Otherside Picnic

**Otherside Picnic** (裏世界ピクニック, *Ura Sekai Pikunikku*?) is a Japanese yuri sci-fi novel series written by Iori Miyazawa and illustrated by shirakaba. Published by Hayakawa Publishing, the series has seven eight published since February 23, 2017, with volume nine in the works.

The series has also been adapted into an ongoing manga series that began serialization in *Shonen Gangan* on February 10th, 2018, and published in English on August 31, 2021 by Square Enix. The series has also been adapted to an anime series that premiered on January 4, 2021.

J-Novel Club published a physical omnibus counterpart for the novels. The first omnibus which contains volumes one and two was released December 1, 2020. A second omnibus containing volumes three and four was released on August 4, 2021. The third omnibus containing volumes five and six was released on June 7, 2022.

## Plot

The series focuses on Sorawo Kamikoshi and Toriko Nishina, two young women who discover doors leading to the Otherside, a new world full of mystery that exists alongside our own. Where dangerous beings like the Kunekune and Hasshaku-sama that are spoken of in real ghost stories appear.

These doors can appear all over the place, such as in a run-down apartment building or by pressing a certain combination on an elevator. For research, for profit, and to find an important person, Toriko and Sorawo set foot into a new world in this story of bizarre exploration and survival.

## Media

### Novels

The series is written by Iori Miyazawa, illustrated by shirakaba, and published by Hayakawa Publishing since February 2017. There are eight volumes currently published. On December 2020, a junior edition of the Otherside Picnic novel was published under the children's book label Hayakawa Junior Books.

Each novel of the series contains 3-4 *files*, which are composed of chapters focusing on a specific true ghost story or net lore the protagonists encounter. An additional content called 'Works Referenced' is also found at the end of the novel where Iori Miyazawa mentions published works he referenced as well as the origin of the stories, such as pre-existing true ghost stories, net lore and those found on 2chan copypasta boards.

* English
* Japanese

 Release Date
 ISBN

* File 1: Kunekune Hunting
* File 2: Hasshaku-sama Survival
* File 3: Station February
* File 4: Time, Space, and a Middle-aged Man
* Works Referenced
 Her first encounter with Toriko Nishina was on the Otherside after seeing "that thing" and nearly dying. Ever since that day, exhausted university student Sorawo Kamikoshi's life changed. In this Otherworld, full of mystery, which exists alongside our own, dangerous beings like the Kunekune and Hasshaku-sama that are spoken of in real ghost stories appear. For research, for profit, and to find an important person, Toriko and Sorawo set foot into the abnormal. A tale of two girls' bizarre exploration and survival, brought to you by an up-and-coming Sci-fi author!

 Release Date
 ISBN

* ファイル１ : くねくねハンティング
* ファイル２ : 八尺様サバイバル
* ファイル３ : ステーション・フェブラリー
* ファイル４ : 時間、空間、おっさん
* 参考文献
 Her first encounter with Toriko Nishina was on the Otherside after seeing "that thing" and nearly dying. Ever since that day, exhausted university student Sorawo Kamikoshi's life changed. In this Otherworld, full of mystery, which exists alongside our own, dangerous beings like the Kunekune and Hasshaku-sama that are spoken of in real ghost stories appear. For research, for profit, and to find an important person, Toriko and Sorawo set foot into the abnormal. A tale of two girls' bizarre exploration and survival, brought to you by an up-and-coming Sci-fi author!

* English
* Japanese

 Release Date
 ISBN

* File 5: The Operation to Rescue the U.S. Forces at Kisaragi Station
* File 6: Resort Night at the Beach of the End
* File 7: Attack of the Ninja Cats
* File 8: Little Bird in a Box
* Works Referenced
* Special Column: Sorawo and Toriko Chit-Chat About the Original Ghost Stories
 Summer has arrived, and university students Sorawo Kamikoshi and Toriko Nishina’s connection deepens as they explore the alternate world known as the Otherside. There's a rescue operation for the U.S. forces trapped at Kisaragi Station, a night at the Beach of the End on the other side of a resort in Okinawa, a karate-using kouhai who is under attack by ninja cats… And will the mystery of Toriko's missing friend, Satsuki Uruma, finally unravel? The unknown and bizarre clash with complex relationships in this popular survival series.

 Release Date
 ISBN

* ファイル５ : きさらぎ駅米軍救出作戦
* ファイル６ : 果ての浜辺のリゾートナイト
* ファイル７ : 猫の忍者に襲われる
* ファイル８ : 箱の中の小鳥
* 参考文献
* 特別コラム　第2回! 空魚と鳥子のだらだら怪談元ネタトーク
 Summer has arrived, and university students Sorawo Kamikoshi and Toriko Nishina’s connection deepens as they explore the alternate world known as the Otherside. There's a rescue operation for the U.S. forces trapped at Kisaragi Station, a night at the Beach of the End on the other side of a resort in Okinawa, a karate-using kouhai who is under attack by ninja cats… And will the mystery of Toriko's missing friend, Satsuki Uruma, finally unravel? The unknown and bizarre clash with complex relationships in this popular survival series.

* English
* Japanese

 Release Date
 ISBN

* File 9: Yamanoke Presence
* File 10: Sannuki-san and Karateka-san
* File 11: The Whispered Voice Requires Self-Responsibility
* Works Referenced
 Autumn has arrived. Having narrowly avoided the curse of the Kotoribako, Sorawo and Toriko are back to exploring the other world. With boxed lunches in tow, the two take their agricultural vehicle for a leisurely drive across grassy terrain, deal with the problems caused by Sorawo's kouhai at university, and hang out at cognitive scientist Kozakura's house. Naturally, bizarre entities and Satsuki Uruma's shadow are watching their every move. And just what is Urumiluna, the greatest threat they’ve ever encountered? Don’t miss the third volume of the girls' tale of survival, where feelings they can't show each other collide!

 Release Date
 ISBN

* ファイル９ : ヤマノケハイ
* ファイル１０ : サンヌキさんとカラテカさん
* ファイル１１ : ささやきボイスは自己責任
* 参考文献
 Autumn has arrived. Having narrowly avoided the curse of the Kotoribako, Sorawo and Toriko are back to exploring the other world. With boxed lunches in tow, the two take their agricultural vehicle for a leisurely drive across grassy terrain, deal with the problems caused by Sorawo's kouhai at university, and hang out at cognitive scientist Kozakura's house. Naturally, bizarre entities and Satsuki Uruma's shadow are watching their every move. And just what is Urumiluna, the greatest threat they’ve ever encountered? Don’t miss the third volume of the girls' tale of survival, where feelings they can't show each other collide!

* English
* Japanese

 Release Date
 ISBN

* File 12: The Matter of That Farm
* File 13: Pandora in the Next Room
* File 14: The Inviting Hot Springs
* File 15: Overnight on the Otherside
* Works Referenced
 Winter is coming. Having been attacked by a group that worshiped Satsuki Uruma, Sorawo and Toriko head to the cult's former base—the Farm in the Mountains. The other world is still chock full of all kinds of dangerous mysteries, but the allure of exploring the unknown is ever present. Sorawo prepares for more adventures with Toriko, but the most terrifying of threats is silently closing in on them. Not to mention the fact that it seems there's something Toriko needs to tell Sorawo... There's no turning back now—a whirlwind of bizarre exploration and survival is upon them!

 Release Date
 ISBN

* ファイル１２ : あの牧場の件
* ファイル１３ : 隣の部屋のパンドラ
* ファイル１４ : 招きの湯
* ファイル１５ : 裏世界夜⾏
* 参考文献
 Winter is coming. Having been attacked by a group that worshiped Satsuki Uruma, Sorawo and Toriko head to the cult's former base—the Farm in the Mountains. The other world is still chock full of all kinds of dangerous mysteries, but the allure of exploring the unknown is ever present. Sorawo prepares for more adventures with Toriko, but the most terrifying of threats is silently closing in on them. Not to mention the fact that it seems there's something Toriko needs to tell Sorawo... There's no turning back now—a whirlwind of bizarre exploration and survival is upon them!

* English
* Japanese

 Release Date
 ISBN

* File 16: Pontianak Hotel
* File 17: Seeing the Past in an Oblique Mirror
* File 18: Alone in Mayoiga
* File 19: Hasshaku-sama Revival
* Works Referenced
 Having succeeded in their goal of spending a night on the Otherside, Sorawo and Toriko can now take their expeditions deeper. The two spend their days surrounded by the supernatural, going back and forth between their normal and abnormal daily lives. A chaotic love hotel girls' party in Shinjuku vanishes from Sorawo's memory. Toriko's university life and inner thoughts become clear. A mysterious lady lives in a mansion in the other world. As they search for clues as to the whereabouts of the missing man, Abarato, Hasshaku-sama appears before the pair once again. Otherside Picnic is back for its 5th volume!

 Release Date
 ISBN

* ファイル１６ : ポンティアナック・ホテル
* ファイル１７ : 斜め鏡に過去を視る
* ファイル１８ : マヨイガにふたりきり
* ファイル１９ : 八尺様リバイバル
* 参考文献
 Having succeeded in their goal of spending a night on the Otherside, Sorawo and Toriko can now take their expeditions deeper. The two spend their days surrounded by the supernatural, going back and forth between their normal and abnormal daily lives. A chaotic love hotel girls' party in Shinjuku vanishes from Sorawo's memory. Toriko's university life and inner thoughts become clear. A mysterious lady lives in a mansion in the other world. As they search for clues as to the whereabouts of the missing man, Abarato, Hasshaku-sama appears before the pair once again. Otherside Picnic is back for its 5th volume!

* English
* Japanese

 Release Date
 ISBN

* File 20: T is for Templeborn
* Works Referenced
 My name is Sorawo Kamikoshi. I’m just your everyday, plain-as-can-be student attending university in Saitama. One day, some blonde I've never met shows up and tells me I have amnesia. Before I have time to be confused, I'm whisked away to a mysterious facility in a car driven by a member of the yakuza. What's gonna happen to me?! T the Templeborn, the net lore that seals all memories of the world that exists alongside our own—the Otherside—attacks Sorawo and her companions! The tale of two girls' bizarre foray into a world exploration and survival continues with an extra-long story in Volume 6!

 Release Date
 ISBN

* ファイル２０ : Ｔは寺生まれのＴ
* 参考文献
 My name is Sorawo Kamikoshi. I’m just your everyday, plain-as-can-be student attending university in Saitama. One day, some blonde I've never met shows up and tells me I have amnesia. Before I have time to be confused, I'm whisked away to a mysterious facility in a car driven by a member of the yakuza. What's gonna happen to me?! T the Templeborn, the net lore that seals all memories of the world that exists alongside our own—the Otherside—attacks Sorawo and her companions! The tale of two girls' bizarre foray into a world exploration and survival continues with an extra-long story in Volume 6!

* English
* Japanese

 Release Date
 ISBN

* File 21: A Midterm Report on the Mysterious
* File 22: Toilet Paper Moon
* File 23: Funeral of the Moon
* Works Referenced
 Satsuki Uruma—a young woman of considerable importance to Toriko who disappeared while studying the Otherside. She has menaced Toriko and Sorawo many times as an apparition, but now, she makes her boldest move yet towards the latter. In an act of desperation, Sorawo resolves to use everything she knows about the occult to finally “exorcize” her. Enlisting the help of not just Toriko, but Kozakura, DS Research, and even former cult leader and high schooler Runa Urumi, Sorawo leads the charge on a funeral operation.

 Release Date
 ISBN

* ファイル２１ : 怪異に関する中間報告
* ファイル２２ : トイレット・ペーパームーン
* ファイル２３ : 月の葬送
* 参考文献
 Satsuki Uruma—a young woman of considerable importance to Toriko who disappeared while studying the Otherside. She has menaced Toriko and Sorawo many times as an apparition, but now, she makes her boldest move yet towards the latter. In an act of desperation, Sorawo resolves to use everything she knows about the occult to finally “exorcize” her. Enlisting the help of not just Toriko, but Kozakura, DS Research, and even former cult leader and high schooler Runa Urumi, Sorawo leads the charge on a funeral operation.

* English
* Japanese

 Release Date
 ISBN

* File 24: Mujina Attacks
* File 25: Learn Your Lesson
* File 26: Accomplices No More
* Works Referenced
 “Did you know? They say that being accomplices is the closest kind of relationship in the world.” This is what Toriko said to Sorawo not long after they met on the Otherside. A little over a year has passed since then. Now that the threat of Satsuki Uruma is behind them, there's something else Sorawo must face; a genuine confession of love from Toriko, with only one week to respond. Through a series of conversations with herself and those around her, Sorawo begins to reinterpret her relationship with Toriko... Sorawo and Toriko's bizarre tale of exploration and survival is coming to a climax!

 Release Date
 ISBN

* ファイル２４ : ムジナ・アタックス
* ファイル２５ : オモイシレ
* ファイル２６ : 共犯者の終り
* 参考文献
 “Did you know? They say that being accomplices is the closest kind of relationship in the world.” This is what Toriko said to Sorawo not long after they met on the Otherside. A little over a year has passed since then. Now that the threat of Satsuki Uruma is behind them, there's something else Sorawo must face; a genuine confession of love from Toriko, with only one week to respond. Through a series of conversations with herself and those around her, Sorawo begins to reinterpret her relationship with Toriko... Sorawo and Toriko's bizarre tale of exploration and survival is coming to a climax!

### Manga

Main article: Otherside Picnic (Manga)
The manga adaptation of the Otherside Picnic illustrated by Eita Mizuno began serialization in February 2018 by Square Enix's Shonen Gangan magazine and currently has seven volumes published since August 2018. In July 2020, Square Enix Manga & Books, which is the North American publishing division of Square Enix, licensed the manga for an English release both physically and digitally on August 31, 2021.

### Anime

Main article: Otherside Picnic (Anime)
On March 5, 2020, Shonen Gangan, a manga imprint of Square Enix Holdings, announced that Iori Miyazawa’s science fiction Yuri series, *Otherside Picnic* would be adapted into a TV anime. The anime adaptation was directed by Takuya Satō, who is also working on the series composition at LIDENFILMS and FelixFilm. A second PV was also released, featuring the latest cuts from the production. The Otherside Picnic anime premiered on January 2021 and starred Yumiri Hanamori as Sorawo Kamikoshi and Ai Kayano as Toriko Nishina. Rina Hidaka and Miyu Tomita were also announced to join the cast as Kozakura and Akari Seto, respectively.

An exclusive special program was streamed on NicoNico with Yumiri Hanamori *(Sorawo)*, Ai Kayano *(Toriko)* and Rina Hidaka *(Kozakura)*. It was held on December 13, 2020. The first four minutes of the anime was presented during the said stream. A mini-web program "Otherside Tokubetsu Activity Report" was also released on the same day, where Yumiri Hanamori and Ai Kayano talk about the 'Otherside' in a 5-minute episode-format which was being released every Sunday.

## Others/Collaborations

An Otherside Picnic café collaboration was held until January 12, 2021 in Yurindo Yodobashi Akiba Café Shop to commemorate the release of both volume 5 of the manga and the novel, as well as the upcoming anime. Visual boards and illustrations from the original novel and anime are displayed throughout the shop and a free postcard is given to customers who ordered at the cafe during the fair. A book fair collaboration for Otherside Picnic has also occurred before in Yurindo for the release of the fourth volume of the novel which was held last December 2019.

## Trivia/s

* Otherside Picnic first appeared in SF Magazine's August 2016 Issue as a one-shot short story.
* Contrary to popular belief, Otherside Picnic is not a light novel. The novels are published by Hayakawa Publishing, a well-known SF Publishing Company that does not publish light novels and has their own labels for their imprints. They categorized the series as a general novel label called ハヤカワ文庫JA (*Hayakawa Bunko JA).* Iori Miyazawa had also cleared that the series is not a light novel and did not write the series as such.
* The series is a homage to the science fiction novel *Roadside Picnic* by the Strugatsky brothers. Iori Miyazawa had said in an interview that he took inspiration from the sci-fi novel, also mentioning the PC game *S.T.A.L.K.E.R.:* *Shadow of Chernobyl* and how he wanted to write a modern women's version of "Stalker" in a true ghost story.

## References

1. ↑ Hayakawa Books Otherside Picnic TV Anime Announcement Hayakawa Books & Magazines
2. ↑ Square Enix Manga & Books | Otherside Picnic Square Enix Manga & Books
3. ↑ Otherside Picnic official Twitter announcement @OthersidePicnic
4. ↑ [Distribution Started!] Otherside Tokubetsu Activity Report Otherside Picnic Official Twitter
5. ↑ Yurindo Akiba/Otherside Picnic Special Book Fair Collaboration. Yurindo Twitter Announcement
6. ↑  実話怪談で、現代女子版の 『ストーカー』を書きたかった。『裏世界ピクニック』宮澤伊織インタビュー完全版 Hayakawa Publishing