English Dub Review: The Ones Within “Footsteps Outside”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

It’s time for another challenge, and it’s… a game of hide and seek. But not just any game, Paca has some creepy players lined up, and there are also curses involved? The players have to hide and attempt to avoid getting the hex, but beware the bell ringing, for that means the three freakish sisters are on the loose!

Our Take:

This… was a pretty bad, boring episode. The Ones Within usually finds ways to entertain with a nice balance of creepy vibes, clever humor, and wacky situations. But even good shows can have bad episodes now and then. At least it gave a bit more evidence to Paca theorizers. He is one awfully strange alpaca. This episode also cleared up the whole ‘Himi killed her brother’ thing, which I never put much stock in the first place.

Hide and seek is one of my favorite games to play. It’s fun, random, and easy to play wherever you are and whoever you’re with. But does it translate from the real world into a fun experience to watch in an anime? Sadly, the answer is no. At least, not when it comes to The Ones Within. After Paca’s initial briefing to the gang, they basically hole themselves up in their rooms and sit around talking. There aren’t even any cool hiding places on display! We learn nothing new about the characters, there aren’t any witty jokes, and it’s pretty much a snoozefest.

Since this episode is so short on actual content to talk about, I think it’s a good time to talk a little more about Paca. He’s so interesting to theorize about, and we’ve got plenty of clues, but not many actual answers so far. Once we got past the kidnapping teenagers to force them to play his game thing, he hasn’t seemed so bad. He’s goofy, fun, and even plays a bit of a confidant role at times to people like Akatsuki. But the last few weeks have been particularly spooky. First, he threw the group into a demon village, now he locks them up with cursed, crazed hide and seekers. Maybe this kind of thing just attracts more live-stream viewers, or maybe he likes to see them suffer. It’s clear that he can be downright cruel at times, like when he threatens to lock them up forever if they fail. But he also acts friendly enough and even seems to confess to Akatsuki that he isn’t necessarily playing this game by his own free will anymore. His line about fulfilling a promise makes me suspect Paca may be just as much of a victim as all of them.

Himi told a very strange tale last week, about killing her older brother. From the moment she said it, I knew there was more to it, and she explains the entire situation in this episode. Apparently, her parents put him up for adoption when Himi was born, because of concerns for her safety or something? That part is up for interpretation, but what is clear is that he went missing and was proclaimed officially deceased after staying gone for seven years. With a case so confounding, it’s sure to factor into the bigger picture. What if Paca is Himi’s lost brother?

Overall, I really did not like this episode at all. Mainly because it was boring. You can make a show that’s gross, weird, over-the-top – but nobody will care if it’s boring. Bad pacing and plot combine to make the least entertaining episode of The Ones Within so far. The show definitely seems to be spinning its wheels around the halfway point. Even Paca and Himi can’t make up for it.