Welcome to the N.H.K.

    It's time for my thoughts on an extremely unique, and somewhat thought provoking series- Welcome to the N.H.K.! The series is about a shut in, or hikikomori who loses his mind,and believes a television station is attempting to force young people all across Japan to become shut ins.

Only 3 of these characters are particularly relevant. Guess which 3!

The lead of the series is named Tatsuhiro Sato. A shut in of almost four years, his life changes when a young girl named Misaki and her aunt come to Sato's door preaching about Religon.

Sato on the right, Misaki on the left.

   Sato sees the women holding a brochure about the shut in problem, freaks out, and claims to know nothing of them, betraying his position. This chance meeting lead Sato attempt to break the cycle of never leaving his apartment by applying to the local manga cafe. However, who should be working there but Misaki ? Sato freaks out, leaving his resume at the cafe. Misaki returns it to him, offering him lessons on how to free himself from being a shut in. Sato is ashamed of his problem in front of a cute girl, and claims to be a creator, and says he'll  show her a game he created to prove he's actually a productive member of society. So begins our wild ride!

Typical Sato.

Sato returns to stew in his apartment, and freaks out on his neighbor who is continuously blaring anime music, and busts in his door. It's his underclassman from High School, Yamazaki who was in the literary club with Sato! Together they team up, and decided to make an erotic game!

From left to right  Misaki, Sato, Yamazaki.

There are three main incarnations of Welcome to the N.H.K. The set up of them all is basically the same, but goes off in unique directions before coming to the same ending.

Novel:

   This came first, so it's only natural to cover it first! Yamazaki goes to game design school, but skips constantly. He spends his timewith Sato working on the game, doing drugs, getting drunk, and being a stereotypical Otaku. Sato never moves home in this version, Misaki feeds him when his parents cut his allowance, and he sells things he owns to continue his lifestyle. The game Yamazaki and Sato create in finished, but never is released, it's an rpg that ends with the hero killing himself to symbolize there is no way to escape this life. Sato's upperclassman barely appears, the only noteworthy thing she does is take Sato's virginity before the story begins.

The manga:

It's been quite sometime since I read this, but I'm pretty sure it was my favorite incarnation. Sato does plenty of drugs, talks to appliances, and makes games with Yamazaki. His upperclassman has an affair with Sato, and drags him off to a suicide island. Sato does drugs with her as well. This is the only version where Sato moves back home with his parents when his allowance is cut. His student council president makes an appearance trying to rope Sato into a pyramid scheme, only to find out her brother is a shut in, and played an MMO with Sato. Misaki attempts to reform this new shut in, and succeeds. He falls for her, but Misaki rejects him, loving Sato.

Anime:

   Yamazaki has interests in a real girl in this version, though she initially rebuffs him, only warming up to him when he decides to reject her in the most hilarious way possible. They complete their erotic game, but only sell five copies at a local convention. Yamazaki goes to school regularly in this version, and plays an MMO with Sato, where he tricks him into falling for his female avatar, to force Sato to realize how cruel the world is. The upperclassmen takes Sato to the suicide island, but doesn't sleep with him, and there are no drugs present in this version. It is implied she took his virginity.


   The stories all have the same ending- Yamazaki goes home to take over his parents farm, and gets engaged. His upperclassman gets married and has a baby. Misaki attempts to commit suicide, but is saved by Sato. Sato gets a job, and it's left open on whether Sato and Misaki get together, though I hope they do. In all versions Misaki was abused by her step father, and looks down on Sato as the only person worse than her.

    I can relate to Sato- I'm really not a people person. I've been described as cynical and anti social, both of which are true.I hate people, I believe we all use each other for various reasons, none of which are pure. Despite that I've held down jobs for the past 10 years, graduated college, and had four real relationships. I've never had trouble making friends- I believe this is because I'm funny, intelligent, and most importantly good looking.

     People are shallow, and I often question their motives. Women want to show me off as a trophy, and who knows what my guy friends want ( I probably do know, I just don't want to admit it.) I often dreamed of shutting myself away from society and sticking to my family and pets. I quit my job recently, and I've never been happier. I'm still in school, and sadly this is probably the closest I'll ever get being a true shut in. I hope I can be like the author of the Welcome to the N.H.K.- live off royalties to a book I write, and never leave the house. That would be the dream. Anyway here's some review scores N.H.K.

Novel-8/10
Manga-9/10
Anime-8/10.

   All are great in their own respect, and I would highly recommend them to anyone with an open mind.