Welcome To The NHK

It's been released for a while, and is currently OOP. I remember reading the book years before I watched the anime. Speaking of which, I wasn't all that bothered by the animation in that episode. It certainly wasn't enough to ruin the show for me. After hearing about how awful it was, I just sort of shrugged my shoulders when I finally saw it. It doesn't hurt that, whether intentional or not, it rather fits the "ugliness" of the situation.

edited 4th Feb '11 5:52:05 PM by KoujiTamino

I've watched the first 6 episodes of the anime (thus far) and really enjoy it. It contains a lot of Fridge Horror when you realize how much you have in common with one or many of the show's characters (I'm mostly Yamazaki, but replace "pornography" with "overly cute crap". I'm not gonna lie and say I'm proud of it.)

Well, if it makes you feel any better, Yamazaki is probably the most well-adjusted member of the main cast.

...Which isn't saying much, but the point is that with him at least you're not in need of immediate hospitalization for being an immediate danger to yourself and others.

On a side note, my anime club just started this series yesterday (they've finished ep 4 so far). The reactions from the group are just plain magical.

I think the book and anime are equally great, but the book really should've had some of the major scenes from the anime, like the island part and Satou's mother's visit, and even the pyramid-scheme bits. Mostly the island episodes, though. Those really worked in the entirety of the story.

I think the book came first, didn't it?

Yes. Those particular scenes really meshed well with the existing plot though, which gives them a lot of merit.

I'm surprised the island parts weren't in the original novel. That was one of the best bits of the anime.

I think the anime is my favourite adaptation of the novel, since the manga darn pissed me off. I have a legit copy of the novel I bought for twenty Aust Bucks at some backwater Borders who didn't even know what they had, so they sold it to me with no markup.

The greatest tragedy of Welcome To The NHK other than its content of human drama is that the book is so rare I struggle to have confidence I'll ever be able to share my appreciation of this work with other people. If I was doing some kind of literature degree, THAT would be the subject of my master's thesis. It just... transcends so much of the light novel genre and takes you to a place so unique and interesting compared to a lot of books I've read set in a realistic backdrop - that I'm baffled and saddened that it's out of print with no sign of a republication. Shit, I wish Kodansha who own the rights to the novel would get with that ebook trend, dammit. At least then I wouldn't have to be saddened my friends couldn't buy a copy and understand how I feel about this book.

To me the book didn't so much strike too close to home as to warn me of what might have been if I really did become a shut in after graduating or even dropping out when I was struggling so hard with my HSC instead of graduating like I did in the end, deciding that I'd rather go to University and be alone with other people instead of in my room where nobody cared I lived.

The book raises questions I'd never heard asked or even contemplated asking. The anime glosses over a lot of just how desperate Satou becomes, and how utterly lonely he is that he can't trust anybody, maybe not even Misaki.

Question: At the start of episode 5, did they or did they not have sex?

I don't remember any point in the show that could be construed as actually going through with sex. But then again, I don't remember what exactly happens at the beginning of episode 5.

I am an idiot...

From the other wiki:

Although, I believe the anime only implied it but is there anyone here with better literary analytic skills who can confirm this? I kinda have doubts since it seems that (basing off Sato's fantasies), he hasn't touched her yet.

edited 5th Apr '11 3:47:59 AM by TheChubbyDestroyer

Just finished the anime today, and really liked it. I have to admit that from about episode 14 onward I was like "Hey, what happened to all the comedy? Why is it so dramatic now?" but the drama was all worth it in the end. Way to bait and switch, though! I bought the DV Ds after seeing a couple of episodes online, and I really didn't know what I was in for during the second half of the series.

For the record, I liked the ending music from the first half better, too. It was weirdly catchy.

edited 5th Apr '11 11:14:25 PM by TTurtle

I'm starting on the anime now (finished episode four), and it's wonderfully bizarre and, while almost uncomfortably familiar, quite engaging.

Strangely enough, this is pretty much my proper introduction to serial anime. One hell of a place to begin, I think...

^^^

From the book, page 108:

"She was the kind of girl who liked to pretend she was crazy. Despite that—and because she was beautiful—I liked her. A few days before graduation, she even let me do her once.

It moved me deeply to think that the payoff for having kept on her good side over two whole years was that one single act. It was randomly exciting, yet it was also sad. In the end, I was able to do it just that once.

I felt like I should have done it a few more times. But then, I also felt it might have been better for me not to have done it even that one time. I wondered which would have been right."

It's more than likely that yes, he did have sex with her. The anime just doesn't have him outright state it, or dwell on it much.

It's implied in the anime, but it's subtle and you have to look for it - I only caught it on my second watching of the show.

Right. It's pretty blatant in the novel, and it was really subtle in the anime. I caught it the first time, though, since I was expecting it from the dialogue being exchanged between the two.

Bumping because Commander Obvious got me watching this. I just finished Episode 15. That said, the deserted island arc was amazing. The first few episodes interested me, but Episode 13 basically sold me into this show.

Welcome to Welcome to the NHK!

Are you watching it subbed or dubbed? I'm curious. Not because one is necessarily better than the other, though, they're both good.

In any case, if you're watching it one way and you're the kind of fan that's open to watching it in both ways, when you're done I'd suggest rewatching in the other language. And if you only like watching it one way, you should rewatch it when you're done anyway. I find it's one of the rare series that improves every time you watch.

edited 4th Nov '11 8:10:28 AM by Sporkaganza

Currently watching it subbed. Now I wish I downloaded a dual-audio version... I can't really download an entire series twice over. -___-

It'd be worth the effort. Hell, for me it was worth the money. And I'm kind of a cheapskate.

I've finished it. I'd have to call this the most awesome self-help series that I'll ever find

Training with Hinako is the best self-help series
it tells you how to exercise in the bathroom
that said
Welcome to the NHK is my favorite anime of all time
and episode 3 is the greatest episode of all time

I say that Episode 13 is still the best episode, since it's what hooked me to this series.

I rarely watch anime, although recently I finished Welcome to the NHK on Netflix. The show mixed humor and drama well. It's definitely something that any introverted person should check out.

Bumpty-dumpty.