It’s not often in anime that a series tackles something as serious as a social disorder-yes, anime can handle actual social issues when it wants to. It happens even less that a series which does so is entertaining in some fashion and yet still address the main issue without being preachy about it.
In Welcome to the NHK, Volume One, the anime takes on (so far) – in a light hearted manner – the social issue of NEETs, acceptance, and the individually personal sense of self-worth inherent to every human being. NEETs are “…people aged between 15 and 34 who are unemployed, unmarried, not enrolled in school or engaged in housework, and not seeking work or the technical training needed for work.” Acceptance and self-worth are something I hope people have a decent grip on, which I don’t need to explain…
plot summary
Life has come to standstill for 22 year old college dropout, Tatsuhiro Sato. For the past three and a half years, Sato has withdrawn from society almost completely, and has holed up in his tiny apartment where he sleeps 16 hours a day and leaves only once a week. Sato has become one of the dreaded hikikomori; a recluse who withdraws from society due to varying social disorders. Instead of taking responsibility for his state, Sato pins his condition onto a conspiracy he suspects the TV network NHK (Nippon HÅsÅ KyÅkai) of perpetrating in order to create more hikikomori like himself: A conspiracy which he dubs, NHK (Nihon Hikikomori Kyokai); translated as: “Japanese Hikikomori Association”.
One day, however, his life is given a shot of adrenaline when a beautiful girl, Misaki Nakahara, knocks on his door and proclaims she holds the key to his recovery. Instead of accepting Misaki’s offer, Sato contrives one lie after another in order to convince Misaki, and perhaps himself, that he’s not hikikomori.
Sato, however has told one fib too many and needs his otaku neighbor’s (Kaoru Yamazaki) help in order to wiggle out of the tight corner he’s lied himself into. Sato now begins walking down a new road; a road that will lead him to the fabled Hold Land of the Otaku and beyond.
review
Welcome to the NHK, Volume One is a heart-wrenching and confusing anime in the sense that I don’t what to feel as I watched it. Although comedic elements are embedded into the series, many heavy concepts are also deeply inserted; not least of which is a character dealing with a social condition.
I felt a warring within my guts as I watched the first three episodes: On one hand, Sato comes across as a total twinkie with no work ethic and laughable sex life. On the other, we see him torn apart, since he too is in on this revelation and is afflicted with an anxiety disorder.
Sato knows he’s got problems; he knows but he doesn’t know what to do about them. That’s the sad part. The laughable part includes his frustrated wet dreams, his anger towards his noisy anime otaku neighbor, and the wild lies he contrives to convince Misaki he’s not a twinkie.
Yamazaki is perfect as the dorky otaku who comes to Sato’s rescue. It gave me an extra twinge of pain to realize that this brainy anime fan could help in either Sato’s salvation or his ultimate destruction. It’s a weird dichotomy that will be interesting to see play out in future episodes.
Amidst all the confusing and conflicting messages are actual bits of humor. They help lighten a mood that could easily spiral down into melancholy. Thus far into the series, I can’t decide if the humor is enough to keep me from feeling an overwhelming sense of disgust and pity towards Sato.
The characters are developing slowly but steadily, with bits of background and character traits being meticulously added at the right times. I have no complaints with the way the characters are developing; the pacing of the development suits the pacing of the story.
The story started out slowly, then sped up, then slowed back down, then revved back up. This stop and go pace gives the story neurotic tension which complements the wacky half serious/ half humorous tone of the anime.
The character designs are straight from average Japanese day-to-day life; nothing new here, not that it’s needed. However, during Sato’s various breakdowns, the delusions he has are quite interesting. Also, Pururin is fantastic as the stereotypical magic girl who Yamazaki, and many otaku fanboys, adores.
Welcome to the NHK is another series from Gonzo. The work they did on the anime was smooth and without the hinky flaws that can show up from time to time in animation. There weren’t too many details, on average in the anime, but some shots were well done in that they captured life in Japan like animated snap-shots. Thus I can say that the animation was itself, average but still enjoyable.
“Puzzle” by Rieko Ito and Kitagawa Katsutoshi was the OP for the first four episodes of Welcome to the NHK. It was a spunky tune that accompanied the flowing graphics of the OP, which continuously, and colorfully, morphed on the screen from one object to another. The ED, “Dancing Baby Humans” by Kenji Otsuki and Fumihiko Kitsutaka was absolutely nutty, and viewed more like a deranged music video than an ED to an anime. I recommend watching the clean ending to experience the full effect of the ED.
We watched this series in Japanese since it seemed apropos to the anime; it being set in Japan. The English voice cast isn’t wretched, but I like the Japanese better in this instance.
Welcome to the NHK, Volume One left me with many conflicting emotions: pity, revulsion, humor, and a bit of angst. The series drew me in and even though I couldn’t relate with Sato, I still rooted for the guy to pull through his sorry condition. I recommend this anime for anyone who either A.) Wants to feel better about themselves or B.) Wants to better understand themselves.
Welcome to the NHK, Volume One gets 
out of a possible four gummies.
I actually cited this in my senior thesis. There are several inaccuracies regarding hikikomori, so overall, I felt that the first volume really failed to do any good for the situation. I will probably watch/read the series, just to make a complete list, but I have to admit, I was disappointed that they decided to gloss over a psychological problem, as usual.
@griever, what was your senior thesis about? Hikikomori sounds a lot like agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is a crippling disorder, in my opinion, and if hikikomori is anything like it, well, that sucks. However, some scenes in the anime went against some key agoraphobic behaviors…
My senior thesis was on how Japanese society both enabled and subsequently stigmatized hikikomori, the media being an enforcer of stigmatization. Hikikomori are quite different from agoraphobics. The case studies of those that have made it into counseling resemble people with severe depression coupled with social anxiety, although it’s chicken-egg in saying which came first.
Actually I feel as if NHK is one of the more honest shows when it comes to dealing with the issues surrounding the NEET. It’s a worthwhile show to watch.
@griever: I think society is responsible for forming extremes. So basically if you were always bad with people, then the competitive nature of society made you worse, however if you were naturally good with people, then competition made you thrive.
@Michael – Or competition can drive you to suicide.
NHK has been great so far (volume one). My question is: Why, oh why won’t Sato listen to Misaki? I wanted to bang my head against the wall every time he’s like “I’m not a NEET!” It was especially frustrating when he decides to lie to her. I guess we’ll find out soon enough how things turn out.
@David, yeah, Sato’s a wank when it comes to that, but if we’re looking at it from a sympathetic angle, it’s understandable why he lies.
No one likes to admit they have problems and if Sato admits he has this problem, he’ll be forced to “own” his disorder. That’s really uncomfortable. Who wants to do that? I’d lie too, but only for so long.
From an unsypathetic angle; Sato’s a loser.
give it a shot…i just watched the fan sub version of NHK and…it has its moments… Sato knows he’s got problems and he turns the girl down out of trust issues..i mean would you trust someone who is willing to help out in the blue? i dont think so…just watch it till the end and you’ll see the girl’s true intentions…oh and beware of the pyramid scam! ^^
actually i don’t think sato’s a loser i think he’s cool and besides the best part about NHK is that you get to listen to the same song over and over and over and hear the characters say “hikikomori” a million times hahaha i loved it cause it was funny. I don’t think it is but i guess this might be a SPOILER.