Cannot Catharsize: Welcome to the NHK

For this edition of "Cannot Catharsize," I'll be focusing on the anime that I just burned through in the span of about three days, "Welcome to the NHK." (The Japanese name is "NHK ni Yokoso!" which translates to, you guessed it, "Welome to NHK"). To give you some perspective as to my loserish-ness (yes I just made up that word, I love English), this series is composed of 24 episodes that run the standard length of about 23 minutes. Subtracting between 2 and 3 minutes for opening and ending themes (that I skip if I am fully engrained, which I was), that adds up to about 20 minutes per episode. Multiply by 24, we have 480 total minutes, divided by 3 days, we have 160 minutes per day. That makes it exactly 2.666 (repeating, of course) hours per day spent watching this anime. Some of you (*coughMattcough*) will say that this is nothing, and I will admit that such is not the highest density of anime I have watched on a per day basis, but the fact that I'm busy with school with projects and homework's galore, and still manage to waste time watching 8 hours of anime, should tell you enough of how engaging this series is.

NHK ni Yokoso (I use the Japanese because I'm cooler than you) is a slice-of-life, comedic drama based around the life of a 22 year old man, Satou Tatsuhiro (last name first, because that's the correct way to write it). The gist of the plot is that Satou is a hikikomori, someone who is extremely hermetic despite the bustling Japanese society, who dropped out of college, never leaves his room, and manages to survive via an allowance given to him by his parents. Satou is very easily influenced by others, throughout the series being led to believe that, 1.) the pain and struggles of his life are a conspiracy created by an evil organization, 2.) that he can make a living by playing online games (WoW style), 3.) that he can rid himself of his hikikomori status by taking prescription pills. Satou has an elaborate imagination, causing to have impossible fantasies (especially sexual ones) involving various other characters and occasions.

Then, out of nowhere (plot device yay), a 17-year-old girl named Nakahara Misaki (last name first) shows up at his door with her aunt attempting to solicit people into buying various publications. Somehow (I won't spoil it for you, and it's too long to write), Misaki gets into regular contact with Satou, as she begins to "teach" him how to rid himself of his hikikomori status. Many other characters are introduced, such as Kaoru Yamazaki, Satou's next door neighbor and former kouhai who goes to vocational school to learn game design, and Kashiwa Hitomi, Satou's former senpai who is dependent on drugs and obsessed with conspiracy theories, among others.

The series truly captivated me because many of Satou's fantasies/psychotic reactions are seemingly very normal (to me at the very least). When he hears someone laugh, he wonders if that person is laughing at him. When he sees someone give him a disgusted look, he assumes it's something wrong with him. Not only does he come up with elaborate fantasies regarding the source of these insults (when a teacher at Yamazaki's vocational school chuckles, Satou assumes it's because the teacher thinks he's better than him), but he also comes up with elaborate excuses and/or lies to cover up the truth of many matters. He lies so often that he gets trapped or convinced by his own lies, such as: believing that a girl character in an online game is actually in love with him, trying to convince Misaki that he's always working in his room, not just sitting there doing nothing, and fooling his mother into believing that he has a job and a girlfriend.

Yet, the main beauty of NHK ni Yokoso is the fact that all the characters have their strengths and weaknesses. They are all weak in some way, whether it be Satou's lies or Yamazaki's condescending attitude about women. But they're also all strong in some way, such as Misaki's unyielding support for Satou or Satou's sense of justice that compels him to meet with Misaki (in order to protect her from the molester that was rumored to seek young women in the park in which they meet). All the characters are beautifully real, with no one seeming too strong or too weak (perhaps with the exception being Satou). But most of all, the show really gives you excellent perspective in that your life is yours to live, that failure is only assured if you don't try, and that just because things go wrong in life sometimes, does not mean it is your fault.

With that, I leave you with the absolutely insane ED "Odoru Akachan Ningen", which translates roughly to "Dancing Baby Humans." (it's insane, trust me). (Yea, his appliances talk to him). (I told you it was insane).