Welcome to the N.H.K. is a Japanese novel originally written by Tatsuhiko Takimoto and cover illustration by Yoshitoshi ABe, it was published by Kadokawa Shoten in Japan on January 28, 2002. The novel was first published in English by Tokyopop on October 9, 2007. The novel is based on a fictious twenty-two-year-old hikikomori who gets aid from a strange girl who seems to know a lot about him, despite never meeting him before. A common theme throughout the story deals with the hardships of life and how people must deal with them in their own way.

Welcome to the N.H.K. was adapted into a manga series which was also written by Takimoto, with art by Kendi Oiwa. The manga ran between June 2004 and June 2007,  serialized in the Kadokawa Shoten’s manga magazine, Shōnen Ace. The manga’s forty chapters have been collected into eight bound volumes released in Japan and overseas. The English edition of the manga is published by Tokyopop, and the first volume was released in October 2006. The novel was also adapted into a twenty-four-episode anime-television series by production studio Gonzo which aired in Japan between July and December 2006. ADV Films announced at Anime Central that they acquired the English rights to the anime, releasing DVD volume one in October 2007 with volume two released in December 2007. In 2008, the anime became one of over thirty ADV titles acquired by Funimation Entertainment.

In Japan, “NHK” refers to the public broadcaster Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai, but within the series, the main character believes it stands for Nihon Hikikomori Kyōkai (The Japanese Hikikomori Association), which is a reference to the protagonist’s claim of a subversive conspiracy led by NHK (the real-life broadcaster) to create hikikomori. While it mainly deals with the reclusive phenomenon of hikikomori, the plot also explores many other Japanese subcultures—for example: otaku, lolicon, and internet suicide. Despite the show’s name, Welcome to the N.H.K. was not broadcasted on the NHK television channels, but it was syndicated throughout Japan, from July 9, 2006 to December 23, 2006, with Chiba TV (July 9 – December 17, 2006, every Sunday) as a flagship station. It aired mostly on Japanese Association of Independent Television Stations stations, and Hiroshima Home TV (July 16 – December 23, 2006, every Saturday), a local All-Nippon News Network station in Hiroshima.

The plot more or less revolves around the lives of several young-adults all living in or around the city of Tokyo. Many different lifestyles are represented although most of the time the story focuses on the concepts of being a hikikomori, anime otaku, and having most of the characters experience intense feelings of depression and loneliness with insight on why they are so.

The main protagonist is Tatsuhiro Satō, a university dropout entering his fourth year of unemployment. He leads a reclusive life as a hikikomori, ultimately coming to the conclusion that this happened due to some sort of conspiracy. One day just when his life seems frustratingly and entirely unchanging, he meets Misaki Nakahara, a mysterious girl who claims to be able to cure Tatsuhiro of his hikikomori ways. She presents him with a contract basically outlining that once a day they would meet in the evening at local park where Misaki would lecture Tatsuhiro in an effort to rid him of his arduous lifestyle and failure to comply with the conditions of contract will result of a fine of 10 million yen of the offender. During these lectures, many subjects are discussed, though they almost always pertain in some way to psychology or psychoanalysis. One of their first meetings in fact deals with interpreting Tatsuhiro’s recent dreams. Both Tatsuhiro and Misaki, however, have a tendency of over-doing things, such as hiding the truth, especially from each other and themselves. Despite Misaki’s offer and pressing attempts at salvation, it is Tatsuhiro’s neighbor and high school friend, Kaoru Yamazaki, whom Tatsuhiro often turns to in moments of need and support. Also, despite his own idiosyncrasies, Yamazaki is one of the more stable characters in the story. The plot develops and deals with the aforementioned Japanese subcultures.

The series has garnered many positive reviews where A. E. Sparrow of IGN gave the light novel a nine out of ten while comparing it to Catcher in the Rye, saying “there’s enough Holden Caulfield, or even Tyler Durden, in Satou and the events that surround him to make this story a solid read for anyone interested in books that examine the human condition.” I had personally enjoyed the Catcher in the Rye (coincidently the author, J.D. Salinger had just recently passed away at the age of 91 due to natural causes late January) where it was dealt with in my last year of highschool as part of the grade 12 English ciriculum about two an a half years ago. I personally enjoyed the N.H.K. series and what it had offered in terms of story, art, wit and most of all the morals that came with it which contributes one of the most eye opening concept about life. It had certainly changed my views about my life, if you like complex stories that deal with the lives of ordinary people in extraordinary ways this is a must see for you. Welcome to the N.H.K. was an inspiration to me and I’m sure it will be for you as well.

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