Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill is a spirited comedy-adventure. Created by Ren Eguchi, Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill features original character designs by Masa. The series features animation produced by MAPPA (Zombie Land Saga, Kids on the Slope).

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill features theme music performed by Van de Shop (opening) and Yūma Uchida (ending). The series features voice performances by Yūma Uchida, Hina Kino, Satoshi Hino, and Yūma Uchida. Fans of goofy anime series with a blend of comedy and fantasy will want to explore.

Tsuyoshi Mukōda (Yūma Uchida) is an ordinary guy with no special abilities in the real world. Tsuyoshi lives a life of the mundane and some might even say there is nothing special about him. Things change for Tsuyoshi when he finds himself being whisked away into a world of adventure – a land of swordplay and fantasy.

Tsuyoshi finds himself becoming an unexpectedly gifted individual with a rare ability – an ability known as “Online Grocery” shopping. The Online Grocery shopping ability allows him to be powerful in ways he never expected to be. At the whisk of a fingertip while doing online grocery shopping on a large screen, Tsuyoshi pulls food out of thin air and into his space. The special ability helps Tsuyoshi to feed a lot of people and helps with his campfire cooking skills. Who’s hungry?

Tsuyoshi Mukōda is a nice lead character for the series. The “Online Grocery” shopping ability adds some humor to the series concept. In the increasingly digital age where convenience appears, the shopping experience at the grocery store is becoming more and more irrelevant – even if some occasional benefits exist the online grocery shopping option is arguably a superior one in this day and age by a wide margin. Online grocery shopping just makes things easier and better.

The comedic spin on the newfound reality of online grocery shopping by many citizens globally adds some humor to the series. Of course, the ability is even more special with teleportation food instantly arriving without wait. Who wouldn’t want to be able to beam some food directly to them instantly and have a nice meal in front of them in seconds?

The character designs by Nao Ōtsu (The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace, BEASTARS) are well done. The designs may not strike me as being the most original designs in anime – as these don’t stand out as much as the best anime series do – but the effort is well-done and still enhances the production. Worthwhile.

The animation is a nice component of the series. Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill features excellent art direction by Hisako Akagi (Jujutsu Kaisen, Land of the Lustrous). The chief animation direction is by Nao Ōtsu (Attack on Titan The Final Season, The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace) and Sara Sakoe (Tokyo Revengers, Spy×Family). The animation team assembled did a solid job with the series aesthetic. The animation is bright and colorful and offers a fantasy setting that works well for the series concept. The animators did a solid enough job with the animation and this helps the production values to stand out.

The score is composed by Kana Utatane (Nights with a Cat, The Legendary Hero is Dead!), Kuricorder Quartet (tsuritama, Nanami-chan), and Masato Kōda (KonoSuba – God’s blessing on this wonderful world!! , Chain Chronicle: The Light of Haecceitas). The music plays a nice role in the series. The compositions are decent enough for an action-comedy and add something fun. Though not an absolute home-run the score is still a solid addition to the series and works as decent background music for the production.

The cinematography by Saho Sawada (Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan The Final Season) makes a solid impression. Sawada is a talented cinematographer with a keen sense of understanding of the visual arena of the series. The cinematography is bright, colorful, and vibrant. The aesthetic adds to the production in a meaningful way. It is a nice change of pace from some of the darker and more oblique animation styles in some anime series – for audiences who are looking for a more lighthearted aesthetic this is something conveyed with the cinematography.

Written by Michiko Yokote (Call of the Night, Teasing Master Takagi-san), Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill certainly has some fun with the concept. Though it’s not the most original anime series around – reminding one heavily of other anime series left and right – with the cooking element and creature aspects bringing to mind numerous other series, there is still some fun to be had. Audiences looking for some goofy fun will appreciate the central character and their “Online Grocery” shopping skill.

Directed by Kiyoshi Matsuda (Kumamiko - Girl meets Bear, Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul), Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill has something for comedy-adventure fans. Fans of lighthearted anime with some goofiness will find some nice things to appreciate about the series. Certainly, something audiences may wish to consider checking out on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Crunchyroll, Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The release features a nice high-definition presentation that capably shows the animation and its colorful style. The background animation and line art are well-done and certainly add to the series art and aesthetic. Color reproduction is especially noteworthy and stands out well on the release.

Blu-ray provides a noteworthy advantage over streaming video services. The Blu-ray format provides higher bit-rates and improved encoding compared to streaming video platforms. Streaming tends to provide lower video bit-rates by comparison and home theater enthusiasts seeking the best possible presentation for their expensive home theater gear will appreciate the difference. Sometimes it can be subtle but any difference is worth noting as it is an example of how physical media remains superior in spades.

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (with English subtitles). The release highlights the sound direction by Kisuke Koizumi (Rainbow Days, Samurai Warriors). The lossless audio encoding adds to the quality of the release. The English dub has a slight advantage in offering the series with a somewhat more expansive surround sound soundstage. The surrounds provide more rear channel directionality for music and sound effects. The Japanese language track is provided in 2.0 stereo and is therefore slightly less immersive. However, purists will still want to opt for the original language version to get the original language audio. English subtitles are well done and are free of egregious spelling or grammatical errors.

One of the hallmarks of the Blu-ray disc format is the lossless audio encoding. Lossless audio can make a significant difference. Streaming video services only provide lossy (non-lossless) audio quality. This is an important selling point for audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts seeking the best sound quality achievable. Streaming services don't compare – providing a more compressed sound presentation.

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes with a nicely designed o-card slipcover. The slipcover features a nice cover-art design. The cover-art underneath the slipcover remains the same as the slipcover art. It is much nicer when the artwork is different and one gets alternate/additional artwork, too. Unfortunately, the artwork is simply repeated on the release. Regardless, the slipcover adds a nice element to the package – a collectable for slipcover fans. The slipcover looks nice and will look great on a shelf.

On disc supplements include:

TikTok Cooking Videos (Live Action vs. Animated) (HD, 5:22)

Web Commercials (HD, 2:51)

Promo Videos (HD, 3:16)

Textless Opening Song (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song (HD, 1:32)

Unfortunately, the release has a somewhat sparse supplemental package. The supplements could be more robust. The extras aren't as impressive as one would hope to find. This is a drawback and the supplemental package is something that could have added a lot of extra value for collectors with additional extras – perhaps some audio commentaries, making-of featurettes, and cast/crew interviews. Nonetheless, the set does have a small assortment – including the TikTok Cooking Videos for those with an interest.

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: The Complete Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: The Complete Season is a comedy-adventure for fans of goofy anime series. The series explores a fantasy world and with a silly tone. The exploration of the "Online Grocery" shopping skill is something that is quite funny as a concept – it certainly is far better these days to order groceries online than to get them at a grocery store. The difference online grocery shopping makes in the real-world is significant and its neat to see a nice comedic spin on it with instantaneous food-delivery.

The Blu-ray release provides a solid high-definition presentation. The high-definition presentation is solid. The lossless audio encoding is worthwhile and adds to the quality of the release, too. The only noteworthy drawback is a mediocre supplemental package. On disc extras don't add much value to the release. On the bright side, the first print run of the release comes with a nicely designed o-card slipcover. Fans of the series wanting a physical copy for their collection may wish to consider a purchase. Recommended.