Good day and welcome to Anime Rants! Today I’ll give a brief review of the sixth episode of Nakanohito Genome, or The Ones Within. Then I’ll let you know what I think of the series so far and how it compares to my impression of the first episode.
This installment reminded me of episodes 1 and 2 because it had so many WTF moments. The Ones Within is a weird show, but I like weird. The art-style changes, playing with many different colors, shots, lighting, and effects. The story content can be so bizarre it throws you off. The comedy is usually the absurd type. We have a man with a llama head serving sweets to his captives, a talking wall inside a tomb with the voice ofa Frieza, and a slime that morphs into a boy’s head. There are also jokes of a different kind, like in this episode, when Kudou spends so long thinking of an answer to the question that an insert song is played to fill the silence; the scene stays the same, just slowly zooming out, as if the camera doesn’t know what to do.
Despite its weirdness factor, the storytelling in The Ones Within is pretty good. It’s essentially a mystery. The kids “abducted” and trapped by Paka must find out where they are, who they are, how to escape, who Paka is, and much more. The slowly growing suspense and intrigue is masterfully done. In addition, the characters in this show are entertaining and well-developed. I like them all, and learning about each of them as the episodes progress is a lot of fun.
In the sixth episode, Himiko and Anya must go retrieve something called chromosome 05 from the “guard” deep within an egyptian-style tomb. Nothing will happen so long as they don’t lie. But sure enough, Anya tells a lie, and mummy-zombie-things come after them. Eventually, Himiko and Anya make it to the “guard” who is a talking wall in the shape of an alpaca’s face. In return for them answering three questions each, the wall gives them the item required to fulfill the mission. We got some new insights into Anya’s character, like how he had two older brothers, one of whom died in a traffic accident.
The hints and reveals toward the end were genuinely surprising. What did Himiko mean about killing her brother? (And seriously, what’s with all the dead brothers?) Does Akatsuki have another version of himself that’s only there when his eyes are green? Why is that other self looking for chromosomes? And to what human or nonhuman creature do these chromosomes belong? How much does Yuzu/Roro actually know? What is she up to?
My curiosity goes on and on. Is there any truth to my suspicion that Akatsuki— and maybe some of the others— have played this game before and had their memories wiped? Why does everyone like Akatsuki to such an unnatural degree? Of all the kids, only Kai has suspicions, and even he is easily thrown off and charmed by Akatsuki’s cute face. Was Paka being truthful about not knowing Zaku’s sister? Who was it that died in the white room? There are so many questions and mysteries I can’t help but be excited!
Series Statistics So Far
Now it’s time to look at how The Ones Within is going overall (by my standards). I will assign a number score to each of the five elements I judge in an anime review: story, art, sound, characters, and personal enjoyment. The numbers run from 1 (shouldn’t exist) to 10 (perfect masterpiece). When I have those five numbers, I add them up, divide them by five, and thereby arrive at my series score (so far). These are my numbers for the Ones Within. Story = 8/10. Visuals/Art = 7/10. Audio/Sound = 7/10. Characters = 8/10. Enjoyment = 7/10.
Overall Score At The Halway Point = 7.4/10.0
Compared to my impression of episode 1, which was 5.2, this is a humungous improvement. That’s it for now. I really appreciate your readership. It lifts my heart knowing people read my work. Thank you very much. I know it’s Monday, but hang in there! You got this!
Previous Posts About The Ones Within (Now Streaming)
The Ones Within Episode 1 Review
The Ones Within Episode 2 Review
The Ones Within Episode 3 Review
The Ones Within Episode 4 Review
The Ones Within Episode 5 Review
Images from: Nakanohito Genome (Jikkyouchuu). Dir. S Oonuma. Silver Link. 2019.
Anime Rants 
This show and your review really spreak to me. I watch stuff in hindsight but I love weird stuff! That opening how you began with guy with a llama head really got my curious.
But I wonder does he have a Llama head as his head or does he carry a Llama head , and how weird am I for wondering this xD ?
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Not weird at all, I’m sure everybody is wondering if that’s his real head or some kind of mask! I suspect he is a human in disguise, but there are other weird animals in the show, like a Panda Girl, so who knows? And thank you for the uplifting words! I’m so glad my review was enjoyable. 🙂
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