Instead of studying for finals, I stumbled across Welcome to the NHK, watched the whole series in four days, and can't get it out of my head. So instead of studying for finals, I'm writing a review.



Welcome to the NHK / NHKにようこそう！

Overall review: ★★★☆

Music: ★★★☆
Animation: ★★☆☆
Characters: ★★★★
Story: ★★★☆

Welcome to the NHK is about a hikikomori named Satou Tatsuhiro. (A hikikomori is a social recluse who spends years in self-imposed isolation, rarely going outside). His life is empty and lonely, and he wishes he could escape his circumstances. He blames a massive conspiracy, which he calls the Nihon Hikikomori Kyoukai (Japan Hikikomori Agency), for manipulating Japanese culture to keep people like him in social isolation.

A mysterious young girl, Nakahara Misaki, tasks herself with curing Satou of his ways. Meanwhile, Satou's neighbour turns out to be Yamazaki Kaoru, a high school acquaintance who he once rescued from bullies, and who is now a full-time Otaku. The two of them become a sort of dysfunctional support group for Satou.

The story relentlessly delves into many dark social problems, like depression, suicide clubs, and internet addiction. Its creator is actually a hikikomori himself, who claims to continue to struggle with the same problems as Satou.

I was really gripped by the characters, all of them... even though their behaviour sometimes made me so frustrated. Satou hurts the people who try to help him, Yamazaki is borderline misogynistic and nearly as much a bad influence as good, and Misaki is at once so persistent and also so far from being persistent enough.

Actually I think I sympathized a little too much with the story for comfort. I'm prone to becoming quite reclusive myself, and it made me wonder how far I could sink if left to my own devices, and how I would escape that situation.

Anyway, the anime lost points on animation for two episodes with very noticeable sub-par cel quality. (It looks like the rough storyboard sketches were used directly in the animation with no cleanup, maybe a budget shortfall or something).

Also, there was a fairly substantial amount of nudity/adult themes... most of it is justified by the characters' mindsets, especially Yamazaki's moe inclinations and Satou's hyperactive imagination. But some of it is clearly fanservice.

Overall I highly recommend this to anyone who will watch it! Now I just have to stop thinking about it long enough to focus on exams...

__________________

I watched NHK back in 2009. I also read the manga and read the novel... all good, all very very funny.

I watched this series over the last week or so on Mushka's recommendation.

I'm not sure I'd call it 'very funny' though there are humorous moments though these tend to be of the cringingly inappropriate laugh kind of response to an embarrassing situation such as Satou's otaku neighbour Yamazaki.

I got that 'angry' mood about part way through the series when it became painfully obvious to the viewer that Misaki loved Satou and Satou either loved her or really ought to decide if he did, but on a number of occasions he turne dhis back on her or she on him and neither made the effort to close the widening gap between them.

While I can see that the lonely stories of the hard lives of the supporting characters were put in there for the need to make the statement that so many people withdraw from the world because the world is cruel and relationships often bring grief and heartbreak (and at times I was strongly reminded of the main themes that underpin "Evangelion" and "Paranoia Agent" I think the series would have been stronger if it had focusse dmore on the two main characters as I think both were under-developed and both were very sympathetic. I became very attached to Satou and Misaki after not very long.

The ending, while a happy one, leaves you with that bruised, hollow, achy,exhausted feeling that a traumatic and emotional good film, book or TV series often does, which must be a good sign that the writing was well done but I can't help feeling that the series could have been better.

It is one issue that the writers explored the hikikomori experience yet the story was filled with more action and adventure than the above-averagely extrovert person experiences in a lifetime and so I think it failed in that respect.

__________________
Isakaya High School Roleplaying Info

"An old man like me stands no chance fighting against a high school girl in her underwear" - Oshino Meme, Nekomonogatari (Kuro)

I have ordered Welcome to the NHK thru Netflix and when I have had a chance to view it, I will comment...

__________________

Netflix has it? I don't think we can get it on Netflix in Canada. But I'm glad I bought the DVDs! Keeping an eye out for the soundtrack(s) now.

I wouldn't call it very funny either. I find that I rarely laugh at dark comedies. I agree about Satou really driving a stake between them and it being frustrating, but I also believed it. There were many times when I just wanted him give her a hug. Just give her a hug! She deserves it! But at the same time he really thought she could do better than him, and also, he knew she looked down on him. It would be a difficult situation. I would want to fight my feelings too, probably.

Was there a lot of action for an introvert? I didn't really see it that way. To me it seemed more like a 'wrong crowd' syndrome - I think it's the way that kind of trouble realistically finds a lot of people who otherwise wouldn't go looking for it. Hitomi dragged Satou into many of those scenarios. The really unlikely thing was Misaki paying attention to Satou in the first place, but that's the premise.

__________________