Welcome to the NHK is a 24 episode slice of life anime based on the novel of the same name by Tatsuhiko Takimoto, directed by Yusuke Yamamoto, music by Masao Fukuda, produced by studio Gonzo. Is this anime worth being a shut-in for?
Story: The "hero" of our story is Tastuhiro Sato, a hikikomori (shut-in) who escapes from the real world into the realms of TV, games, and the internet. But that's only on the surface, in reality he's on on the run from the sinister organization the NHK, and is caught up in a world-wide conspiracy that forced him into this situation!... At least that's what he says when he's talking to his fridge. He's all alone in his little world, no job, no friends, no significant other, and he dropped out of college. His life is one big hill downward, that is, until he meets a girl named Misaki. She reaches out to him to try and rid him of his "hikikomori disease", but does she know what she's doing? NHK is a depressing series, it isn't afraid to go places that might leave people feeling uncomfortable. MMO addiction, pyramid schemes, and suicide pacts are just a few of the things Sato finds himself wrapped up in, and each story arc will leave you feeling depressed. If you want a happy series, you may want to go somewhere else. However, to help you get through the depressing portions, is it's dark humor.
It's one of the funniest shows I've seen, the dub really helped out with that. The characters are what kept me coming back to the show, because they are people, not your typical perfect anime characters. You really want to see them get through their problems, especially if you've suffered from those problems yourself. Part of my enjoyment came from being able to relate to these characters on such a close level. My favorite character was the protagonists best friend, Yamazaki. He was the most relatable character for me in the show, so his journey as a person hit me really hard. The characters are the highlight here. I give the story a 8/10, brought down only by how I felt the series would have benefited greatly from being longer. However, due to the budget, I can see why they couldn't make it longer...
Animation: Oh boy... So, for the most part the animation is solid, however, the series is prone to... Fits... There are entire episodes where everyone looks like blobs vaguely shaped like people. It looks so bad at times that they became hilarious. It's fun to watch those couple "budget" episodes just to marvel at it all. All that aside, the opening and first ending are animated very well, and stand out as some of my favorites. I just wish the show could get its budget under control, but it's Gonzo, what can you do? I want to justify giving it more, but I just can't. 5/10.
Sound: Really great dub on this one, I never felt tempted to watch the sub. Sato's VA doesn't get nearly enough roles, I want to hear him more. The opening theme and first ending theme are super memorable and great to listen to. Now, they made a really weird decision for the opening in the second half of the series. Rather than have an entirely different opening, they kept the same one and just took away instruments from it. Without the trumpet, that song is way worse, and it constantly bothered me. Such a weird decision, although, I prefer that to them changing the opening entirely. The OST really hits home the feeling of melancholy well, it was a really good OST, although I didn't really actively search for it afterwards. Sound gets 8/10
Overall: Welcome to the NHK is an excellent look at otaku culture, especially the way it does so not in a self-serving way other shows, such as Lucky Star, do. I was an emotional wreck by the end of the series, and I loved it. It has a great sense of humor, along with a great dub. The animation is either average or terrible depending on the scene, and it's too bad they can't keep it consistent. My final score for Welcome to the NHK is 7/10. I can recommend it to someone who loves dark comedy, or wants something nice and depressing to watch.
Welcome to the NHK is available from Funimation on DVD, as well as being on Netflix and Hulu.
Welcome to the NHK is available from Funimation on DVD, as well as being on Netflix and Hulu.