Welcome To The NHK Complete Series – Review

Title: Welcome to the NHK – Complete Series: Episodes 1 – 24
Alternative Title: N.H.K Ni Yokoso!
Published by: Siren Visual (Australia)
Based on: Novel written by Tatsuhiko Takimoto
Genre: Comedy (Dark), Romance, Drama
Audio: English and Japanese Dubs
Subtitles: English
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Full Frame, Original Ratio
Run Time: 600 Minutes over 4 DVD’s
Cost: $AUD 49.95 from the Siren Visual online store.
Classification: This title is Classified M for Mature Themes, Sexual References and Infrequent Coarse Language.
Blurb: Into series that question religion? Cover a pyramid scheme? Have plenty of hentai games and a cute series mascot? Or how about…. a conspiracy theory that is trying to target the protagonist? That is Welcome to the NHK for you, a series that covers everything mentioned above, and does it well.
Special Thanks: A special thanks goes to  Siren Visual for providing me with a review sample of this title.

A very important term to know whilst watching this series is: Hikikomori – a Japanese phenomenon of acute social withdrawl whereby an individual becomes a recluse from society, typically confining him or herself to the house or a single room for a very long period. This series surrounds a character who is a Hikikomori and those who are attempting to “rehabilitate” him into normal society, whilst inadvertingly drawing him into an even crazier life, which he associates with the N.H.K. Is it any good? Read on for my review of Welcome to the NHK.

Tatsuhiro Sato is 22 years old and NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training). He’s also a shut-in or hikikomori. Not even the obnoxiously loud music from next door can snap him out of his hibernation and he is under a delusion that he is the subject of a conspiracy by the Nihon Hikikomori Kyokai (N-H-K), a secret organisation whose sole intention is to produce a world filled with hikikomori. The discovery that his neighbour is actually a perverted otaku only drags Satou further into his psychological black hole, but offers him an interesting opportunity: he will make a “galge game” (i.e. hentai) as proof that he is a “creator”… to try and impress a mysterious girl!

For those who have read the original novel which was written by Tatsuhiko Takimoto and which was released by Tokyopop for English release a few years back may find yourself a bit shocked at the fact there are 24 episodes in this series. You will find that with the exception of a few modifications here and there (Generally to make the series more appropriate for anime adaptation), the series remains completely faithful to the source material, however adds extra storylines to give all the characters much needed character development, whilst introducing newer characters to keep the storyline fresh. Infact, the one area that I think the storyline may not live up to its full potential because of this, is the N-H-K storyline.

As the blurb very plainly suggests, this series surrounds a character named Satou (Sometimes referred to as Satō depending on where you look) who is a Hikikomori and this series main protagonist. However, do not be expecting 24 episodes of this character remaining in his room…. infact at times you need to question whether he is or not as he spends quite a lot of his time outside, which is also brought to light occasionally throughout the series, both by him and other characters. The series relies on four other main characters to progress the storyline, with the two other primary characters being Misaki, a mysterious girl who appears in the first episode and henceforth makes it her mission to treat Satou through her “project” and Yamazaki, an ex-junior of Satou’s, neighbour and hardcore otaku who whilst not being part of the “project”, gets Satou hooked on ero games and plays the role of friend and partner in game design. There are other recurring characters such as Hitomi who was a friend of Satou back in High School and another who plays a role in the final few episodes.

The overall storyline could have easily been done in a five part OVA series, however with the expansion of the series, it has allowed character development for all the characters, and at the same time allowed some interesting plots and character development. There are three different ways that the storyline works, the first being the stories themselves, they don’t try and sum them up in one episode, nor to they try something for fanservice, but instead every set of episode arcs delivers a satisfying tale that brings life lessons to Satou but don’t feel sappy or generic. The storyline also tries to cram in several interesting themes into their episodes: pyramid schemes, conspiracies, hentai games, religion etc are all areas that you would not expect to see in a series, and hell, they all work together very well. The only real issue I had with the storyline was that it felt they took the original novel, opened up to a page and split it in half, as the N-H-K was barely mentioned throughout the majority of the episodes and only mentioned at the start and ending, where relevant to the storyline. However, I am still glad they chose to do what they did.

The other two areas are of less importance however none-the-less present in this series. The first being the comedic aspect of this series. Whilst there are many serious moments in the series, the main storyline has Satou and Yamazaki creating a Galge game, and therefore it has the comedic moments associated with it, such as Misaki catching Satou taking “reference” materials with his camera, the Hikikomori tendencies kicking in when he becomes addicted to the games, and even other aspects such as his lack of judgement when under pressure also gave me quite  a few laughs. There is however, a more serious side to this series as it exposes the hardships and psychological struggles undertaken by various groups of people from those who crack under pressure and become NEET’s to those who are more desprate and are willing to take their own life. This is the area of the series that I found especially interesting.

To conclude on this, the storyline is very interesting and has many different perspectives to present to the viewer, which results in a storyline that is never really bland. The character development is slow which is purposeful, especially in the case of Misaki, with most main characters only having glimpses of their pasts during the series and having a proper showing in the last few episodes.

The design is nothing that I would call stellar, however have the few touches that may make it memorable. The character designs are supposed to represent normal Japanese citizens, so no outrageous clothes and no abnormal hair colours, which set the scene quite well for the series, however the character design quality shifts, sometimes being designed very well, to something that is below average. I assume this is an attempt to set the nature of the scene, but I didn’t buy into it. Environmental designs are the same way, but are of a consistently higher quality, with the city scapes and room interiors being well suitable. However, the thing that impressed me most about the design was the little bits of detail, such as in Yamazaki’s room there were uniquely designed figures, posters and spines of books to other things such as a hand-drawn character design. I always look for the little things, and there was more then enough to keep me happy. For those curious, there is some nudity sparingly placed throughout the series however this is very infrequent.

Opening Sequence
Puzzle by ROUND TABLE feat. Nino

I am not a big fan of this opening, primarily because the song isn’t to my tastes, however upon closer inspection, it definitely has some…. interesting animation choices. There is another version of the song for episodes 13 onwards, however for the most part it is the same song.

Ending Sequences
Odoru Akachan Ningen by Kenji Ohtsuki and Fumihiko Kitsutaka
Modokashii Sekai no Ue de by Yui Makino

In terms of the music quality of this series, it is rather impressive. For the first episode or two you will be swarmed in almost every scene with the song “Puru Puru Pururin” which, and I say this guiltily, a very enjoyable song. Other then that, the series has a nice mix of both instrumental and lyric tracks that are played during the episodes, with the only complaint being a specific lyrical song which sounded good, but was overpowered by other song effects and voiceovers. Voice acting is solid and is nothing over the top and well suited to the personalities of the characters as well as the setting. Christopher Patton (Yuuichi – Kanon) voices Satou and whilst I was a bit apprehensive at first, thought he did a great job at the ever changing mood of his character with little issue. Greg Ayres (Youhei – Clannad) and Stephanie Wittels (Kouko Ibuki – Clannad) voice Yamazaki and Misaki respectively and both do a solid performance. Overall, whilst there is nothing too special with the exception of perhaps Satou, there is no voice that should be unbearable to listen to.

In terms of packaging designs, there is the obligatory slipcase which is personally one of my favorites out of all those from Siren Visual, with if featuring all the main characters, both human, furniture and delusional. The inside DVD cover focuses on just a crazed Satou and Misaki, but still suitable. The inside cover is similar, however with a slightly different design, however due to the positioning of the episode list in relation to the disc holder, several of the episode names are cut off. The disc designs themselves are cloudy-black in design, with a small 3D rendered H(ikikomori) Mascot on each of them, which was an appropriate addition, however I would have liked to have seen more creativity gone into the disc design. Overall, a nice slipcase and front cover design with average insides.

In terms of extras, it is pretty much the same as every other Siren Visual title, with the bonus content consisting of:

1. Clean Opening Sequence
2. Clean Ending Sequences
3. Trailers for the normal 3 Noitamina series + Durarara!!

Now to conclude with my personal opinion on this series. This was overall an enjoyable watch for me, not just due to the comedy or the storyline as a whole, but instead it was all the little elements and plots that went into it which made it a rewarding watch. There is nothing like watching a newbie in a game try and make it big in the RMT market or watching a poor guy being ‘stalked’ by a girl come up with all these different excuses as to why he should not hand over a million yen. This is a serious watch for those who want a serious anime, but for those who are after a more entertaining series, this is still right up your alley. I highly recommend this series to all.

Final Score

Storyline: A
Character Development: A-
Design: B-
OP/ED Sequences: B
Music: B+
Voice Acting: B+
Packaging: B
Extras: D
Personal Opinion: A

Overall Score: A-

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Afterthought

…. So this means this website is inadvertently supporting the N-H-K Conspiracy alongside every other website focusing on anime, manga and/or games then? Nah well….

Puru Puru Pururin~