mono

It's been many years (probably) since I've bothered to sit down and write a formal review of an anime, not because I haven't had detailed thoughts on an anime in the intervening years but mostly because it feels like an exercise in futility, screaming into a void and only getting hate in return. But it's 4am, I'm a little drunk and I need to get "my thoughts on Mono" off my chest once and for all. An anime, regardless of what it is should be judged separately from others, regardless of how similar they be or who created them or what their subject matter is. And yet, every time I think about 'Mono' I am constantly comparing it to 'Laid Back Camp' for obvious reasons; cozy vibes, same genre, same mangaka and yet I'm also ~screaming internally~ about why this anime isn't rated higher than the aforementioned. If I had to take a guess, it's that people are too 'Laid Back' pilled to take anything similar as being anything other than a shallow imitator, even when the opposite is clearly the case. And before anybody decides to paint me as a "hater", here are my official scores for all the 'Laid Back Camp' seasons; Season 1 (89/100), Season 2 (86/100) and Season 3 (80/100). I'm no hater, I even have all four main characters from 'Laid Back Camp' as Nendoroids above my anime figure shelve in my living room. So why the need to write this review? Because 'Mono' is just (ever so slightly) the better anime and here's why.

Number 1; The Pacing. Cute Girls Doing Cute Things is probably my favorite genre, so both anime have the win on that front, but the unpredictability of 'Mono' makes it feel fresher, especially if we're comparing a show that's gone 3 full seasons without any meaningful change in time versus one with the urgency of time's inescapable passing. 'Laid Back Camp' is forever trapped in Winter (maybe Spring), but 'Mono' makes every episode feel like it's moving forward and as someone who is getting older can totally relate to.
Number 2; The Supporting Cast. 'Laid Back Camp' does what it says in the title, it's about laid back camping. 'Mono' is so much more and that's in no small part to its supporting cast, having an actual mangaka (several actually, but one specifically) as being parental like-figures adds so much more depth to the cast. It means we can have entire episodes that aren't even about a very specific subject like 'Laid Back Camp' and meander into the lives of grown-ups with their own set of foibles and problems and desires - it's very refreshing.
Number 3; Realism. Now before any of you burst out of your skins to criticize me on this point, I'm not saying either 'Laid Back Camp' or 'Mono' are masters of realism, they are idealized travelogues and they both do it precisely "great", if I were to give any anime the win on actual factual realimsm it would be 'Yama no Susume' a.k.a. 'Encouragement of Climb' but that's a topic for a different day. I'm just saying I prefer the stylized realism of 'Mono' over the mundane realism of 'Laid Back Camp'. Having two of our girls go on a daring downhill skateboard stunt down a steep hill was a lot more engaging than what the other show had ever done before.
Number 4; Fun. 'Mono' is just more fun, whether it's the spooky mangaka Torayo Kurokuma traumatizing everyone around her. The tomboyish Youtuber Kako Komada and her antics with her bike (which are Rin-like, only more grounded) or just the girls being girls, I couldn't help but have a smile on my face the whole time. Sometimes being entertaining is more important than being consistent and I feel like 'Momo' embraces unpredictability which in turn leads to more fun.

In conclusion; I take this moment to remind you I am not a 'Laid Back Camp' hater, as stated before I have all the main girls as Nendoroid figurines, plus some blankets, plus all the manga. I am a 'Laid Back Camp' fan. However, I am now officially a bigger fan of 'Mono', it just scratches more itches than the aforementioned ever could, its main cast of girls is funnier and more compelling, its setting is more dynamic and varied and its supporting cast is more interesting and variable. Hopefully 'Mono' gets the love it deserves and gets a second season but I think this is a one and done and that's a shame, either way I'll be watching this show every year which is not the same I can say for 'Laid Back Camp'.