Warning: Spoilers at the end. Careful while scrolling.

• Author: Eguchi Noromu
• Chapters: 12
• Status: Completed
• Genres: 4-Koma, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Slice of Life, Game, Isekai, Something Else
• Serialization: Magazine pocket

Synopsis

Three girls, Mikan, Matcha, and Kassis meet up to study one day. As Mikan and Kassis are about to save their game of Dragon Journey 3, they are inexplicably all sucked into the game and sent to find the hero.

Raise the Stakes

So this is a 4-Koma manga in a fantasy world with a generally light-hearted tone. Despite this, the author does a good job of making sure that the characters act with purpose. Right at the start, Mikan and Kassis are enjoying the spectacle of exploring a fantasy world. Matcha then comes in and informs the two that they can't play video games while inside a video game. This epiphany kickstarts the two gaming otakus to want to look for a way back home.

This is pushed further when the group tries to farm some mobs and they get painfully slaughtered and respawn in the church. This creates a sense of urgency within the team. Every action from this point on is made with the intention to get back home. Every mistake that delays them in that goal feels all the more hilariously painful. This is how you establish a casual 4-Koma story properly.

Hello Fellow Gamers

If it wasn't made obvious from the start, the game that they've been sucked into, "Dragon Journey 3", is a reference to the "Dragon Quest" series. The series as a whole is filled with easter eggs and references to nerd culture. The starting town is exactly like Aliahan from "Dragon Quest 3". Matcha tries to use a spell from "Harry Potter" after learning about magic. I think the pot breaking joke is about "The Legend of Zelda". There is also a mention of the money rocks from "Animal Crossing", as well as plenty of more references as the story goes on.

Harmony of Character

Contrary to their combat abilities, I think their personalities compliment each other really well. Mikan is the carefree airhead, Kassis is the lazy, deadpan otaku, and Matcha is the tsukkomi to the other two bokes. This creates a good foundation for jokes as Mikan and Kassis are supporting each other's idiocy while Matcha tries to keep them in line. This setup also makes it especially funny when Matcha starts acting stupidly along with them.

Matcha's ability to use magic, fairly good physical ability, and decent logic and reasoning means that she is a lot more useful in most cases than the other two girls. The thing is that Mikan and Kassis are the two that actually know anything about the game, so Matcha finds herself needing them to advance anywhere. Because of this, there's a good cycle of reliance and cooperation that strengthens their bond and friendship. Overall, I'd say that the character writing is quite respectable the whole way through.

We Aren't Stupid

One last thing I want to praise about "Game no Naka ni Iru" is its style of comedy. It's not exactly hard to understand or anything. Most of the jokes have their appropriate impact once the punchline is thrown. What I like is that Noromu knows this. He doesn't feel the need to over explain a joke in case people with brain damage are reading. This keeps a good flow and preserves the essence of the jokes. Other comedy manga feel the need to beat their jokes into the dirt. Noromu knows that self-deprecation and slapstick are universal forms of comedy that need no explanation.

Massive Spoiler For The Last Chapter Ahead. You Have Been Warned!

What the Hell Just Happened?!

You may have noticed above in the genre tags that I mentioned "Something Else". I didn't want to bring it up because it would spoil how it ends. You may have also noticed a relatively small number of chapters despite the series being completed. I have no evidence to support this, but as there are exactly 12 chapters, I'm guessing that this manga was axed. If you haven't read the chapter yet, how do you think the last chapter ended? Hmmm? No, really, take a guess.

You won't believe this. Mikan gains the incredibly contrived ability to create magic as she desires it. She is able to cast spells that never existed in the original game and make no sense in the context of the game. Kassis comes up with the genius idea to create the end credits sequence so that the game will be completed and they will be freed. Instead, the game corrupts and EVERYONE DIES. THAT'S IT. THE END. It's not a fake out. It's not a joke. They just ALL DIE unceremoniously. They didn't even accomplish a single thing before kicking the bucket.

Pls Come Back to Us

Now, you could try to argue that this is meant to be a joke in reference to "rocks fall and everyone dies" from "Dungeons and Dragons". This is a strategy used by dungeon masters when they want to end a session as swiftly as possible. But considering that everything up until this point has been purely comedic in nature, this creepypasta writing to cap it off is just completely uncalled for. The only way that this makes sense is if the author was trolling the publishers for canceling his manga. Unfortunately, all of Eguchi Noromu's social media has been purged and emitting radio silence since this manga's conclusion.

There is no Justice

The fact that he's most likely left the manga industry already makes me depressed by itself. The implication that this mangaka with an actual vision and inspiration might have possibly done something worse to himself is more than I can bear. I can imagine how he got this serialization in the first place. He pitches this idea for an isekai manga with references to gaming culture. After giving Noromu a one-year contract, the editor realizes that this isekai actually has good writing, and regrets not hiring the guy pitching the five-millionth isekai ecchi harem story.

Overall, I wish all the best for Eguchi Noromu. Despite the horrifying betrayal at the end, he's proven himself as a very competent writer and the victim of a cruel industry. As unlikely as it is, if he ever releases another manga series, I know that I'll have an eye out for it. If you decided to read this series, tell me how the ending affected you. And if by any chance someone out there knows about where Eguchi Noromu is right now, please inform me.