NHK Ni Youkoso! (Welcome to the NHK) REVIEWED (Anime Review) - The Struggles of Life

In every society, there are always individuals who feel they cannot coexist with society and thus seclude themselves from others. These are hikikomoris, also known as NEETs (Not in Employment, Education or Training), and whilst it's not that prevalent in my country, it is prevalent in Japan and perhaps even America, from the sites I have trudged through during my "hikikomori life" of 6 months when I was transitioning between my old degree to my current degree. I was technically still attending university, but I would definitely consider myself as one during that time. And those 6 months was a mixed bag of emotions.

Hikikomori life is not always what an individual chooses. Sometimes they feel afraid to step outside their boundaries, even though they attempt to try to rid themselves of the hikikomori life. This is prevalent in our main character Tatsuhiro Satou, a 22 year old college dropout, turned hikikomori for 4 years. From the anime, we observe the daily struggles of Satou, and how he attempts to becomes less of a hikikomori, and how he uses a conspiracy theory of an organisation, the N.H.K to vent his frustrations of becoming a hikikomori. Then comes in a mysterious high-school girl, Misaki Nakahara, who promises to change Sato's life for good. The anime reflects on what pushes some to the hikikomori life - like the leering eyes on the train if you buy an anime figure, which gives us a perspective on why some "prefer" the hikikomori life as they want to avoid getting looked down upon.

The progression of Satou's attempts to become more open to society and escape his hikikomori life is a really powerful image. From barely being able to get out of his room to being comfortable to talk to others, the anime just allows us to experience so many types of emotions - cringe, sadness, hopelessness, happiness, and so on, and that's all the feelings that comes with the struggles of life, or in this case, the struggles of changing one self, the struggles of stepping out of their comfort zones. For me, the anime really made me reflect about those 6 months last year, where I was drifting away in a soulless body, and some of the scenes in the anime made me tear up. 

Looking at the main characters, Satou is not really your typical definition of a hikikomori, in terms of attitude. All he really needed was guidance and a little push, which we see from Misaki, and all the other characters in his life. The anime also focused on the idea that everyone deals with their struggles in life differently, and so they should, and this is prevalent in all our characters, whether or not they are hikikomori, otaku, working, etc. Each character was flawed and no one was perfect, but that's what made this anime so realistic. This was prevalent between the two main characters - Misaki and Sato, who keeps the truth away from each other and also themselves.

The theme of suicide was an aspect of the anime I really found relatable. During the suicide party episode, we just see a bunch of depressed individuals who want to end their lives, because of stupid reasons (ironically none of them were hikikomori other than Sato). And Sato was just the one who went with the flow, and eventually became the one who had the strongest intention to commit suicide. It really shows how flawed humans are, and how we look to end our sufferings quickly, and those scenes really made me tear up, since I had some serious suicidal thoughts during those 6 months of hikikomori life and also the earlier months of my university life. For me, the last episode made a lasting impact on me because of Misaki. From the outside, we see a charming woman who had the best of intentions to help others, but as we progress through the anime, and Sato becomes more capable to rid himself of the hikikomori life, we see despair in Misaki, and how she has "lost her purpose in life". The two of them alone fighting and comforting one another was hard to watch, yet heartwarming, because that is what life is all about. When bad comes, we should look to comfort one another.

In conclusion, NHK ni Youkoso was an extremely enjoyable anime that highlights the prevalence of hikikomoris, and how many are "pushed" to this lifestyle because of the lack of support and comfort. The anime delves on the struggles of life in general, the darker sides of life - the concept of suicide, our purpose in life and how we all deal with struggles of life differently. But that's just from my experiences and how I perceived this anime, and it's bound to be different to how another views this anime, especially the emotions that this anime evokes. The anime ending was a heart-warming nevertheless, but the manga, novel and anime all had different stories and takes on the story. And that's a good thing, everyone has different viewpoints and experiences of the struggles of life - being a hikikomori is one of them.

Overall Score: 9/10

Story: 9/10

Characters: 10/10

Art: 7/10

Sound: 8/10

Enjoyment: 10/10