Welcome to the NHK (2006)

Anime is known for being a world of adventure. Heroes (and heroines) are consummate badasses. Villains range from heartbreakingly tortured to sickeningly evil, and are often a compelling mixture of both. It's a place where people punch each other from within the confines of a giant robot suit, where kids have the power to destroy or save the entire world, and where even death can be defeated by the power of love and friendship.

Welcome to the NHK is none of those things. It's full of characters are human, often depressingly so, and there are no magical fixes to their problems, nor any evil villains who are the source of them. The show's lead, Tatsuhiro Satou, can barely stand to leave his own house, and constructs elaborate fantasies that explain away his own shortcomings. It may not sound like the most exciting show in the world, and sometimes it isn't, but these characters and their stories are incredibly involving, and I want to root for them even when all they do is sit in front of their computers and look at porn.

Welcome to the NHK is entrenched in Japanese culture. It deals with the nation's hikikomori epidemic, and one of its most significant plotlines revolves around ero-games. But in spite of that, it's an intensely relatable story that I think has a universal appeal. The show is so true to life that it may be off-putting- its characters are screwed up people who aren't always likable. Sometimes they act like jerks, and almost every member of the cast is their own worse enemy. It can be torturous watching these guys sabotage every chance at happiness they get.

But Welcome to the NHK isn't a dark, gloomy series about how depressing life is. It's an exploration of the incredible amount of absorption self-loathing requires, a reminder that better things are often easily within your reach. It's a powerful look at the reasons why we look down on others, a reassurance that everyone is screwed up in their own ways, and that's okay. It's a testament to living even when life doesn't seem like it has much to offer, and proof anime doesn't need robots and giant swords to be awesome.

I recommend watching the series subbed, as I find the voice-acting to be stronger, but the dub is more than passable.

24 episodes. 24 minutes each.

Episodes To See:
Welcome to Heaven!- This episode and the arc surrounding it are probably my favorite of the entire series. I don't know if I've ever related to a character as much as I relate to Tatsuhiro here.

Welcome to the Winter Day!- A great example of just how human the characters in Welcome to the NHK are allowed to be.

Episodes to Avoid:
Welcome to the NHK is a character piece through and through, and every episode is worth watching because of it.

Buyer’s Guide:
A delightfully cheap "value edition" was released in 2010, and is still readily available on Amazon.

5 conspiracies named after television networks out of 5.