For every success story, there are stories of failure. NHK brings a raw take on hikikomori - “failure of a human being” · Waifora

Setting expectations:

Name: For every success story, there are stories of failure. NHK brings a raw take on hikikomori - “failure of a human being”
Item: Welcome to the N-H-K
Rating: 100
Author: FestivalsOfComf

This review is being written under a subjective lens and mainly for enjoyment.

The number of spoilers will be as minimal as possible to none. I don’t talk more about the plot points except in spoiler text. There are some image spoilers but it's all out of context.

If you come to expect opinions from a very critical sense, sorry, but I’m not your guy as we may have different tastes.

I’ll try my best to explain what are the things that worked for me and what doesn’t in this review. Then you’ll hopefully be able to understand my point of view and maybe come to your own conclusion about what this will be like for you.

I preface because a lot of people online come to expect reviews to fit a mold of what they want which isn’t always realistic. For me, I just like to talk about anime I enjoy. And so this review is about such things. Sorry if this ain't what you're looking for.

Verdict

Welcome to the NHK is a 24 episode TV anime series released in Summer 2006. It was animated by Studio Gonzo and directed by Yuusuke Yamamoto. The anime’s source material is based on a light novel by Tatsuhiko Takimoto.

What makes this story unique is that the novel’s author was (still is?) a hikikomori. He bases some of the experiences on his own and that’s why I think this story has been able to resonate with a lot of people with similar struggles.

This is a dark comedy, a psychological, slice of life show with some romance elements. Regardless of how you lived, I think the material and character struggles in this show will give a depressing feeling by the end. If needed, put on something upbeat/happy after watching some episodes or the show itself, it would help.

Would you like it? I think it’s an incredibly well-written show with great voice acting performances across the board. The animation and art may be low quality/inconsistent at certain points but it also has its great technical moments and the previous stuff carries hard. There is repetitive usage of certain tracks but they’re strategically used really well to bring out the tone of certain scenes.

The more you relate to the characters, the more this show can be impactful on you. That’ll be a big determinant regarding how you’ll get out of this show. If you can get why these characters act as they do then you’ll be in for a ride.

You can also tell this was a product of its time from 2006 which may be a drawback for a few. Still, give it a chance, it’s a unique story about hikikomori that isn’t exclusive to Japan anymore but globally now. It’s a great character study to empathetically understand the mindset of these types of people.

Overall, it’s incredibly telling to me that 2020 is the year when mental health is started to be taken seriously in society versus the past few years. I can’t imagine what mental health is treated like in 2006, let alone in Japan (Source: https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/mindful-care-changing-the-perception-of-mental-health-in-japan)

In conclusion, I think this show is a masterpiece of fiction. Personally, it was able to masterfully touch upon a myriad of topics while displaying a great character study of its characters. So, yes, this is a 10/10.

Setting high expectations for anything is a big disaster and so while I personally found it to be perfect, I do recommend you set neutral expectations going in and just know that I really liked this show due to my own personal biases which I’ll talk more about below.

Explaining my Rating Scale

I think the common mistake with ratings is that we all tend to judge and associate each review rating on our own personal scale. When people see an average anime - they see that as a 5, some see that as a 6, and others as a 7. As you all know, we all have different tastes hence different rating scales and this is why I’ll post my scale below.

My Personal Rating Scale (Anime):

4 and below = I would've dropped this show already but made myself suffer through it for some reason. Regardless, this is the drop zone generally.
5 = This was really meh and I wouldn't take the time to rewatch.
6 = This was meh and I wouldn't watch it again unless I was forced to.
7 = It was okay and acceptable, it was good entertainment and you enjoyed the ride.
8 = This was a great story and you enjoyed the show/movie but it wasn't considered one of the best experiences. Just a great time overall!
9 = If you watched this show/movie for the first time, you'll love this a lot. It ain't life-changing but god damn you'll have one of the best experiences.

10 = This show resonated with me so hard - chills and intense emotional catharsis.

Background

I actually saw this show back in Fall 2014 and recently rewatched it the past 3 days in 2020. Why did I watch it again? I was wondering how I would feel about this show and myself having just finished school, looking for work, and in a global pandemic. My tastes have changed substantially since 2014 and I’m glad to say it held up for me.

Like how my tastes have changed, my character also changed as well. For those who don’t know me, I was very similar to the main character Satou in the show back in 2014. The only difference was that I was still in school and wasn’t a drop-out. Since then, I’ve grown as a person and worked at various places.

When I finished this show in 2014, my conclusion was that this show was holding up a mirror and that I needed to look for a job. When I finished this show in 2020, my conclusion was that mental health needs to be taken more seriously, professional help can assist people out of hikikomori status, and that I’ve come far since 2014. It was a sort of nice reality check but also quite nostalgic too.

While watching this show, I was using Oyasumi_ fansubs and watched it in Japanese Audio, with English subtitles.

The Review

Now the review. I’ll be talking about the anime in the following categories:

1) Story / Plot / Characters

This is a slice of life story but the plot has created character arcs throughout the show and so there’s a sense of urgency as well as objectives. The story also revolves around a set of characters about their daily lives and their struggles. As you can tell from the label of the box, it’s about a conspiracy and hikikomori. The subject matter can turn quite dark and so I do err on the side of caution to mentally prepare if you aren’t the type to take dark subjects well. I’ve always found these subjects quite interesting despite how depressing it is. If I disclose more, I feel like I’m spoiling the story for you.

Anyways, there are two particular episodes that may confuse some audiences. If you understand otaku culture well, these episodes will make a lot of sense to you such as Akihabara shopping. If you aren’t aware of what otaku culture is, you may be slightly confused regarding some plot objectives of the main characters as well as the activities that they partake in. Hopefully, you’re watching subtitles that help explain some of it.

If you want to understand more, do some research on certain terms and activities. However, if you decide not to, it won’t take away from your enjoyment because it isn’t the main focus, in my opinion. I was able to enjoy this show on my first viewing without understanding otaku culture and got the general premise of the ideas being presented during those specific episodes.

For the characters, there’s great characterization and they feel like real people in this world. While some of them don’t substantially change as characters, I think that’s also the point of the show as people just can’t dramatically change their whole character in a few episodes especially these types of individuals. It’s a step-by-step process.

2) Visuals / Animation

Visually, there are great aesthetic moments and storyboarding throughout the show. However, as I mentioned previously, there have been some moments where it’s inconsistent. This roughness brings more to the aesthetic of the show personally and it isn’t a big draw-back. For others, it might be a big eye-soar.

Animation-wise, I recall only certain key scenes have had some great animation. Nothing outstanding in terms of animation as it mainly animates movement. Some movements have the cheap cut to one shot before it happened and cut to one shot after it happened. I do remember a lot of that happening but my main draw was on the characters and story anyway.

Overall, when an important scene required stellar visuals and/or animation, the show delivered on those aspects which I really did appreciate.

3) Audio / Soundtrack / Voice Acting

The general audio mixing was pretty good and the usage of audio cues really helped out in certain scenes. In my opinion, the soundtrack was really good and delivered on conveying the dark tones as well as comedic moments. The Opening songs are incredibly memorable personally and the Ending songs fit the purpose for the credits.

To me, the voice-acting was stellar for all characters. They had the usual anime voice-acting with exaggeration but that’s anime for you. Regardless, when they had to deliver the high notes in important scenes, they did an amazing job.

4) Overall

This anime swayed me a lot and I was seriously considering making a YouTube video based on the themes and everything it does. I generally don’t feel so compelled to make a video about it unless something emotionally swayed me that hard.

Right now, I have time-sensitive opportunities available to me in my real life that need my attention first before committing to that. Maybe in the near future when more free time opens up and the opportunity to produce this YouTube video becomes more worthwhile pursuing.

In the meantime, if you’re itching for NHK Anime commentary, look at this creator’s video essay (has series spoilers): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c0gcp7YwUY

Her video about NHK is a nail on the head in terms of my interpretation of what the show was about.

To conclude, I think this show is an anime classic and I hope it still gets talked about many years later like Madoka Magica - though it probably won’t have as much widespread appeal as Madoka lol. Regardless, I think those who can feel similar to the characters depicted in the show will continue to talk and recommend it. Anxiety will never go away and I hope this show doesn’t too.

Hopefully, you learned something useful from the review. Thanks for reading. :)

Afterword

Over the years, I would sometimes browse the Welcome to the NHK OST videos on YouTube and look at the comments. There are those still lost with their daily routines, their hikikomori habits, frustrated with life, failing school, and unsure what to do.

While I haven’t succumbed to becoming a hikikomori, I felt like I was one bad step away from it. I get the sentiment a lot in the comments and I sometimes see some of the comments as confessions. No other place to turn to when expressing these frustrations. Online and in real life, I don’t believe most people know I’ve been there before and so, this is why I want to offer advice.

Problem is that every person’s case is different and so instead, this advice will be directed to an alternative version of me that actually failed University and became a hikikomori. Feel free to take it if you feel like it applies to you. If it helps, I’m glad.

“The world is harsh and unrelenting. It won’t tell you everything in terms of what’s wrong with you and why because that takes effort and so instead, it’ll just mark you as a failure then move on. They’ll ridicule you, belittle you, and make you feel bad about yourself because of this status. You’ll be offered negative experiences without a guide on a way out and because of that, you feel trapped in your own bubble.Without a mentor, a teacher, a guide; you can get stuck. You need this mentor to help give you shortcuts, a teacher to guide your way out, a guide to lead the way, and/or you can start carving yourself a pathway out of this negative bubble.Your experiences of feeling awful about yourself are valid. It’s all valid. Rejecting everyone is easy but you also need them, no? It’s a dumb oxymoron, I know.The thing is that sometimes the right people won’t go into your personal bubble and bring you out as Misaki did for Satou. You either go out or you stay inside and you know you can’t stay inside forever.The negative feelings, the anxiety, everything that made you quit the world are valid. Sorting out these feelings and figuring a way out is sometimes not easy to do by yourself.If you have the means, reach out to a good mental health professional that can help guide you out of that negative space. If you don’t have the means, reach out for qualified people that can do that or a friend who is willing to spend a good amount of time playing therapist.The keyword is “good” because there are people who are awful at helping others. Unfortunately, the bad ones do more damage than good. You’ll know when you found a good mentor/teacher/guide.Ignore the mental health stigma, people are idiots and don’t understand you. We’re all fucking crazy, man. Why listen to the people labeling you as crazy when they clearly aren’t willing to help you get out of this funk. They just label you as a failure without giving you a way out. Their words should mean nothing to you because it’s utterly useless and just downright mean to your situation.Life is hard and you should consider this a low point, but when you’re at your lowest… the only direction remaining is up.Reach out for any kind of help, you need it, man.Good luck and take care.”