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.

Oh boy! It's that time again to review another terrible show that is only around four minutes in length and features cute girls, one of whom is underage, as they talk to you, the audience, through the eyes of the voiceless main protagonist! One Room is strange. Damn strange. I have no idea what the show is trying to convey or achieve and belongs in that certain type of anime, under the "what the bloody hell is that crap?" with titles such as Pupa and Sleeping with Hinako.

While on the topic of that big titted slut, Hianko, One Room also follows a very similar structure ... and idea as that show, that being that we watch and interact with these girls who are speaking to some unknown guy whom we can't see, and instead we assume the role of him instead and that's it! That's the entire show and it never deviates in any way and instead goes around in circles never developing anything at all! It's about three girls whom the main character helps whilst they're in their time of need; the schoolgirl, the token little sister who keeps yelling "baka" all the time and really needs to be taken behind the shed to be shot with a gun, and the now grown-up childhood friend who is having problems over at her job. Each one of them confides themselves in your company, for some reason since the main character hardly ever speaks, and since we're supposed to assume his role, I have no idea why these girls would ever come to a filthy cave-dwelling fujoshi such as myself. They try and play it off as romance, and try and sell the idea that you develop this bond between the girls or bond as a sibling between your sister but it doesn't feel as if anything happened, for two reasons:

1) The show is too short to allow for any development
2) THE ENTIRE CAST IS SO COOKIE-CUTTER AND BORING THAT YOU WON'T GIVE A SINGLE INTO WHAT IS HAPPENING!

Phew, let me just get my breath back *inhales oxygen*. Each one of these girls is the most cliche and stereotypical anime girls that you could even imagine; the type that I and my friends joke about when we're TRYING to come up with generic characters for shows, more so than Kirito from SAO. The fact that this author, who is trying to create characters and drama, made these characters ON PURPOSE just goes to show how uninteresting these characters really are and each one makes me want to throw up into a basket of puppies with how deceptively cute each one of them are; just to pull at the heart strings and try and manipulate you into feeling something for these...creatures.

But, that also begs the question. Who was this made for? What is the point of it? It is trying to appeal to people who have no one and wants to feel loved, like in Pillow Boys? Are they trying to make you do exercise like in Anitore EX? Both of these shows listed are two in which are similar to that of this show, but at the least, I can kind of see what they're trying to achieve, but this...I have no clue! It's an empty husk with no purpose! It doesn't entertain, so it's no good as an actual show, it doesn't fill in some strange fetish, so it doesn't even check off that possibility and it doesn't even work as a so bad it's good title since there is NOTHING good about this show. The only thing it has is an okay looking art design. That's it. And, can you believe it? They're making a male version of this show next season!
I'm just going to take my cyanide pills and end it here...

This is my first review on any anime. This one not great. It didn't grab much of my attention nor enjoyment.

Story: You basically are the character in it, watching it from the male lead, or female who ever is watching it. Three different stories that weren't really all that amusing. More drama than anything.

Sound: Fine

Character: Kind of boring. Didn't get any excitement.

Art: The art was actually good.

... Enjoyment: Didn't enjoy it much. I was just watching. It more to calm anyone down more likely.

Overall: Not really all that great. Should had made this one a hentai. Would have been 10 times better.

'One Room' is one of the most sweet '5 minute episode' anime I have ever seen. It's amazing how you can watch the episode and kind of interact with the main character. Hanasaka Yui is such an amazing, cute and beautiful girl that just wants to enter a good University and find love.

The story is, so far, enjoyable. It isn't very detailed, but it's a good story. The art is just amazing. The characters, the objects, the places, etc, are very well drawn and the animation is ver good, as well. The sound is what makes this anime different. It's very good and, in this ... kind of anime, it fits it perfectly. So far (until episode 4), there's only two characters: Yui, the main girl, and the boy who helps her study but it's never seen. I enjoyed watching this anime so far and I totally reccomend it to everyone who wants to experience something different.

Overal rating: 8.

What is fiction? What is reality? At what point do these two worlds intersect?

On the outside, One Room's universe is pleasant: placid, reticent, and content. Disturbances, competition, and adventure are uncalled for here, as there is no need for them in this world. These suburbs are complacent and familiar; this world is built around your desire for external support and comfort. Your interests won't be challenged by the motives of others because this world was not created for them. Here, you are of utmost importance.

Of course, this aloof existence won't suffice for your other needs. Humans crave reinforcement in social institutions, or else they'll become ... lonely and miserable. What good are your world views if they aren't shared by others, no matter how blindly? What good are others if they don't satisfy you in some way? Luckily, you get to share this world with three attractive young girls. You're told that they all have lives beyond this world and have separate problems of their own, but does that really matter to you? Here, they exist purely to pacify your yearning for emotional and sexual fulfillment. You need not put any effort in yourself, nor do you need to return the favor. Who needs social skills when you already have an obscure likeness of a self-insert to respond to everything the girls say?

I don't know about you, but I can't hold up this facade any longer.

One Room was created under the vision of viewer immersion, but not only does this immersion require an intense amount of mental gymnastics, it also serves to do nothing more except to gratify the viewer. It's clearly an attempt at an escapist work, and escapism is by no means a good coping mechanism. Certainly, there are more harmful forms of escapism that exist, such as cutting and cocaine, but the one thing all these methods have in common is that they do not aid their practitioners in finding a solution to their problems. Ignoring the issue will not resolve it; rather, escapism seems to ensure that problems will only grow worse. The fact that One Room was made to promote this sort of mindset makes it innately harmful on an ideological level.

Even though it obviously is an escapist show, it isn't even good at what it wants to do. The very concept of an anime, a medium that does not use consumer input, based around using the viewer as a stand-in for the main character is absurd. Educational children's shows often use this because most children can't tell the difference between fiction and reality, but One Room targets older, more jaded viewers. It's a Machiavellian corporate scheme that manipulates the basest psychological drives of its viewers, all while treating them like children.

One Room also exploits the egos of its viewers by painting a world all about them, or as the synopsis says, all about "You". This setting is sickeningly picturesque, no everyday inconveniences occur, and all the characters are involved in conflicts that are solved merely by the MC's investment. The real world does not revolve around you. You must learn to work hard, to gain more knowledge, to take advantage of situations, and to grow as a person. One Room preys on egocentrism, laziness, and complacency; it's a universe based on a lack of self-awareness and bestial fantasies, where adaptation and evolution are eschewed. Even more disturbing is the fact that the entitlement brought by self-insertion is actually a delusion. The viewer has no influence over this fantasy. What they say to the girls has no bearing on what happens in the story because that road has already been mapped out. They cannot consent to anything, and they inadvertently submit to the will of the show's creators. The situations you experience and the endings you get will always be the same, no matter what you say or think. One Room's true nature is terrifyingly adversarial to the way it markets itself. Its romanticized shell contains an almost nihilistic display of determinism beneath.

Fiction is a fantastical, comforting ideal. Reality exists beyond the will; perhaps it is even subconscious. One Room allows these two worlds to intersect: a beautiful conception leads to a revelation of Freudian slips. Even so, many continue to consume this deceptive work. Perhaps that is the dystopian nightmare this show intends to create.

There are slight spoilers in this review, but not anything too specific, read at your own discretion.

I will be reviewing this by each arc and then overall.

Arc 1 // New neighbor, busty underclassman - 6/10
This arc is pretty easy-going and has a story. Overall average, but very nice art and happy ending.

Arc 2 // Energetic, cheerful, and petite sister - 1/10
I am not a big fan of sister complex's much less petite figures. Not to mention the story is pretty lame and the ending is just ?? like ?? wasted 16 minutes of screentime for what?? Sister stuff, just not my cup of ... tea.

Arc 3 // Busty childhood friend - 10/10
Loved this arc, absolutely loved it. The angles, the cleavage, the story, the piano, it was all quite enjoyable.

Story: 5/10
Art: 10/10
Sound: 6/10
Character: 4/10
Enjoyment: 6/10 (calculated based on the average of the arc scores)

Overall Score: 6.2/10

Would I recommend it?
The show is short, each episode 3 minutes and 20 seconds, 4 minutes if you count the outro. It isn't too time-consuming and you can pick and choose which arcs you want to watch based on personal taste/preference. So watch it if you want to, but you're not missing anything if you choose not to.

One Room is a self insert cringe fest where teenage and little girls talk flustered nonsense with you, the silent protagonist.

Yes this is an animated visual novel. Yes it's creepy. No there's nothing more to it than what appears on the surface.

It's obvious that One Room is pandering to the segment of the anime community that enjoys eroge gaming. The difference is there's actual intimacy in those games and the player can choose from a multitude of routes. One Room offers no such option and only manages to be a tease that countless anime have done better before it.

The three featured girls are the same ... carbon copy tropes present in every harem ever - childhood friend, new girl next door and of course, your little sister. The childhood friend is waifu tier levels of cute with at least some semblance of a character arc, if this entire anime was about her rather than waste eight episodes on forgettable girls nobody gives a fuck about One Room would be a better experience.

Self insert anime aren't inherently bad, there's a large niche in the anime community for hot girls being peered over by a guy that doesn't deserve the attention, but One Room has neither the flawless beauties, stylistic genius or courage to make it work.

If you're using the POV type of story-telling to immerse the viewer then stick to it! Don't just switch to an impossible angle where the guy's eyes would never be...

One Room consists of cute (or awkward) innocent 4 minute episodes that has the protagonist spend time with the girls of the show, showing it through the point of view of the protagonist eyes (most of the time) to immerse the viewer as if he is interacting with the girls.

It's nice enough eye-candy and the music is pleasant. Overall, if you're feeling down this could possibly make you smile, or maybe you cringe, or ... maybe you laugh because it makes you cringe, differs per person.

One Room is like the anime equivalent of having an abortion: a perfect representation of why there is a birth rate problem in Japan. The mere fact that this anime even exists is legitimately disturbing.

On paper, One Room sounds decent and simple enough. It is a short series (4-minute episodes) about an ordinary guy interacting with a few different girls in everyday situations, pretty much like any other slice of life short. If that was really all there was to it then One Room would probably have been just fine, however unfortunately that is not the case, because this is quite frankly one of the ... creepiest anime I have ever watched.

One Room takes place from a first-person perspective, more specifically a *silent* first-person perspective. You essentially take the role of the main character directly, where the camera's focus represents where his eyes are looking, and on top of that he never speaks out loud. So what ends up happening is that a girl starts up a conversation with the guy, and then "you" are expected to reply back. There is a brief moment of silence where you as the viewer are supposed to reply to the girl in front of your own monitor in real life, and then the girl continues talking based on your supposed response. But obviously, different people would reply differently, and there is no canonical establishment of what "you" in the show supposedly said. Thus, the dialogue makes no sense at all. This is the core difference between this and your average visual novel: in a game you would at least know what the MC says since it is written out in text even if he is unvoiced. But here I have no idea what "I" just said to the girl or what she is reacting to as a result. Most of the time I can probably guess it just based on how simplistic the conversation topics are, combined with the fact that the girls tend to seemingly repeat part of what "you" supposedly said in the form of a question at the start of their sentences in a desperate attempt at informing the viewer. But even so, it is still unbearably awkward to watch. Despite only having episodes a few minutes long, the amount of cringeworthy moments in One Room is unbelievable. I do not even want to think about what this would have been like as a full-length TV-series. When self-inserting is taken so far that an anime's protagonist cannot even hold a natural conversation with the other main characters, then it has gone too far. Way too far.

The idea of having a silent first-person perspective in an anime is not unheard of though. For example there is another short called Anitore XX which does a similar thing. However, that anime was basically a fitness show with a bunch of girls doing exercises and giving you instructions for them in real life. There you were not expected to reply back, and it actually felt natural because that is basically what fitness instructors do on real TV as well. But when you have a completely one-sided dialogue where you actually are expected to reply but without establishing what like One Room does, it just fails miserably.

Another thing that kind of bothers me is how One Room essentially forces the viewer to become a total pervert. On the surface, the level of fanservice in this show is rather tame, with nothing but suggestive camera angles and some cliché ecchi dialogue. But again, the first-person perspective makes things very different. Since the camera represents the protagonist's eyes whom you are supposed to self-insert onto, the show basically forces you as the viewer to constantly be undressing all the girls with your eyes. It is not the anime's MC who is being a perv, it is *you*. Do not get me wrong, I am a pervert too so I do not really have a problem with this personally, but the fact of the matter is that I am sure that a lot of this anime's viewers are not, and thus essentially forcing them to feel this way against their will is not something I can approve of on principle. It is kind of like forcing someone to read an ero-doujin about their pure and innocent waifu. Also in the first place this is even ignoring the unexplained fact that these girls seemingly invite themselves into your house for no apparent reason and start acting like your cohabitating lovers from the very first minute (I guess I can somewhat understand the imouto doing it but not the other two).

Now if there is anything good about this anime it would be the visuals. One Room has the honor of having the well-known artist Kantoku himself being responsible for the character designs, and as a result all the girls look as cute as can be. But unfortunately that does not really resolve the anime's core problem.

Overall, One Room is an anime made for very lonely otaku that do not seem to have any female friends in real life but want to have someone to talk to on Valentine's Day, and thus they are presented with an option to live the 2D dream on a level a bit above the norm. If you can relate to that situation then I guess this anime might have some merit, however in that case I would rather recommend you to go play just about any half-assed dating sim instead because they sure as hell have a million times better interactivity than this.

I decided to write a review for "One Room" to provide a point of view from someone who's actually in the demographic for the show, as opposed to the all-too-common feigned outrage or outright mockery things like this show tend to attract. There seems to be a lot of hate for this series that I don't think is at all justified.

That's right, I'm actually writing a serious review for once!

With that out of the way, I suppose I should talk about what this show is actually like. First off, the art is gorgeous. Kantoku did a great job making characters that are stylish and memorable, ... without being too over-the-top.

The animation is also extremely pretty. Falling leaves, loose strands of hair, sunlight streaming in through the windows of the protagonists small apartment. It's all there like you'd want it to be. I couldn't find much on the studio responsible for the animation (Typhoon), but I'm sure the focus on only one character at a time contributed a lot to how nice everything looks.

The animation certainly isn't anything mind-blowing, and the show most likely had a tiny budget, but the animators did the job quite well, and there were no clear weak points that distracted me from enjoying the stories presented.

I also want to draw attention to the sound design for the show. The voice acting, although somewhat cheesy, fits the show quite nicely. The girls sound super adorable and I feel like just listening to a recording of these voice actresses talking would be enough to get any lonely otaku's heart pumping.

One of my favorite things about the show, actually, would be the original score by Yamazo. Given that the focus of the show is on the girls, I doubt many who have watched the show really paid too much attention to the soundtrack. However, as a fan of Japanese minimalists like Hiroshi Yoshimura, I couldn't stop myself from listening in and replaying some of the episodes to hear the simple, yet pretty melodies once again. While somewhat sparse, the score does a fantastic job at punctuating some of the scenes with its gorgeous synths and piano tones.

Now for the main aspect I feel was lacking: The story. Granted, there really aren't any other shows taking this sort of approach to storytelling, so I can understand if the writers were hesitant to get too adventurous. That being said, these tales aren't anything you couldn't find tucked away in hentai manga volumes. They're extremely typical and simple, and have probably been done much better elsewhere.

Still, I enjoyed them quite a bit. And the predictableness was almost... comforting, I guess?

And that's really the point of this show. It's comfort food. It's like getting a latte and chocolate chip scone at your favorite cafe in your hometown on a cool autumn day. It's not meant to be challenging or thought-provoking. It's meant to make guys like me feel okay for a few minutes after a difficult day at work.

And I don't think something that nice is deserving of so much hate. We have everything from people pointing at this as an example of why Japan's birthrate is so low to others just shouting vile things like "anime sluts" and "anime trash" via text. People who aren't in the demographic for this show seem to be upset that it even exists and some have even developed a sort of righteous indignation toward it.

I would advise anyone in this camp to take a step back and really think over why you feel this way in the first place.

All things considered, I'm going with an 8 out of 10 for "One Room." I really liked it, as simplistic as it was. If you're a hard-working single guy in your 20s who loves cute anime girls, this show could be right up your alley! Just don't expect anything to extravagant in the way of storytelling.

So I'm pretty new to anime and have seen all sorts of new formats, storytelling and other content since then. But I think it may be the first time I got this confused about why something got made. I like slice of life, romance, drama, school animes so the genre is not the issue. But what's with this format and story, 4 minute episodes that literally consist of a chain of clichés, POV with an MC that doesn't speak, I guess it's supposed to make it more immersive but does the exact opposite by not being interactive.

What is the value/point of this? What can you ... get out of it, I really don't get it. You won't watch it for the story, the art & sound are nothing to write home about, it can't be a time waster with such little content ... It almost feels like they repurposed some content of an unfinished visual novel. It's nothing offensive and I guess it's watchable but I don't get why anyone would want to make or watch something like this.

It's not that it makes me uncomfortable, it's just that I'm at a total loss about what the appeal is. If you want to watch something cute or charming aren't cat or confession videos on youtube satisfying enough? No need to spend resources if it's to make something like this, imo. But hey if you enjoy it no poblem please do. But could someone please give me a better explanation about why this is fun to watch than those positive reviews just saying that it's cute. Because pictures of puppies can achieve just the same no need for so much work or money spent.

Honestly walked into this after hearing about it, thinking it was going to be one huge mess. But it's actually surprisingly not?

The characters are cute, and all have realistic goals, attitudes, and personalities. Which is a great thing to see. The art is really great to, with how the visuals can be stunning, along with the sound be really fitting and nice too. From the ending theme, to the sounds within scene by scene as the show went on.

But even with that, it just felt like an awkward mess at times lol. Some of the camera angles were really not needed, along with in ... general parts of the story just being real weird.

Overall, wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. But still an awkward cringy fest.

Holey! Yet a first person Anime that cures much of my daily stress and depression that brought me one second thought... "Why don't I have these kind of girls (people) in my daily life?" Oh, well! People work around in mysterious ways and we might not have seen this coming... or would come soon.

The art and music is nice. It really blends well throughout the show. The art though reminds me of Kantoku-- ahh yes! He is the illustrator. Kudos Kantoku on that one... love the art style and everything!

These girls surely showed different expressions and feelings... even their reactions on pervert stuff. Too bad ... imouto killed the book... R.I.P. Book.

I really don't see a good reason why this kind of anime should exist, but given the generally good reception, I guess there is a big enough audience to support this sub-genre, this hybrid of simple visual novel and anime.

And I'm certainly not one of them, maybe it would also appeal to me if it was exceptionally well done, but this one failed at most things that you could say it had going on. The first person thing view would work better if they could just stick to it, instead, they went mostly for unnecessary low point panning shots, and if they really wanted ... us to role play with it, they made girls too quick to react (or let's just say it's weirdly paced) and with some of the most generic anime replies. I also find all characters uninteresting and I seriously couldn't tell them apart. In addition to that, I find this anime extremely boring and with only 4 minute play time of each episode, this is not a feat to be proud of.

The only thing I cannot say anything bad about is the art (the sound is also ok, but that really isn't going to save the score) and given they are a brand new studio they made a decent job. Still, completely pointless anime if you aren't specifically into this kind of stuff.

Ok, now that's over, here are my ratings for this short anime.

Very Good 8, Story.

Ok, there is none, in fact the story plot was more like a game where we the audience were the first person character's here, in fact , it's no different than "Tawawa on mondays" , the reason I've gave it such rating was this time the first person character (which is us) has no speaking lines.


Decent 4, Art.

Ok, so far only Moka is the hottest around here, and don't be expecting some fanservices coming from Hanasaki Yui and Momohara Natsuki.
...
Decent 4, Sound

Cu'z I have no comment about the seiyus who did Moka, Yui and Natsuki's voices, but I do like Yui's arc ending theme.

Decent 4, Character

Ok, so I like Yui, and Moka, but not Natsuki, but, how ever we put it each were a representation of a typical man's fantasy, like Yui, she represent every man's desire to hook up with a highschooler, Natsuki on the other hand represent a typical loli for pedophiles who likes to molest, Moka, was a representation of a typical girls next door, whom a man would wanna have a serious relationship.

Good 7, Enjoyment

Well, this anime is for guys who has a typical fantasy as to how he would like his girl, and I'm guilty of wanting to desire to hook up with a Highschooler like Yui and getting hoked on Moka.

Pathetic 1, Overall

Enjoyed as I am, I'm still gonna say that this SUCKS, since its theme was more on every man's fantasy.


OUT!!!!!!

I'm giving this a 5.

It was quite a weird experience, but I'm actually expecting the last chapter... last arc is quite interesting, to be a story made out of 4 4-minute chapters. The imouto arc was quite weird to me though.

If you are into POV things, this show is, well, quite good! To the extent a POV can be good of course.

I found myself cringe-laughing the whole series, but hey, it was fun, what the heck xD. Would troll-recommend this to people, and I'm pretty sure more than one of 'em is going to end up watching it full.

Hello anime fans! Have you felt like your taste in anime is too good lately? Are things in anime going to well for you? Do you feel like you need to torture yourself with something after watching only bliss and good stuff?

If so then this is the perfect "I wanna shoot myself in the face" anime for you! For only 4minutes an episode and 12 episode long you can get this wonderful suicide contemplating deal with added gun shot wound to the face as a FREE extra. All you have to do is sell your soul to the demons of DATING SIM ANIME!

That's right my ... fellow anime fan, there's an anime which is a dating sim! I shit you not, it's a thing and boy will it make you wish for the suffering to end! From the get go, the one sided conversation with a chick that looks like she's about to bust out into a yandere rage turns up at your door. It's all downhill from there! Things just get more and more strange with the one sides conversations! You will feel violated but hey, isn't that why we escape to anime!?

If you're like me and like a bit of masochism when it comes to your anime choice then look no further than OneRoom! It has everything you want from an anime that will make you wanna contemplate a lobotomy via ladle! But don't just take my word for it, check it out for yourself! OneRoom will make you contemplate things you never thought possible. I have watched it and now my mind is completely scattered from thoughts of "Why have the anime gods forsaken me" to "Is this as bad as School Days!?" Try it today for your FREE shoot myself in the face package! (gun not included)


10/10 would want to feel violated and like I want to breathe my last breath again!

*DISCLAIMER* I am not responsible for any adverse side effects on your psyche or life decisions after you start this anime, watch at your own discretion.

I’ll just say it from the start: this anime fulfills a certain niche. Is it bad? Sure. But is it trash? Well… yes, for varying reasons. Of course, with every episode lasting only four minutes, I found myself done with the anime before I could even start hating it. Its length probably kept me from giving it an awful score.

I think that the biggest problem with this anime is not awful—it’s just exceedingly mediocre. One Room is generic. The art, the story, the characters—we’ve seen it already in other anime except other anime did it better. What we get is a montage of cliches ... squished into four minute episodes.

Just look at the camerawork. Every shot is fan-service. Watch a random episode (or don’t, because you really shouldn’t). Chances are, the camera’s right in the middle of girl curvature.

Amazingly, the animation is actually good. It really is! Their faces show more emotion than this god-forsaken anime even deserves. Eyebrows crease with worry. Eyes turn down in embarrassment. In one of Natsuki’s scenes, her face shows a mix of worry and wanting to be strong in front of her brother. The animators demonstrate the ability to show rather complex emotions in such a stupid anime.

My biggest gripe with this anime is that the protagonist is non-existent. He has no personality. He doesn’t even have a face or a body attached to him! I suppose it’s because the protagonist is supposed to be you, or more precisely, the viewers, but that’s crossing the line from a ‘character’ into a wish fulfillment ‘self-insert.’ We don’t get any development from the protagonist because there’s none to be found. One of my favorite moments is a side-by-side shot of the heroine of the arc and the protagonist, except you can’t even see him because he’s covered by a tree. All of him. It was unintentionally absurd and hilarious. In fact, all of it is. My personal head canon is that these girls are actually delusional and talk to their own imaginary wish fulfillment character. That’s why you never see the protagonist—because he only exists in the girls’ heads.

Jokes aside, it’s just so exceedingly honest in being some kind of self-indulging wish fulfillment that I can’t even feel upset over it. Just pity.