This work, "Other World Picnic," is based on the internet urban legend of netlore. The story is about two female college students who are immersed in the underworld where netlore is embodied, and encounter various strange phenomena that lower their SAN value, go on a treasure hunt, and even encounter situations that could lead to death. I would like to introduce the netlore that appears in this work.
Urban Legend No. 1: The Kunekune Yokai
An urban legend that originated on the occult and paranormal phenomenon board of 2ch in the early 2000s. A mysterious white, squiggly object said to appear in the fields of the countryside. It is a terrifying monster that drives those who see it crazy and makes them lose their minds. There is no risk of being affected by it just by looking at it directly, but if you look directly at it with binoculars, it will affect your mind to the point where you will not be able to live your daily life.
An episode related to an urban legend
One brother and his grandfather are visiting their grandfather's house in the countryside, and while they are playing around the rice fields, they discover a white, squiggly object. As soon as the older brother looks at the white object with the binoculars he brought with him, his brother's behavior becomes strange. The older brother says in a slurred voice, "I don't understand, it's strange..." The younger brother is curious and looks through the binoculars, but his grandfather stops him and nothing happens. The older brother's symptoms do not improve, so the younger brother returns home alone from the countryside, but on the way back he witnesses the squiggly object in the car.
Urban Legend No. 2: Yasaka-sama
As her name suggests, she is a giant woman with a height of eight shaku (about 2m40cm), and is a monster that was sealed away in a certain village. She targets young men and children, and is said to lure those who are captivated by her and kill them. In order to lure out her target, she also uses the voices of people close to her to confuse them. She appears as a young woman wearing a white dress and a hat, but she can also be a middle-aged or old woman. She has an eerie laugh that goes "popopo."
An episode about an urban legend
When a high school student was visiting his grandparents' house, he heard a popopo voice and saw a giant woman wearing a hat over 2 meters tall. When he told his grandparents about it, they suddenly changed their attitude and started calling people. When he talked to his grandmother, she told him that "if you are possessed by Hasshaku-sama, you will die within a few days." He was given a talisman by an old woman brought by his grandfather, and was locked in a room filled with salt and Buddhist statues. He spent the night there, but heard sounds of tapping on the window and the popopo voice. Moreover, when he was driving home, the voice popopo came after him at full speed. The narrator somehow managed to escape, but later it was discovered that the Jizo statue that had sealed Hasshaku-sama had been destroyed.
Urban Legend #3: Kisaragi Station
The origin of this story is a post made in 2004 on the occult version of 2ch, where a person with the handle name "Hasumi" posted that the train he was riding on his way home stopped at a station called Kisaragi Station. Mr. Hasumi posts on the bulletin board from his mobile phone and acts on the advice of the residents. Mr. Hasumi is said to have taken the train from Shin-Hamamatsu Station in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, and arrived at Kisaragi Station, but Kisaragi Station does not actually exist.
An episode related to an urban legend
On his way home on the train, a user with the handle name "Hazumi" notices something strange inside the train. The train usually stops after a few minutes, but it doesn't stop at the station for over 20 minutes. It finally stops at the unmanned station "Kisaragi Station". Suspicious of the train's strange behavior, he gets off at Kisaragi Station, but there are no buildings around the station, and there is not even a timetable. He rushes to get back inside the train, but the train has already departed. With no other choice, Hazumi decides to walk home on the tracks while posting on the message board on his mobile phone, but he encounters various strange phenomena.
Urban legend #4: The Old Man of Time
A mysterious old man who is said to be able to return lost ordinary people to their original world, wearing work clothes. When he finds people lost in another world, he gets angry and tells them that it is dangerous, and returns them to their original world.
An episode related to an urban legend
You suddenly find yourself lost in a space where there is no one around and no sound, and the surrounding scenery is colorless and bleak, and as you wander through a space with clearly abnormal colors and light and dark, a mysterious old man wearing work clothes or a suit suddenly appears and says angrily, "Hey! What are you doing here?" In some cases, he calls you. If you explain the situation, the man will take out his cell phone and call somewhere, saying that he will return you to your world.
Urban legend no. 5: Doppelganger
It can be an alter-ego, a ghost, or a persona that looks just like you. It has been told in myths and legends since ancient times, and is an attractive subject for creative writing, so it appears in various works. It is said that if a person sees a doppelganger, they will die. Medically, it is called "autoscopic hallucination" as a visual phenomenon.
Anecdotes about urban legends
There are many stories related to doppelgangers, and historical figures and real-life celebrities have testified that they have seen them, and they have also appeared in gothic horror and RPGs. Speaking of something familiar, the Shadows that appear in the Persona series can be considered one of them. They appear in the Megami Tensei series as enemies that are not affected by physics.
Urban Legend #6 MIB (Men in Black)
When witnesses see unidentified flying objects or UMAs in space, a group of three or two agents in black suits come to the witness's house and warn them not to tell anyone about what they saw, and in some cases, it doesn't end with just a threat. It is said that they are agents of the government or secret organizations.
An episode about urban legends
Probably the most famous one is the movie "Men in Black" based on the urban legend of Men in Black. It is a blockbuster movie starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. A similar one also appears in Steins;Gate, and it comes to stop Mayushii's pocket.
[Other World Picnic] Summary of Urban Legends
I have summarized the urban legends that appear in Other World Picnic. I think you will enjoy the work even more if you look up various things while watching it. However, please be careful as some of them are treated as words that should not be searched. Other World Picnic will start airing in January 2021.
