I want you, the reader, to recollect the memories you had when you were 5, most specifically the times when a teacher or a family member asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?". We always had this grandiose plan we had for ourselves whenever we're adults. For me, it was being a pilot; the idea of traveling the world and seeing these magnificent places with the aircraft you fly has always been a fascination for me. Then it switched to being an astronaut, exploring what lies beyond the universe—an utterly majestic adventure presented to you by the textbooks. Every afternoon after school, you'd just have these thoughts of meticulously planning, age by age, the achievements you'll get. Years later, however, you slowly realize that these dreams you had once about how your life would turn out are unfortunately too far to reach. You see in yourself that you are in no way capable of reaching those dreams you dreamed of. You face the reality that there are just people who are better suited to fit that role, and you think of yourself as being below them. It's a pessimistic thought, a more nihilistic viewpoint for yourself, but as the anime concluded, it's okay to not be the best.
One of the aspects of Welcome to the N.H.K. has mostly been talked about is loneliness, and while the series does divert to the topic, I wouldn't explore much from that area since it's been talked about by people over and over. However, I will be talking about another thing that doesn't get talked about much in the series, and that is a person's sense of worth and the meaning of life.
***
Welcome to the N.H.K. is the anime that proves that a person can be meaningless in their own way; what they'll do and achieve will one day be meaningless, and the overall existence of being perfect is meaningless, yet it doesn't stop these characters from living through every single day of their lives. Sure, they have moments where they want their suffering to end, but that does not negate the fact that even if they haven't achieved that much in life, they still choose to live further and see what their lives can offer.
We follow episode by episode with these characters aiming at a certain goal, whether it's from a reckless circumstance that they had to see through the end or a determined goal to prove themselves that they're above everyone. They worked so hard to attain that goal, but somehow it just didn't work out the way they intended it to. Maybe they lacked the skills to do so, or there's just little hope from the project in the first place. It can be utterly devastating and make you lose all purpose in continuing further in life if it means that everything ends the way you don't want to, and to see these people who are more successful in life, classmates and friends you had that are getting lucky by getting married or having their dream jobs, and yet here you are just laying down in your bed telling yourself how much of a downward disappointing worthless you lived your life, and yet, the sun shines the next day and you still got up your bed to greet the next day.
***
There are still things to look forward to in your life; they may not be the ones you dreamt of having, but the little things and the hard things make you want to live. It may be monotonous in some sense, and there might not be anything happening at all; you'll never have that glass slipper moment, and you'll never have that finale ensemble where you're at your highest. You might never get those things in your lifetime, yet it's still okay.
Welcome to the N.H.K. is ahead of its time for telling a story about worthlessness, something that's not been talked about much in this medium as greatly detailed as this series did, and it is far more relevant to us now than this year that it came out. Combined everything from it's likable and fun characters that have more depth than expected, amazing animation and music, and a well-told story where you couldn't really predict what's about to happen next. Even as a casual anime viewer, you'll find Welcome to the N.H.K. to be a fun and heartwarming series dashed with deep subject themes that will stick to its landing more than how it actually ended. ***