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Otherside Picnic Light Novel #5
Otherside Picnic Volume 5: Hasshaku-sama Revival
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!
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!
200 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 17, 2020
18 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 15, 2021
During their odd hot springs visit, a love hotel girls’ party was proposed and that plays out in typical Otherside fashion by going absolutely crazy. Toriko and Sawaro also encounter an uncanny mirror (or three), a small oasis in the Otherside, and the return of an old “friend”. Which is all a lot of background noise to Sawaro coming to terms with a lot of things…
Ah, the dependable weirdness of Otherside Picnic is back and while not the strongest set of stories we’ve had in the series, there’s enough going on to make this a very good volume indeed.
The first story starts off as a visit to a love hotel and initially seems like it’s going to be an excuse for T&A and then goes a step beyond that without actually being explicit. I love the way this one plays out because it has an extremely eerie vibe and a super suggestive tone that relies on the reader filling in the naughtiest details. There’s also another weird suggestion about Sawaro’s nature that I swear has been previously seeded.
We see the stirrings of this book’s big conflict starting even from the first story - Toriko is making absolutely no bones about her attraction to Sorawo, but Sorawo doesn’t seem equipped to take the hint. There’s a lot of avoidance throughout, which leads to some very hurt feelings (the way Sorawo’s uncertainty wounds Toriko at times is really brutal).
Which is really explored in the second story, which involves a set of mirrors and is more focused about the feelings between the pair. Sawaro, we find out, is perfectly aware of Toriko’s feelings, but is not doing well parsing herself as desirable or even how she feels about Toriko (even though her actions have been ridiculously obvious for some time now).
The mirror bit is okay - it goes to some creepy places, but the real meat is when Sawaro sees the world briefly through Toriko’s eyes and let’s just say that it’s an informative experience and done in a way that I think really works. You may think you know how somebody sees you, but the clarity Sawaro gets is a step above anything most of us could dream of.
The next story is very descriptive and probably the slowest part of the book, as the girls investigate an eerily perfect mansion that makes no sense. There is some very fun yuri content, plus an encounter that spells some things out for Toriko. She really starts to turn into a flirt around this point and it’s very fun to see her flustering Sawaro so much.
For as slow as this one starts, it does pick up speed as an encounter takes a decidedly different turn for once and we even get an answer to something that I didn’t even realize was a question. And some of the gnarliest body horror I’ve read in a bit, courtesy of a simple description.
The end of this instalment echoes with Sawaro’s past and also involves a missing person’s case that ties into the second chapter of the very first volume. This tale is certainly interesting, but I think the real point of this story is, well, I’m not going to spoil it, but I would call that some progress. You’ll have to see for yourself.
It’s a strong volume. If the stories aren’t amongst the series’ standouts, the sudden increase in yuri content more than makes up for it. It made sense that Sorawo and Toriko were being so cagey around one another, but those barriers are slowly eroding whether they want them to or not.
4.5 stars seems about right for this one. It was very good and just shy of the greatness in last volume, with some real standout moments. Either way, this remains such a strong series and it’s a treat every time a new volume pops up for me to read.
Ah, the dependable weirdness of Otherside Picnic is back and while not the strongest set of stories we’ve had in the series, there’s enough going on to make this a very good volume indeed.
The first story starts off as a visit to a love hotel and initially seems like it’s going to be an excuse for T&A and then goes a step beyond that without actually being explicit. I love the way this one plays out because it has an extremely eerie vibe and a super suggestive tone that relies on the reader filling in the naughtiest details. There’s also another weird suggestion about Sawaro’s nature that I swear has been previously seeded.
We see the stirrings of this book’s big conflict starting even from the first story - Toriko is making absolutely no bones about her attraction to Sorawo, but Sorawo doesn’t seem equipped to take the hint. There’s a lot of avoidance throughout, which leads to some very hurt feelings (the way Sorawo’s uncertainty wounds Toriko at times is really brutal).
Which is really explored in the second story, which involves a set of mirrors and is more focused about the feelings between the pair. Sawaro, we find out, is perfectly aware of Toriko’s feelings, but is not doing well parsing herself as desirable or even how she feels about Toriko (even though her actions have been ridiculously obvious for some time now).
The mirror bit is okay - it goes to some creepy places, but the real meat is when Sawaro sees the world briefly through Toriko’s eyes and let’s just say that it’s an informative experience and done in a way that I think really works. You may think you know how somebody sees you, but the clarity Sawaro gets is a step above anything most of us could dream of.
The next story is very descriptive and probably the slowest part of the book, as the girls investigate an eerily perfect mansion that makes no sense. There is some very fun yuri content, plus an encounter that spells some things out for Toriko. She really starts to turn into a flirt around this point and it’s very fun to see her flustering Sawaro so much.
For as slow as this one starts, it does pick up speed as an encounter takes a decidedly different turn for once and we even get an answer to something that I didn’t even realize was a question. And some of the gnarliest body horror I’ve read in a bit, courtesy of a simple description.
The end of this instalment echoes with Sawaro’s past and also involves a missing person’s case that ties into the second chapter of the very first volume. This tale is certainly interesting, but I think the real point of this story is, well, I’m not going to spoil it, but I would call that some progress. You’ll have to see for yourself.
It’s a strong volume. If the stories aren’t amongst the series’ standouts, the sudden increase in yuri content more than makes up for it. It made sense that Sorawo and Toriko were being so cagey around one another, but those barriers are slowly eroding whether they want them to or not.
4.5 stars seems about right for this one. It was very good and just shy of the greatness in last volume, with some real standout moments. Either way, this remains such a strong series and it’s a treat every time a new volume pops up for me to read.
September 2, 2021
Fun but not sure why they keep glooming up the insert art more and more with each volume.
October 6, 2024
Love that Sorawo and Toriko's relationship is explored further in this volume. As Volume 4 focuses on Sorawo's past, Volume 5 delves into a neat trip down to memory lane from events previously established from past volumes back in Volume 1 between Sorawo and Toriko (very Soratori heavy)
Though this volume was a neat character introspection between our protagonists, it held back the creepiness of the stories that were introduced - which I am completely fine with this trade-off. I love seeing more of the supernatural stuff from different cultures being introduced outside of the Japanese creepypastas that the series has grown accustomed to. Sorawo seeing through Toriko's eyes on how she sees her was genuinely sweet, File 17 being one of my favourite files throughout the series from how personal the conversations were between the two girls and just Sorawo in general.
The deepest depths of the Otherside is back and so is Lady Hasshaku. My favourite aspect during the ventures on the Otherside throughout the series was the different people that our main characters have encountered in this mysterious world. Whether they're in the same situation as the main characters, trapped, Fourth Kinds or just living in it (which is one of the recent additions of characters present, Todate and her dog, Hana, can't wait to see them on occasion). It just adds to the world from the different names they've named to the different experiences they've encountered from the creatures to the different locations.
Having the deepest blues of the Otherside being shown confirms that Abarato (Volume 1) is still alive, surviving in a different plane transported by Lady Hasshaku. There's also a new character that's a child, which is definitely a Fourth Kind, who speaks telepathically (?) and has a similar ability that can go through gates/planes between the Otherside and the Surface world. Can't wait to see that explored in the next volume.
Though this volume was a neat character introspection between our protagonists, it held back the creepiness of the stories that were introduced - which I am completely fine with this trade-off. I love seeing more of the supernatural stuff from different cultures being introduced outside of the Japanese creepypastas that the series has grown accustomed to. Sorawo seeing through Toriko's eyes on how she sees her was genuinely sweet, File 17 being one of my favourite files throughout the series from how personal the conversations were between the two girls and just Sorawo in general.
The deepest depths of the Otherside is back and so is Lady Hasshaku. My favourite aspect during the ventures on the Otherside throughout the series was the different people that our main characters have encountered in this mysterious world. Whether they're in the same situation as the main characters, trapped, Fourth Kinds or just living in it (which is one of the recent additions of characters present, Todate and her dog, Hana, can't wait to see them on occasion). It just adds to the world from the different names they've named to the different experiences they've encountered from the creatures to the different locations.
Having the deepest blues of the Otherside being shown confirms that Abarato (Volume 1) is still alive, surviving in a different plane transported by Lady Hasshaku. There's also a new character that's a child, which is definitely a Fourth Kind, who speaks telepathically (?) and has a similar ability that can go through gates/planes between the Otherside and the Surface world. Can't wait to see that explored in the next volume.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2022
I enjoyed the further exploration into Toriko’s and Sorawo’s relationship, Sorawo’s inner feelings and dialogue are very human and believable and this makes the novels a page turner for me. Although I am hardly a fan of slow burn and the painful anticipation of it, I think it works well for Otherside Picnic precisely due to who Sorawo is as a person, any other approach taken to the potential romance between her and Toriko would have been unrealistic. I hope the author continues to address Sorawo’s feelings and inner struggle, specially due to her traumatic past and how it affects her in her adult life still.
The one part I found lacking in this volume was the horror aspect, the previous was intense and exhilarating as I enjoyed being spooked by the Kudan and the other eerie aberrations trying to exploit Sorawo’s past to terrify her further, and it also gave the audience a chance to learn more about her family life. I would however happily accept this trade for development in the girls’ relationship, for now at least.
The one part I found lacking in this volume was the horror aspect, the previous was intense and exhilarating as I enjoyed being spooked by the Kudan and the other eerie aberrations trying to exploit Sorawo’s past to terrify her further, and it also gave the audience a chance to learn more about her family life. I would however happily accept this trade for development in the girls’ relationship, for now at least.
October 23, 2022
前巻のように、空魚と鳥子の関係が深まっていく話を読むのがとても楽しみでした。
でも今回は「斜め鏡に過去を視る」について特に話したいことがある。
これは今まで一番衝撃的で、エモい話だと思う。この設定でしかできない話で、この設定を最大限に活用した話で、それもただ設定の活用や物語の進展といったドライな感じがすることだけじゃなくて、すごい感情的衝動を与えて感動してしまった。
この話は複数の部分が入り混じって、どれだけ些細でも、どれだけ大きくても、まさにその全体が部分の総和に勝るということになる。空魚が鳥子に向けられる感情にとっくに気づいている事も、その感情にどう応えるか、応えることすらできるかという疑問も、鳥子の自分の空魚の捉え方が見られたくないことも、そして空魚が鳥子の視点から色んな自分の走馬灯を視ることで、本当に、間違いなく好かれていることに、受け入れられてることに気づくことも、そしてそのおかげで自分の鳥子の感情の捉え方も間違っていたことに気づくことも。どれもが全部混ざって、一つのものになって、透明で純粋で、少し濁った気もするような、そんな曖昧な塊になって、感情の爆発のように弾けて、頭のなかに散らばった花火の余韻を残す。
読んでたらますます泣く気にもなったら、嬉しくもなった。その上、この話中で見えてもはっきりと見えない鳥子を実際、感情の面から空魚がそう捉えてたことに気づくとその感動が倍になる。寂しそうでがらんとした廊下や教室を歩き回る時の雰囲気、鳥子と空魚が電話でするたわいない話。。。羅列し続けたら思うほどに事が浮かんでくる。今までのことは全部この時のためにあったとすら錯覚するほど完璧な話だった。
あと、お洒落しててダンスの真似をする鳥子と空魚のイラストが無いのは惜しいな。王子鳥子と姫空魚。。。
この設定でしかできない話でも、その上こんなにもエモくできてて本当に泣けるくらい。泣いたかも。こう言うのがもっと欲しい！
でも今回は「斜め鏡に過去を視る」について特に話したいことがある。
これは今まで一番衝撃的で、エモい話だと思う。この設定でしかできない話で、この設定を最大限に活用した話で、それもただ設定の活用や物語の進展といったドライな感じがすることだけじゃなくて、すごい感情的衝動を与えて感動してしまった。
この話は複数の部分が入り混じって、どれだけ些細でも、どれだけ大きくても、まさにその全体が部分の総和に勝るということになる。空魚が鳥子に向けられる感情にとっくに気づいている事も、その感情にどう応えるか、応えることすらできるかという疑問も、鳥子の自分の空魚の捉え方が見られたくないことも、そして空魚が鳥子の視点から色んな自分の走馬灯を視ることで、本当に、間違いなく好かれていることに、受け入れられてることに気づくことも、そしてそのおかげで自分の鳥子の感情の捉え方も間違っていたことに気づくことも。どれもが全部混ざって、一つのものになって、透明で純粋で、少し濁った気もするような、そんな曖昧な塊になって、感情の爆発のように弾けて、頭のなかに散らばった花火の余韻を残す。
読んでたらますます泣く気にもなったら、嬉しくもなった。その上、この話中で見えてもはっきりと見えない鳥子を実際、感情の面から空魚がそう捉えてたことに気づくとその感動が倍になる。寂しそうでがらんとした廊下や教室を歩き回る時の雰囲気、鳥子と空魚が電話でするたわいない話。。。羅列し続けたら思うほどに事が浮かんでくる。今までのことは全部この時のためにあったとすら錯覚するほど完璧な話だった。
あと、お洒落しててダンスの真似をする鳥子と空魚のイラストが無いのは惜しいな。王子鳥子と姫空魚。。。
この設定でしかできない話でも、その上こんなにもエモくできてて本当に泣けるくらい。泣いたかも。こう言うのがもっと欲しい！
August 14, 2024
waaa cliffhanger with hassaku sama. for a book with hassaku sama in the title we only got to see what it really was about towards the end. though, that’s like the style of these novels. i like how the book opened with a silly freaky girls party and they freaked around. sorawo is very dense.
this novel was pretty short with just a few highlights. mirrors, adventures w the girlies and their stupid tractor in the other side, moiyaga, and returning character mysterious dude abarato. they were trying to deduce if he was sane but because he is a man i will say no.
hassaku sama was very scary. i would really like to see some artistic takes on what she became in the novel.
this novel was pretty short with just a few highlights. mirrors, adventures w the girlies and their stupid tractor in the other side, moiyaga, and returning character mysterious dude abarato. they were trying to deduce if he was sane but because he is a man i will say no.
hassaku sama was very scary. i would really like to see some artistic takes on what she became in the novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 6, 2022
An obnoxiously slow paced story where almost nothing significant happens. The main characters' romantic chemistry is alright, but it doesn't matter because Sorawo and Toriko are not interesting - they don't have goals, beliefs, motivations... With Satsuki gone, the story has seemingly forgotten to give them new, believable reasons for doing what they do. Are they risking their lives, exploring hostile territory... for the fun of it, or something? And the formula of their "explorations" has gotten incredibly stale at this point: they go to a spooky place, mess around aimlessly, run into a monster, defeat it through some plot contrivance, then leave. Rince and repeat for 5 novels.
The first three volumes had me hoping that the mystery and overarching plot would get more focus as time went on, and that the hidden inner workings of the Otherside would be gradually unravelled. But after the confrontation with Satsuki Uruma in Volume 3, the story grinds to a halt, as we are made to waste time reading about completely inconsequential shenanigans. The romance between the two main characters advances at a snail's pace, seemingly because they're completely incapable of articulating their thoughts and just talking to each other like normal people.
And all throughout, the Ultrablue Dimension is made into a toothless joke. At this point, its sole purpose is to contrive convenient scenarios which can act as bonding moments between the two heroines. It's incredibly transparent that it doesn't actually have any kind of internal logic or character, and randomly changes to adapt to the needs of the plot, which makes it very hard to care about it or take it seriously as a threat. The fact that the Otherside is partially inspired by the Strugatsky's "Zones" from Roadside Picnic (where the paranormal phenomena can kill you instantly if you make even the slightest mistake) is just an added insult.
This book isn't that badly written in terms of prose (I would've given it 2 stars), but as the 5th entry in a light-novel series, it has become glaringly obvious at this point that the author intends to just drag this out as much as possible without adding any substance. This lack of respect for the reader's time is why I give it 1 star.
The first three volumes had me hoping that the mystery and overarching plot would get more focus as time went on, and that the hidden inner workings of the Otherside would be gradually unravelled. But after the confrontation with Satsuki Uruma in Volume 3, the story grinds to a halt, as we are made to waste time reading about completely inconsequential shenanigans. The romance between the two main characters advances at a snail's pace, seemingly because they're completely incapable of articulating their thoughts and just talking to each other like normal people.
And all throughout, the Ultrablue Dimension is made into a toothless joke. At this point, its sole purpose is to contrive convenient scenarios which can act as bonding moments between the two heroines. It's incredibly transparent that it doesn't actually have any kind of internal logic or character, and randomly changes to adapt to the needs of the plot, which makes it very hard to care about it or take it seriously as a threat. The fact that the Otherside is partially inspired by the Strugatsky's "Zones" from Roadside Picnic (where the paranormal phenomena can kill you instantly if you make even the slightest mistake) is just an added insult.
This book isn't that badly written in terms of prose (I would've given it 2 stars), but as the 5th entry in a light-novel series, it has become glaringly obvious at this point that the author intends to just drag this out as much as possible without adding any substance. This lack of respect for the reader's time is why I give it 1 star.
November 25, 2021
otherside picnic: volume 5 give it's reader a relaxing atmosphere after all the horror occurred in the previous book. we're able to see sorawo and toriko's slow burned relationship finally flourishing with a lot of mutual pining – which makes me kinda sad cause i wish i had a girlfriend. personally, i thought this volume lacked a bit of terror but i can understand the change of peace and i loved everything about it.
July 15, 2025
Pretty good entry in the series, probably one of the better ones. It revisits places/concepts from previous books, and doesn't necessarily always conclude them, but does open up to a little more mystery for the future. The pace is a bit of slice of life, but not too slow that it's boring. It comes with the usual chaos and mess of visiting the otherside.
February 8, 2022
They're gay your honor. Sorawo realizing just how amazing she is in Toriko's eyes, how she's being accepted through all of her flaws. Good volume, Hana the Borzoi made me smile, as did the girls' promise to have an IKEA date.
April 3, 2023
Amazing
April 11, 2024
I really love the relationship development between Sorawo and Toriko, this volume especially went into Sorawo's feelings more and I really enjoyed it
May 22, 2025
It was fun for sure but it still feels like not much progress was made.
August 20, 2022
This volume seems to have toned down the horror part compared to the previous ones. Indeed, most of the Otherside phenomenon that the girls met here seemed to be either neutral (like the Lion God and Hasshaku-sama) or maybe even benevolent (like the Mayoiga, or the Magic Mirrors allowing Sorawo to see how she looks through Toriko's eyes).
I was a bit disappointed by that the first time I read it, but now that I reread it, it felt like a nice change of pace after how disturbing the Red Person and the Kudan was in the previous volume. It also makes the Otherside seems even stranger than before : if the entities of the Otherside are not always scary, disturbing, alien, and malevolent monsters, and can just be weird but benevolent sometimes, then what the hell are they and what are theirs goals ?
The lack of horror also allowed for more progress in Sorawo and Toriko relationship. The story with the Magic Mirrors felt like a turning point for that, and was easily my favorite of the bunch, making Sorawo see herself through Toriko eyes, and forcing her to understand that not only Toriko loves her, but thinks highly of her despite being aware of her faults, but also how her shifty behavior will sometimes hurt Toriko as a result. Sorawo has trouble caring about both other people feelings and her own feelings, and that forced her to confront that part of herself and vow to become a better person.
I was a bit disappointed by that the first time I read it, but now that I reread it, it felt like a nice change of pace after how disturbing the Red Person and the Kudan was in the previous volume. It also makes the Otherside seems even stranger than before : if the entities of the Otherside are not always scary, disturbing, alien, and malevolent monsters, and can just be weird but benevolent sometimes, then what the hell are they and what are theirs goals ?
The lack of horror also allowed for more progress in Sorawo and Toriko relationship. The story with the Magic Mirrors felt like a turning point for that, and was easily my favorite of the bunch, making Sorawo see herself through Toriko eyes, and forcing her to understand that not only Toriko loves her, but thinks highly of her despite being aware of her faults, but also how her shifty behavior will sometimes hurt Toriko as a result. Sorawo has trouble caring about both other people feelings and her own feelings, and that forced her to confront that part of herself and vow to become a better person.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews