Nakanohito Genome [Jikkyouchuu]

A great anime that for some reason went almost unnoticed in the most lackluster season of the year.

The story is nothing spectacular and the show has so many main characters that its harsh to focus and develop a single plot on only 12 episodes without eliminating the relevance of the other characters.
With that being said i feel like we ended up having a good understanding of almost every MC on this 12 episodes. Iride and Himiko ended up less developed than the others but to a certain point i can understand this choice since mistery is kind of a part of their character.

Art wise this ... feels a lot like Kagerou Project. That being said this is a better Mekakucity Actors than MekaActors itself, balancing characters screen time, not disrespecting the characters personality from the source and not overcomplicating anything.

Sound wise aside from Anya who sounded like a angsty brat 100% of the show i felt that the VA was fantastic. Yuzu in particular is incredible with all the shifts in emotion that the character goes trough.

All the characters have a certain charm to them (except the white haired guy since it feels like he is the most childish of them all after Anya. Hell i cant even remember his name).
All the characters get almost the same ammount of development.

I was looking forward to the show every week altough after the first episodes i realized that the show was way more lighthearted than i was expecting.
This isn't bad at all since many shows are sickeningly boring when every single new plot point is: "If you fail, you die" and you damn well know that they arent going to die. AKA every single shounen out there.

Finally. No this is not a Danganronpa clone, this is something else with a similar plot.
Danganronpa anime is complete garbage anyways.

Warning: some spoilers below.
Random stuff: the anime. This is a more fitting title to this show.
The plot: random streamers are abducted to play some games and will be released when they hit a view count. The start itself is not the problem, execution is: games are so random in each episode that I got more and more frustrated from episode to episode. Some mutant overgrown pandas, mimic plants that can even copy personality traits, ghosts and demons, hi-tech cameras and a ghost town to the top - what is going on, who even thought that those things bunched together would make something wholesome? It feels ... more like some kind of bingo, where all the "cool stuff" got tossed into the pot disregarding setting and if those things are a good match between each other. Oh, and cherry on top: this anime doesn't even cover the source completely, so it is not a full story, so this whole mess is never explained properly.
Art and sound: average in every way, nothing to add.
Characters: another big problem. Everyone is supposed to be a streamer, I am ok with that. But can you tell me, since when streamers have highly letal poison vials or flashbangs? And the characters themselves aren't really complex, everyone pretty simple with a single "drama" trait to show in their personal moment.
Enjoyment: none. All 12 episodes I was more confused than amused, more trying to figure out what is going on than enjoying the show.

Overall: can't recommend, at best it is some nieche anime, at worst - waste of time.

I'm writing this review, because I don't think the other reviewers are giving this series the justice it deserves.
Now, is this series a masterpiece? No, but that's totally fine. If you go into with your expectations at a level for an anime adaptation of a web manga you will not be disappointed.
I'll loosely go over the points.
(May contain slight spoilers for episode 1, but that's all)

Story (7/10):
The story isn't particular interesting nor is it original. A group of let's players are stuck in a mysterious game that they don't remember entering and they have to get 1 million views on the livestream of the show ... to be released. They'll get punished if they don't follow the rules, yadda yadda.

Let's start by addressing the elephant in the room; is this a Danganronpa copy?
Absolutely and absolutely not. The concepts, adorable mascot, character designs (though more "modern" here) and character archetypes are absolutely in alignment with what you'd expect from a Danganronpa game, but rather than just being another trifle copy of a beloved franchise, it manages to encapsulate it's own aura and charm. Think of it as some of the amazing Danganronpa-styled spin-offs you see everywhere, but even more original.

The let's player thing is a bit cheesy, but also extremely adorable and it makes the characters easier to remember and "characterize".
As for the brutality of the show, it's not anywhere near the level of Danganronpa. The viewer is told in episode 1 that they'll be punished for not following the rules, but the punishment they're shown is somewhat weak and doesn't actually shock you in the way it does in Danganronpa.
This may be plot related, however, as these stories tend to have a meaning in the smaller details, so it's not a big issues for me, personally.

Overall, it's not fantastic, but if you curb your enthusiasm a bit and take it for what it is, you'll enjoy it.

Art (9/10)
This part is easily one of the best parts of the shows. The amount of detail put into each episode is ASTOUNDING and I'm surprised more people haven't giffed the shit out of the show. The artstyle itself is rather simplistic and "Pixiv-esque" (you know what I mean when you see it), but it's what they do with these characters. I don't remember any glaringly huge moments where they go off-model and look like blobs in the background, which in itself is a huge feat.

Each episode, they change up the art style for the different settings, challenges and touching moments. In episode 1's touching moment, they completely change up the lineart style and coloring and it looks amazing and perfectly emphasizes the mood they're trying to capture. There are so many places where the changes directly influence and enhance the story, whether it be the comedic timing, amount of animation, etc.
It really feels like some meaningful thinking went into creating the artistic side of this series and it's MUCH appreciated.

Sound (7/10)
I would write a long segment for this, but I honestly don't remember much of the music. It's inoffensive, modern, and doesn't really get in the way of the mood. It's not something memorable, but definitely not something that pulls you out of setting.
The opening is kinda boring, very generic, but I'm sure someone will find it enjoyable so do give it a listen.

Characters (10/10)
Giving it a 10 out of 10 may be a bit of an overkill, but honestly, much like it's forefather Danganronpa, the characters are what carry the show.
The guys are great, the girls are great and they're all memorable, quirky, and fun! Sometimes, in these big ensembles, some characters bleed into the background or get the short end of the stick, but they're really just all important and interesting. The weakest one at the moment is the main character, but that's to be expected of these types of stories and at least the story is self-aware enough to feel like a parody on the "hope inspiring protagonist".

All the characters are let's players, as mentioned earlier, and this brings some great gap moe moments. They have great twists to their personality which will make even the coldest of hearts melt just a bit. The pure dedication and love that each character has their genre of game is also incredibly endearing.
Also, for people who are worried about the characterization of women in anime, I will gladly announce that they get just as much depth and spark in them as the boys do, maybe even more so (since they're in the minority).

Honestly I can't describe well how great these characters are, so if you like these types of character driven comedy/drama shows with a big ensemble, do give it a try!

Enjoyment (8/10)
What is there to say which haven't been said? Despite it's cliché story, it's still a highly entertaining watch because of the characters and visuals.

Overall (8/10)
Calling this show a Danganronpa copy or "just another death game" is highly insulting and should not be taken to heart. Sports, harem, idol, and other sub-genres of anime all share the same overall themes and ideas, but that doesn't mean of them are worse than the others for having said genre.
Nakanohito Genome carries itself as a different story to Danganronpa with it's great visuals and characters and is a MUST WATCH for any fan of the genre!
For anyone else, why not give it a shot? It might surprise you!

The first episode of The Ones Within made me feel like a kid again. There’s plenty of anime with gaming gimmicks coming out every year. However, The Ones Within played its cards by mixing together a mystery plot with a colorful cast of characters and peculiar humor. If you thought the mystery genre was lacking this year, then I do have some good news for you.

Series director Shin Oouma has a collective resume although none of his previous work dealt with game gimmicks. Often times, people may see this series as just another game show with high stakes. Of course, such ideas isn’t exactly refreshing ... in the anime industry. We’ve had anime like Danganronpa where a group of characters are thrown into a labyrinth of chaos and mystery. Likewise, The Ones Within takes advantage of its premise by throwing the characters into unusual settings. These settings adapts the game gimmick formula with high stakes and variety. From the first few episodes, I got convinced this anime is something to look forward to beyond that what it looks on the surface.

With the amount of promotional material, The Ones Within is by no means a mainstream show. Or in fact, one could call this a niche anime, perhaps targeted to fans familiar with mystery. Before this even got an anime adaptation, I had been reading this and it only occurred to me now that the show could work with the amount of material it contains. Indeed, the plot structure takes the main premise and turns it into an evolving plot with every episode introducing different games with different stakes. While the show isn’t an anthology, it does create a feel of how different each episode is an adventure of its own. The variety of games includes dating simulations, saving people from Oni, conquering dungeons, and many more. Each episode also contains a view count that stylizes itself with the gimmick of the show. The way I see it is how the director wanted to really make the anime feel like a game. Rather than just thrown in as a gimmick, the anime appeals to the game show genre that truly embrace itself for what it is. And with our contestants, you can bet there’s going to be a lot of challenges they must overcome.

Now I’m not a prophet but judging on the abilities of the characters, I’m guessing the author had some experience with a variety of game genres. The main characters all specializes in different fields of gaming such as Akatsuki’s skill in escape games, Himiko in nurturing simulation, Yuzu in puzzle solving, Zakuro in stealth, Anya in fighting, Karin in horror, Makino with dating simulation, and Kaikoku in Japanese games. Many of these episodes depends on their special talent in order to clear the stage. In fact, without their specialized skills, the characters would fail together. Collectively, the characters gets along on a fundamental level although there’s drama that spawns occasionally between each other. It’s mostly lighthearted humor although it’s noticeable that the main cast all have troubled pasts. As the plot advances more and more, we are given glimpses of how some of that past influences their present personalities. However, the audience shouldn’t come into this show expecting some form of character study. They also don’t develop over time because let’s face it, the anime treats this as a game show. There’s stages, rules, and punishments for those who breaks them. The character chemistry and relationships mostly come from the time these players spend together. And with the amount of games we witness, you can bet that characters have to work strategically to win.

A main question to ask yourself is what you want out of this show. Is it the psychological elements of the mind games of each episode? Is it to see if the characters can beat the challenges to the end? Or are you in just to see how the show tackles on such a mystery premise? Watching The Ones Within has a bit of all of these traits combined with doses of comedy. I’m not going to lie, for a mystery show, it doesn’t truly take itself seriously at times despite the stakes. It isn’t one of those psychological thrillers with jump scares or shadowy suspense. In fact, every time the episode ended, it felt like watching a game show than a mystery thriller. The more you come to understand this show, the more it becomes enjoyable.

Before even watching this anime, the character designs reminded me of Kagerou Daze. The mixed media project isn’t related to this series but the designs sparks a feeling of familiarity. The Ones Within heavily relies on character’s body language to do the talking. Their every move has attention to detail whether it’s during their strategy planning or utilizing their special skills on certain stages. On the more lighthearted side, character expressions often gives more of a cartoony look. Some characters also behave more childish than they may appear such as the case with Yuzu. As one of the more sarcastic characters, she brings a certain amount of fan service when interacting with the female cast, in particular Karin. But who am I to judge if she swings that way? The character that overshadows her sarcasm is an even stranger character named Paka. With the face of an animal in a suit, you’re in for a real treat of strangeness.

Having a show taking on such a strange premise reminds us that anyone can make anything work if they put their mind to it. The Ones Within may not be a masterpiece but it managed to convince me how each episode ties together with its genres and themes. From the first episodes to the final one, it kept its feet together and walked the path of creative story. Now, the character cast might not be your cup of tea. Quite frankly, I think this show suffers a bit from its multi-personality character cast, such that it suffers from the stuffing too many eggs in one basket. But if you do overlook that and follow their adventures to heart, then what you get is something you won’t regret.

Sometimes I do let my critical eye ruin the enjoyment of a show that has peaked my interest yet has flaws to it. The only option I have is to either ignore them and just enjoy what’s in front of me or embrace it and criticize the s**t out of it. The reason I say all this because this is exactly how I feel about this show. A show that I like but has flaws. But why though? Well I’ll tell you.

Sit back relax, put on a headset, turn on a camera and do a livestream as you are reading this as I present ... to you the anime review for Nakanohito Genome [Jikkyouchuu], or by its English name, The Ones Within. Lets begin.


Story: 6/10

The story begins with our eight main characters (who are all lets players by the way) completing the game “Nakanohito Genome” and after getting the message “We will come get you,” they wake up; seemingly in the middle of nowhere with giant animals for some reason. They are greeted by a man in a llama mask (or a head, your guess) by the name of Paka and tells our main cast that they are selected to do a real life lets play of Nakanohito Genome and reach 100,000,000 views for the viewing public's entertainment. Once they do that, they are all free.

I wouldn’t blame you if you got some Danganrompa vibes immediately after watching this show. The shows premise and vibes are similar to that of Danganrompa but it manages to differentiate itself rather quickly by explaining its setting and the narrative. Instead of a murder mystery, its some real life lets plays. The lets plays are the core of the show with the cast spending about one or two episodes completing a lets play challenge so that they can reach the 100,000,000 view mark and go home with the stakes getting higher and higher. Although I do wish with the challenges were more diverse instead of being another version of a survival horror challenge. Granted it does do that occasionally like a dating sim or a simple puzzle game, but it is mainly a different version of a horror lets play almost every time. If you want to raise the stakes, a puzzle platformer or even a shooter could do that with the right context. So I just wanted them to be more diverse.

The challenges themselves though, despite my criticisms, are still entertaining with their different spin on things every time so we don’t always get the same challenge they present to us. My favourite one is when they have to hide from 3 sister maids inside their rooms for an hour. If the maids spot you once, they blind you. If they spot you again while you are blind, they gouge your eyes out. The only way to unblind someone is by getting touched by someone who isn’t blind. It adds some real tension to the challenge knowing that something extremely painful will happen if you are not careful. The show kind of relies on these challenges though to add some urgency because outside of the challenges, there is little urgency. The characters are in no rush to get out of where they are, which is strange that they are forced to do this task and have no other choice doing so but are in no rush to get out of doing it? It makes up for it by moving at a good pace but I feel like some more urgency would help give a better realisation of where they are right now.

Of course, them having no idea where they are or why leaves some mystery aspects to the show. The main mystery of the show, Paka and the truth behind Nakanohito Genome is alright. It adds an extra layer to show that makes you intrigued about the truth and why this island hosts giant Pandas, Daemons and killer, shape shifting plants but I never really felt that this was something I really wanted to know and I just waited to see what would happen. The more intriguing mystery was the mystery behind one of the main leads, Yuzu Roromori and why she is infatuated with our...well I guess the main main protagonist of the series, Iride Akatsuki. That was the more, “I want to know more” mystery that kept me watching because with how well our characters interact with each other, what would happen if they all knew Yuzu’s secret.


Characters: 7/10

So I only mentioned it at the end of the story section but without a doubt the best thing about this show for me was the chemistry between our main leads. It made for some of the more entertaining moments of the show. Whether it was Iridie and Anya slowly growing friendship or
Yuzu being a total s**tstirer towards Karin, the chemistry between our main leads just works. So I like the chemistry between the characters, its just that their development is rather lacklustre. We don’t know much about them throughout the show but we do get some reveals about their past and perhaps some connection as to why they are here. But other than that, there is not much else. Their growth is dependant on how well they interact with one another. While you could say they succeeded in that regard (and you would be right), in terms of personal development though, they hardly change.

Paka perhaps being the most mysterious character in the show would make him one of the main core factors of the show. The thing is though is that I really didn’t care much about who he really is and why is he doing this. I only see him as a plot device to get the main cast from one lets play challenge to another. He’s shown he wants them to succeed but at the same time, will punish anyone is violating the rules. So is he a meddling director? Or something else entirely? So there are some aspects that make him an intriguing character, but also one where the mystery around him isn’t really that interesting.


Animation: 5/10

The animation for this show was fine if a bit generic. Not bad but certainly not impressive. The art style was rather generic and didn’t really have a rather unique style that I think could have benefited here given its premise and setting. A missed opportunity really. The character designs are more sensible than I expected yet they still match the characters personality and background. It is nice they didn’t go ridiculous but they are a bit bland.


Sound: 5.5/10

You can say a similar thing to the ost in this series. It’s fine but its not something I will particularity remember in the future. It does it job to set an atmosphere but its not noticeable enough to grab you get your attention. So it is rather meh overall.

The opening, "not GAME" by Tasuku Hatanaka has more style and a better song than the animation and soundtrack combined. It certainly shows off what kind of personality the characters have and the vibrant use of colours is refreshing compared to what we get from the show. The song also has a nice rhythm to it and keeps pace with the visuals that makes this opening very solid.

The ending sequence, "Boku wo Mitsukete” by fhána also does well at portraying the character’s personalities but not as well as the opening I would say. The song is nice and calming while we go through the ending so like the opening, rather solid but not as good as the opening.


Conclusion:

I really like this show, but only if I ignore the flaws. If I watch it at face value, then I can get enjoyment out of this series. But since I’m reviewing it, then I have to say that the show has quite a bit of flaws to it and only a couple of things from the show is done really well, in this case, its the character’s chemistry and the lets play challenges. The mystery isn’t all that intriguing, the character development is lacking and the animation and soundtrack is rather mediocre. This show is definitely one of those shows that if you don’t think about it too hard and take what you get, it’s a fun show. And despite my criticisms, it is a really fun show to watch. So I’ll make a rare exception where i’ll actually give this show the “Watch it” recommendation because despite its flaws, this is one of the more fun shows to watch this season.


My personal enjoyment: 8.5/10


Overall Score: 6.4/10 Recommendation: Watch it

·Story: 4/10

The plot reminds me to a Danganronpa's style with SAO's structure. Let me explain this.

The fact of the sheep (Animal) and the different abilities of the mc's are similar to Danganronpa's plot.

Also the different levels in that world are similar to SAO's structure. But, what makes this story interesting is that they need ''views'', which is also similar to danganronpa but with another touch.

·Art: 6/10

... Art in general is pretty good, but I'm not giving it more mark just because the scenes on this anime don't need too much effort to be made.

(Most of the scenes are relaxed and with no action)

·Sound: 5/10

The effects and music aren't the best, dialogs are pretty simple and aren't original enough.

Maybe putting some dramatic or emotional music in some parts would upgrade the quality of this anime.

·Character: 6/10

As I said before, the personalities of this anime remind me to Danganronpa's style. Each of the mc's have different abilities and personalities, which some aren't defined yet.

I think it would improve if they could give more attention to the details of the mc's personalities, because they are pretty basic and common.

·Enjoyment: 4/10

The development of the history is being slow for me. For this reason I am not enjoying the show a lot.

However, if you like slow animes this one could fit you.

·Overall: 4/10

In general Nakanohito is not one of my favourites shows this summer and I hope it gets better with the time.

Thanks for reading :D

I'm not good at English, but will try to review this anime.

Story : I can say that the synopsis of this anime is the same as Danganronpa, but my interest is the gamer and the content that looks cute and new. But this is not the content that interests me I will talk in the Art. [Story 9/10]

Art : The artwork of this anime looks good, even without light and shadow. But the art of this anime I felt strange. The motion scene was well done. (Still better than some anime)

Character design If i say wrong? I want to see this anime Because ... of the character design (Character design and interesting things of the characters, I separate) I like the design of the character very much. Was the first look, then knew about the gamer , Especially the masked characters And character zooming, character expression It seems clear that This character has something. It looks secret.

I can say that the design of the character is the best. [Art 8/10]


Sound : For me, the songs of this anime are good. But it's not all interesting. It is Ending. I won't say that. Where do i dislike If you watch, you will know What is interesting is the opening. It can indicate the character's character at all. And character abilities

Sound effects I didn't hate it. [Sound 7/10]


Character : I can say that it is like Danganronpa once again about the abilities of each character. But I can't deny that it's not interesting It's a very interesting thing. Some friendly characters But sometimes it looks scary as well. And this is the point that makes me like this anime very much These people are not talented people. But it's just a gamer who specializes in each game These people are gamers. Making them look more enthusiastic than staying with And not afraid of the surrounding [Character 10/10]


Enjoyment : But if asked if each episode was enjoyable, I said that I enjoyed every episode of the 6 episodes. There was only one episode that I saw and felt strange. [Enjoyment 9/10]

Because with the story of this anime that looks friendly, makes the characters look memorable And many cute scenes And see more cooperation as a team If anyone says that this anime is Copy Danganronpa, I said yes, but only Synopsis, but in the anime it is very different. The feeling of getting it differently The anime has not yet reached 12 episodes, but I believe Still good Although I didn't read the manga But I believe that anime doesn't disappoint.

[Overall 8.8 / 10] This is just 6 Episode Only!!

Hope everyone will like this anime.

Thank you for reading.

Ok, when you make something that resembles like Daganronpa, either you make it better than it was or make it as worse as it is , but in the case of this anime , it was chaotic. Just imagine something like that of a cyberpunk being mixed with supernatural, horror and mystery were a combination of something that proves to be lackluster with a lotta mismatch things that goes around this shit, so how do I rate this shit?????? Here's how:

Story-Poor 3: The story plot was obviously a cheap imitation of Dagaronpa, where the original creator a certain Osora adds a lotta elements ... here that its game genre proves to be very much a lackluster, TBH, they should have focus on the cyberpunk aspect of the anime, since it was all connected to a game crated by the character Iride.

Art-Poor 3: When we talk about the characters attire what we see was a reflection of their attitude, but Paka to be Paka was soooooo lame.

Sound-Pathetic 1: That's for Iride's voice, cu'z it was soooo annoying, cu'z from it's tone you can say that he's both crazy and nosy.

Character- Dreadful 2: Ok let's go over each character:

Iride Akatsuki- Ok so he's friendly, kind and gentle, but unfortunately, he was just annoying , cu'z basically thought he like to be the first one to do the challenges set by Paka, to me he's just a show off and pretty much this meddling SOB in which you wanna punch him hard in the face.

Karin Sarayashiki- A Tsundere, who like to stream horror games, but what's disgusting about her was her double standard , yes she was a horror game freak, but she happens to be scared shit of real ghost and other supernatural. If this were Daganronpa, I would have preferred that she dies first in a horrible way.

Kaikoku Onigasaki- A Sengoku era gamer, he has the chance to join up with the resistance, but ends up going back with the others, he should have been eaten by that giant gold fish.

Anya Kudō- For him to be this fighter game expert, was basically a waste of his role , where he could've have been a protagonist who can kick Paka's ass.

Zakuro Oshigiri- To me, he basically doesn't belong in this kind of shit, and instead, his character ought be in one of those generic iskai themed anime.

Himiko Inaba- So, for her to be carrying Flash bangs was also a waste of her character who was portrayed as this cry baby gamer whose mode of dominance was to use her flash bangs on anybody who is rowdy.

Yuzu Roromori- She would have been a good fit to be Midari's (from Kakeguri) bestie, and if this is Danganronpa, she'll fit in as a psychotic antagonist.

Makino Aikawa- He'd be better of if he were to be the 2nd one to die, if this were to be Daganronpa.

Paka- Oh Paka Ding Dong Ding Niegh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!He be better off being kicked in the ass by the psycho Teddy Bear in Danganronpa.

Enjoyment-Poor 3: I was hoping that somebody will die, but too bad that there were no death flag.

Overall- Dreadful 2: Cu'z this basically says "How not to make a Danganronpa knock off." Cu'z it was just a poor poor way of making one.

For some reason, The Ones Within largely flew under the radar during the season, and that's bit sad, because I'm gonna tell you a few reasons as to why I think this show deserves your attention.

Story
The Ones Within features the struggles of a group of veteran gamers who are trapped in a mysterious town called the 13th Avenue, where they must survive the games brought forth by the game master Paka. I admit that's not the most innovate premise for anime, thanks to the oversaturation of the isekai genre and anime with game-like features, but what makes this show interesting is the creative solutions used ... by the protagonists to overcome their challenges.

The show manages to strike a good balance between comedy and drama. For the most part, The Ones Within is cheerful and light-hearted, but it's not afraid of getting ominous, especially when some characters evolve or encounter life-threatening challenges. I really enjoyed the themes of friendship and hope even in the face of adversity, which can be appreciated by a vast majority of viewers. (8/10)

Characters
One of the strongest aspects of this show is the character writing. The Ones Within is pretty good at getting the characters to bounce off each other, getting used to each other's quirks and becoming closer as a team. We have eternal optimist Akatsuki, mysterious Zakuro, aggressive Anya, kind-hearted Himiko, humorous Yuzu, confrontational Karin, relaxed Kaikoku and stoic Makino as our main characters.

The closest thing the show has to a primary antagonist is Paka, a guy who wears an alpaca mask and controls the games that our team must complete. Even so, calling Paka a villain might not be entirely accurate, as he is not above helpng the gamers every once in a while, not to mention he develops some kind of affection towards Akatsuki.

The show's brand of humor is pretty good at getting the characters outside their comfort zones and adapting them to their new circumstances. It's funny to see otherwise serious Zakuro and Kaikoku get into some kind of comedic incident. The opposite can happen as well, with light-hearted characters like Akatsuki and Himiko enduring some kind of poignant event, like helping someone in trouble and having their lives threatened for some reason.

All of this, and more, is what makes the cast of The Ones Within so entertaining to watch. (9/10)

Art
While the character designs are fairly average, I really liked the attention that went into the backgrounds, the gaming effects and the opening and closing credits. All in all, the animation hands itself pretty well. (8/10)

Sound
Both the opener and the closer are fun, and the soundtrack features some pretty catching songs, as well. Props should also be given to the talented voicing cast, which includes the likes of Justin Briner, Marissa Lenti, Stephen Fu, Kristi Rothrock, among others. The voice actors have excellent chemistry with one another, whic his signficantly enhanced by the strength and accurate of the script. (9/10)

Overall
In closing here, The Ones Within is a criminally underrated show. Its interesting story, likeable characters, hilarious comedy and amazing soundtrack make this show a true diamond in the rough. A new episode, with involvement from the manga's creator, has been greenlit, so fans of this show won't have to wait too long to see these characters again. All in all, this was a fine show and I totally recommend it. (8/10)

- This review have a portuguese translation -
This is one of those anime that will probably be funny for you, but that actually has a bad script and the director takes bad choices.
The start of the anime reminds you a battle royale, you image the characters competing with each other, but in the truth they need help each other.
Almost games they played didn't had a feeling of fear/anguish/anxiety and who any one of those fellings can be development a script feature is used that will never be explained to leave such a situation aside.
The amount of questions that are thrown to the air and are ... not answered also makes this anime frustrating, and the worst, when these questions are answered they become obvious.
The development of the characters become a positive point for the series, this is not the best, but this exists and help you to create empathy and understand their actions.
Watching this anime I feels nostalgia of when I started watching animes. That's a silly serie, you can't wait too long to watch, maybe if I'd seen it that way, I'd have had more fun.

- Versão em Português -
Este é um daqueles animes que provavelmente vai te divertir, mas que na verdade tem um péssimo roteiro e o diretor toma péssimas escolhas.
O começo do anime te faz lembrar de um battle royale, você imagina que os personagens vão competir entre si, mas o grande diferencial do anime é que eles têm que competir juntos para superar os desafios.
A maioria dos jogos que eles jogaram não passaram nenhuma sensação de suspense/ansiedade/medo e quando um desses sentimentos poderiam ser desenvolvidos é utilizado um recurso de roteiro que nunca vai ser explicado para deixar tal situação de lado.
A quantidade de perguntas jogadas no ar e não respondidas é o que torna também torna esse anime frustrante, e o pior, quando essas perguntas são jogadas na tela e respondidas em questões de segundos elas se tornam óbvias.
O desenvolvimento dos personagens se torna um ponto positivo aqui, não é dos melhores, mas existe e por existir te ajuda a criar empatia e entender o motivo deles agirem de tal forma.
Assistindo esse anime senti uma sensação nostálgica de quando comecei minha vida de otaku. Esse é um anime bobinho, ao assistir você não deve esperar muito dele, talvez com esse pensamento esse anime se torne melhor do que foi para mim.

In a season of anime, and era in general, where Isekais were rampant, this was a refreshing take on the genre. The very best streamer, in each genre of game, was transported to another world, where in Truman Show-esq fashion, their every move is viewed by a certain populace, whether that's world-wide, or galaxywide, we'll never know. Their goal, is to reach 100 million viewers, while completing games tasked to them by an Alpaca. Not just any alpaca, one that walks upright, and speaks as well.

Story: As I said, this was a refreshing take on the isekai genre in my opinion. There's so much of ... people being teleported to another world, and expected to be the hero of the world, but, in Nakanohito Genome, they don't have to change much about themselves to thrive in their adventure. The premise that a group of video game streamers are tossed into a world, with really, nothing in common, outside of their love for video games, and being the most popular streamer in their respective genres, was interesting enough. Now, add in games, which they have to work together to complete, and you get some nice character dynamics.

Art: I enjoyed the art, and animation in this. The characters were interesting in varying ways, appearance wise, and the various environments where their games took place, were always interesting or well drawn in some shape or form. Nothing breathtaking here, but enjoyable none-the-less.

Sound: Loved the opening, it's a song I have tossed into my regular spotify playlist, and still enjoy when it pops up during shuffle. The voice acting was decent, nothing insane, but never left me with a bad taste either.

Characters: Well, I felt like it was a strong suit here. They all had their own quirky personalities, as well as their personal lives that we got a glimpse into from time to time, albeit, sometimes too brief, and left you wanting to know more (LOOKIN AT YOU INABA). Also, if you ever wanted to see a panda school girl, with an afro, this is for you!

Enjoyment: I really enjoyed this, I consider it the best isekai this season, in all honesty. I think a lot of that comes from the fact that it is at least a little bit unique to the genre. They left the door open for a second season as well, so, here's hoping!

Overall: 8/10. This was another one of my top animes for the season personally. I think it was a sleeper, and flew under the radar as well, and think it's a good watch for anyone who enjoys isekais, but is feeling a little burnt out on the overused "becoming a hero in another world" trope.

Love this show so much, it's just lots of fun and made me laugh the most out of all of the comedy anime I have watched. The characters work extremely well together and it even got me to read the original source (Manga). This adaptation did the best it could have done since it seems it had a low budget. However, that hardly ruins the enjoyment for me but it may do for other people and if it does, it can be looked over as there is so much to offer in a short space of 12 episodes.

I can see why people compare it to ... Danganronpa but this is it's own media. The characters are simple but executed in quirky ways and a lot of fun to understand on a deeper level if the commitment is there. The comedy is fantastic with references to characterisation of one specific character: Makino, as an example. He sleeps all of the time and it's simple yet effective due to the fact you always expect it but it's shown in unexpected ways to lift tension and to fit the comedy genre. In the OVA there were repeated segments of him just sleeping but the very last one was him actually waking up, to only fall back asleep. There is really a lot to enjoy about the flow of comedy here.

The art style is pretty good (yet stiff*) and the attention to detail from the atmosphere with it like... how they tend to raise their hands on a majority vote: It's not just copy and paste for all characters, they all do it in their own way; my favourite being Iride having an over-exaggerated tone that is definitely ear-splitting (that's the charm on it) but compared to Anya being reluctant to raise his hand as he couldn't give a sh*t (more charm to character.) To add, the last episode, they all have outfits that agree with their quirk which was entertaining. The style also reflects on the mood of the characters, emphasising a serious or special moment: changing the colour palette or adding more flare to the visuals. Stuff like these are very small but great to draw attention in.

*This really does depend on the budget here. It did do a really good job but at times can be stiff and not as fluid as some frames should be.

The sound is also neat. There isn't much to consider but the opening is quite catchy and actually sung by the Japanese VA for Anya so that's a nice touch. The soundtrack otherwise is compiled with J-pop songs at the end that really don't fit with the ethos the show has to offer at some scenes. It's quite fitting in it's own way though, as a reminder that it shouldn't be taken so seriously.

In hindsight this series is just a bunch of laughs and easy to immerse yourself into.

If there were to be more of a serious critique to take on the story itself then consider to look at the very few moments where some characters are shown to have an upsetting past. It's immersive to theorise that this whole series depicts the coping mechanism of escapism and how they were brought into a simulation to really draw the viewer in as well to reflect on the psychology it was going for. To be honest, in the anime, it wasn't shown much at all and wasn't portrayed the best and was just made to present witty humour, with the serious-ness only previewed in flashes. If it was emphasised more, even with episodes dedicated to it, it would be more of a token to appreciate the characters on a personal level.

You can take this series seriously and analyse it like a nerd or just watch/read it to get a dopamine rush and that is what there is to love about it. It really needs more of a chance to be appreciated for what it is.

My initial MAL rating will show a 6/10, however in reality it's a 5.5/10 to clarify and not waste people's time.

The Ones Within when i first started to watch it showed me an interesting concept that i hadn't initially seen done before by making the main cast all streamers who played different genres of video games and if there's one thing that can improve a shows overall all rating it’s a unique concept of which did help this show slightly.

Unfortunately this show gives 0 investment in the stakes in presents and tries to have serious build up that not ultimately lead nowhere but just ... plain lead nowhere entirely, in other words the show falls flat and it does so harder than a 40 foot belly flop. Now don't go getting upset that i just dissed your favorite anime or something cause there are positive aspects of this show to talk about, but my main issue overall is it has so much wasted potential and doesn't know how to keep tension despite acting like one of those shows where everyone is trapped in a job and suspicious of one another.

The Good Aspects: The idea behind each character having to use their gaming genre of expertise to help complete tasks to reach the amount of views required to win and escape where they are at is quite an interesting concept sort of like Danganronpa without the killing aspect (of which MANY seem to blatantly compare it too…). The characters themselves are honestly interesting and when they TRY (keyword try) to make each character have something serious or mysterious going on with them it actually makes me want to figure out what’s up with them more (at least it did for a VERY short amount of time…). What they come up with for games for them to play and how they have to choose who plays them is also a good aspect, I find it quite interesting that some of the NPC type characters who are meant to be obstacles for them during the game seem to be doing so because they have no choice (it doesn’t add up to anything so it’s not a spoiler really, more like a ‘The Ones Within theory talking point if anything). The art was definitely not plain Jane bland which is nice but it’s just a bit above the cut so nothing spectacular. The character interactions I found enjoyable but I’m sure aren’t for everybody.

The Bad Aspects: this show can’t decide whether it’s a slice of life game show with dramatic tension, or a undertone serious story with slice of life elements on top to keep everything seeming happy to later reveal a dark sinister truth down the line but mostly leans towards being a slice of life game show because none of the serious elements are relevant enough to make any difference if they haven’t already been debunked or disproven. They seem to just through characters backstory/trauma or and way the other players get to know them in willy-nilly if they aren’t the characters who take center stage for one reason or another like Aikawa. Towards the very end of the show they’re just like “oh, yeah. We know almost nothing about this guy so I guess let’s just give him a random ass reason why he’s usually alone and sleeping, that’ll work right?” I’m not saying the reason they gave him was bad per say but the resolution was completely bullshit considering NONE of the other characters really paid him all that much mind throughout the show and in the end one character just kinda “knows” the reason and he comes back because he seeing his fellow streamers are there for him or some shit? It felt forced as HELL.

Many interesting elements and places they see along the way (that they can go back to ANYTIME) are just one shots that we never explore or visit again most likely due to the series only being 12 episodes and apparently a 13th none-aired episode long, but there’s so much nothing in those 12 episodes it’s sad and to see what it could have been and the its only 12 episodes point doesn’t apply to its lack of build up because other shows with less episodes had great build up like Problem Children are Coming From Another World Aren’t They? That only had 10 with an 11th bonus episode. Something that also bugged me is the quirks the streamers had like one who’s good at horror games being scare of anything remotely horror like… you were choice because you were good at playing that type of game and you can’t stand it IRL? Not just stupid and gimmicky. There’s also the nurture and farm game streamer who apparently carries around flashbang grenades? Their used for comic relief and to lower tension when people are fighting but it makes 0 sense and seems more hurtful than helpful (especially if you know what an ACTUAL flashbang can do to your ears and hearing, it’s not pretty). Also to simply note without spoilers the ending is trash. Maybe in the unaired episode the REAL ending is better but for now MAL deems that not a part of this complete breakfas--- I MEAN series and I don’t think and unaired episode is gonna be dubbed so it won’t effect this review and my opinion of the last episode stands.

Overall I found it difficult to defend this series with good points but regardless it did give me SOME enjoyment, so let’s go over the MAL categories now and rank them shall we?


Story: 4/10 (by 4 I mean bad cause MALs word for it “decent” is stupid when 5 is listed as mediocre) . The story encompasses the entire series and its progression so I can’t give it points for its concept if the show ultimately lead nowhere in the end.

Art: Definitely above average but nothing to flashy so I’d give it a 6/10.

Sound: I’m not a great judge of this category sense I usually don’t hear the background music unless it REALLY stands out and this show definitely didn’t have anything stand out. The opening and ending aren’t bad though not great either. 5.5/10 or 6/10 in MAL terms.

Characters: Honestly this one is up to the viewers’ discretion as to whether enjoy the character archetypes but I did and I saw potential that the stories progression apparently didn’t so 7.5/10 or 7/10 in MAL terms.

Enjoyment: Despite its short comings it was somewhat enjoyable so I give it a 6/10.

Overall: I’ve already said in the beginning my score was 5.5/10 or 6/10 in MAL terms and its hugely because the show wanted to be two different things but in the end couldn’t do either correctly enough. If it had more episodes and better writing maybe it could have been better but it didn’t so it’s sad to see this show fade but I don’t think it’s gonna be a show I’ll remember in the future and it’s not one I’d buy unless it was an essentials or a HUGELY on sale.

Nakanohito Genome is a pretty laid back high stakes games kind of anime. How does that work, you ask? Why, just throw in lets players, a guy with an alpaca mask, and crazy challenges!

The story is done pretty well. The show makes sense and doesn't take itself too seriously. Despite the fact that they've all been kidnapped and forced to participate in games, it's still a light-hearted anime for the most part. I love how they combine the mystery surrounding the games with comedy and character drama.

The characters are the best thing about this anime. Well, to be specific, it's the way they interact ... with each other. At times, they can be quite intriguing and, other times, they're just freaking hilarious. They aren't flat characters but they aren't well rounded either. They each have varying levels of depth and some do receive development. I really enjoyed learning about Anya and watching him change over the course of the series. Makino's development near the end was good as well. They would all benefit from having a second season though since there is room for improvement.

I also loved the art for this anime. It's actually sort of refreshing to see characters with such a simple yet cute look. The animation was good too. I never saw anything that was weird or inconsistent.

Both the opening and ending songs are nice to listen to. They're chill so they match what the anime itself is like most of the time. There are also a few insert songs and those sound nice as well.

Story: 9
Art: 9
Sound: 9
Character: 9
Enjoyment: 10

Overall, it's the ideal anime if you want a break from dark anime or if you're just trying to have a good laugh. I'd say this anime deserves a 9.

This show was a bit of a surprise.
The game theme the players are in is very interesting and fun to watch. The characters themselves are also rather good.
They are pretty unique I would say. Maybe not exactly 'unique' but they aren't cliche at all and have some certain depth to them since everyone has some kind of backstory.

However.. This show gives so many 'hints' without conclusion, that you can't avoid having questions. I mentioned the characters’ backstory. But not one of their backstories is completed. There are so many puzzle pieces missing that everything just feels incomplete.

So while more and more questions pop up, the ... number of problems solved is 0. Maybe it was building up on the mystery genre or hyping for what comes next, but it was done pretty poorly.
The show itself was good. Nothing outstanding. But the storytelling ruins that 'good'.
Any mystery fans may find this enjoyable, but I think it would be better to directly start with reading the original.

When the anime adaptation of Naka no Hito Genome [Jikkyouchuu] was announced, many thought it was a Danganronpa the Animation 2.0. However, they were right and wrong at the same time.

–

Naka no Hito Genome [Jikkyouchuu] (The Ones Within for short) tells the story of Akatsuki Iride and seven other fellow gamers who are caught by a guy (who for some reason is covers his head with an alpaca one) and are forced to play different games or else will die... figuratively, because that's the first problem of the series. Although throughout the series, Paka (and the anime in general) tries to make us feel worried ... about the safety of the protagonists, it fails miserably. Because, although The Ones Within is supposed to be a game of life or death, there are few moments when the characters are really in danger. I mean, they are obviously in dangerous situations in almost every game, but none of these situations feels this way for the viewer too. Being a series that tries to mix mystery and comedy at the same time, it's not surprising that one of the genres intercepts in scenes that it shouldn't, and therefore the scene doesn't manage to create the atmosphere that it wanted (mostly, comic themes in scenes that try to be serious). Although I could give examples, I wanna try to use spoilers as few as possible.
On the other hand, another serious mistake made by the adaptation is to skip all content of the manga related to the context of the kidnapping (the goal of the game's existence, the actions of the participants' family after discovering their disappearance, Iride's past, etc.). Because of this, the anime became much simpler than the story really is, leaving in its adaptation only the games in which the characters participated and maintaining an episodic formula. Therefore, it's not surprising that the ending is unsatisfactory, leaving many loose ends for a second season that will probably never come (at the time I write this there is an OVA to be aired, but being an original story it doesn't change the anime's current state so much). However, not everything is mistakes in The Ones Within, only its structure.

Most of the characters, however, do work for their purpose. Each of the eight gamers is a specialist in a different genre of video games, but I won't touch on this subject because it's almost never important in the anime, with small exceptions. First we have Iride, who is the main character and the worst in the octet in terms of development. Throughout the anime, a mystery unfolds about Iride's past and his person, which never comes to anything. Although I understand that even the source (the manga) isn't over, I'm sure there are better ways to deal with a mystery of this kind that simply presenting it and hoping for people to read the manga to know the answer. Thanks to this, Iride has no evolution throughout the anime unlike the other participants. On the other hand, characters such as Onigasaki, Roromori, Oshigiri and Kudou do develop throughout history, which causes one as a spectator to become fond of them to a greater or lesser extent. Finally, we have characters like Karin, Aikawa and Paka himself, who are only "there" and maintain a static personality state during the course of the series.

However, aside from what I have said, I must admit that the series IS indeed enjoyable. If you put aside those problems with Iride or the characters that do not advance, each episode is entertaining. In fact, although I said that the fact that we cannot feel fear for the safety of the characters is a problem, it's also a plus point. By this I mean that, since we know that the characters always end up safe and sound, the viewer can relax and enjoy the show for its comic side.

–

Although Naka no Hito Genome [Jikkyouchuu] failed to satisfy the expectations that the mystery tag entails, its charismatic cast and simple humor makes it a fun watch.

Deceptively BAD. This is mindless fluff.

Shoujo. A vital piece of information missing from MAL's description of the series. The sypnosis, first episode and overall feel of the first episode will have you expecting a dark survival anime. But fear not! This is an anime for 12 year old girls who like to sit in a circle and discuss each other's first love, play house, and literally do everything a female child considers fun.

There is no sense of suspense, thrill or ANY ounce of danger in any of the episodes. Because god forbid if its scary the children might not want to watch it! If ... something remotely scary ever does happen, there is always someone to kiss your boo boo. Within a few episodes you will realise that this poor excuse of an anime should have been a generic middle school rom com where a group of boys and girls discuss their emotions and feelings and live happily ever after, once they've decided their romantic pairs.

The entire survival thing is bullshit. The author doesn't know how to write action or adventure. She copy pasted typical survival anime premise for episode 1, that is it, rest of it is shitty shoujo bullshit. Everything you see is a typical attribute of an inept female author. World building is a disappointment. The plot is a disappointment. Literally only thing going for this anime is the decent animation.

If you want to watch a survival anime where kids discuss emotions, trauma AND there is PROPER survival aspects, try Mayoiga.

This is a nice solid series. You won't laugh until your lungs hurt, but it's steady. What you get in the first few episodes is what you get for the entire series. The director doesn't force a dramatic finale and keeps it light and humorous. Overall, a good 7/10. Not stellar but worth watching.

The episodes are episodic, but creative enough that you likely won't predict what will happen. The characters are decently fleshed out, though you can tell that this season did not plan to act on some of the more important reveals we see.

The sound and art are a tad plain, but the humor ... is focused on the characters and their interactions, so this is not a significant issue. The voicing did not particularly stand out to me except Paca-san; it sounded like his voice actor had plenty of fun with his verbal tics and puns.

Ever want to watch something similar to Danganronpa?

Well, while Jikkyouchuu certainly possesses similar qualities to Danganronpa, one of them is actually good, and the other, a soulless work! The good one is Danganronpa. So look elsewhere. This show just sucks.

The introduction is the most cliche thing in the world. Daruma ga Koronda, Real Account, etc etc all utilize the same cheesy opening, but the difference here is that they at least had something going for them, whether it be story, characters, or setting.

This anime series leaves much to desired on all of those three aspects. Like I said earlier, the characters in this show are ... like second rate Danganronpa characeters. Instead of a group of "best high school students," it's "best gamers." Instead of anyone interesting, you've got boring ass characters that all seem like side characters. Where are the main cast? I mean, Naegi was your definition of vanilla MC, but the rest of the cast was heavenly compared to this show. First of all, they all have attached "best at something" role, but it basically gets never mentioned again. While that's not terrible, since it means that at least the show doesn't go down a super predictable route of "best at x" characters only being known for "x," if you don't care about what they players are good at, then why add them in the first place? And don't talk to be about the LLama. Talk about lame compared to Monokuma. And, like a lot of anime of this genre (LIKE DANGANRONPA), there are a bunch of characters with different personalities or goals, but they get revealed extremely early because otherwise, no one would care about them, unlike Danganronpa. Another extremely weak thing about this show is the fact that the Llama forces the plot along. If not for the forced games, then there would be nothing about this show to talk about. Monokuma, while obviously a huge influencer, didn't "force" anything, per say. It's also fairly forced that the characters act completely different around the Llama as a result of "forced authority and rules," which make any interaction with the Llama and the players to be extremely scripted and predictable. The Llama has so much influence that it's basically the Llama doing everything, which isn't exactly what you want to be doing in this sort of show.

Yes, are there mysteries that I did not figure out because I dropped it at episode 4? Absolutely. Would it be worth watching. I think, most definitely not. If 4 episodes makes no splash in a pretty fast paced anime like this one, I'd imagine that the progression of the show would make no impact of my enjoyment. I'll make the comparison again and again, but Danganronpa was actually interesting in the beginning, whether that be the games or the anime.

The setting is pretty tame and boring. Four episodes in and no use of the setting was used at all. Stellar. While some characters are more developed (like literally two), the other characters can be described as one liners. While Dangonronpa does have this problem too, it eventually gets resolved through some more episodes. I don't see this one to be the case, though.

As far as I can tell, this anime has no good points whatsoever. I can't find anything redeemable about this piece of garbage. Weak story, plot, and setting, and terrible beginning episode. What more about trash can I talk about?
This is a poor man's version of Danganronpa, as it possesses a lot of elements that Danganronpa has. And you might be saying:"It's not like transported to another place and doing death games" is directly Danganronpa. Yes, this is true, but the fact that it clashes it in the "best of X" people gathered around, some mascot character that's whimsical, the whole "explore yourself thing except for restricted areas that are obviously going to be explored or else this show would have no point," and characters that try to be as good as Danganronpa's original cast. When you share these common points, its impossible for me to not want to compare. And oh boy, did comparing bring out the stark contrast.
Don't waste your time on this. It's a heap of trash. Any new plot and character development cannot save the worthless series beginning.

Straight of the bat, I thought this was going to be quite similar to Danganrompa, our characters are given a goal to reach (acquire 100,000,000 Views), no time limit, penalties for disrespecting authority or rules, challenges they mus complete and we're instantly suspicious of the cast as they be working against the others since this is a common rule in these types of shows or games.

I enjoyed my time with this show nothing that kept me awake or stayed on my mind after an episode finished but I enjoyed it enough to continue watching it. The characters all play their own roles pretty well, and ... there's a good size of different personalities. The challenges that the characters undertake are interesting though they could sometimes be further extended upon.

The Opening song is an instantly great, the character designs are fun, the Voice acting (watched sub) is good, the villain is one of those jokey characters where they are only serious when need be. 13 episodes is a good stopping point for this show as more may have dragged it on and less wouldn't do it justice.

This show is absolutely fine nothing too amazing about it but not a super throw away, it's worth an empty evening.