The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Tatsuhiro Satō in ‘Welcome to the NHK’

Hikkikomori (ひきこもり)

Noun – The Japanese term for someone who is a recluse and suffers from extreme social withdrawal. The term hikkikomori literally translates to pulling inward, being confined.

It’s a widespread phenomenon in Japan where young people shut themselves off from the outside world, confine themselves to their house (or room), don’t work, don’t study or do anything really. They avoid any and all forms of social interaction as much as they can help it.

In this post-Covid world, the hikkikomori phenomenon isn’t just restricted to Japan. With the advent of the work-from-home culture, the internet, and combination of various other factors make today’s environment conducive for hikkikomoris to sprout up. If you look carefully around you, there just might be one hidden in plain sight.

Welcome to the NHK was originally a novel by Tatsuhiko Takimoto published in 2002. It was serialized as a manga from 2003 to 2007 in the Monthly Shōnen Ace and went on to receive an anime adaptation by Studio Gonzo in 2006. The novel has also got a spin-off of sorts in 2021 – Rebuild of Welcome to the NHK, which is essentially a short story reimagining the novel set in the 20s as opposed to the 00s.

Twenty-two-year-old university dropout Tatsuhiro Satō is a (self-proclaimed) veteran hikkikomori of four years. He spends his days holed up in his tiny studio apartment in Tokyo. He doesn’t leave his apartment except for the occasional trip to the convenience store and the only interactions are those with his furniture. Listening to his frenzied hallucinations of the appliances in his studio gaining sentience, Satō has a eureka moment. The reason his life has spiraled downward so badly is not his fault, it’s a conspiracy by a nefarious organization that is out to get him.

The NHK.

The Nihon Hikikomori Kyōkai (日本引きこもり協会), The Japanese Hikikomori Association has forced him to become a hikkikomori. To clear the air here, the NHK Satō is referring to has nothing to do with the actual NHK, (Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai) Japan Broadcasting Corporation.

He’s roused out of his musings one day with the appearance of a mysterious girl called Misaki. She makes it her mission to rehabilitate Satō and make him a functioning member of society once again.  Satō begrudgingly agrees to meet Misaki in the evenings at the park, where she guides him back to normalcy. The curriculum varies from dissecting Freudian and Jungian philosophy to discussing the famous last words of people like Goethe. There are also ‘assignments’ during which Satō has to go out to crowded public places (any hikkikomori’s nightmare) and get used to being around people. Her techniques are questionable at best. But gradually, like a turtle peeking out of his shell, Satō’s condition does improve, albeit tumultuously. The story follows his repeated endeavors to escape the hikkikomorism only to inevitably fall back into his old habits, a vicious cycle.

Misaki isn’t the only strange new entrant into Satō’s life – there is his new neighbor Yamazaki, his junior from high school. Another is Hitomi, Satō’s senpai who had, while in high school, introduced him to the concept of conspiracy theories. Then there’s Megumi, his old class president who gets Satō mixed up in the same pyramid scheme as her.

Nearly every single character in this story is flawed, broken and so impeccably human. Though some of their actions may seem despicable, most of the time, we (and the other characters) are soon forced to see that they couldn’t help the situations they’ve fallen into.

It is painful at times, to see Satō dig his grave both literally and metaphorically, in the various situations he finds himself in. That ranges from unassumingly agreeing to participate in a suicide pact to joining a pyramid scheme that he knows he should avoid. And it’s not just Satō, it is everybody –  their struggles, their coping mechanisms, their most peculiar roundabout solutions to problems. According to Satō, the easiest way to solve a problem is to have someone else fix it for you. An idea that is shared by all those around him too. They soon learn that problems, aren’t going to solve themselves unless you solve it yourself.

Welcome to the NHK, despite its comedic overtones, actually depicts a dark world. A world with sharp teeth, waiting to tear you apart, crush you with its molars and spit you out; a broken mess. A world that expects you to get up, dust yourself off and continue moving forward. Simple in theory, easy on paper but putting it into practice is a Herculean task for a lot of people.

The novel is significantly darker than the manga and the anime, possibly to make it easier to broadcast. However, the themes are the same. The feelings of isolation, despair in the face of hopeless situations, depression, suicide, existential dread. The trials and tribulations people face and how they come over it, or at the very least, learn to deal with it. Turning into Walter Mitty is not going to help anyone.

But Walter Mitty is what Satō regresses into every time the going gets tough. As Misaki explains in one of her ‘counselling sessions’, one of the reasons for a hikkikomori existence is the inability to fit into the world or cope with it. Leading them to escape into fantasy. But while Satō is the true blue hikkikomori, he isn’t the only one guilty of living in a delusion. He isn’t completely blind to his predicament; his eyes do open at various points throughout the show. Unfortunately for Satō, things just never go his way, no matter how hard he tries to get back on track and do the right thing, life just hits him and crushes every attempt when things seem to start looking up. He can never catch a break, which is why he’s way past his breaking point. You can’t blame him for retreating into a world where everything is less significantly less painful. A world where he can have just one good day.

The NHK in a way is a necessary evil for the likes of Satō. It gives him something to cling to instead of completely giving up hope. The NHK also gives him something to blame when his situation is so utterly bizarre and hopeless.

The story is heavy, it is a tragical comedy or comical tragedy. It definitely explores some sensitive topics (trigger warning: suicide) but it is handled really well. There was a surprising amount of pathos that one doesn’t expect to find in characters like Satō or Yamazaki. Welcome to the NHK also explores the otaku (currently known as weeb) lifestyle and it does not paint a pretty picture. The portrayal of Hikkikomori/ NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) kind escaping to the world of MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games) where they can live out their lives as cute avatars, attempt to make their fortunes via Real Money Trading and be good at something, certainly doesn’t sound very heartwarming.

But the scene where Satō has a heart-to-heart with a fellow hikkikomori in-game at the side of a sparkling river during sunset was one of the best, heart-wrenching scenes in anime. It’s made even better with the fact that Satō was actually standing on the outside the door of the other player. It cements the fact that hikkikomoris have terrible social anxiety.

Visually the animation falls short of what we have today. The images aren’t as sharp, the characters look more realistic and less kawaii, with faults not exactly beautiful. However, it is very, very stylized and cinematic. In fact, Welcome to the NHK makes all the more of an impact with its art style and its soundtrack as well, from somber timbre that plays during the series moments to the upbeat “Puru Puru Pururin” theme that functions as Yamazaki’s ringtone. It fits like a jigsaw puzzle. The entire aesthetic screams Y2K but it is still so relevant in today’s world, which is what makes it timeless.

Welcome to the NHK has a rough start. It doesn’t hook you from the beginning, but slowly it grows on you and before you know it the NHK has sunk its claws into you. A conspiracy in itself? Satō doesn’t make it easy either. The closest comparison to his character would be Holden Caulfield (Catcher in the Rye) if you get the drift. There is however, something about him and his story that will undoubtedly strike a chord.