"Other World Picnic", which will be animated from January 2021, is a work based on internet urban legends, netlore. In the "other world", a space separate from the real world where netlore is embodied, people go on adventures, treasure hunts, are attacked by supernatural phenomena, nearly die, or go temporarily insane, all while facing danger. I would like to explain in detail about the other world, the setting of "Other World Picnic".
About the Other World Part 1: What is the Other World?
The other world is a space different from reality, where internet urban legends are embodied. There are some buildings and other objects, but the space is basically an open grassland. The underworld is filled with various monsters, which are monsters based on netlore and ancient urban legends. It is a very dangerous place due to the presence of dangerous traps and monsters, and it has a supernatural effect on people's minds and bodies.
About the underworld Part 2: How do I enter the underworld?
There are various ways to enter the underworld, but you will not enter it if you live a normal life. It seems that the conditions can be met accidentally, but you need to take steps like using a bug in a game to warp to another space, such as a room in an abandoned building that is connected to the underworld, going back and forth in a certain order in an elevator in a certain building to the underworld, or passing through the torii gate of a shrine in the Chichibu mountains at a certain angle. However, the underworld is an incredibly dangerous place. If you're not careful, your life's save data will be destroyed.
About the underworld, part 3: The underworld is a dangerous place! There are also instant death traps
The underworld is a very dangerous space. First of all, if you lose sight of the entrance or exit, you will not be able to return, and if you're not careful, you will wander around the underworld until you die. There are also many dangerous supernatural phenomena in the underworld, and you may encounter supernatural phenomena that will interfere with a person's mind and make them go crazy just by looking at them, or supernatural phenomena that will interfere with a person's mind and cause them to show you illusions and drag you to a place from which you cannot return. Also, if you come into contact with these supernatural phenomena, parts of your body may change color or become transparent.
Instant Death Trap Glitch
Instant death traps called glitches exist in various places in the underworld, and if you're unlucky, you'll die in one hit. If you step into one, you'll be burned to a crisp in an instant. Moreover, the glitches are invisible to the human eye, so you must be careful when moving through the underworld. However, if you have eyes that can see through the existence of the underworld, you can avoid them.
About the underworld, part 4: Introducing the various strange things that appear in the underworld!
Mystery No. 1: The Kunekune Yokai
A mysterious white, squiggly being. A Netlore monster in which the older brother of a pair of brothers who went to visit in the countryside witnessed the Kunekune and went mad, becoming a virtual invalid. If you continue to look at it, it will invade your mind and make you crazy, and eventually buds will grow from your body and you will eventually die. However, you cannot defeat Kunekune in its current state, and you cannot physically interfere with it unless you see and understand the Kunekune to a certain extent. If the observer understands and recognizes the kunekune, physical interference becomes possible, but normally, if they understand and recognize it, they will go mad and die, so they can only be defeated in pairs.
Mystery No. 2: Yasaka-sama
A giant female mystique that is eight shaku (about 2m40,000) tall. A woman wearing a white dress and a hat, she approaches and kills her targeted children and young men by using the voices of their families. She shows visions of things similar to what she is looking at and drags them into another world, making an eerie voice that sounds like popopo. Naturally, physical interference doesn't work, but humans who come into contact with the supernatural phenomena of the underworld can become altered and be able to interfere with the existence of the underworld, in which case it seems possible to defeat them physically.
Supernatural phenomena No. 3: Kisaragi Station
In 2004, a user named "Hazumi" posted on a bulletin board about getting lost in a strange, unmanned station, and acting and commenting on the advice on the bulletin board. When the two main characters encounter Kisaragi Station, a platoon of US troops stationed in Japan has already wandered in, but some of them have been mentally ill or have fallen victim to strange phenomena and traps, making them very sensitive. The two main characters jump onto a train at Kisaragi Station and are shown shocking visions, but they manage to escape.
Strange phenomenon #4: The old man from space and time
When you get lost in a different dimension that is not real, this old man will return you to your original world. When Sorao tries to follow Toriko into the underworld, he calls her and warns her that she won't be able to come back, sending her back to her original world. He is often interpreted as helping people who have become lost in another world as a member of the government or an organization.
About the underworld, Part 5: The law that connects the underworld and the real world! ?
Many of the monsters and objects that appear in the underworld are scary, such as urban legends on the Internet, but Sorao speculates in the story that they may be accessing the knowledge of the person. Also, in the underworld, language is not garbled, but is in an encrypted form. Even if you somehow contact the real world from the underworld, the conversation is incoherent, and it seems that some kind of filter is applied to people's language functions.
About the underworld, part 6: Is it profitable? Enthusiasts will buy anything you find in the underworld
There is a person who is researching the underworld, and if you give him anything you find in the underworld, he will buy it for a high price. The mirror stones that Sorao and Toriko obtained by defeating Kunekune were valued at 1 million yen each. The researcher is a woman who looks like an elementary school student, but her source of funding is unknown. It is unclear what they do with the things they buy.
【Other World Picnic】Summary of the Other World
I have summarized the dangerous place "Other World" where Netlore is embodied. If the real world is an RPG like Dragon Quest, Pokemon, or Romancing Saga, the Other World is a world that can be invaded by using bugs. However, there are still many mysteries surrounding it in the story. I think that the work can be speculated on in many different ways because it is based on Netlore, where rumors take on a life of their own. The anime version of the game will start airing in January 2021.
