Tatsuhiko Takimoto

Tatsuhiko Takimoto is a Japanese author, best known for Welcome to the NHK!, which began as a single novel that went on to be published by Kadokawa Shoten on January 28, 2002. The story was later adapted as a manga series in Shounen Ace.

Takimoto wrote two afterwords in various editions of his novel. In the first afterword, dated December 2001, he stated that he was a hikikomori and was still recovering: "... the themes addressed in this story are not things of the past for me but currently active problems." In a second Afterword, dated April 2005, Takimoto admitted that he had not written "a single new story" since N.H.K. and that he was "reduced to a NEET, ... living as a parasite on the royalties from this book." He stated that he felt "completely unable to write" and "incapacitated."

In 2016, a little over ten years after his last afterword, Takimoto created a blog post about "Welcome to the NHK", which could be considered a third afterward. Takimoto posted this to discuss his current feelings about his story: "... I could not write what I wanted to write. I have been stuck for years in this sense of failure and frustration." Takimoto elaborates on the ending of “Welcome to the NHK”, explaining how he used the “rush” method to make the “... characters “run” to get into the climax. This led to Takimoto writing a story that left him discontented: “But I didn’t want a realistic story.” Instead, Takimoto wanted to create: "... a story full of dreams and hope." Takimoto then proceeds to list off the methods that helped him escape from his Hikikomori lifestyle, and that if he applied himself better back then, maybe he could’ve written the story he wanted.

Takimoto left a message to those in a situation similar to his: "The most important thing is to know that you can change. Anyway, the path that leads to happiness exists. The key is, precisely, to trust in its existence." And with that being said, Takimoto was left with a sense of completion: "This is what I wanted to write. This conviction that I have not expressed while working on 'Welcome to the NHK', I write it now. And, with this, my novel is finally complete."