s easily influenced into doing something because someone else did it and it looked cool. Which is exactly the reason she wanted to try out solo camping.
Camping in general didn’t sound like a good experience before reading this manga, but reading it brings back all the good memories of camping that I do have. It’s a good time, though the humid as heck Iowa summers were not the best environment in which to camp. Winter, though, sounds much more tolerable, and I’m sure in the more temperate southern California that I am now, it could be downright pleasant!
What I’m getting at is that Afro very perfectly captures the allure of camping in Laid Back Camp. The very name even fits the mood they set up in every volume. Seeing Nadeshiko chill out at the campsite, wrapped up in her blanket while her food cooks in foil, just seems like a very appealing thing to do. Plus, truly, nothing beats the smell of a campfire going.
The more endearing parts of Laid Back Camp, and what I keep saying brings me back volume after volume, is the concern that Rin and Sakura have for Nadeshiko as she embarks on her first solo camping adventure. They both have things of their own they want to do—they run into each other at Lake Narada prior to this—but their concern for the airheaded Nadeshiko overwhelms those other desires.
It’s just so incredibly nice to see nice people do nice things.
In Summary:
This volume, as every other, is an absolute joy to read. Each one makes camping feel a little more appealing. Afro does mention in the back of the book that they’ve only reached January in the manga’s timeline, which makes me wonder (because I do not remember) what month the manga start in… They have a trip in Izu planned for March, so I’m actually excited how summer camping will be for the laid back girls in a humid Japan. I guess that’s for volume 15 or so.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: October 1, 2019
MSRP: $13.00