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.

Gantz (2004)

Some people fall victim to a horrific fate. At their moment of death they are saved and brought to a non-descript apartment overlooking Tokyo tower. But this is no rescue, for a mysterious and seemingly omnipotent black orb called Gantz has brought them there for a reason: To hunt down and kill alien life forms hiding on earth or die in the process.  Upon arrival the draftees only have a brief time to become acquainted and gear up before being teleported to the mission’s battle zone.   The challenges they face are hard and people die from them, a lot. This forces the characters to question their own morals; do you risk your life to save someone who wouldn’t do the same for you? Would you give your life for an individual who everyone else considers worthless?

In this series that’s chock full of blood, gore, sex, & horror some characters have a hard time bringing themselves to kill even for self preservation, others take great joy in being able to hunt and kill a sentient being. Petty quarrelling among the group and stubborn headedness lead to many lost lives all the while someone else is trying to make sure everyone can make it back alive and safe.  

All in all this is a very exciting premise for a show that combines all the camaraderie, tragedy, suspense, & heroism of both war and horror genres along with the kickassiness of Men In Black or any of the Spandex robot karate guy fighting rubber suit monster shows that Japan has. These elements create a high sense of danger and suspense that just might make it worth the watch providing you can get over the 2 biggest flaws of the series.

The 1^st problem being the pacing, both the episodes themselves and the series in a whole. One good example is that the group could be in the middle of fighting a monster and then a few of them would get into a moral debate that lasts for half the episode while the monster just kinda waits for them to finish. Then there’s one time a character was being captious after a successful attack and because they didn’t shot right away get’s killed by a laser beam. And the fact that the missions last for several episodes means there isn't as much variety with the monster designs and situations that everyone gets into as there could have been provided the series was a bit tighter.

The 2^nd and by far biggest is the ending. Totally unsatisfying in that a bunch of questions about the world, mechanics, character development and plot of the show are left unanswered. I know that the manga that this is based off of went on for much longer than the anime and thus the “true” ending could not be used but if they’re making an adaptation of their own then a new proper ending should have been made.

26 episodes, approx 23 minutes each

Episodes you must see:

I dunno? No one episode is any better than the others and the few with no fighting in them have character development so just start with episode 1 and work your way up.

Episodes to Avoid:

The ending blew so I guess the last 4 episodes aren’t as great.

Buyer’s Guide:

Technically 2 seasons, this has been released in several different collections and I believe all of the American releases are of the uncensored cut of the series but you should check before you buy.

3 old fat ladies and portly middle aged dudes looking none too shabby in skin tight battle suits out of 5