Anime Review: Welcome to the NHK
**this review is SPOILER-FREE!**
Welcome to the NHK is a psychological comedy anime that focuses on 22 year old Tatsuhiro Satou, a hikikomori/college dropout who lives off of his parents’ income and has no motivation in life. He eventually meets Misaki Nakahara, a teenager who is determined to help Satou escape from his hikikomori lifestyle using a unique multiple-step plan she prepared herself. Using Misaki’s help, Satou is determined to learn how to re-enter society.
In order to fully appreciate Welcome to the NHK, you have to be familiar with the Japanese social concept of ‘NEETs’, which stands for Not in Employment, Education or Training. Basically, someone who has nothing productive to occupy themselves with, and typically lives with a family member or partner who provides them with food and shelter free of charge. And to go a step further, there is also the term ‘hikikomori’, which is a more extreme form of a NEET; Hikikomori do not have any social interaction and do not leave their house (NEETs may not be working, but they could still go out and see friends).
Now, in capitalist societies, this is something that people look down upon. We require everyone to be ‘participating in society’ and disapprove of those who ‘don’t’. But with a more nuanced perspective, one can recognize that there are multiple reasons why someone may not be working/in school besides simple laziness. For example, many people who are disabled are unable to work. However, something some people fail to recognize is that mental illness is also a disability.
I thought that this anime, despite being a comedy, had one of the most accurate depictions of mental illness I’ve ever seen. Specifically paranoia, agoraphobia, and anxiety. The protagonist is also shown having multiple legitimate panic attacks. I would also say, HUGE tw/cw for suicide mentions/depictions. Because this anime deals with mental illness it might be expected that this would come up, but it is definitely a core part of the story that cannot be skipped/avoided.
Something else to note is that this show is a satire in certain ways, and is at times very lewd. Because many NEETs/hikikomori tend to be otaku, there are many scenes objectifying women (particularly anime girls/video game girls), however it is seen as a negative/bad thing and is not romanticized or encouraged. Even though these moments might be a little cringy or uncomfortable, it’s important to remember not to take them too seriously.
Overall, I felt that Welcome to the NHK was a very unique story, one I hadn’t really seen before anywhere else, and despite being a chaotic mess of both insane satire and serious moments, it really is a story about recovery. If you can handle excessive talk or depictions of severe mental illness, I would definitely recommend it.
Thanks for reading!
-threecheersforinking