Otakuism

Story:

Satou Tatsuhiro, the world’s ultimate hikikomori, has discovered a conspiracy; a conspiracy to turn the whole world into hikikomori’s, and now only he can fight the evil organization. That is, if he could ever leave his room. Joined by his friend Yamazaki, a hardcore otaku with a lolita complex, and Misaki, the mysterious girl who promises to cure Satou of his hikikomorism, Satou vows to destroy the evil organization of NHK. Satou’s insane journey to fight the NHK, and maybe cure himself of his own hikikomori ways, now begins…

Impressions:

Taken on its own merits, Welcome to the NHK is probably the most interesting novel translated by Tokyopop so far. Instead of some kind of high fantasy or pseudo-military action thriller, it’s a personal novel about a real social phenomenon. Nothing makes the world of hikikomori’s more real than NHK, from Satou’s self-deprecating rants to the realistic thoughts of suicide. Satou has a real problem and no matter what he does or hope he finds, does not know how to fix it on his own. The various other characters — Yamazaki, Misaki, senpai — are also shown with their own realistic problems and accurately portray the world for Japanese youth, with school bullying, drugs, abuse, and a cutthroat economy.

However, when compared to the manga, the novel feels more like a plot outline than an actual story. Satou moves from one insane episode to the next without really gaining anything or changing. Plots like Satou’s date with Kashiwa-senpai or Yamazaki’s love life are only mentioned briefly. Several stories from the manga and anime aren’t present at all. Kashiwa isn’t even a real character and is definately healthier than her manga counterpart. Misaki’s background is radically different and makes her into a more sympathetic character. The climax of the book even revolves around her more than Satou. Despite Satou’s ranting taking up most the book he has the least closure of any character, with the reader still unclear if he’s actually changed. A stark contrast to the hopeful manga ending.

The translation is suitable, though definately mechanical in many places. The many dialogues and monologues often feel clunky. A problem with the original writing is how much it breezes over everything. No one event is given much emphasis or importance, and overall the storytelling has a dispassionate feeling to it. Though, this is more likely a consequence of Satou’s point of view and how depressed he is most of the time. Novel Satou could almost make Zetsubuou-sensei look happy. The book’s presentation is nice, with original cover by Yoshitoshi ABe and no obtrusive insert images like Full Metal Panic. The novel is a passeable read on its own, giving a good look at the world of a hikikomori and how it affects people’s lives. However, for the true Welcome to the NHK experience I would say read the manga. Its plot is miles above the novels and does a better job of fleshing out these characters. Don’t ask me how it compares to the anime; I dropped that halfway through.