After accidentally entering, Sorao finds herself in the desolate, and as she discovers, dangerous Otherworld. As she ponders whether to just die or not, she is saved by a girl named Toriko who is looking for her friend Satsuki who she believes is somewhere in this world. After meeting, a friendship and partnership springs up as they explore the new reality before them.
While it is only a fraction of the light novel, and appears to be missing any particularly obvious shoujo ai, I honestly still really enjoyed Otherside Picnic. It was actually pretty refreshing in terms of plot and character relationships. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like Otherside Picnic, then head on down below.
Anime Like Otherside Picnic
For Fans of Otherworlds
Flip Flappers
Paprika and Cocona hold the keys to open the door where they can meet from their different times in a dimension called Pure Illusion. In this dimension, they search for the Shard of Mimi which is said to grant any wish. However, finding it will not be easy.
Whereas Otherside Picnic’s Otherworld is bland and dead, the Otherworld in Flip Flappers is like Alice in Wonderland vomited candy and color. You will also note some strong shoujo ai themes as well.
Wonder Egg Priority
After the death of her best and only friend, Ai Ohto became a shut in. One night while on a walk, she is convinced by a mysterious entity to buy an egg. In a world that only materializes in her dreams, she breaks the egg. This summons a person haunted by fears, regrets, or otherwise some trauma. There Ai is tasked with saving them, and by saving them from their trauma, she can perhaps save her friend, too.
Essentially, both series have girls going to another world to fight battles for one reason or another. You will also note some LGBT themes in them as well, but neither series puts a lot of focus on them.
Kokkoku
After another failed job interview, Juri resigns herself to having to live in her house with her other failures of family members. However, when her sister’s son and her NEET brother are kidnapped, her grandfather informs her of a powerful family secret. By offering up her blood to his mystical stone, they can enter the world of Stasis, a world of stopped time. After their rescue efforts go awry, the family is confronted by a giant monster and the true nature of the timeless world.
While Otherside Picnic doesn’t stop time, the Otherworld and time stasis world in Kokkoku are not so different. Furthermore, both pose a pretty interesting mystery that leaves you wanting to explore more.
For Fans of Subtle LGBT
No. 6
After a series of bloody wars, humanity retreated into six city-states. However, while everything seemed peaceful and perfect to the elite of these cities, the poor suffered. One day, Shion, a resident of the elite, encountered Nezumi, a fugitive from outside the utopia. After taking him in, Shion and his family were forced from their home and now learn the ugly side of their society.
While No.6 doesn’t have even remotely the same plot, what it does have in common with Otherside Picnic is that it hides its LGBT tones behind an interesting and not romance-centric story. It’s a rare thing, but not unwelcome.
Sarazanmai
One day, after a weird run in with his classmate, Kazuki and two of his classmates knock over a Kappa statue in Asakusa and meet a creature named Keppi. Before they know it, they are turned into kappa-like creatures and tasked by Keppi to destroy kappa-zombies if they want to become human again.
What does this kappa-crazy series have in common with Otherside Picnic? At a glance, not too much aside from the characters fighting in another world with powers. Sarazanmai has… a lot going on in there, so you may also miss the very shounen ai overtones as well.
The Girl in Twilight
It is said that if you use a radio in front of the Akeyuki Sacred Tree at exactly 4:44, you will get transported to another world. As members of the Crystal Radio Research Club, several girls do just that and are shocked when it actually works. In this parallel world, they are confronted with their parallel selves and tasked with preventing a great calamity between worlds by defeating the Twilight King.
A bunch of girls end up in an Otherworld where they then formulate a sort of goal. They also share some certain shoujo ai overtones, but never explicitly make any great leaps.
For Fans of Tense Exploration
Made in Abyss
The Abyss is an enormous cave system and the only unexplored place in the world. No one knows how deep it goes, but generations of bold adventurers have descended into it. In the town at the edge of The Abyss, an orphan named Rico dreams of raiding, as her mother did before her. One day while exploring the murky depths, she meets a boy, who turns out to be a robot, kicking off the start of her epic adventure.
Both series have their cute characters sort of distracting you from the terrible things going on around them in the new world they explore. Made in Abyss goes a step further by disarming you with the childish design style of the characters as well. Regardless, they both have some great exploration, but Made in Abyss remains the more brutal series.
Girls’ Last Tour
With all civilization dead, only Chito and Yuuri remain. Together they decide to hop on their motorbike and wander aimlessly looking for their next meal and fuel. Despite a bleak existence, they remain each other’s light in this dead world.
Two girls roaming around in a world that is barren and empty. A sentence you could use to describe either series. While there are some nice moments, you always get the feeling that something terrible is looming overhead.
Ghost Hound
In the small village of Suiten, three boys with traumatic pasts learn how to let their souls travel in between the world they know and the mysterious Unseen World. The Unseen World is one of ghosts. However, the three boys aren’t the only things coming and going from this world. Ghosts are now also beginning to pass into the real world as well.
Both series deal with unseen worlds, but where they differ is with the tones. Ghost Hound maintains a more melancholic tone to its mystery whereas Otherside Picnic has some downright fun moments to add levity in between the going-ons in the Otherworld.
Do you have more anime recommendations like Otherside Picnic? Let fans know in the comments section below.
