Synopsis
Welcome to the NHK is an occasionally surreal “slice of life” anime centered around Satou Tatsuhiro (pictured). Satou is a hikikomori, a shut-in, like an estimated 1 million of his countrymen. He doesn’t have a job, living off an allowance from his parents. He hardly leaves his apartment because of a morbid fear of others. And he is convinced there is a conspiracy that has turned him and people like him into hikikomori. This conspiracy is headed by a group he calls the Nipon Hikikomori Kyōkai, meaning the Japanese Shut-in Corporation (a play on the national public broadcaster Nipon Hōsō Kyōkai).
Attempting to come to Satou’s rescue is Misaki Nakahara, a young woman who’s decided to cure Satou of his hikikomori ways. This is the central plot device of the show, with Satou also managing to go on various adventures as he tries to cure himself, like meeting a suicide pact club and creating an erotic video game. But he always ends up right back where he started, which is a big part of what’s brilliant about this show.
Has anyone seen it?
Welcome to the NHK is an occasionally surreal “slice of life” anime centered around Satou Tatsuhiro (pictured). Satou is a hikikomori, a shut-in, like an estimated 1 million of his countrymen. He doesn’t have a job, living off an allowance from his parents. He hardly leaves his apartment because of a morbid fear of others. And he is convinced there is a conspiracy that has turned him and people like him into hikikomori. This conspiracy is headed by a group he calls the Nipon Hikikomori Kyōkai, meaning the Japanese Shut-in Corporation (a play on the national public broadcaster Nipon Hōsō Kyōkai).
Attempting to come to Satou’s rescue is Misaki Nakahara, a young woman who’s decided to cure Satou of his hikikomori ways. This is the central plot device of the show, with Satou also managing to go on various adventures as he tries to cure himself, like meeting a suicide pact club and creating an erotic video game. But he always ends up right back where he started, which is a big part of what’s brilliant about this show.
Has anyone seen it?
