Otherside Picnic

Otherside Picnic (裏世界ピクニック Ura sekai pikunikku) is a Japanese light novel series written by Iori Miyazawa and illustrated by shirakaba. Published by Hayakawa Publishing, the series has 4 volumes published since February 23, 2017, with volumes 5 and 6 in the works.

The series has also been adapted into an ongoing manga series which began serialization in Shonen Gangan on February 10th, 2018, and will be published in English on May 25, 2021 by Square Enix. The series has also been adapted to an anime series that is scheduled to air in January 2021.

On June 6, 2020, J-Novel Club announced a physical omnibus release for Otherside Picnic volumes 1 and 2 to be released in December 2020.

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.

Light Novel
The series is written by Iori Miyazawa, illustrated by shirakaba and published by Hayakawa Publishing since Febuary 2017. There are four volumes currently published, with volume 5 (tentatively titled "Hasshaku-sama Revival") and volume six in the works and is set to release on December 2020 and March 2021, respectively. Also in December 2020, a junior edition of the Otherside Picnic novel will be published under the children's book label Hayakawa Junior Books (Hayakawa junia bukkusu). J-Novel Club published 3 volumes of the novels in English, with its 4th volume to be released on December 27, 2020.

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 to those found on 2chan copypasta boards.

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 four volumes published since August 2018. On 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 May 25, 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 will be directed by Takuya Satō, who is also working on the series composition at LIDENFILMS and FelixFilm. A second PV is released, featuring the latest cuts from the production. The Otherside Picnic anime is scheduled to release on January 2021, and will star 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.