The desire to deal with even unpleasant aspects of one’s culture in a humorous-yet-serious way is something that has actually been ever-present in the media. Social issues, in addition to the periodic political issue, can suddenly be the focal conversation point of episodes of popular programs, with some more prominent ones becoming the focus of whole series. The Japanese hikikomori issue, in addition to the standard social anxiety and tips of schizophrenia that being a hikikomori involves, has ended up being the property of a relatively current franchise consisting of an anime, comic, and unique series known merely as “Welcome to the NHK.”
축구중계 Being a social shut-in, he is also frequently seen to display another Japanese sub-culture-turned-problem: that of being a compulsive anime otaku. For the unfamiliar, the Japanese see the otaku sub-culture as a potential social problem, mainly because many of these people have a somewhat compromised grip on truth, choosing to focus their time, effort, and attention on various types of entertainment. The sub-culture displays signs that are interpreted as social stress and anxiety, though they sometimes appear to have rather typical social interactions on the unusual occasions where large numbers of otaku collect.
This conspiracy, understood as the Nihon Hikikomori Kyokai (the Japanese Hikikomori Association), is the source of the “NHK” in the title, rather than the real-life Japanese television network NHK. It is significant that while Sato initially believes the female lead, Misaki Nakahara, to be one of these representatives, he never ever really takes the time to detail what the NHK hopes to achieve by turning the whole male population of Japan into socially-inept shut-ins.
Together with a variety of other characters, a few of which appear to be agents of other socially-challenged Japanese sub-cultures, Misaki and Sato come together in the most uncommon methods. Part of the interaction between the two leads comes from Misaki’s agreement with Sato, which specifies that as soon as every night, she is to lecture him on how to overcome his social stress and anxiety and become a regular, functioning member of society again. Of course, to offer entertainment value, not whatever goes as planned, with Sato experiencing whatever from anxiety attack due to being outside his apartment or condo, to having Misaki pretend to be his girlfriend to trick his checking out mom.
This includes the thriving independent gaming circuit, the “Internet suicide pacts” problem, and other Japanese social tricks. Therefore, unlike the novels, the show does not clearly connect the NHK conspiracy to the NHK tv network.
The Japanese hikikomori problem, along with the standard social anxiety and hints of schizophrenia that being a hikikomori entails, has ended up being the facility of a fairly current franchise consisting of an anime, comic, and novel series understood simply as “Welcome to the NHK.”
This conspiracy, understood as the Nihon Hikikomori Kyokai (the Japanese Hikikomori Association), is the source of the “NHK” in the title, rather than the real-life Japanese tv network NHK. It is significant that while Sato at first believes the female lead, Misaki Nakahara, to be one of these agents, he never ever really takes the time to detail what the NHK hopes to accomplish by turning the entire male population of Japan into socially-inept shut-ins.
Hence, unlike the novels, the program does not clearly link the NHK conspiracy to the NHK television network.