Meat and Fall Colors and the Mystery Lake

**"Meat and Fall Colors and the Mystery Lake"** is the sixth episode of season one of the *Yuru CampΔ* anime series.

## Synopsis from the official anime site

*Rin got a new item for solo camping, a compact bonfire grill! With this, you can cook bonfires and cook in places where direct fire is prohibited. When asked if she wanted to grill the meat, she thought that Nadeshiko was here at Yakiniku Camp and was excited to go to the camp on the weekend. After having her sister Sakura drive Nadeshiko with the car, they bought the meat and went triumphantly to the Shibireko Lake campsite, but there is a certain legend at this campsite...*
### Plot

Finished reading a book about Mathematics and the Cosmos alone in the library, Rin how the end of the year is near. Also, she recalls her camping excursion in Nagano and recalls the gift she has for Nadeshiko in her bag. Inside the bag, Rin finds underneath Nadeshiko's present another box that she remembers it's a package that arrived for her. Inside the box was a compact bonfire grill that she ordered before leaving for Nagano. Rin quickly assembles it and notes its tiny size, but is overall impressed by it.

While reading through a cooking magazine, Rin contemplates how she'll use her new compact grill, until Ena arrives. The two then discuss the various things Rin plans to cook on the grill and Ena also points out that Rin hasn't given Nadeshiko her gift yet. At first, Rin asks if Ena could deliver it for her, but she declines, insisting that Rin does it herself. Once Ena leaves, Rin returns to her librarian duties and finds Nadeshiko lazily asleep on the floor. Kicking Nadeshiko awake, Nadeshiko confesses to Rin that she watched her conversation with Ena and didn't want to interrupt it. Then, Rin gives Nadeshiko her present of chocolate steamed buns, and Nadeshiko is elated by them. As the two enjoy Nadeshiko's present, she then notices Rin's grill, and Rin's suggests they try it out. Overjoyed by the offer, Nadeshiko suggests they have a BBQ camping trip that weekend and assures Rin that she'll find the camping ground this time. Reluctantly Rin agrees to Nadeshiko's offer and Nadeshiko wonders what meat they'll cook, but Rin notes that their finals are approaching.

That weekend at Rin's house, Sakura drives Nadeshiko to the house where she and Rin prepare for their camping trip. Finally prepared for the trip, Nadeshiko and Rin are driven to their camping location by Sakura while being seen off by Rin's mother Saki. En route to their destination, Rin notes how comfy the car is and the disparity between Sakura and Nadeshiko's appearances. Stating her surprise about the Shibireko Lake campsite, Nadeshiko details to Rin that she heard it from Chiaki and Aoi. A flashback shows Chiaki elaborating about the urban legend involving a big tasty fish. Chiaki appoints Nadeshiko to find it and she promises to fulfill her duty.

They then arrive at a supermarket and both Nadeshiko and Rin shop around the place for meat to use on the grill. However, their choices of meat are not in stock due to them being out of season, which mortifies Rin. So, they compromise with alternatives like chicken skewers and hamburger steaks. Also, Nadeshiko purchases some fried meat from the butcher, which Rin considers a cleverly laid trap. At the checkout line, the two surprisingly have Aoi as their cashier. Back on the road, Nadeshiko enjoys her fried meat, but Sakura opens up the car window blasting cold air in Nadeshiko's face. Sakura claims she did that since the smell of fried meat stunk up the car.

Returning to the supermarket, Aoi calls it a day and gets a text from Chiaki that shows a picture of her at the camping ground she planned to stay at. Chiaki and Aoi both briefly talk with each other via text as Chiaki scopes out the camping ground. During her reconnaissance, Chiaki spots an old man grilling some meat on a skillet. The old man offers Chiaki a piece and she accepts, noting how great it tastes once she tries it. Thereafter, Chiaki continues her excursion and notes that she wants to get her own skillet in the future.

Finally, at their destination, Nadeshiko is instantly amazed by the lake and the foliage of the trees. A receptionist at the campsite then approaches them and they register for the night there. After they unpack their camping supplies from Sakura's car, Rin and Nadeshiko head to the campsite together. On their way, there, Rin mentions the rumor about the ghost of a cow haunting the area. Upon hearing this, Nadeshiko faints due horror of a ghost haunting the place.

### Room Camp episode

Inuko tells a tall tale about the original meaning of the phrase, *soba-udon*.

### Characters

* Rin Shima
* Saki Shima
* Ena Saitō
* Nadeshiko Kagamihara
* Sakura Kagamihara
* Chiaki Ōgaki
* Aoi Inuyama
* Rin's Grandfather
Rin's Grandfather, whom Chiaki meets, is listed in the credits as "Camper old man" (キャンパーの老人 *Kyanpā no rōjin*)
* Suimeiso Caretaker (管理人, *Kanrinin*), Seiyu: Katsuhiro Tokuishi 德石勝大
* Part-timer woman (パートの女性 *Pāto no josei*), Seiyu: Asami Yano 矢野亜沙美

### Crew

* Screenplay: Hitoshi Tanaka
* Storyboard: Fumiyo Kamanaka
* Director: Norihiko Nagahama
* Work supervisor: Teruko Takeshima

## Adapted from

* Souvenirs and After-school Yakiniku Discourse (Manga chapter 9)
* Meat, Fall Leaves, and the Mysterious Lake (Manga chapter 10)
* Room Camp 9 - Soba 'n' Udon (Manga volume 3 extras)

## Notes & Trivia

* Rin and Nadeshiko are camping at Suimeiso Campground (四尾連湖 水明荘キャンプ場 *Shibireko suimei sō kyanpuba*) on Shibire Lake (志比礼湖 *Shi Hirei-ko*), also known as Mystery Lake (神秘麗湖 *Shinpi Reiko*). The lake is said to be the spiritual home of Dragon King Ozaki (尾崎龍王 *Ozaki Tatsuō*).
	+ Location on Google Maps
* Inuko's tall tale in the Room Camp segment is based on a pun made from the expression, *soba-udon*. Soba is buckwheat noodles, and udon is wheat pasta. It is commonly written "そばうどん". Inuko makes a play on words to give it a different meaning, using the alternate writing of "蕎麦鵜丼". The grain buckwheat (蕎麦) is also *soba*. The bird known as the shag, or cormorant (鵜), is pronounced 'U'. The word *donburi* (丼) is used as a suffix meaning "served on rice"; for example, *katsu-don* (カツ丼) is pork cutlet on rice. Hence, the fictional food she is describing is buckwheat-fed shag (cormorant) on rice (蕎麦鵜丼), and is pronounced "soba-u-don". She says that eventually people forgot about that meaning, and substituted the word "udon" (うどん), meaning wheat-noodles.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 *YuruCamp.jp* - Story【第6話】| TVアニメ「ゆるキャン△」公式サイト (お肉と紅葉と謎の湖 in Japanese; in English: [Episode 6] Meat, Autumn Leaves and a Mysterious Lake)
2. ↑ *Wikipedia* - Great cormorant / Black shag
3. ↑ *Word Hippo* - Cormorant
4. ↑ *Word Hippo* - Katsu don
5. ↑ *Word Hippo* - Soba u don

## External Links

* Yamanashi Tourism official Yuru Camp page for this episode
* *四尾連湖* - Lake Shibire
* Suimeiso Campground official site