The anime hurts even more when you are an actual NEET. I was one for longer than I'd like to admit. I couldn't even watch the whole series because it hurt so much to watch back in the day. Now that my life is a little better now, I wonder how I'd react to the series now?
You didn't earn those degrees of yours for nothing. What a wonderful breakdown of Welcome to the NHK. When I watched this series I was in my early 20s so it was more of a Comedy than it was a deep psychological dive, but as I grew older and re-watched it (I am notorious for re-watching sub, dub, etc), it took on a whole new meaning. Only after experiencing life from a deeper perspective, having my first long term relationship lasting over 7 years could I TRULY appreciate everything this Anime had to offer. It's these kinds of Anime we don't get enough of anymore. Too often we have the pandering fan service or just overall boring tropes like Isekai repeated over and over w/ few true classics in between such as Full Metal Alchemist, Attack on Titan, *insert other great anime here*. NHK the 2nd and even 3rd time around for me will always stick with me and I really appreciate stumbling upon your breakdown of it. Funnily enough as an OG Higurashi fan I was 3 hours into your 6 hour deep dive into what I find to be a large mistake (Gou and Sotsu) to see what else you'd dived into. Anyway, long enough comment - thanks for the insight that a lot of people likely appreciated if they only watched this Anime once, maybe during only the happiest time of their life, and couldn't really understand how deep it really is. It doesn't mean that it wasn't funny in a lot of ways, but it sure hits the feels as well as dives into the Human psyche so much more than I originally understood. I hope to see you remain active and well wishes in the New Year : )
The gem of NHK is how it captures the general sentiment and accurate portrayal of social anxiety and depression. The animation is a bit crude, the stories are mostly forgettable but the character dialogue and behaviours shown are really what make it. No other fictional media comes close since i watched this 10 years ago tbh. This really is the focal point of NHK in my opinion and can not be understated. Thanks for the video.
I already feel like I can relate to the protagonist's struggles. Being born with Autism, even though I am high functioning, I was often ostracized, pigeonholed from the rest of my age group by peers and adults alike merely due to my diagnosis. I was expected to work harder and behave more strictly than the others simply because of my label, while the rest of them got off scot-free. Many of my social skills camps and special education classes were disorderly and dysfunctional, as many of the teachers there were unqualified, unskilled, and neglectful, as they expected us Autists (and other Neurodivergents) to figure things out on our own though we were still kids, rather than taking responsibility themselves for our development. I was conditioned to be self-conscious of my mental disorder, and overly caring about what others think of me in the name of self-improvement. I was taught that if I was disliked or mistreated, that I was doing something socially unacceptable. In a manner of speaking, I was set up to fail in my youth. In 10th grade, I was bullied for my Autism relentlessly. They called me a retard day in and day out. They used my Autism as a scapegoat to blame me for their problems, as an excuse for them to to target me, saying that it was my Autism that started it, and gaslighted me that my Autism was making me hallucinate their abuse. Whenever I went to the adults for help, the bullies would usually say, "He doesn't know what he's talking about, he's a retard." Whenever I did something kind, they'd punish me for it. Whenever I did something self-destructive, they'd commend me for it. Whenever I did something acceptable, they'd try to persuade me that it was socially unacceptable and so forth. Up was down, black was white, good was bad, day was night. I was questioning my sanity, my moral compass, my judgement, my mentality, and my memory. Even when they sexually assaulted me in the showers, the adults took no measure to bring them to justice. In fact, the adults did NOTHING, no matter how much I begged and cried to them for help. Rather than taking responsibility and addressing the situation head on, they'd only ask me what I could do to improve the situation without their help. In my case, it was nothing; I could only avoid them. But since I was at a boarding school in the middle of the woods, I had nowhere else to go. These kids were unhinged, if anything the adults were afraid of them. One of them threatened to kill me and another nearly broke my door down to steal my guitar. They even took advantage of the adults own mental illness, like when the art teacher was back from maternity leave, they use her mood swings to get her to side with them and blame me for their own problems. But the worst thing they did, but blackmail my only friend there to betray me, just like Kaworu. I was very suicidal that year, and wished I was never born. To this day, I still suffer PTSD from being psychologically abused by my peers and staff alike. Even as an adult, I was still mistreated by fellow adults. I can't help but feel paranoid that some people are out to get me, as I've been stalked, doxed, and threatened to be hunted down and killed by people online who wished me grievous harm since Lockdown. I want to watch this anime, but I am afraid of being triggered and spiraling into a relapse. Can anyone help?
@@hawkeyenextgen7117 Watched it when I was 22 & aimless. I had similarly harsh experiences as a kid. I have a brutal case of ADHD. A loving and hardworking Mom, a lucky coincident leading to me joining a fandom and making my first real friends and even relationships, a good intuition concerning humans and their intentions (this is where I sadly cannot relate with you. I know you autists are wired differently in this regard, learning social roles, intentions and such is hard work and more rote than intuitive to you) saved me from worse. I'm doing good in all common measures. Wealth, status, social circle, work - but am very anxious, I had my bouts with paranoia and psychosis in the past. Insomnia is currently growing way too strong. Night sweats and panic attacks are a weekly occurence. I am scared for my health and unsure how long I'll live. IMHO you can give the anime a try. Back then It just made me cry and think about every "wrong" decision that led me to being essentially a neet who had gathered enough social capital in the past to still have a support network even in my darkest hours. Along with a useless vow to do better and work towards my goal I didn't see through. I don't know if it will change you for the better. I, like Satou, had to start working to get out of that hole and get acquainted with forming positive habits to built up a form of self assuredness that isn't hollow like i had in the past. Sticking with stuff gave me the confidence to stick with more stuff I wanted to stick with. Positive and Negative loops, you know at least the negative ones all too well I presume. All of the true to life and/or substantial anime I watched and books I read couldn't do that for me. However I like to think they taught me some useful lessons for dealing with the pain. Its just a good watch all things considered. And please, get checked out for schizophrenia. your last paragraph might very well be true, but to an outsider it looks like delusions of a highly nervous, scared mind finding patterns where there are "none"(In quotes 'cause I've been there and it all feels very real. The mind's reality is the only one that exists as far as the individual is concerned- which is why neurological diseases are so scary.) Good luck, fellow anxious individual.
@@hawkeyenextgen7117I'm really sorry your life has been so difficult. To you this might seem like a forgettable pity comment from someone who doesn't actually care, and I will not try to convince you otherwise. You can try getting into Welcome to the N.H.K. at a later point in life. This video did a good job of explaining a lot of its important themes so if it's triggering you can stay away from the series for now. I used to work with supporting people who had extreme cases of autism, and I was always so curious about their situation. I wanted to understand them better. Unfortunately most of them were not capable of speech. However, being able to interact with them for a longer period of them brought about moments that I'll never forget. I vividly remember driving this autistic person and playing a Michael Jackson song. I started singing the song, then turned to look at him smiling and bobbing his head slightly. I asked him if he liked the song, and he sounded so happy even though his reply was unintelligible to me. Knowing that this person liked the same song as me felt like a nice bond, so I asked him the question because I wanted to get a better understanding. Anyway, that was a digression.
@@hawkeyenextgen7117 my dad also had to deal with borderline psychotic People when he was in school he's told me a bunch of stories of about them apparently one time one of them was legit trying to kill him with a knife and he had to hide in a barn some kid also stabbed him in the back of he head with a pencil he still has a small hole in his skull it's pretty terrifying how bad some of these people can be.
I think the reason I love this show is because, like you said, it's the opposite of escapism. I don't always want to escape. I can't possibly know, but maybe what I really want is simply something or someone that acknowledges the way I feel and understands it. Perhaps that's all any of us, including the characters of the NHK are searching for, to be understood and accepted. Maybe that's enough. I really enjoyed your review btw
This anime means a lot to me, and since I’m going through the age where I’m basically alone and hardly living, I need this anime in my life to make the hole in my chest larger
!!!! This is fantastic. It’s been a while since I watched this series but watching your review flooded all the emotions I experienced back into me.... welcome to the nhk instills such a sadness within me yet hopefulness for everything.. anyway thank you for this
I finished this anime 3 days ago on a Thursday evening and afterwards I chatted with someone on discord about random things, around 1:30 I was out of beer and I told him I had to go to bed because I had to get up for work the next day. The next day the anime hit me like a brick like it hadn't before while I was binging it, now I can't get it out of my head. In a way, the worst part of it all, is that I'm pretty much at the point where the anime ends. I've overcome a lot of struggles to the point where I have a job (and preforming well at it), can sustain myself and am living on my own. But I wanna move because my abusive mother lives in the same town yet I can't because my suicidal mate lives across the streets and needs the company I - among other friends - can provide him. Then there's the controversial medication my doctor prescribes which I'm not sure I'd be able to get at another city but really value because it helps me from getting on more serious medication... Yet, I'm in a far better place then I've been before and I'll keep at it. Time stops for no one and I sure as hell don't intend for that pushy bastard to catch up to me. Truth be told, I'm not where I expected myself to be but nonetheless better than where I was and that's just a tough pill to swallow. I guess I just gotta wait and see what tomorrow brings, maybe I'll be where I want to be :).
Hey man -- your comment is six months old, but it really touched me. I hope you are steadily improving, and that your multiple commitments to abusive family members or dependent friends haven't sucked all the energy out of you just yet. I really hope you're in an even better place now, and that further paths for growth are open and clear in front of you. Please stay safe.
A wonderful review of my favorite anime of all time. You did an excellent job of summarizing exactly why I hold it in such high regard. It's a frighteningly real show, and watching it is a sobering routine I submit myself to almost every year.
NHK is to me the modern version of Franz Kafkas The Metamorphosis.. In a way they both touch on similar topics and Adress the struggles of the mentally ill in a changing society of a certain era
I recently felt a pull back to this anime, looked up some retrospective videos since I enjoy them for videogames and oh my gosh did you do a fantastic job! A lot of themes you talked about somehow were rarely mentioned anywhere else, and this is the first time I really felt "being there" again emotionally. Very good job on this :). It's quite a surreal experience going into this work again - when I initially watched it, I was approaching the end of my school days, with an almost unbearably peaking social anxiety, and no hope for the future. A lot of time has passed since then. I went to university, been working for almost 10 years now...but fundamentally, I feel like I haven't changed much and am still that scared boy with no purpose and value, and a single decision or event can immediately destroy the illusion of being in a better place. While watching this video, I realized I can also understand some positions better now, and appreciate the anime's conclusions even more. The one single thing magically removing your issues doesn't exist. Satou works and is on more honest terms with Misaki, sure, but ultimately, similar struggles continue. In that way, I also felt like Hitomi's and Yamazaki's conclusions might feel more extreme than they are because we see them from Satou's perspective. One happy letter and a person smiling with a significant other - for someone like Satou, they just made it. But they might still struggle just as much. Being older now, I can also totally relate to Hitomi and think you are spot-on with her description. "That pleasant, gentle time after school", as it's written in the novel, becomes a sort of nostalgic dream you want to grasp again in life. Both Satou and Hitomi keep being drawn to each other again not because of love, but because they hope to get back to this pleasant tranquility that slipped through their hands, unappreciated at the time. In that way, Hitomi is a great contrast to Satou in the story, because she experiences what in Satou's mind are the magical solutions to everything, but it didn't magically resolve her issues. On the contrary, she looks for ways out of it because it starts to feel like she set a track to an unhappy life. One additional topic I found quite intriguing recently is the friendship between Yamazaki and Satou. There are some scenes where it almost seems like they just work when both are at their lowest - e.g. there is this scene of Yamazaki encouraging Satou to disregard women altogether because of his bad experience, only to immediately take a call and agreeing on a date in the midst of it (I found the switch from "go to hell, b." to "Go to hell, everyone." quite powerful, it somehow stuck with me). Satou also seems more jealous than happy when things go well for Yamazaki. In a way, it really seemed to me like they were not good for each other. Yet when Yamazaki finally leaves, you can't help but feel like something fundamentally important is being dragged away. And all of a sudden their time together becomes the next "pleasant, gentle time". Anyways, this is getting too long. Very thoughtful video, I really enjoyed it and will take some thoughts into my upcoming rewatch :). I hope you are doing well nowadays.
I first saw this when I was deep into isolation, major depression. It was painful and compelling at the time. But have me a small strange glimmer of hope. I don’t think I was ready to absorb much from it at the time. Time for a rewatch I suppose.
You deserve much more likes, it is seriously the best review of Welcome to the NHK I have seen on youtube and I can assure you I really watched everything I could find. I have never watched an anime like this. The characters, with all their flaws, adorable attributes and awkardness, also the whole plot felt so fucking real and relatable. No predictable and cliché love stories, no simple black and white, no shiny heroes and villains. Just human beings like us who struggle in a capitalist society full of suffering, soulless consumerism, exploitation and crippling, societal expectations (in many cases even more extreme in Japan). Also the humor is goddamn awesome, I shit my pants because of so many absurd and funny moments despite the dark undertone. It´s crazy that I found this Anime only now 16 years after release, but I´m glad I did. Beyond that: I would still criticize that Welcome to the NHK dismisses the structural and social roots for many problemes we are facing in our lifes too much: Alienation, exploitation, poverty and pressure because of high social expectations and to perform. These things are not just inevitable blind forces of nature and our life. We can overcome this social illnesses if we fight collectively for a better society.
I already feel like I can relate to the protagonist's struggles. Being born with Autism, even though I am high functioning, I was often ostracized, pigeonholed from the rest of my age group by peers and adults alike merely due to my diagnosis. I was expected to work harder and behave more strictly than the others simply because of my label, while the rest of them got off scot-free. Many of my social skills camps and special education classes were disorderly and dysfunctional, as many of the teachers there were unqualified, unskilled, and neglectful, as they expected us Autists (and other Neurodivergents) to figure things out on our own though we were still kids, rather than taking responsibility themselves for our development. I was conditioned to be self-conscious of my mental disorder, and overly caring about what others think of me in the name of self-improvement. I was taught that if I was disliked or mistreated, that I was doing something socially unacceptable. In a manner of speaking, I was set up to fail in my youth. In 10th grade, I was bullied for my Autism relentlessly. They called me a retard day in and day out. They used my Autism as a scapegoat to blame me for their problems, as an excuse for them to to target me, saying that it was my Autism that started it, and gaslighted me that my Autism was making me hallucinate their abuse. Whenever I went to the adults for help, the bullies would usually say, "He doesn't know what he's talking about, he's a retard." Whenever I did something kind, they'd punish me for it. Whenever I did something self-destructive, they'd commend me for it. Whenever I did something acceptable, they'd try to persuade me that it was socially unacceptable and so forth. Up was down, black was white, good was bad, day was night. I was questioning my sanity, my moral compass, my judgement, my mentality, and my memory. Even when they sexually assaulted me in the showers, the adults took no measure to bring them to justice. In fact, the adults did NOTHING, no matter how much I begged and cried to them for help. Rather than taking responsibility and addressing the situation head on, they'd only ask me what I could do to improve the situation without their help. In my case, it was nothing; I could only avoid them. But since I was at a boarding school in the middle of the woods, I had nowhere else to go. These kids were unhinged, if anything the adults were afraid of them. One of them threatened to kill me and another nearly broke my door down to steal my guitar. They even took advantage of the adults own mental illness, like when the art teacher was back from maternity leave, they use her mood swings to get her to side with them and blame me for their own problems. But the worst thing they did, but blackmail my only friend there to betray me, just like Kaworu. I was very suicidal that year, and wished I was never born. To this day, I still suffer PTSD from being psychologically abused by my peers and staff alike. Even as an adult, I was still mistreated by fellow adults. I can't help but feel paranoid that some people are out to get me, as I've been stalked, doxed, and threatened to be hunted down and killed by people online who wished me grievous harm since Lockdown. I want to watch this anime, but I am afraid of being triggered and spiraling into a relapse. Can anyone help?
I am so sorry you went through that, but yes personally I think you should watch it. The show ultimately ends with an optimistic message about why live is worth living. The show can be mean and confrontational at times but it is always with a bit of sympathy. I can't fully relate to all you went through but as someone that has dealt with suicidal thoughts it helped me and hopefully it will help you too.
Are you sure it will help me? Because people have tricked me into watching The End of Evangelion, claiming it would help me overcome the grief I felt for the suicide of my childhood friend, but ended up making it worse instead. To put it plainly, I have trust issues when it comes to people recommending anime to me, and with good reason.@@zachman329
Hey hope you’re doing well, this show showed me I could change. Since I’ve watched it I’ve started therapy to try and end my NEET lifestyle. NHK is a mirror, it looks you right in the soul and asks you to change. it has been a really big motivation for me since I’ve watched it and I’d recommend it to anyone going through life and not feeling well. I would’ve never taken the steps towards self improvement without this show and its messages.
Hey i reclused and did acid amd shrooms oit the wazoo! Leaving this town in a year when my lease ends. Gonna start a new life where people have no expectations of me. Hopefully the pressure of supporting myself will force me to be better.
Another very interesting video, about another anime series that I have often rewatched and that means the world to me. I can't thank you enough for sharing your thoughts on it. I even feel like making a couple of comments, and I hope you'll forgive the unavoidable wall of text this will cause (I can hardly write about something without becoming logorrheic). Your decription of Yamazaki's and Hitomi's choices -- not necessarily the best, but still, they are trying to get somewhere because life is confusing and it's worse (is it?) if you do nothing... I just wanted to add that there were signs here and there that there might even have been better options they overlooked. Yamazaki gave up on his game developing dreams also because Nanako, the girl he was interested in, didn't seem to like him. In the anime, this leads to his famous reveal scene in which he mocks her mercilessly, even when she actually does show some interest in him. It is true that he was intoxicated, but I couldn't help thinking that a more romantic show would make him actually stop, realize that he had just heard her say she might be interested in him, and then perhaps something could flourish between them, maybe even changing his destiny and allowing him to pursue his dream of becoming a game developer in Tokyo. But... because of the realism this show aims for, Yamazaki actually never does that. I don't even think he registers the possibility: he reacts as if this were one of those strange things that sometimes happen to us and that we forget as quickly as possible because they don't make sense. That, to me, was very heartbreaking. Another thing was your mention of Sato's indulgence in objectification of women, especially when women were not present (personally, I have some qualms with the way "objectification" is used, especially in gender studies; it seems to me objectification, to some extent, is simply an inescapable aspect of life, the problem being not its exsitence but its exaggeration; but that is a separate discussion). It occurred to me that this is not simply (or even mostly) a sexual thing, but actually a main aspect of how Sato, in his broken, unhealthy state, interacts with people. He has fantasies all the time about "what others are thinking" (his freakout in the game development school is again both hilarious and heartbreaking) and thus only processes others via very stylized versions of humans in his own delirium-filled mind. It is, in that sense, actually touching that he can at all, in a few scattered moments, show real understanding for others and what they feel (the scene, which you show in your video, in which he tells Hitomi they shouldn't have an affair comes to mind -- he is daydreaming about it the whole time, you can feel how much he desires sex with her, and yet... for once, he [unlike Yamazaki with Nanako] actually listens to Hitomi and understands that, for her [and probably also for himself] that would not be a good decision -- is a great example). And that is one of the things that fascinated me throughtout this mostly hilariously depressive series: all the characters (especially Sato, but also the others) have those moments of sudden depth of understanding that suggest that their being "worthless human beings" is not really an accurate description, despite the number of worthless and despicable things each of them does. The clearest, most beautiful moment of this, as you pointed out, is the final scene between Sato and Misaki when she tries to kill herself, but, despite realizing that he might not have the right to stop her, he still does, and showers her with this acceptance of who she is, even in her worst moments; he does it so naturally, as if he isn't even aware of what he is doing and how wonderful it is to her, all his speech about the Big Conspiracy that wants to make Misaki sad, God, the NHK, whatever... and she is just looking at him, drinking it all up, letting it all feed her, and bring her back to a state of mind in which the following scene in the little abandoned house becomes possible... I came out of that series thinking, despite all the evidence that these people are "worthless human beings," actually... they aren't. There is something about them that rises way above that, something that makes them ultimately not just fucked up, not just human, but... worthy. Almost noble, even. And that is the one thing that made me finish this series, after all the tears, with a smile on my face. (Have you heard Mary Gauthier's song "Worthy"? It is as heartwrentching as they get...)
Man, I'm not sure if I liked this show? It definitely made an impression and was compelling, but it legitimately gave me anxiety attacks at times. I guess I'm glad I watched it? It also feels important. The story definitely needed to be told and it's very different than most anything I've ever seen or read. It's rare that a work has made me feel such powerful and conflicting feelings.
Tatsuhiko Takimoto seems to be doing fine now. I just watched him do an English interview for Animelockdown two days ago. He is writing a fantasy manga now and doing some writing asmr for youtube . He just wrote a 30 paged short story sequel that you can buy in English and is hoping to release his new works in English.
This video has 76 comments and 17k views when I saw this. But between my comment and many others as well as what the OP Bess expresses herself in the video... This video is really meaningful. Because for many of those who watched or read NHK, this was a deeply personal story. So to share your story and create a place where others would express theirs is beautiful and meaningful.
This show felt like a reflection of my life and how depressed I was. It felt odd how it appeared out of nowhere and how much I needed to watch it. This show and book will always stick with me. I hope the author is okay.
6:37 I don't think that's what "toxic masculinity" means. The term refers to the pressures from society for men to act in a certain "masculine" way, which is sort of the opposite of how you described it, being the way the characters act in private. Satou isn't a misogynist porn addict because there is a cultural pressure for him to act that way, and straying from that behaviour wouldn't cause ridicule, or make him seem effeminate. Instead he has reached that point due to his isolation from and rejection of societal norms, rather than a close adhesion to them. This is certainly an issue of its own, but it's not toxic masculinity.
Yes, I meant "ways men behave that are unhealthy" rather than "toxic masculinity", I wouldn't say those come from a complete rejection of social norms in this case but you're completely right I slipped up on the wording
I saw Welcome to the NHK for the first time when I was 15. I was homeschooled for much of my life and I had just moved from one side of the country to another. I had never felt more isolated in my life. But I had barely made one friend, who himself had a little friend group, when I initially got there because I was briefly put into school but transferred back to homeschool within a year. This friend group refused to let me go and kept inserting themselves into my life. Maybe its not common, but I felt personally vindicated that I was a teenage hikikomori who was saved by some friends. It meant the world to me. Now sadly, as we all turned 18 everyone went their separate ways. I miraculously got into college but due to the way I had grown up, I once again found very few friends and now I am 30 and I dont remember how long its been since I've had an actual friend. I dont live in the same city either, I had to move to find work, and due to COVID work has become very isolated and my coworkers dont speak to me. I think thats why I found this video because I.... some how escaped the Hikikomori life once, only to find myself back there again.
very underrated realistic anime that touches upon some taboo & unspoken topics in life & society.. it's heartwarming, yet also quite depressing in its honest, real portrayals about everyday's life.. (at least for some people in this world.. ) - from Indonesia -
This scene on this anime is the only single time where Ive cried while consuming media. I couldnt really care less about stories or narratives cause I have a really hard time relating to characters cause Ive never understood human relationships that well. I have trouble connecting to real people, much less fictional ones.
I first watched NHK when I was in high school, I didn't really get it and rated it rather low. Fast-forward 5 years, I've dropped out of university due to depression, decided to rewatch NHK and oh boy it hits different.
good video except sato does not have agoraphobia, that is a condition where you think the outside world is trying to kill you. He was more just socially anxious to an extreme level
Welcome to the NHK is one of my favorite series of all time because of the way it fully exposes the phycology of the characters and their deep rooted depression, it hits me harder than almost any story I've ever experienced. I can't view the series as a comedy because for me the show left me feeling broken and hollow, I don't find the show funny it is just depression for 24 episodes straight and made look at the darkest and ugliest sides of my self.
Nice review, u know other story like this one? I can't get this anime out of my head (mostly cause I love the OST) I would like to read or see another story that can make feel like... I'm not the only one with this kind of problems.
take this with a grain of salt as i haven't seen the former and don't personally love the latter but you could try tatami galaxy or asano inio's works.
I read the novel recently. It felt eerily similar to notes from underground in tone, subjectmatter and resolution for me, and Dostoevsky does an amazingly good job of bringing his characters pathologies and self-destructive habits to life, so I'd *like* to recommend it. It's not a feel-good compassionate book by any means though. Dostoevsky doesn't shy away from showing - with brutal honesty - how the protagonist (sometimes subconsciously or instinctively, at other times with full self-awareness) drags other people down into hell with him out of sheer deeply rooted resentment, and it can be painful to see yourself reflected in that.
Yuasa's Tatami Galaxi is a great work that has features in common with Welcome to the NHK, but also diverges from it in many ways; it is ultimately about something else. You can give it a try and see what you think. Warning: it goes for extremely fast and complicated sentences, so it can be at times very difficult to keep up with the subtitles given the sheer speed of the MC's delivery.
Just gotta admit.... I never expected a woman to be this immersed and understanding of the characters, especially the male ones. As a young man myself, I always figured that NHK was really only a guy's anime, due to the themes of wanting others to acknowledge/look up to you and not being looked down upon as unsuccessful or weak, which are typically associated with male desires. Whereas, female desires are associated with finding someone to depend upon and with being needy. I just thought that NHK was the exception to the modern "there is no anime just for guys or women" rule. In fact, I am actually very wary of recommending my female friend this show,because of what Sato does in the first few episodes( u know what I'm talking about). I had thought that women could very likely be put off by some of the things he does, and that his actions could only really be understood by guys like myself. NHK really did seem like an anime that zones in on guy problems in 21st century 1st world countries. The reality is that there is this pressure of men needing to become successful, in order to be able to attract partners and to be able to raise a family, which are two cornerstones of becoming fulfilled as a person, especially as a man. And so, there is this harsh competition as well between men in modern day 1st world countries. Thanks for this deep insight! Partly because of watching this show the summer before my sophomore year in college, I'll never give up on life and I will always try to keep a positive mindset. Hang in there, y'all!!!👍👍👍 then again, I really do wonder if this anime should be recommended to female anime fans?
I found it not only interesting from an analytical standpoint but actually refreshing to watch an anime that actively addressed how some men view women and would recommend it to other women over a lot of other anime that passively sexualise female characters or generally fail to write them well for that reason. NHK! itself has important and well-realised female characters whose stories were as cathartic for me as its male characters might be for male viewers. I also got a lot out of the show's explorations of mental illness and the struggles of adjusting to adulthood. I would recommend it to just about anybody
Ahh finally a review of this anime from someone who’s not a man!! I’ve read so many glowing reviews of this anime after watching it that somehow neglect to mention anything about how the objectification/dehumanization of women plays into the story as a whole. I loved this anime and found immense value in it, but I’d have a really hard time recommending it to most of my friends because of how intensely off-putting Sato’s words and actions would be to all of the women in my life. Even so, I really value how frankly the show frames these issues- it feels very grounded in a reality/perspective that I don’t usually get to see, and it doesn’t flinch from or make excuses for any of Sato and Yamazaki’s most cringeworthy behaviors. Yamazaki in particular is interesting to me because his portrayal is so unfailingly human that by the end of the show I somehow found myself genuinely broken up about the loss of this character who on occasionally falls into misogynist rants so intense that they border on incel ideology. That takes some quality writing. Anyway. Thanks for this excellent analysis of an excellent show. I’d love to hear what you have to say about some of my other complicated favorite anime too!
only thing i didntt like was the use of "toxic masculinity" because that is not what is being portrayed. What is being portrayed is loneliness when he sexualizes women, not toxicity.
This video really bothers me with some of the phrasing, "Failed romantic conquests", Not really, as it's more failed romantic *Relationships* that drives men in a certain way. Toxic Masculinity? there is nothing really masculine about the characters from how I view the word at least. Still an interesting video to tell me more of what actually make this show worthwhile as it left me feeling confused, except less than confused, just "huh?"
I agree toxic masculinity wasn't the phrase I was looking for, I meant to say the show has a lot to say about ways in which men behave that are unhealthy. I will say I deliberately used the word "conquests" as I believe the issue is that neither Yamazaki or Satou are seeking relationships initially. Particularly Yamazaki sees getting the girl he likes to go out with him as a goal he must achieve much like in a dating sim rather than recognising and respecting that she's an individual and relationships are a joint endeavour. This is why, when she rejects him, he is angry rather than upset. He hasn't genuinely thought about what she wants and whether they'd be happy *together*, but only his own feelings, wants and needs. Ultimately, getting her to go out with him is about making him feel better about himself and his ability to attract women, not about building genuine reciprocal relationship, hence conquests. He isn't emotionally mature enough for an actual relationship at that point and that's the problem. Satou and Misaki are more ambiguous but he treats her very similarly at the beginning and a huge element of his development comes in the form of his coming to see her as an individual with experiences, feelings and wishes of her own.
Welcome to the N HK is strange to me being a story about people's live who have nothing to do with my own, an yet it's the most comforting show I've ever watched I really appreciate this video since I've always noticed this shows excites and yet I never watched it's until I watched this video a few months ago. I wonder if there are any other stores that have this comfortable feeling
Liked your overall commentary on NHK, minus the capitalist/toxic masculinity comments. Those statements seemed very pigeonholed into this analysis. If that's your personal politics, fair enough, but there's nothing in the anime I'd say backs those statements up. Good review aside from that though. I always come back to this anime every so often.
The anime hurts even more when you are an actual NEET. I was one for longer than I'd like to admit. I couldn't even watch the whole series because it hurt so much to watch back in the day. Now that my life is a little better now, I wonder how I'd react to the series now?
How are you doing now?
@@misterpoftyI’m wondering as well. I’m a NEET too.
It still hurt OP, going back to watch it 8 years later you pick up on so much more/relate to so much more
how to escape neet
You didn't earn those degrees of yours for nothing. What a wonderful breakdown of Welcome to the NHK. When I watched this series I was in my early 20s so it was more of a Comedy than it was a deep psychological dive, but as I grew older and re-watched it (I am notorious for re-watching sub, dub, etc), it took on a whole new meaning. Only after experiencing life from a deeper perspective, having my first long term relationship lasting over 7 years could I TRULY appreciate everything this Anime had to offer. It's these kinds of Anime we don't get enough of anymore. Too often we have the pandering fan service or just overall boring tropes like Isekai repeated over and over w/ few true classics in between such as Full Metal Alchemist, Attack on Titan, *insert other great anime here*. NHK the 2nd and even 3rd time around for me will always stick with me and I really appreciate stumbling upon your breakdown of it. Funnily enough as an OG Higurashi fan I was 3 hours into your 6 hour deep dive into what I find to be a large mistake (Gou and Sotsu) to see what else you'd dived into. Anyway, long enough comment - thanks for the insight that a lot of people likely appreciated if they only watched this Anime once, maybe during only the happiest time of their life, and couldn't really understand how deep it really is. It doesn't mean that it wasn't funny in a lot of ways, but it sure hits the feels as well as dives into the Human psyche so much more than I originally understood. I hope to see you remain active and well wishes in the New Year : )
The gem of NHK is how it captures the general sentiment and accurate portrayal of social anxiety and depression. The animation is a bit crude, the stories are mostly forgettable but the character dialogue and behaviours shown are really what make it. No other fictional media comes close since i watched this 10 years ago tbh. This really is the focal point of NHK in my opinion and can not be understated. Thanks for the video.
favourite anime of all time
I already feel like I can relate to the protagonist's struggles.
Being born with Autism, even though I am high functioning, I was often ostracized, pigeonholed from the rest of my age group by peers and adults alike merely due to my diagnosis. I was expected to work harder and behave more strictly than the others simply because of my label, while the rest of them got off scot-free.
Many of my social skills camps and special education classes were disorderly and dysfunctional, as many of the teachers there were unqualified, unskilled, and neglectful, as they expected us Autists (and other Neurodivergents) to figure things out on our own though we were still kids, rather than taking responsibility themselves for our development. I was conditioned to be self-conscious of my mental disorder, and overly caring about what others think of me in the name of self-improvement. I was taught that if I was disliked or mistreated, that I was doing something socially unacceptable. In a manner of speaking, I was set up to fail in my youth.
In 10th grade, I was bullied for my Autism relentlessly. They called me a retard day in and day out. They used my Autism as a scapegoat to blame me for their problems, as an excuse for them to to target me, saying that it was my Autism that started it, and gaslighted me that my Autism was making me hallucinate their abuse. Whenever I went to the adults for help, the bullies would usually say, "He doesn't know what he's talking about, he's a retard."
Whenever I did something kind, they'd punish me for it. Whenever I did something self-destructive, they'd commend me for it. Whenever I did something acceptable, they'd try to persuade me that it was socially unacceptable and so forth. Up was down, black was white, good was bad, day was night. I was questioning my sanity, my moral compass, my judgement, my mentality, and my memory.
Even when they sexually assaulted me in the showers, the adults took no measure to bring them to justice. In fact, the adults did NOTHING, no matter how much I begged and cried to them for help. Rather than taking responsibility and addressing the situation head on, they'd only ask me what I could do to improve the situation without their help. In my case, it was nothing; I could only avoid them. But since I was at a boarding school in the middle of the woods, I had nowhere else to go.
These kids were unhinged, if anything the adults were afraid of them. One of them threatened to kill me and another nearly broke my door down to steal my guitar. They even took advantage of the adults own mental illness, like when the art teacher was back from maternity leave, they use her mood swings to get her to side with them and blame me for their own problems.
But the worst thing they did, but blackmail my only friend there to betray me, just like Kaworu.
I was very suicidal that year, and wished I was never born.
To this day, I still suffer PTSD from being psychologically abused by my peers and staff alike. Even as an adult, I was still mistreated by fellow adults. I can't help but feel paranoid that some people are out to get me, as I've been stalked, doxed, and threatened to be hunted down and killed by people online who wished me grievous harm since Lockdown.
I want to watch this anime, but I am afraid of being triggered and spiraling into a relapse. Can anyone help?
@@hawkeyenextgen7117 Watched it when I was 22 & aimless. I had similarly harsh experiences as a kid. I have a brutal case of ADHD. A loving and hardworking Mom, a lucky coincident leading to me joining a fandom and making my first real friends and even relationships, a good intuition concerning humans and their intentions (this is where I sadly cannot relate with you. I know you autists are wired differently in this regard, learning social roles, intentions and such is hard work and more rote than intuitive to you) saved me from worse. I'm doing good in all common measures. Wealth, status, social circle, work - but am very anxious, I had my bouts with paranoia and psychosis in the past. Insomnia is currently growing way too strong. Night sweats and panic attacks are a weekly occurence. I am scared for my health and unsure how long I'll live.
IMHO you can give the anime a try. Back then It just made me cry and think about every "wrong" decision that led me to being essentially a neet who had gathered enough social capital in the past to still have a support network even in my darkest hours. Along with a useless vow to do better and work towards my goal I didn't see through. I don't know if it will change you for the better. I, like Satou, had to start working to get out of that hole and get acquainted with forming positive habits to built up a form of self assuredness that isn't hollow like i had in the past. Sticking with stuff gave me the confidence to stick with more stuff I wanted to stick with. Positive and Negative loops, you know at least the negative ones all too well I presume.
All of the true to life and/or substantial anime I watched and books I read couldn't do that for me. However I like to think they taught me some useful lessons for dealing with the pain.
Its just a good watch all things considered.
And please, get checked out for schizophrenia. your last paragraph might very well be true, but to an outsider it looks like delusions of a highly nervous, scared mind finding patterns where there are "none"(In quotes 'cause I've been there and it all feels very real. The mind's reality is the only one that exists as far as the individual is concerned- which is why neurological diseases are so scary.)
Good luck, fellow anxious individual.
@@hawkeyenextgen7117I'm really sorry your life has been so difficult. To you this might seem like a forgettable pity comment from someone who doesn't actually care, and I will not try to convince you otherwise. You can try getting into Welcome to the N.H.K. at a later point in life. This video did a good job of explaining a lot of its important themes so if it's triggering you can stay away from the series for now.
I used to work with supporting people who had extreme cases of autism, and I was always so curious about their situation. I wanted to understand them better. Unfortunately most of them were not capable of speech. However, being able to interact with them for a longer period of them brought about moments that I'll never forget. I vividly remember driving this autistic person and playing a Michael Jackson song. I started singing the song, then turned to look at him smiling and bobbing his head slightly. I asked him if he liked the song, and he sounded so happy even though his reply was unintelligible to me. Knowing that this person liked the same song as me felt like a nice bond, so I asked him the question because I wanted to get a better understanding. Anyway, that was a digression.
@@hawkeyenextgen7117 my dad also had to deal with borderline psychotic People when he was in school he's told me a bunch of stories of about them apparently one time one of them was legit trying to kill him with a knife and he had to hide in a barn some kid also stabbed him in the back of he head with a pencil he still has a small hole in his skull it's pretty terrifying how bad some of these people can be.
Finished the anime yesterday and it left a void inside me so I needed more NHK content. Good vid
I think the reason I love this show is because, like you said, it's the opposite of escapism. I don't always want to escape. I can't possibly know, but maybe what I really want is simply something or someone that acknowledges the way I feel and understands it.
Perhaps that's all any of us, including the characters of the NHK are searching for, to be understood and accepted. Maybe that's enough.
I really enjoyed your review btw
Yeah. This show isn't escapism - it's sublimation. Great review.
Woah. Just woah. I always loved this show, but I never could put my finger on all the reasons why. I think your description fits perfectly!
This anime means a lot to me, and since I’m going through the age where I’m basically alone and hardly living, I need this anime in my life to make the hole in my chest larger
!!!! This is fantastic. It’s been a while since I watched this series but watching your review flooded all the emotions I experienced back into me.... welcome to the nhk instills such a sadness within me yet hopefulness for everything.. anyway thank you for this
I finished this anime 3 days ago on a Thursday evening and afterwards I chatted with someone on discord about random things, around 1:30 I was out of beer and I told him I had to go to bed because I had to get up for work the next day. The next day the anime hit me like a brick like it hadn't before while I was binging it, now I can't get it out of my head.
In a way, the worst part of it all, is that I'm pretty much at the point where the anime ends. I've overcome a lot of struggles to the point where I have a job (and preforming well at it), can sustain myself and am living on my own. But I wanna move because my abusive mother lives in the same town yet I can't because my suicidal mate lives across the streets and needs the company I - among other friends - can provide him. Then there's the controversial medication my doctor prescribes which I'm not sure I'd be able to get at another city but really value because it helps me from getting on more serious medication... Yet, I'm in a far better place then I've been before and I'll keep at it. Time stops for no one and I sure as hell don't intend for that pushy bastard to catch up to me.
Truth be told, I'm not where I expected myself to be but nonetheless better than where I was and that's just a tough pill to swallow. I guess I just gotta wait and see what tomorrow brings, maybe I'll be where I want to be :).
Hey man -- your comment is six months old, but it really touched me. I hope you are steadily improving, and that your multiple commitments to abusive family members or dependent friends haven't sucked all the energy out of you just yet. I really hope you're in an even better place now, and that further paths for growth are open and clear in front of you. Please stay safe.
How are things?
A wonderful review of my favorite anime of all time. You did an excellent job of summarizing exactly why I hold it in such high regard. It's a frighteningly real show, and watching it is a sobering routine I submit myself to almost every year.
This might be the most brilliant video I have ever watched
This is my favorite review of my favorite anime..
Thank you for making this, it truly means alot for me.
So glad you enjoyed it!
NHK is to me the modern version of Franz Kafkas The Metamorphosis.. In a way they both touch on similar topics and Adress the struggles of the mentally ill in a changing society of a certain era
Wow! Thank you for this amazing video and analysis of my favourite piece of media ever, I really loved every topic you touched on
This was a really touching and awesome review of one my favorite anime’s of all time. Thank you.
I recently felt a pull back to this anime, looked up some retrospective videos since I enjoy them for videogames and oh my gosh did you do a fantastic job! A lot of themes you talked about somehow were rarely mentioned anywhere else, and this is the first time I really felt "being there" again emotionally. Very good job on this :).
It's quite a surreal experience going into this work again - when I initially watched it, I was approaching the end of my school days, with an almost unbearably peaking social anxiety, and no hope for the future. A lot of time has passed since then. I went to university, been working for almost 10 years now...but fundamentally, I feel like I haven't changed much and am still that scared boy with no purpose and value, and a single decision or event can immediately destroy the illusion of being in a better place.
While watching this video, I realized I can also understand some positions better now, and appreciate the anime's conclusions even more. The one single thing magically removing your issues doesn't exist. Satou works and is on more honest terms with Misaki, sure, but ultimately, similar struggles continue. In that way, I also felt like Hitomi's and Yamazaki's conclusions might feel more extreme than they are because we see them from Satou's perspective. One happy letter and a person smiling with a significant other - for someone like Satou, they just made it. But they might still struggle just as much.
Being older now, I can also totally relate to Hitomi and think you are spot-on with her description. "That pleasant, gentle time after school", as it's written in the novel, becomes a sort of nostalgic dream you want to grasp again in life. Both Satou and Hitomi keep being drawn to each other again not because of love, but because they hope to get back to this pleasant tranquility that slipped through their hands, unappreciated at the time. In that way, Hitomi is a great contrast to Satou in the story, because she experiences what in Satou's mind are the magical solutions to everything, but it didn't magically resolve her issues. On the contrary, she looks for ways out of it because it starts to feel like she set a track to an unhappy life.
One additional topic I found quite intriguing recently is the friendship between Yamazaki and Satou. There are some scenes where it almost seems like they just work when both are at their lowest - e.g. there is this scene of Yamazaki encouraging Satou to disregard women altogether because of his bad experience, only to immediately take a call and agreeing on a date in the midst of it (I found the switch from "go to hell, b." to "Go to hell, everyone." quite powerful, it somehow stuck with me). Satou also seems more jealous than happy when things go well for Yamazaki. In a way, it really seemed to me like they were not good for each other. Yet when Yamazaki finally leaves, you can't help but feel like something fundamentally important is being dragged away. And all of a sudden their time together becomes the next "pleasant, gentle time".
Anyways, this is getting too long. Very thoughtful video, I really enjoyed it and will take some thoughts into my upcoming rewatch :). I hope you are doing well nowadays.
this is prob the best analysis I've seen of this show
I first saw this when I was deep into isolation, major depression. It was painful and compelling at the time. But have me a small strange glimmer of hope. I don’t think I was ready to absorb much from it at the time.
Time for a rewatch I suppose.
Thank you Bess, I really enjoy your take on these shows. It helped me.
You deserve much more likes, it is seriously the best review of Welcome to the NHK I have seen on youtube and I can assure you I really watched everything I could find.
I have never watched an anime like this. The characters, with all their flaws, adorable attributes and awkardness, also the whole plot felt so fucking real and relatable. No predictable and cliché love stories, no simple black and white, no shiny heroes and villains. Just human beings like us who struggle in a capitalist society full of suffering, soulless consumerism, exploitation and crippling, societal expectations (in many cases even more extreme in Japan). Also the humor is goddamn awesome, I shit my pants because of so many absurd and funny moments despite the dark undertone. It´s crazy that I found this Anime only now 16 years after release, but I´m glad I did.
Beyond that: I would still criticize that Welcome to the NHK dismisses the structural and social roots for many problemes we are facing in our lifes too much: Alienation, exploitation, poverty and pressure because of high social expectations and to perform. These things are not just inevitable blind forces of nature and our life. We can overcome this social illnesses if we fight collectively for a better society.
I already feel like I can relate to the protagonist's struggles.
Being born with Autism, even though I am high functioning, I was often ostracized, pigeonholed from the rest of my age group by peers and adults alike merely due to my diagnosis. I was expected to work harder and behave more strictly than the others simply because of my label, while the rest of them got off scot-free.
Many of my social skills camps and special education classes were disorderly and dysfunctional, as many of the teachers there were unqualified, unskilled, and neglectful, as they expected us Autists (and other Neurodivergents) to figure things out on our own though we were still kids, rather than taking responsibility themselves for our development. I was conditioned to be self-conscious of my mental disorder, and overly caring about what others think of me in the name of self-improvement. I was taught that if I was disliked or mistreated, that I was doing something socially unacceptable. In a manner of speaking, I was set up to fail in my youth.
In 10th grade, I was bullied for my Autism relentlessly. They called me a retard day in and day out. They used my Autism as a scapegoat to blame me for their problems, as an excuse for them to to target me, saying that it was my Autism that started it, and gaslighted me that my Autism was making me hallucinate their abuse. Whenever I went to the adults for help, the bullies would usually say, "He doesn't know what he's talking about, he's a retard."
Whenever I did something kind, they'd punish me for it. Whenever I did something self-destructive, they'd commend me for it. Whenever I did something acceptable, they'd try to persuade me that it was socially unacceptable and so forth. Up was down, black was white, good was bad, day was night. I was questioning my sanity, my moral compass, my judgement, my mentality, and my memory.
Even when they sexually assaulted me in the showers, the adults took no measure to bring them to justice. In fact, the adults did NOTHING, no matter how much I begged and cried to them for help. Rather than taking responsibility and addressing the situation head on, they'd only ask me what I could do to improve the situation without their help. In my case, it was nothing; I could only avoid them. But since I was at a boarding school in the middle of the woods, I had nowhere else to go.
These kids were unhinged, if anything the adults were afraid of them. One of them threatened to kill me and another nearly broke my door down to steal my guitar. They even took advantage of the adults own mental illness, like when the art teacher was back from maternity leave, they use her mood swings to get her to side with them and blame me for their own problems.
But the worst thing they did, but blackmail my only friend there to betray me, just like Kaworu.
I was very suicidal that year, and wished I was never born.
To this day, I still suffer PTSD from being psychologically abused by my peers and staff alike. Even as an adult, I was still mistreated by fellow adults. I can't help but feel paranoid that some people are out to get me, as I've been stalked, doxed, and threatened to be hunted down and killed by people online who wished me grievous harm since Lockdown.
I want to watch this anime, but I am afraid of being triggered and spiraling into a relapse. Can anyone help?
I am so sorry you went through that, but yes personally I think you should watch it. The show ultimately ends with an optimistic message about why live is worth living. The show can be mean and confrontational at times but it is always with a bit of sympathy. I can't fully relate to all you went through but as someone that has dealt with suicidal thoughts it helped me and hopefully it will help you too.
Are you sure it will help me? Because people have tricked me into watching The End of Evangelion, claiming it would help me overcome the grief I felt for the suicide of my childhood friend, but ended up making it worse instead.
To put it plainly, I have trust issues when it comes to people recommending anime to me, and with good reason.@@zachman329
Hey hope you’re doing well, this show showed me I could change. Since I’ve watched it I’ve started therapy to try and end my NEET lifestyle. NHK is a mirror, it looks you right in the soul and asks you to change. it has been a really big motivation for me since I’ve watched it and I’d recommend it to anyone going through life and not feeling well. I would’ve never taken the steps towards self improvement without this show and its messages.
Thanks for the video people don't talk enough about welcome to the NHK. Also, I like your delivery.
You're the only person I've seen talk about this show and the video was interesting and well-written. Glad to subscribe :)
Hey i reclused and did acid amd shrooms oit the wazoo! Leaving this town in a year when my lease ends. Gonna start a new life where people have no expectations of me. Hopefully the pressure of supporting myself will force me to be better.
Damn, a great analysis. I felt a melancholy bitterness with it all. Thank you for this video
Another very interesting video, about another anime series that I have often rewatched and that means the world to me. I can't thank you enough for sharing your thoughts on it. I even feel like making a couple of comments, and I hope you'll forgive the unavoidable wall of text this will cause (I can hardly write about something without becoming logorrheic).
Your decription of Yamazaki's and Hitomi's choices -- not necessarily the best, but still, they are trying to get somewhere because life is confusing and it's worse (is it?) if you do nothing... I just wanted to add that there were signs here and there that there might even have been better options they overlooked. Yamazaki gave up on his game developing dreams also because Nanako, the girl he was interested in, didn't seem to like him. In the anime, this leads to his famous reveal scene in which he mocks her mercilessly, even when she actually does show some interest in him. It is true that he was intoxicated, but I couldn't help thinking that a more romantic show would make him actually stop, realize that he had just heard her say she might be interested in him, and then perhaps something could flourish between them, maybe even changing his destiny and allowing him to pursue his dream of becoming a game developer in Tokyo. But... because of the realism this show aims for, Yamazaki actually never does that. I don't even think he registers the possibility: he reacts as if this were one of those strange things that sometimes happen to us and that we forget as quickly as possible because they don't make sense. That, to me, was very heartbreaking.
Another thing was your mention of Sato's indulgence in objectification of women, especially when women were not present (personally, I have some qualms with the way "objectification" is used, especially in gender studies; it seems to me objectification, to some extent, is simply an inescapable aspect of life, the problem being not its exsitence but its exaggeration; but that is a separate discussion). It occurred to me that this is not simply (or even mostly) a sexual thing, but actually a main aspect of how Sato, in his broken, unhealthy state, interacts with people. He has fantasies all the time about "what others are thinking" (his freakout in the game development school is again both hilarious and heartbreaking) and thus only processes others via very stylized versions of humans in his own delirium-filled mind. It is, in that sense, actually touching that he can at all, in a few scattered moments, show real understanding for others and what they feel (the scene, which you show in your video, in which he tells Hitomi they shouldn't have an affair comes to mind -- he is daydreaming about it the whole time, you can feel how much he desires sex with her, and yet... for once, he [unlike Yamazaki with Nanako] actually listens to Hitomi and understands that, for her [and probably also for himself] that would not be a good decision -- is a great example).
And that is one of the things that fascinated me throughtout this mostly hilariously depressive series: all the characters (especially Sato, but also the others) have those moments of sudden depth of understanding that suggest that their being "worthless human beings" is not really an accurate description, despite the number of worthless and despicable things each of them does. The clearest, most beautiful moment of this, as you pointed out, is the final scene between Sato and Misaki when she tries to kill herself, but, despite realizing that he might not have the right to stop her, he still does, and showers her with this acceptance of who she is, even in her worst moments; he does it so naturally, as if he isn't even aware of what he is doing and how wonderful it is to her, all his speech about the Big Conspiracy that wants to make Misaki sad, God, the NHK, whatever... and she is just looking at him, drinking it all up, letting it all feed her, and bring her back to a state of mind in which the following scene in the little abandoned house becomes possible...
I came out of that series thinking, despite all the evidence that these people are "worthless human beings," actually... they aren't. There is something about them that rises way above that, something that makes them ultimately not just fucked up, not just human, but... worthy. Almost noble, even. And that is the one thing that made me finish this series, after all the tears, with a smile on my face. (Have you heard Mary Gauthier's song "Worthy"? It is as heartwrentching as they get...)
The fact the maker of Welcome to the NHK is also a hikko makes the anime even more darker
Man, I'm not sure if I liked this show? It definitely made an impression and was compelling, but it legitimately gave me anxiety attacks at times. I guess I'm glad I watched it? It also feels important. The story definitely needed to be told and it's very different than most anything I've ever seen or read.
It's rare that a work has made me feel such powerful and conflicting feelings.
God I loved this show - Rewatched this year and remembered why it hit me so hard when I saw it originally back in 2009 as a fresh 19 year old.
this has to be my fav anime. loved your review too
Tatsuhiko Takimoto seems to be doing fine now. I just watched him do an English interview for Animelockdown two days ago. He is writing a fantasy manga now and doing some writing asmr for youtube . He just wrote a 30 paged short story sequel that you can buy in English and is hoping to release his new works in English.
This video has 76 comments and 17k views when I saw this. But between my comment and many others as well as what the OP Bess expresses herself in the video... This video is really meaningful. Because for many of those who watched or read NHK, this was a deeply personal story. So to share your story and create a place where others would express theirs is beautiful and meaningful.
This show felt like a reflection of my life and how depressed I was. It felt odd how it appeared out of nowhere and how much I needed to watch it. This show and book will always stick with me. I hope the author is okay.
6:37
I don't think that's what "toxic masculinity" means. The term refers to the pressures from society for men to act in a certain "masculine" way, which is sort of the opposite of how you described it, being the way the characters act in private. Satou isn't a misogynist porn addict because there is a cultural pressure for him to act that way, and straying from that behaviour wouldn't cause ridicule, or make him seem effeminate. Instead he has reached that point due to his isolation from and rejection of societal norms, rather than a close adhesion to them. This is certainly an issue of its own, but it's not toxic masculinity.
Yes, I meant "ways men behave that are unhealthy" rather than "toxic masculinity", I wouldn't say those come from a complete rejection of social norms in this case but you're completely right I slipped up on the wording
@@_bess thank you for clarifying
I saw Welcome to the NHK for the first time when I was 15. I was homeschooled for much of my life and I had just moved from one side of the country to another. I had never felt more isolated in my life. But I had barely made one friend, who himself had a little friend group, when I initially got there because I was briefly put into school but transferred back to homeschool within a year. This friend group refused to let me go and kept inserting themselves into my life. Maybe its not common, but I felt personally vindicated that I was a teenage hikikomori who was saved by some friends. It meant the world to me.
Now sadly, as we all turned 18 everyone went their separate ways. I miraculously got into college but due to the way I had grown up, I once again found very few friends and now I am 30 and I dont remember how long its been since I've had an actual friend.
I dont live in the same city either, I had to move to find work, and due to COVID work has become very isolated and my coworkers dont speak to me. I think thats why I found this video because I.... some how escaped the Hikikomori life once, only to find myself back there again.
very underrated realistic anime that touches upon some taboo & unspoken topics in life & society.. it's heartwarming, yet also quite depressing in its honest, real portrayals about everyday's life.. (at least for some people in this world.. )
- from Indonesia -
This scene on this anime is the only single time where Ive cried while consuming media. I couldnt really care less about stories or narratives cause I have a really hard time relating to characters cause Ive never understood human relationships that well.
I have trouble connecting to real people, much less fictional ones.
There is nothing that compares with NHK.
A year too late, beautifully said. 🤍
I first watched NHK when I was in high school, I didn't really get it and rated it rather low. Fast-forward 5 years, I've dropped out of university due to depression, decided to rewatch NHK and oh boy it hits different.
I love Sato, such a real character, the good and the bad.
Continue with the good work
Great analysis!
I really enjoyed this video, the author actually released a new novel last year called ライト・ノベル if it makes you feel better.
which is the name on english? do u know if there's any possible traduccion in the future? :(
What you wrote just means "light novel" in Japanese. Do you know the title, or do you have a link to the page where it is advertised?
@@Asehpe name is shin nhk ni youkoso / rebuild of welcome to the nhk
good video except sato does not have agoraphobia, that is a condition where you think the outside world is trying to kill you. He was more just socially anxious to an extreme level
I laughed, because it was sudden and unexpected, and ridiculous. This arch was ridiculous, then the slip happened, good Lord.
The author is also a hikikomori. I was not prepared for these oofs.
@Jim Cole That's good to hear.
The author is much better know, you can check his instagram
I hope the author is alright.
doubt.
Welcome to the NHK is one of my favorite series of all time because of the way it fully exposes the phycology of the characters and their deep rooted depression, it hits me harder than almost any story I've ever experienced. I can't view the series as a comedy because for me the show left me feeling broken and hollow, I don't find the show funny it is just depression for 24 episodes straight and made look at the darkest and ugliest sides of my self.
Nice review, u know other story like this one? I can't get this anime out of my head (mostly cause I love the OST) I would like to read or see another story that can make feel like... I'm not the only one with this kind of problems.
take this with a grain of salt as i haven't seen the former and don't personally love the latter but you could try tatami galaxy or asano inio's works.
I read the novel recently. It felt eerily similar to notes from underground in tone, subjectmatter and resolution for me, and Dostoevsky does an amazingly good job of bringing his characters pathologies and self-destructive habits to life, so I'd *like* to recommend it.
It's not a feel-good compassionate book by any means though. Dostoevsky doesn't shy away from showing - with brutal honesty - how the protagonist (sometimes subconsciously or instinctively, at other times with full self-awareness) drags other people down into hell with him out of sheer deeply rooted resentment, and it can be painful to see yourself reflected in that.
Yuasa's Tatami Galaxi is a great work that has features in common with Welcome to the NHK, but also diverges from it in many ways; it is ultimately about something else. You can give it a try and see what you think. Warning: it goes for extremely fast and complicated sentences, so it can be at times very difficult to keep up with the subtitles given the sheer speed of the MC's delivery.
Literally me...
very nice
I'm the 100th sub wooo
Just gotta admit.... I never expected a woman to be this immersed and understanding of the characters, especially the male ones. As a young man myself, I always figured that NHK was really only a guy's anime, due to the themes of wanting others to acknowledge/look up to you and not being looked down upon as unsuccessful or weak, which are typically associated with male desires. Whereas, female desires are associated with finding someone to depend upon and with being needy. I just thought that NHK was the exception to the modern "there is no anime just for guys or women" rule. In fact, I am actually very wary of recommending my female friend this show,because of what Sato does in the first few episodes( u know what I'm talking about). I had thought that women could very likely be put off by some of the things he does, and that his actions could only really be understood by guys like myself. NHK really did seem like an anime that zones in on guy problems in 21st century 1st world countries. The reality is that there is this pressure of men needing to become successful, in order to be able to attract partners and to be able to raise a family, which are two cornerstones of becoming fulfilled as a person, especially as a man. And so, there is this harsh competition as well between men in modern day 1st world countries.
Thanks for this deep insight! Partly because of watching this show the summer before my sophomore year in college, I'll never give up on life and I will always try to keep a positive mindset. Hang in there, y'all!!!👍👍👍
then again, I really do wonder if this anime should be recommended to female anime fans?
I found it not only interesting from an analytical standpoint but actually refreshing to watch an anime that actively addressed how some men view women and would recommend it to other women over a lot of other anime that passively sexualise female characters or generally fail to write them well for that reason. NHK! itself has important and well-realised female characters whose stories were as cathartic for me as its male characters might be for male viewers. I also got a lot out of the show's explorations of mental illness and the struggles of adjusting to adulthood. I would recommend it to just about anybody
Ahh finally a review of this anime from someone who’s not a man!! I’ve read so many glowing reviews of this anime after watching it that somehow neglect to mention anything about how the objectification/dehumanization of women plays into the story as a whole.
I loved this anime and found immense value in it, but I’d have a really hard time recommending it to most of my friends because of how intensely off-putting Sato’s words and actions would be to all of the women in my life. Even so, I really value how frankly the show frames these issues- it feels very grounded in a reality/perspective that I don’t usually get to see, and it doesn’t flinch from or make excuses for any of Sato and Yamazaki’s most cringeworthy behaviors. Yamazaki in particular is interesting to me because his portrayal is so unfailingly human that by the end of the show I somehow found myself genuinely broken up about the loss of this character who on occasionally falls into misogynist rants so intense that they border on incel ideology. That takes some quality writing.
Anyway. Thanks for this excellent analysis of an excellent show. I’d love to hear what you have to say about some of my other complicated favorite anime too!
Thank you for the comment! Would be interested to know which other anime you have in mind!
only thing i didntt like was the use of "toxic masculinity" because that is not what is being portrayed. What is being portrayed is loneliness when he sexualizes women, not toxicity.
This video really bothers me with some of the phrasing, "Failed romantic conquests", Not really, as it's more failed romantic *Relationships* that drives men in a certain way. Toxic Masculinity? there is nothing really masculine about the characters from how I view the word at least.
Still an interesting video to tell me more of what actually make this show worthwhile as it left me feeling confused, except less than confused, just "huh?"
I agree toxic masculinity wasn't the phrase I was looking for, I meant to say the show has a lot to say about ways in which men behave that are unhealthy. I will say I deliberately used the word "conquests" as I believe the issue is that neither Yamazaki or Satou are seeking relationships initially. Particularly Yamazaki sees getting the girl he likes to go out with him as a goal he must achieve much like in a dating sim rather than recognising and respecting that she's an individual and relationships are a joint endeavour. This is why, when she rejects him, he is angry rather than upset. He hasn't genuinely thought about what she wants and whether they'd be happy *together*, but only his own feelings, wants and needs. Ultimately, getting her to go out with him is about making him feel better about himself and his ability to attract women, not about building genuine reciprocal relationship, hence conquests. He isn't emotionally mature enough for an actual relationship at that point and that's the problem. Satou and Misaki are more ambiguous but he treats her very similarly at the beginning and a huge element of his development comes in the form of his coming to see her as an individual with experiences, feelings and wishes of her own.
Welcome to the N HK is strange to me being a story about people's live who have nothing to do with my own, an yet it's the most comforting show I've ever watched
I really appreciate this video since I've always noticed this shows excites and yet I never watched it's until I watched this video a few months ago.
I wonder if there are any other stores that have this comfortable feeling
I heard toxic masculinity and clicked off
🧭
Yeah I was done after you said toxic masculinity like that's not even a real thing stay off tic tok
Lets be real here, you looked this anime up, no one told you about it cause they're all too ashamed.
Maybe you
@@vitaminwater9662 Me what?
Liked your overall commentary on NHK, minus the capitalist/toxic masculinity comments. Those statements seemed very pigeonholed into this analysis. If that's your personal politics, fair enough, but there's nothing in the anime I'd say backs those statements up. Good review aside from that though. I always come back to this anime every so often.
wait a second is this a british babe who likes anime like me?? how u doin?