For quite some time, the Solo Camping for Two (Futari Solo Camp) manga has been my most beloved hidden treasure. Anime and the outdoors are my the two biggest loves in my life. It’s because of that love that I can pontificate on shows like Slow Loop and Encouragement of Climb like they’ll lead me to heaven.
Yet, as much as I adore those anime and others like Laid Back Camp, I’ve always lamented how none of them capture how profoundly nature can affect you. Even their respective mangas lack that sentimental touch. That’s a complaint I never had with the Solo Camping for Two manga. With their manga, Yuudai Debata crafted an ode to the outdoors unlike any before it. When I found out it was getting an anime, the news drove me to euphoric delirium. Then when Crunchyroll offered us a screener, I was in tears.
Unfortunately, minutes into the first episode, it became clear that SynergySP would struggle to properly capture Yudai Debata’s masterpiece. SynergySP delivers subpar animation and makes plot changes that drastically diminish the experience. Because of that, my excitement for the Solo Camping for Two adaptation has dampened. But with the rest of the manga’s magic still intact, I can’t write this off just yet.
Solo Camping for Two — Of Vibes and Visuals
Two key aspects loom over any adaptation: replicating the source material’s visuals and capturing its vibe. You’d think that aiming for a 1:1 reproduction is the smartest choice, but you’d be wrong. Let me depict what I mean by that. Think about Laid Back Camp. C-Station adapted Seasons 1 and 2, while 8bit handled Season 3. Although 8bit’s art more closely matches the manga, fans still prefer C-Station’s adaptation. Why? C Station understood that the scenery wasn’t just there to impress; it was there to motivate.
On the other hand, 8bit made the Secret Society Blankets girls the main attraction of the show and relegated nature to the background. C-Station always placed nature as an integral part of the story it was telling. In Seasons 1 and 2, the bond of the girls, especially that of Nadeshiko and Rin, is built upon their shared love for the outdoors and camping. That brought them together. In season three, Laid Back Camp becomes a wanton CGDCT anime; the outdoors and camping feel like they can be replaced by any other hobby.
The outdoors was an integral part of the Solo Camping for Two manga. SynergySP failed to capture the look of the manga, and in doing so also placed nature in the back seat. The force that drives this story seems destined for a background role. The best example of this is that the show’s most important scene (when Gen and Shizuku see the night sky) focuses more on them than the night sky. The manga perfectly balanced the beauty of the scene the two characters saw above them with how it affected their emotions. In the anime, it shallowly focuses on the latter. Something of immense value was lost because of that.
Plot Changes Are Bad, M’Kay
How people meet and progress together is always important to any story. In the manga, Gen and Shizuku meet the same way. But how Shizuku convinces Gen to spend time with her is way more toxic and coercive. While changing that for the anime may seem like a positive thing, it’s horrendous for the story. What made Gen and Shizuku so special was that they overcame their first encounter and became quite close. Having Shizuku shift from coercive to annoying changes the whole dynamic between the two.
The Solo Camping for Two manga has major foodie moments. It shows that camping cuisine can be more than cans and cholesterol-filled processed meats. I was so excited to see the gourmet part of this work, but it’s not there. If Gordon Ramsay saw that Shizuku’s camp dinner and breakfast, he’d have a stroke. Anthony Bourdain would get depressed over the FSC food. I’d crap on a restaurant’s bathroom floor if they served me something that looked so mediocre.
The Good in the Solo Camping for Two Anime
Gen’s love for the outdoors, Shizuku’s adventurous spirit, and the frankness between these two remain. There’s no hyperbole or exaggerated behavior; much like in the manga, these two are believable. Despite all the chaos surrounding their first encounter (even in the manga), these two are truly kind-hearted. That warmth is perfectly preserved in the adaptation. Shizuku’s lack of boundaries is still gratingly there XD.
We get voiceovers explaining outdoor conditions; hopefully, this is a constant because a lot of people don’t realize that 70° in the mountains is far different than 70° in the city. Likewise, there are plenty of outdoor gear and scenarios that excel at being deceptive, and viewers deserve an explanation.
Shouta Kowashi (music) and Daiki Tamaki (sound director) did an outstanding job with the anime’s score and scene music. Additionally, Daiki Hamano (Noor in I Parry Everything) and Mizuki Niizaki brought Gen and Shizuku to life through their voice acting. They sound exactly like what I’d expect these two to sound like. That may be a conceited way of phrasing that, but I’m the one with the screener, so I’m the only one here.
Despite My Complaining — You Should Watch It
Solo Camping for Two’s production committee confirmed that this is a two-cour show, so we can expect at least 20 episodes. That means there’s a lot of room for improvement, and I’m hopeful that improvement will come. There’s no way to fix what’s already been excluded, but the anime still shows the camping hacks and gear that the manga excelled at depicting.
Not everyone gets upset over differences in art style between a manga and its adaptation. Likewise, plenty of people don’t really care if certain plot points are removed. Should Solo Camping for Two still depict the appeal of solo camping, it still has the potential to inspire people to pick up what can be a life-changing hobby. I’m hopeful that this will be the case, even if what SynergySP has presented so far is disappointing.
Solo Camping for Two will simulcast on Crunchyroll every Thursday starting on July 10, while it had its world premiere today at Anime Expo 2025. Thank you to Crunchyroll for providing me and Anime Corner a screener copy of Solo Camping for Two’s first episode.
©Yudai Debata, Kodansha -Solo Camping for Two Anime Production Committee
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