Laid-Back Camp 14

ゆるキャン△ / Laid-Back Camp #14

by Afro, Stefanie Probst (Translator)

Eine Auszeit in der Wildnis! Das Zelt am ruhigen See, den Fuji direkt im Blick: Rin liebt es zu campen! Doch ihre ruhige Auszeit wird jäh unterbrochen, als die lebhafte Nadeshiko auf einem Fahrrad an Rins Campingplatz vorbeikommt.

Das neue Schuljahr hat begonnen! Und das bedeutet für die Mädels aus dem Outdoor-Club vor allem eins: neue Mitglieder zu rekrutieren und das überleben des Clubs zu sichern. Doch die Konkurrenz ist riesig, denn mindestens die Hälfte aller Clubs hat sich das Trendthema Camping auf die Fahnen geschrieben …

Genres: Manga, Slice Of Life, Young Adult, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Realistic Fiction

178 pages, Paperback

First published November 10, 2022

Reviews

[Niijishima · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first half is focusing on the cherry blossom trip from the last volume where we get a wonderful scene with Rin, Nadeshiko and Sakura. Rin is sharing an important place of her childhood with the Kagamihara sisters which shows how much their friendship grew over time and Rin as a person.
The second half starts with the new school year and with a greater focus on the new characters Mei and Ema. While the outdoor club struggles to find new club members, Mei found herself a new hobby thanks to Aoi. Later she actually joins the outdoor club so she can pursue her new hobby and I'm really excited for Mei's first camping/ biker trip next volume. She seems like a very cheerful but inexperienced person like Nadeshiko was at the beginning. It's also nice to see that the story is doing more with Aoi by letting her in the mainrole as Mei's senpai because of their shared interest in biking.

On the other side there is Ema who seeks a quite place to draw in the library where she meets Ena again and for the first time Rin. Ema seems to have a similar personality like Rin but not that excited in camping. But thanks to Rin she gets a part time job in a camping shop so it will be interesting to see how her new job affects her opinion over time about the overpriced hobby called camping

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Members of the OEC wrap up their cherry blossom viewing trip, and then everyone is focused on recruiting new members for the new school year.

I found this one harder to follow than many of the more recent volumes. There are some new characters introduced as the OEC recruits new students, some of the girls were job hunting, someone was trying to pick a road bike, and some were shopping for new camping equipment. I found it really hard to keep everyone straight for some reason. I wish there were a character guide in these. I think it will get better in the next volume as we get back to focusing on trips again (most likely).

Notes on content:
Language: Just one or two minor swears.
Sexual content: None
Violence: The first story has them seeing symbols lit up on the hills and they share the history of why those symbols are lit. It relates to some battles, and those are somewhat depicted.
Ethnic diversity: All Japanese students but from different regions (you can tell by their accents and regional foods they mention throughout the series)
LGBTQ+ content: None
Other: The back has a short story on reading fortunes for each other as a past time.

[The Book Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool local festivals really make a travel series pop, you know. It's just a tiny pitstop until the personality comes through. Anyway, Rin, Nadeshiko, and Nadeshiko's sister enjoy some of the local flair while Aki experiences her first solo camping night. (Yeah, I'd be scared of bears, too. That's why I don't think I could solo camp.) Then we get the whole gang together for a cherry blossom viewing campout complete with exotic(?) meats.

Then it's back to school and the OEC's perpetual struggle to get new members. (And my perpetual struggle not to start new hobbies I find in manga)

[Eressea · Rating 4 out of 5]

跟上一本隔太久，劇情在說啥都忘光了
不過JK真香~其他不重要XD

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cherry blossoms, Aki's first solo camping trip and a new club member!