One Room

If I were to describe, in detail, every moment in which I was saddened, revolted, or infuriated by what I witnessed, I’m afraid that it will be the death of me.

For you see, One Room is unparalleled in undermining any rational expectation from its audience; few anime series have disappointed as consistently and as vigorously as One Room. I’ve never seen a show blatantly resist originality, creativity, and artistic integrity quite like One Room. At first glance, One Room appears to be yet another cash cow representative of the harem genre, a product engineered from the assembly line to satisfy the masses. On further examination, ... however, One Room is revealed to be the culmination of Studio TYPHOON embarking on the shortest, easiest, most effortless route to success. In a medium where laziness has become the norm, One Room has taken this standard to unfathomable extremes. It is, without a doubt, the master of cutting corners.

Like every other work belonging to the harem genre, One Room is about a self-insert protagonist (read: a one-dimensional, vaguely likable cardboard cutout of a high school student with a lack of assertiveness) and his attempts to aid the women in his life. A fairly interesting plot structure (one woman per three-episode arc, totaling three arcs for 12 episodes) with the potential to elevate its storyline into a cohesive work of art is undermined by an utter lack of focus. Every halfhearted attempt at conveying anything remarkable is obscured by an overwhelming amount of meaningless endeavors: the “incest is wincest” angle, the blushing and the stammering, the unnecessary monologues about what an awesome guy the protagonist is, and (of course) the lengthy T&A shots. Every sluggish grasp at individual depth is marred by an unwillingness to present anything that might be lurking beneath the cutesy character designs. Each episode has a five minute runtime, which simultaneously compounds on the issues and provides Studio TYPHOON with an alibi for their complete lack of effort. It’s because of One Room’s runtime that the production company’s executives can pat themselves on the back, and say to themselves, “Well, we WOULD make this project of ours somewhat worthwhile but, you know, we just didn’t have enough time.”

That, my friends, is inexcusable.

Even if there isn’t an option to extend the episode length to the standard 23 minutes, that still doesn’t permit you to put forth the bare minimum at your job. It’s possible to have an anime series with five minutes per episode, and still provide a memorable, enjoyable experience for the audience. I mean, look at Bonobono. It’s currently airing with 50 episodes and counting, and it has yet to disappoint. However, with One Room, the only reason why there hasn’t been a tidal wave of outrage is due to the show’s cinematography, or rather, its first-person point of view shot.

That’s right; the principal source of One Room’s popularity isn’t a relatively unique art style (this show’s animation can hardly be described as “unique”; it’s more lackluster than anything else), a memorable insert song (any ED that lasts for 25 seconds isn’t worth mentioning) nor the financial backing of a prominent production company (One Room is Studio TYPHOON’s first project). No; the method in which the presentation is displayed is the only cause of One Room’s acclaim. As a reviewer with an adoration for cinematic flair, I have written fondly of anime titles that effectively utilize camera angles but I never considered that to be a main attraction. Employing the POV shot as your central selling point is like a car company declaring its visual appeal to be the best feature of its products. Sure, it’s pretty useful to have, and rather convenient at that, but in no way is it essential. For the videogame industry, for shooting games in particular, the 1st-person point of view shot is a must-have. For anime, however, using it as consistently as One Room causes your project to come across as a novelty act, a gimmick above all else. Yes, these are the depths to which One Room has sunken the standard of excellence.

The biggest grievance I have with One Room is its tendency to discover willowy slivers of potential before immediately mishandling it in epic proportions. Its mildly catchy insert song is not only inserted at the wrong time but its appearance is brief as well. Its moments involving the cherry blossom trees are, strangely, the moments in which One Room’s aesthetics are at their apex, and yet these occur once in a blue moon. Its panning shots of the surroundings are the greatest usages of the 1st person POV, but One Room dedicates more time to its lifeless dialogue than anything else. Really, the examples are endless when it comes to One Room but the biggest example has to be its forgettable cast obliterating any shred of redeemability. Pointless Love Interest No.1 is the girl next door while Pointless Love Interest No.2 is the tsundere/little sister and Pointless Love Interest No.3 is the childhood friend. All three of them are virtually rendered obsolete beyond their surface identity; these vapid vessels of femininity can cook, clean, blush, stammer, and whisper sweet nothings like no other, yet they struggle to convey a thought of their own. None of them, however, are worse than the protagonist himself.

Thanks to the POV angle, it is from the protagonist’s eyes that we are able to view the show. If there ever was an opportunity for an anime title to redefine the self-insert MC, this was it….. and that’s what amplifies my disappointment. Believe it or not, I can forgive his passive nature, his shallow selflessness, even his inability to speak. However, the Nameless Protagonist’s unsettling ogling over the other girls (even his own sister!), and One Room’s fascination for hammering the "protag is a perv” angle into our skulls, is where I draw the line. The average anime company crafts their self-insert MC based on how they perceive their audience, as you likely know. The socially awkward high school perv is hardly revolutionary in anime but what’s frustrating about One Room’s pervy self-insert protag in particular is that he possesses no facial features, no body parts, nothing.

The difference between One Room and every other harem anime is that other studios present their MC, and say, “This is a general impression of what we think our viewers are”; on the other hand, when Studio TYPHOON presents their MC, it’s as if they’re saying, “This is a representation of you.”

Not only am I enraged at Studio TYPHOON’s patronizing manner but the lack of a reaction among One Room’s viewers about this is infuriating as well.

If Hand Shakers really is the worst anime series of the Winter 2017 season, then One Room is far and away the second.

By any thorough analysis, rating scale, or statistical calculation, it’s inconceivable to witness this utter deprivation of quality, and deem it “worthwhile”.

When One Room isn’t thematically shallow, it’s cringeworthy.
When One Room isn’t cringeworthy, it’s blatantly aimless.
When One Room isn’t blatantly aimless, it’s emotionally stunted.
When One Room isn’t emotionally stunted, it’s completely condescending.

And if “completely condescending” is what you require to sate your anime-viewing appetite, then you’ll be downright ecstatic to know that One Room will return for the Spring `17 season, with a sequel and a special. Yes, screw longevity! Studio TYPHOON’s milking this cash cow as if they too realize that its 15 minutes of fame has an impending expiration date. I’m sure there will be plenty that will gleefully tune in every week for another episode of the shamelessly contrived, strikingly pandering, and unconditionally conceited money maker that is One Room, once again hailing it as “innovative” and “unique” when it is anything but.

As for me, I’ve heard enough “onii-chans” to last a lifetime.

Some members of the anime community always seem to make a point to show public outrage when random seasonal show-x doesn't meet some arbitrary standard of 'maturity' or 'artistic integrity,' all in some weird attempt to distance themselves from "those kinds of anime fans." When doing this it's always easier to go after the low hanging fruit, shorts like these which most people don't care about or don't have high expectations of. This review of One Room is written with the expectation that nobody else on this site will defend it.

The fact that this is a POV anime seems to be enough to send ... most people running. If it calms you down, you should know that it is not entirely done in POV. It's more of a hybrid of alternative views (when POV wouldn't make sense) and actual POV (when it's important). The anime itself is pretty smart about moving from one to the other in a way that isn't distracting or unnatural.

The character designs are cute, and the scenarios are deliberately made to be heartwarming or emotionally engaging on some level. Dialogue is meant to be pseudo-interactive, in that you don't hear the MCs response (it's you) but the conversation obviously progresses in a way that completely ignores whatever you shout at the screen. Effectively creating two 'yous'. In this way it's possible to try to reverse engineer the conversation based on the reactions the girls have to 'your' answer. People need to realize that 'cringing' at this is their fault and that there are others out there who can separate reality from fiction. When watching this anime it's important to remember that worrying about not looking lonely on the internet is a fool's errand.

Judging One Room for what is, is very simple. It's a short, relaxing and comfy look at the progress of three relationships that take place inside one room. The prevailing theme is that with these relationships comes growth and stability, both emotional and situational. It's interesting to note that (you) help out the girls in two of the three stories. The odd story out involves some tough love from your imouto. I think it should be obvious as well, that the real point of this anime is to help foster those feelings in the real you. You know, the person sitting on the couch in the dark.

It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that there is a demand for anime geared towards those who want some company or affection from 2D girls. The difference between the average 'escapist' show and this is that characters don't usually wait for (you) before they do something 'badass.'

We're all in this together people.

One Room- Anime of the season for sure. Yes this is a decently sized review so of course a tl;dr will follow, have no fear all lonely otaku's pondering this show, all your questions are answered in the most spoiler free way possible.

there's a lot of hate for this show and I understand why, this show is for lonely otaku's to give them the perfect waifu so of course normal weebs would see it as an iffy show. However I approached it more leniently and tried to enjoy the cringefest that was One Room, and succeeded to a certain extent.

Story- probably the worst part ... of this show. The main character is you, the viewer, and one of 3 girls who aren't all sisters (the synopsis is clickbait) with each story detailing their happy fun times in your one room (creative name). Each girl has their own story and you play along with it, but sometimes the MC can be a real dick and not properly react to the feelings of the girl of the week, but as We are the main we can only criticise ourselves :/

Art- very vibrant and colourful, was nice to look at, made the backgrounds visually appealing and characters beautiful. typhoon graphics did a-ok in this department

Sound- usually a very calm OST with everchanging ending theme's for each girl, making them less memorable. nothing much to hate on but nothing to applaud either

Characters- the most important part of this show.
we begin with Hanasaka Yui, a university applicant that struggles with revision. Being a uni applicant myself i empathised with this the most, so hanasaka was the obvious choice for best girl. you spend 4 episodes helping her studies in the hope she gets into a good uni, does she? watch it and find out fools.
up next is momohara Natsuki, your imouto. oh the lolicons must have had a field day with her. the perfect sister, she cooks, cleans and cares for you after a hard days work. however i am not an imouto, so theres no empathy here.
the final girl is Aoshima Moka, your childhood friend. her singing was pretty good, props to her VA. but the character is prone to giving up and you, the MC, have to be there to help her. being the only character your age she's the only one with a real chance at a love love ending, but childhood friends never win, do they?
and finally, the MC- You. you're some Japanese guy that lives by himself in an apartment, working 9-5 in some job. you can be a bit of a prick sometimes but decent every so often, still the worst character of the show, but all the girls were made to be Perfect waifu's for whichever kinda girl you're in to whereas you, the MC, are not made perfect, so you cant be held accountable.

Enjoyment- 10/10. laughing about how stupid this show was has been the highlight of my wednesday's for 12 weeks, ye I probably shoulda picked up maid dragon and konosuba but ah well, this and piacevole were fine.

Overall- my brain says rate this show for lonely weebs a 1, but my enjoyment says give it 10. not sure why a 4/10 on the review thing is labelled "decent" as that means acceptable or satisfactory. but when thinking about this show, Decent suits it just right. so one room gets a decent 4/10. Roll on one room side M!

TL;DR- watch this shit if you are a basement dwelling weeb that doesnt have an imouto, if you arent or you're just tsun about your loneliness then you'd be better off watching TWGOK or some other arc'd up romance anime.

Mother dick this shit is helpful.