Story & Characters

Well, NHK was adapted from the manga of the same name (and the manga was addapted from the light novel). I’ve read comparisons to the manga, but since I’ve never even read the manga (and don't intend to) I can't say what are the differences between them. What I do have is the perspective from an exclusively anime viewer. What I think is that this anime it’s a fresh concept. And well, I can say also that the authors chose a very difficult topic to base an anime on, and actually manage to reach their goal in an honest fashion: focus on a guy who is a loser and remains locked in his room. It’s an incredible challenge, and they basically pull it out without too much cheating. The story remains firmly focused on Satou, and he indeed mostly stays in his room. His rare outings are always well motivated, and remain true to character. more importantly, they build a very deep character to which the audience (at least me, but obviously not you) feels a lot of empathy. This is the most incredible challenge that they manage to pull out, despite obvious and non-obvious obstacles:
- Satou is deeply flawed: he is weak willed, a coward, lazy, apathic, you name it. Very hard to get an audience to connect to this kind of person (nevertheless Satou also has qualities that make him very human, but that’s besides the point here).
- even more problematic: Satou is a blocked character. He is a hikkikomori precisely because he is blocked and can’t evolve. This means NO CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT is possible, which shuts down the best way for an audience to build a bond with a character. The solution the authors found to this problem: replace character development by character deepening. And it works brilliantly. For ten episodes we get to know the different ways in which Satou is flawed, and how he got to be that way. Every other character (parents, senpai, Yamazaki, Mizaki) does a great job of showing the manners in which Satou thinks, reacts and fails. The attention to detail is breathless, and the dialog is rich and subtle, so that by the end of those episodes Satou is one of the most realistic characters I ever saw in an anime*: you know how he will react to something, but best of all you precisely understand why he behaves the way he does

I think this anime has one of the most solid character buildup, and it’s nice to see that it totally dispenses with character development to achieve it. Nothing he lives, tries, gets addicted to, fails or flees manages to change him. Instead we get to know better his neurosis, paranoia, weaknesses, generosity, abuse, etc.

Rating: 8

Art

The art, well, it's ok, doesn't give any problems. It matches the mood of the anime.

Rating: 5

Sound

Honestly, I have rarely seen such an efficient use of music as in this anime. Not to say that the tunes are incredible on their own (I wouldn’t listen them by themselves), but their adequacy to the anime and use for dramatic effect is just great:
- the opening music is an energetic J-pop piece which gives a good idea of the shining world of pop, manga and anime that Satou escapes into. An illusion that is disproved by the animation that accompanies the music, but it works so well precisely because the tune is an excellent example of what it evokes.

- the final J-punk-rock is also energetic but so much more desperate (reminds me of Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei), and perfectly illustrates the worms(NHK little critters) that are eating Satou’s brain into insanity.

- the Puru Puru Pururin song is one of the most efficient tunes I ever saw in an anime: its sugary coated addictiveness and repetition quickly get horridly annoying, so that you hate it with a passion, just as it was intended. I think it’s hard to remain indifferent to it. In fact is one of thos songs that you start hating and then finish loving it. Here we can remind of the old saying: "Between love and hate there's one step away."

Rating: 8

Presentation

One thing about NHK is that this show has low rewatchability (at least for me). Satou’s delusions turn out comedic, however dark comedy has never been one of my favorites. It was still entertaining enough though. To compare, I didn’t even manage to finish Muteki Kanban Musume, which was supposed to be real comedy. With NHK, the funny moments generally outshine the dull moments. Though there are ‘themes’ that aren’t for general viewing. It was mostly during that time when Satou was trying to make galge and really over-indulged on the porn.

NHK is actually a very sober anime. You won’t find random panty shots or fan service in this anime. Sure, Satou collects porn, you see some shots of it, and he sometimes has erotic fantasies, but that’s part of his escapist activities and such instances are well supported by plot. You won’t find random fan service when Misaki or senpai are actually there.

Rating: 7

Final Verdict

7.17 (above average)

Reviewed by SwEeT-MiKu, 39wk 5d ago

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