Anime Hajime Review: Welcome to the NHK

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Welcome to the NHK. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

Ninety-nine percent of conspiracies are nothing more than the rantings of nut jobs. Tatsuhiro Sato (voiced by Yutaka Koizumi) believes he's discovered that genuine one percent.

Sato knows he's become the target of the world's most vile organization. The Nihon Hikikomori Kyokay, a.k.a. the NHK. Their goal is to turn functioning members of society into crippling recluses. Or in Japanese, a hikikomori. To combat the threat, Sato has secluded himself in his apartment for the past several years.

One day, Sato has a chance run-in with a cute girl who seemed unaffected by his bizarre anti-social behavior.

After the encounter, Sato receives a strange note instructing him to go to a nearby park. On a whim, he obliges and to his surprise, he meets the girl from before.

Misaki Nakahara (voiced by Yui Makino) claims she can cure Sato of his hikikomori ways. Dismissing the claim, Sato has no interest in the proposed counseling sessions.

Thanks to Misaki’s persistence, though, Sato does end up agreeing to give them a shot. As time goes on, he starts feeling a connection with Misaki who seems to be hiding an alternate personality.

Series Positives

There's no easy way to describe this show. It will take you on a journey that you may not be ready for. If you're up to it, you won't leave disappointed.

It’s no secret about my unfamiliarity with source materials. Welcome to the NHK's original novel is no different. That said, I have read the manga version. Unlike most times, I did have some idea of what I was getting into.

 

The manga and the show differ in several ways. But for the purposes of this review, I want to judge the anime on its own merits.

The Story

I could spend my time highlighting the amazing animation. Or the fascinating characters. Or the hilarious dark comedy. But the story mixes these elements so well, it's almost impossible to talk about them in their own sections.

NHK dealt with ideas other shows won't even touch. Let alone make light of. Issues like depression, loneliness, and suicide were not off limits. 

The resolution to the suicide pact arc, in particular, was was quite funny. Though this may go to show that I am indeed a horrible person.

 

While this series had fun with these subjects, it was also aware when being humorous was not right. There were plenty of effective moments of sadness that glue you to the screen. This was a twenty-four-episode anime and I sat through it in one go. I was that invested.

Other aspects NHK excelled in involved the relationships Sato developed. The growth between him and his otaku neighbor, Yamasaki (voiced by Daisuke Sakaguchi), was especially great. Yamasaki was much more interesting here than in the manga.

Last, there was the romantic side of NHK. The bond developed between Sato and Misaki is worth your time alone. 

Series Negatives

Both the manga and anime were good. But if I had to pick, I would say the manga was the stronger. The anime suffered from the effects of condensing, which was a shame.

To illustrate my point, my least favorite part of the manga was actually done worse in the show. To those wondering, and with no spoilers, it's the part when Sato gets caught up in a pyramid scheme. In the manga, we got a resolution out of this. In the anime, this was a huge waste of time. 

With that, this brings me to my biggest gripe with NHK.

Misaki’s Character Development

I love Misaki. I loved her in the manga and I loved her in this show. Yet her manga version was much more sarcastic, manipulative, and more interesting. In the anime, she was a bit of an afterthought for a good chunk of the story.

Despite liking the anime's ending, this was when this problem was the most evident.

In the beginning, we got glimpses into Misaki’s past. Enough to plant the seeds of intrigue. Then it just went away and was not brought up for the longest time.

To compensate, at the finale an uncharacteristic use of exposition filled in the gaps. This took power away from the ending because it came out of nowhere when it should not have.

To compare the manga real quick, that ending was worlds different. As well as way better. We got to see what was going through Misaki’s head. Not have it explained to us. This then led to what is one of my favorite confession scenes I've come across.

The various versions of NHK's ending worked. But the anime relied on the inherent power of the moment and not in the build-up to it.

Final Thoughts

This was good. It was so damn good.

Welcome to the NHK takes you on a roller coaster. Ranging from hilarity, depression, darkness, positivity, and fascination. This is one show that I can recommend to anyone, anime fan or not.

The series did suffer from too-much-stuff-not-enough-time syndrome. Nevertheless, it did an amazing job delivering a story unlike most shows out there.

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