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Can't believe it's almost been a year since my last (or anyone's) review.. I hope to start changing that..
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Welcome to the NHK!

Created by: Tatsuhiko Takimoto
Production: NHK ni Youkoso! Production Team / Gonzo

Welcome to the NHK! could probably be best described as what would happen if you put Comic Party and Serial Experiments Lain into a blender and mixed on high.

Sato Tatsuhiro is a typical nobody. He's very much socially withdrawn, a hikikomori is the term used. He is also a NEET (Not in Employment,Education or Training). He's a 22 yr old college dropout who does nothing all day but smoke, eat junk food, watch tv, and live comfortably off his parents' allowance. Needless to say, it's not an ideal life, but for Sato, who doesn't even like to go out if he can help it, it's life. Sato believes that his hikikomori lifestyle is the result of a conspiracy masterminded by the fictional NHK company (It doesn't have anything to do with the actual NHK company).

One day, he gets a visit from a girl and her aunt who claim to be on a misson crusade to let the world know of the problems with hikikomori people. Sato does his best to act normal, and send them on their way. But later on, the girl, Misaki Nakahara, finds out about Sato's true condition, and proclaims that she will help Sato break free of his hikikomori ways by turning him into a "project". She draws up a contract, and begins nightly lessons in order for him to break free of being a hikikomori.

Along the way, Sato finds out that he lives next door to a otaku who blasts the same anime music all the time. As it turns out, its Kaoru Yamazaki, an old "friend" of high school that he "saved" from being bullied one day all in order to impress a girl. Yamazaki then draws Sato into the world of "Gal games" or hentai games and they go about making a hentai game in order to sell it at an anime convention in order to make money easily, and for Sato, without going into the outside world all that much.

Also, throughout the series, Sato runs into his old "sempai" Hitomi Kashiwa, the girl he tried to impress. There seems to be a connection of sorts between the two, as they were in the high school literary club together, and they spent all their time there playing cards and talking about conspiracy theories. Of course, Sato never did acted on any feelings he had toward his sempai, due to the fact that he was socially ackward even then.

By now, you probably have a good idea of where NHK is going right? Well, you couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, NHK goes the complete opposite of most anime that handles these storylines. In some shows like Comic Party, or Genshiken or others, they often take a light hearted approach toward the otaku culture. Often in comedic or harem ways. NHK however, decides to go for the darker, more sinister side of the otaku culture.

In the series, otakus are seen as digusting, offensive, and just plan outright weird people. Although, these sentiments could also be attributed to the characters' own outright paranoia in the given situations. That they think they're laughing at them, but in actuality, they aren't. Later on in the series, themes of online gaming addiction, MLM schemes, even suicide become issues for the characters to tackle. All the characters have some sort of issue or past that they are dealing with.

That's also to say that NHK is completely dark and void of any enjoyment, quite the contrary. NHK has some very funny moments to it. Sato's whacked mind full of conspiracy theories also manifests themselves in the form of hallucinations in where Sato's electronic equipment and refrigerator come alive and start talking to him and trying to convince him about the NHK conspiracies.

All in all, NHK was a very enjoyable series, although it's hard to peg it as "entertaining" much as its hard to peg a movie like Grave of the Fireflies as "entertaining". NHK is more of a social piece than entertainment. It's meant to provoke thought and discussion on otaku culture and the phenomenon of the hikikomori culture, while providing laughs along the way. It succeeds in doing all of the above. Very much a dark comedy and very much recommended.

Final Score - A-

Yeah I've seen it, I liked it too.

The ending theme and video (Akachin Ningen / Kidult) is great too XD

yeah, that ending was just weird It reminded me of the ending to Dragon Half.

I loved this show, it's one of my top 10 shows ever!

I first saw it fansubbed a few years back and I picked up the first volume on a whim and I actually enjoyed the English dub for this series. My only gripe with this show is not the show itself, but how it was released back in 2007 and 2008. I bought the first 4 volumes of it, then ADV lost it, then Funimation went and saved it releasing it in 2 boxsets, then i got rid of volume 4 and picked up the last boxset. It was pain, but I still loved this anime. It's probably one of Gonzo better anime along with Gankutsuo, Vandread, and Last Exile.