When I started “The Ones Within” I thought I was in for just another series where people from the real world get thrown into their video game of choice. It seems in the aftermath of Overlord, this type of thing has almost become a cliché. This one is a tad different in its approach, because rather than one person going in and being a super powered god in their own universe, we have eight main characters.

The show basically follows these 8 characters as they are trapped in the game “Genome – The Ones Within”. They are basically kidnapped and not allowed out unless they reach 100 Million viewers to this end they have to play various types of games to try and achieve said audience. At the end of each challenge they earn a chromosome as proof of the completion.

The series was kind of hit or miss, some episodes were fun to watch and offered a sense of mystery and suspense. Others threw some background on the characters that helped develop them. However, with only 12 episodes, I felt it ended too abruptly, and could have used double that to make sense of everything going on including the urgency of the situation and to deepen the character further. Still it was a fun, albeit tonally all over the place watch.

Funimation presents The Ones Within in 1:78:1 in a 1080p Transfer. Everything here is solid, animation looks fine, and without issue. Audio is offered in 5.1 English and 2.0 Japanese and comes through crisp and clear. Extras include an OVA, promo videos, commercials, and a clean opening and closing. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.