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Welcome to the NHK #1
Welcome to the NHK: 01
Tatsuhiro Sato tiene 22 años, dejó la universidad, van cuatro años que está al paro y jamás sale de su casa porque piensa que todo el mundo conspira en su contra. Misaki quiere ayudarlo, afirma ser voluntaria de un programa que se dedica a socorrer a gente como él (pero es una mentirosa compulsiva!). Tiene algo que ver la programación de anime del canal NHK en toda esta locura? A Tatsuhiro nadie va a sacarle esa idea de la cabeza...
NHK ni youkoso! (Bienvenidos a NHK!) ha sido llevado al anime de la mano del afamado estudio Gonzo.
NHK ni youkoso! (Bienvenidos a NHK!) ha sido llevado al anime de la mano del afamado estudio Gonzo.
200 pages, Paperback
First published June 26, 2004
33 people are currently reading
886 people want to read
About the author
Tatsuhiko Takimoto
44 books91 followersTatsuhiko Takimoto (Japanese: 滝本 竜彦) is a Japanese author best known for his novel Welcome to the N.H.K.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 54 reviews
December 1, 2021
خیلی ناگهانی دلم تنگ شد برای فضاش و خواستم بخونمش.
جدا از شخصیت زیبای ساتو و همذات پنداری عظیم من باهاش، حقیقتا همه چیز فوقالعاده است. سرعت بالای اتفاقا، کاراکترهایی که سر جای خودشون و دقیقا در خدمت داستان وارد میشن و حقیقت تلخ زندگیهای فاکدآپشون یکی از جذابترینها میکنتش.
اما مهمترین فاکتور جذابیت، کنجکاوی وحشتناکی که در مورد میساکی ایجاد میکنهاس چون من واقعا نمیتونم بفهمم چی میخواد و چرا این کار ها رو میکنه و داستان هم بدون اینکه تمرکز زیادی روی این قضیه بذاره و خسته کننده کنه ریتم رو روش تاکید میکنه.
من خیلی خوره فرهنگ اوتاکویی نیستم، اگه بودم احتمالا حتی بیشتر هم لذت میبردم. به نظرم یه جورایی همزمان نقد و تحسینش میکنه.
◇ قبلا انیمه رو تا یه جاهایی دیدم وفقط کمی در جزئیات متفاوت بود. احتمالا اما اول سورس که لایت ناوله رو تموم کنم.
جدا از شخصیت زیبای ساتو و همذات پنداری عظیم من باهاش، حقیقتا همه چیز فوقالعاده است. سرعت بالای اتفاقا، کاراکترهایی که سر جای خودشون و دقیقا در خدمت داستان وارد میشن و حقیقت تلخ زندگیهای فاکدآپشون یکی از جذابترینها میکنتش.
اما مهمترین فاکتور جذابیت، کنجکاوی وحشتناکی که در مورد میساکی ایجاد میکنهاس چون من واقعا نمیتونم بفهمم چی میخواد و چرا این کار ها رو میکنه و داستان هم بدون اینکه تمرکز زیادی روی این قضیه بذاره و خسته کننده کنه ریتم رو روش تاکید میکنه.
من خیلی خوره فرهنگ اوتاکویی نیستم، اگه بودم احتمالا حتی بیشتر هم لذت میبردم. به نظرم یه جورایی همزمان نقد و تحسینش میکنه.
◇ قبلا انیمه رو تا یه جاهایی دیدم وفقط کمی در جزئیات متفاوت بود. احتمالا اما اول سورس که لایت ناوله رو تموم کنم.
December 16, 2011
Welcome to the NHK (NHK for short) is one of the best cathartic manga ever created and it even retains a large portion of realism about it. It was also never turned into a slutty cashcow despite its fame and success. This is the story of a bunch of mentally unstable characters who try to find a solution to their problems. Most of those solutions though end up being nothing but an excuse to escape reality or even life in general. Which is exactly what makes this show so good; it is all a big pile of messed up people trying to solve their problems the wrong way. And what makes it even greater is how all these problems are based in real life and not in some fictional universe. Drugs, eroges, pyramid scams, suicide groups, all these are existing issues in modern Japan, which is heavy on NEETs and hikikomoris. Reading this manga is like learning of the problems many face in Japan or by extension in the modern world altogether.
Another thing that is sooo good in this show is how all these issues are not used in a superficial way, just as shallow colorization. For example, another show named Kamisama Memo-chu has a NEET hikikomori loli detective (lol?) in it. There is also Boku Wa Tomotachi which is about anti-social people trying to make friends. The premise in those shows is used as nothing more but a shallow excuse to sell to male NEETs and hikikomoris. There is also Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei which has a hikikomori character in it and everyone practically represents a mental disorder, yet everybody there is just a non-evolving comical caricature with no real depth. I like that show a lot for its social criticism but I like NHK more for having an on-going plot and character immersion on top of all that.
Speaking of the characters, they are all interesting for the aforementioned reason; trying to find a solution to their issues, usually in a wrong way. You see the full course of what actual people involved in these shady business go through and how they are eventually destroyed or saved by them. In fact the mangaka was deeply involved in all that too at a time and this show is his way of telling how he felt first hand, including ways to get saved by them and move on with your life. So you see how everybody is not only based on real life issues portrayed by someone who ACTUALLY was part of the same problem, you also see how they gradually are affected and find catharsis in the end.
This makes the whole thing a very personal work, art imitating life, as well as the artist expressing himself instead of going for shallow fan catering crap (as most do). I respect that and I like it a lot. Having real life issues also makes it very easy for the viewer to sympathize with the cast or even identify with their problems, especially if he is somewhat involved himself in a similar way. I understand that eventually the characters are dealing with the issues in a rather light manner and get over them easy, as well as admitting the lead hero is NOT really a hikikomori since he is leaving his home and talks with other people instead of running away all the time. Ok, the realism part only goes up to a point, yet it is still a hundred times closer to the real thing than Kamisama Memo-chu or Boku Wa Tomotach. The show approached these issues a lot closer than anyone else and for that it stands as the best in this specific topic. Until some other show appears to get even closer, I consider NHK to be the king of this particular hill.
Beyond all that, the artwork values are fine too for this sort of show. The protagonist has these dilutions that make home appliances to talk about some conspiracy, a thing that makes his line of thought more understandable. The problems the characters face are also presented in a rather realistic manner and you see how people deep in trouble acting all crazy, which again makes the artwork to be part of the story and not some unrelated trippy imagery, purely for style rather than substance.
So there you have it, a manga that does things right. It has a very interesting topic, based on real life, it has development in its issues, it has characters relevant to those issues, it has trippy artwork at times, interesting dialogues, it is cathartic, it is a personal work, and it is not fan catering. It is the recipe of success.
Now go read this manga, love it, and be very wary of your eroge collection or your fridge will suddenly say you have been targeted for termination by the Men In Black.
Another thing that is sooo good in this show is how all these issues are not used in a superficial way, just as shallow colorization. For example, another show named Kamisama Memo-chu has a NEET hikikomori loli detective (lol?) in it. There is also Boku Wa Tomotachi which is about anti-social people trying to make friends. The premise in those shows is used as nothing more but a shallow excuse to sell to male NEETs and hikikomoris. There is also Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei which has a hikikomori character in it and everyone practically represents a mental disorder, yet everybody there is just a non-evolving comical caricature with no real depth. I like that show a lot for its social criticism but I like NHK more for having an on-going plot and character immersion on top of all that.
Speaking of the characters, they are all interesting for the aforementioned reason; trying to find a solution to their issues, usually in a wrong way. You see the full course of what actual people involved in these shady business go through and how they are eventually destroyed or saved by them. In fact the mangaka was deeply involved in all that too at a time and this show is his way of telling how he felt first hand, including ways to get saved by them and move on with your life. So you see how everybody is not only based on real life issues portrayed by someone who ACTUALLY was part of the same problem, you also see how they gradually are affected and find catharsis in the end.
This makes the whole thing a very personal work, art imitating life, as well as the artist expressing himself instead of going for shallow fan catering crap (as most do). I respect that and I like it a lot. Having real life issues also makes it very easy for the viewer to sympathize with the cast or even identify with their problems, especially if he is somewhat involved himself in a similar way. I understand that eventually the characters are dealing with the issues in a rather light manner and get over them easy, as well as admitting the lead hero is NOT really a hikikomori since he is leaving his home and talks with other people instead of running away all the time. Ok, the realism part only goes up to a point, yet it is still a hundred times closer to the real thing than Kamisama Memo-chu or Boku Wa Tomotach. The show approached these issues a lot closer than anyone else and for that it stands as the best in this specific topic. Until some other show appears to get even closer, I consider NHK to be the king of this particular hill.
Beyond all that, the artwork values are fine too for this sort of show. The protagonist has these dilutions that make home appliances to talk about some conspiracy, a thing that makes his line of thought more understandable. The problems the characters face are also presented in a rather realistic manner and you see how people deep in trouble acting all crazy, which again makes the artwork to be part of the story and not some unrelated trippy imagery, purely for style rather than substance.
So there you have it, a manga that does things right. It has a very interesting topic, based on real life, it has development in its issues, it has characters relevant to those issues, it has trippy artwork at times, interesting dialogues, it is cathartic, it is a personal work, and it is not fan catering. It is the recipe of success.
Now go read this manga, love it, and be very wary of your eroge collection or your fridge will suddenly say you have been targeted for termination by the Men In Black.
December 6, 2019
Nothing short of brilliance. Read this treasure.
July 5, 2023
inizio molto bello e promettente, simpatico, ma con lati scuri che devono essere ancora raccontati. Lui come hikkikomori mi sembra un caso recuperabile, alla fine esce e con le persone ogni tanto ci parla.
October 10, 2019
Although the anime lacked in some areas, an early 2000s mid-tier production as it was, it became one of my favorites. After reading the first volume of the manga I realize that the hardcore aspects of the anime had been toned down significantly.
This story follows Tatsuhiro Satou, a twenty something college dropout that suffers from social phobia and that has been living as a hikikomori for four years. Inspired by a former senpai from high school, he prefers to believe that he's the victim of a vast conspiracy to erase people like him from society, which conveniently keeps him from trying to improve his situation. One day, Misaki, a beautiful girl that had appeared at his door before to proselytize, approaches him and offers to cure his hikikomori condition through a counseling program. Apart from that, the guy living next door to Satou turns out to be someone he saved from bullying in high school. The guy, Yamazaki, has filled his apartment with manga and anime of dubious quality, and mostly of erotic undertones. Together they decide to get out of their miserable economic situation through creating an erotic game. The high school senpai, Hitomi, also makes an appearance, although she barely affects the plot for now. Hitomi is a foxy, unique girl that the protagonist fell in love with, but she also happens to be schizotypal and has only survived adult life so far by being high most of the time on anxiolytics, narcotics and sleeping pills.
In both versions of the story, Satou falls into hallucinations in which the objects in his room talk to him and even berate him. In the manga, the hallucinations are drug induced. More damningly, the erotic game the protagonist and his pal intend to make involves underage girls, a fact they either changed or disguised in the anime. Yamazaki gives him drawings of nude grade school girls for "inspiration", but Satou goes a bit further and gathers from the internet about 30 gigs of photos of little girls in various states of undress. He goes as far as peeping and taking pictures of live girls as they come out of school. He is acutely aware of how monstrous he's become, but it seems fitting given how much he hates himself.
Misaki, the girl who offered the counseling program, is introduced as a pixie dream girl of sorts, unreasonably accommodating of Satou's antics. The author could have gone the stupid route of making Misaki an angel-like figure that would care for the protagonist unconditionally until he managed to change, but in that case I wouldn't be writing this review. Misaki's counseling program is hilariously inept, the kind of thing an isolated teenager would cobble together. Through various hints you can begin to tell that very few things have gone well in Misaki's life; in the anime you find out the extent of it too late for my tastes, but you realize that she has a solid motivation for getting involved with Satou and hoping to save him. Also, neither version shies away from painting the protagonist as despicable. Apart from the "Lolita complex", he lies compulsively to hide his pitiful situation. He only saved his pal Yamazaki years ago from bullying to impress a girl, something he can't admit either.
I loved the art style. The extreme expressions, particularly those of the protagonist, emphasize his anxiety and despair. The anime version comes short in that regard because the production lacked a bit. They did have an awesome ending song, though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAgMl...
I admire enormously those authors that create bold and uncompromising fiction, particularly if they are honest to a fault, even if some (or most) of the readers wouldn't want to meet the authors afterwards. And I identify with the protagonist, of course; I have no place in this world, I haven't kept a job for longer than a year and I can't get people to even look at the books I write. I haven't debased myself yet to stalking grade schoolers, though.
This story follows Tatsuhiro Satou, a twenty something college dropout that suffers from social phobia and that has been living as a hikikomori for four years. Inspired by a former senpai from high school, he prefers to believe that he's the victim of a vast conspiracy to erase people like him from society, which conveniently keeps him from trying to improve his situation. One day, Misaki, a beautiful girl that had appeared at his door before to proselytize, approaches him and offers to cure his hikikomori condition through a counseling program. Apart from that, the guy living next door to Satou turns out to be someone he saved from bullying in high school. The guy, Yamazaki, has filled his apartment with manga and anime of dubious quality, and mostly of erotic undertones. Together they decide to get out of their miserable economic situation through creating an erotic game. The high school senpai, Hitomi, also makes an appearance, although she barely affects the plot for now. Hitomi is a foxy, unique girl that the protagonist fell in love with, but she also happens to be schizotypal and has only survived adult life so far by being high most of the time on anxiolytics, narcotics and sleeping pills.
In both versions of the story, Satou falls into hallucinations in which the objects in his room talk to him and even berate him. In the manga, the hallucinations are drug induced. More damningly, the erotic game the protagonist and his pal intend to make involves underage girls, a fact they either changed or disguised in the anime. Yamazaki gives him drawings of nude grade school girls for "inspiration", but Satou goes a bit further and gathers from the internet about 30 gigs of photos of little girls in various states of undress. He goes as far as peeping and taking pictures of live girls as they come out of school. He is acutely aware of how monstrous he's become, but it seems fitting given how much he hates himself.
Misaki, the girl who offered the counseling program, is introduced as a pixie dream girl of sorts, unreasonably accommodating of Satou's antics. The author could have gone the stupid route of making Misaki an angel-like figure that would care for the protagonist unconditionally until he managed to change, but in that case I wouldn't be writing this review. Misaki's counseling program is hilariously inept, the kind of thing an isolated teenager would cobble together. Through various hints you can begin to tell that very few things have gone well in Misaki's life; in the anime you find out the extent of it too late for my tastes, but you realize that she has a solid motivation for getting involved with Satou and hoping to save him. Also, neither version shies away from painting the protagonist as despicable. Apart from the "Lolita complex", he lies compulsively to hide his pitiful situation. He only saved his pal Yamazaki years ago from bullying to impress a girl, something he can't admit either.
I loved the art style. The extreme expressions, particularly those of the protagonist, emphasize his anxiety and despair. The anime version comes short in that regard because the production lacked a bit. They did have an awesome ending song, though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAgMl...
I admire enormously those authors that create bold and uncompromising fiction, particularly if they are honest to a fault, even if some (or most) of the readers wouldn't want to meet the authors afterwards. And I identify with the protagonist, of course; I have no place in this world, I haven't kept a job for longer than a year and I can't get people to even look at the books I write. I haven't debased myself yet to stalking grade schoolers, though.
August 21, 2008
[Series Length: 8 volumes / Read: volume 1]
Having enjoyed classic otaku homages like "Comic Party", "Otaku No Video" and "Nadesico", I would get excited about any new property that features stories about anime/manga fans for anime/manga fans.
With "Genshiken", I found a slice-of-life story centering on otaku (hardcore fans of anime and/or manga) that ended being a little bland, with shocking moments that weren't really shocking, and action rather slow-paced until near the end. But at least, you got to see a good cross-section of fandom, from video gamers to manga artists to model builders to even doujinshi and hentai-lovers. And generally, all the characters were likeable and non-offensive.
On the other hand, "Welcome to the NHK" focuses on the filthiest and creepiest otaku, and I immediately started wondering why the hell should I care about anyone in this story? Once I came to my answer, I promptly dropped this from my reading list.
Having enjoyed classic otaku homages like "Comic Party", "Otaku No Video" and "Nadesico", I would get excited about any new property that features stories about anime/manga fans for anime/manga fans.
With "Genshiken", I found a slice-of-life story centering on otaku (hardcore fans of anime and/or manga) that ended being a little bland, with shocking moments that weren't really shocking, and action rather slow-paced until near the end. But at least, you got to see a good cross-section of fandom, from video gamers to manga artists to model builders to even doujinshi and hentai-lovers. And generally, all the characters were likeable and non-offensive.
On the other hand, "Welcome to the NHK" focuses on the filthiest and creepiest otaku, and I immediately started wondering why the hell should I care about anyone in this story? Once I came to my answer, I promptly dropped this from my reading list.
January 2, 2022
Sato taking photos of underage girls so he can convince himself that he is sick= :D
Sato taking photos of underage girls because he likes underage girls= D:
Sato taking photos of underage girls because he likes underage girls= D:
January 6, 2023
I found this gratuitious, self-indulging and superficial. As somebody who had problems to socialize and cope with the world after highschool this felt like just another magical solution to "NEET-ness" like any other manga gloryfying it those. I don't feel like Welcome to the NHK is precisely pro-Hikikomori, but having the main character be despicable and still be aided by girls who in real life would be totally repulsed by him is lazy.
To top it off the narrative style is horrible, jumping to a new scene without any indication that the previous ended and all this is amped up by bad dialogue and pretty weird vines that I don't think help in any way. This might have to do with Takimoto starting this as a novel before being a comic, but that still does not explain most how the story and characters are presented.
On a positive side the art is pretty good and consistent and some of the jokes are good taken out of context.
Will avoid the rest.
To top it off the narrative style is horrible, jumping to a new scene without any indication that the previous ended and all this is amped up by bad dialogue and pretty weird vines that I don't think help in any way. This might have to do with Takimoto starting this as a novel before being a comic, but that still does not explain most how the story and characters are presented.
On a positive side the art is pretty good and consistent and some of the jokes are good taken out of context.
Will avoid the rest.
July 31, 2008
This is a really "psycho" manga. Much more weird than anime which is basically a funny story about one hikikomori and a girl trying to help him. But manga is much deeper, the characters' minds are even more twisted and the overall feeling is not fun but just... psycho...
March 16, 2019
Meandering and a bit long-winded, but perfectly captures the feeling of directionlessness that can come to define one's early 20's (myself included). Bad decisions, ennui and alcohol...a truly nostalgic and bittersweet read.
July 1, 2020
Extremely interesting. A multi-faceted adventure and perspective on life. Not for the inexperienced.
December 27, 2025
this manga is so much different than i remembered (from reading it over a decade ago, so no surprise)
compared to the novel and the tv show, the levels of despair and disorder feel cranked up a few extra notches - and despair and disorder keep insinuating themselves into the story. unfortunately, this is very realistic (even if a lot of the characters' actions aren't really - their doomed pathologies are familiar from my own life and many of my past friendships)
takimoto may not be an adept manga writer- things cruise along and some events which were fleshed out in the anime are glossed over, though in many cases they are dramatically different, too, and some of the plotline whiplash i experienced proabably really came from having my expectations thwarted. there was at least one insane continuity error but that might have been the fault of the scanlation guys. god bless em anyways.
a darker, longer and more soap-operatic version of the story. worth a read if you like the book or the show.
compared to the novel and the tv show, the levels of despair and disorder feel cranked up a few extra notches - and despair and disorder keep insinuating themselves into the story. unfortunately, this is very realistic (even if a lot of the characters' actions aren't really - their doomed pathologies are familiar from my own life and many of my past friendships)
takimoto may not be an adept manga writer- things cruise along and some events which were fleshed out in the anime are glossed over, though in many cases they are dramatically different, too, and some of the plotline whiplash i experienced proabably really came from having my expectations thwarted. there was at least one insane continuity error but that might have been the fault of the scanlation guys. god bless em anyways.
a darker, longer and more soap-operatic version of the story. worth a read if you like the book or the show.
March 26, 2020
Ok, so this book is more than a little weird, covering some pretty taboo topics. Up until about half way through, I wasn’t sure if I would keep reading the series, as it got very cringe in places, but as the story progressed, I was left wondering what’s going to happen next?? I will definitely get the next book in the series and see if I want to keep reading. As it stands, I really want to see the character progression, which has left me wanting more 👌
December 9, 2023
I have mixed feelings about this manga. The story is clearly presented and the art is generally good. When something new is mentioned (e.g., Hikikomori) it is clearly defined in the glossary. My problem is that I'm not certain I can find the characters attractive; I'll have to wait and see. I expect to find the story interesting and well-told regardless of the outcome.
May 17, 2021
This was recommended to me - I thought it was a novel before realizing on Kindle that it was a manga...
Characters are disturbing (to say the least) and really remind me of alt-right conspiracies and young men (meninists) in the West. 1/5 for me.
Characters are disturbing (to say the least) and really remind me of alt-right conspiracies and young men (meninists) in the West. 1/5 for me.
February 13, 2023
The manga has always been my least favorite of the 3 versions of this story (for me it's anime>novel>manga), but I'm trying to see if there are any panels I'd want to get tattooed on me, so here we go again.
June 3, 2024
Una historia que es por lo menos entretenida, mucho más explícita que la adaptación al anime, que ilustra con un humor bastante negro la problemática del aislamiento social y como el individuo cae en el abuso de sustancias y el autoengaño para autojustificar su comportamiento problemático en lugar de buscar ayuda. Todo esto en el contexto de la subcultura Otaku. De nuevo, muy entretenida, combina muy bien la tragedia y la comedia.
January 30, 2018
It's perfect but doesn't deviate much from the anime so don't think I'll read the other volumes.
January 8, 2019
look, it's got potential - a solid 3.5. will defs read vol.2!
April 26, 2022
Watched the series and friend got me the second hand manga… just as lit.
August 11, 2022
What on earth is going on in this House of Commons
November 28, 2022
NEET族的狂想搞笑題材。
December 17, 2022
absolutely brilliant no cap
December 21, 2023
Ratings: 2 stars
Probably didn't like this because the main character is a pedo.
And romance is just not my genre, I was expecting more.
Probably didn't like this because the main character is a pedo.
And romance is just not my genre, I was expecting more.
October 8, 2024
A bunch of otakus with mental issues (related to otakuness, like hikikomori, loli-con). This was not for me, I get it is psychological but it was more depressing and disgusting than comedy.
October 23, 2024
ok, esperava mais
October 10, 2025
Um
I had a friend recommended this and I don't know what she was thinking. I will complete the series but oh my goodness. I am too weak to read all this.
I had a friend recommended this and I don't know what she was thinking. I will complete the series but oh my goodness. I am too weak to read all this.
January 8, 2026
I really like the main character and all of the dynamics.
It funny and good I really liked it. 8.4/10
It funny and good I really liked it. 8.4/10
May 4, 2025
ciekawe
Displaying 1 - 29 of 54 reviews