Great job, Kevin. NHK isn't a story that I found very relatable but it's just so raw and true to life that I couldn't help but be engaged the entire way through. It's a great demonstration of what it means to be alive and you've really captured it here!

Anyone who's been through darkness will understand this series incredibly.

I particularly like how they intentionally made Sato the most privileged character to emphasize him being a Hikikomori. Sato has both loving and supportive parents, a steady allowance, a great upbringing, and is intelligent. Compared to the rest of the characters, Sato's life is near perfect, but somehow, he still becomes a Hikikomori. This goes to show that external circumstances often have little effect on mental health, and it all comes down to the individual himself. When people come out with depression, they're often greeted with responses like: "You have good grades, you have friends, you have a loving family, you have money, why are you so depressed?". This does not help the person one bit and might even push him deeper into depression and self-hatred. Sato being a privileged individual but still suffering from mental illnesses is a response against this sentiment, and says that everyone has a right to open up to others about their feelings, regardless of life circumstances.

yup.. this series definitely left me feeling empty, the soundtrack was something else too, still listen to it to this day.

It surprised me tbh when people say Sato is a simple character. His character is not meant to be complex, but to be relatable. The loop he went through during his struggle to escape Hikkikomori is immensely real. I went through that period as well, grasping at every thing that can change me, but ended up failing and falling back into depression. The worst thing about depression is you don't feel it, but it eat away at you. You become a recluse, you prefer being alone, you use entertainment (or whatever you like) as a form of escapism and you just stop being productive. You feel content but with nothing to show for it, you become scared of people, of the judgement. That's how anxiety is for me. The loop Sato went through, the means he take to escape his reality, is immensely relatable. I too see myself in Sato and it scares me. And the ending, no matter how bittersweet, capture and tell us the hard-hitting truth that life, no matter how harsh, is worth living. Forge a connection, because we can't live life alone. That's how I see Satou and Misaki's characterization

What is so refreshing about Welcome to the NHK is that while many anime try to give you a power fantasy or simply entertain you, Welcome to the NHK almost feels like it tries to strip you down to your core so you can reflect upon your own self. No matter where you are economically or socially, you WILL have to face the demons you are trying to repress in order to actually grow up into an stable adult and lead others. What is so great is that despite its constant dark social undertones, with the proper company of people you can really trust, you can face your demons, overcome them, and even have some fun along the way. A real masterpiece of social commentary in fiction.

Ok finished watching it, Welcome to the NHK was an amazing anime, dark, realistic, comedic, sad, happy in the last message, it is an anime that really teaches everyone that life is not a matter of always being happy, nobody can be always happy but there are moments that make us apreciate life, sometimes a hobby, your family or even a friend, we can find the biggest happines in a small, stupid funny talk with a friend that we know for so long, it is a matter of looking for those moments and earning them by enduring life as it is. At least in my opinion anyway.

i watched that anime, because i was interested in how different shows deal with suicide as a rather serious issue. nhk also mentions a reverse suicide pact they agree on so both keep on living. "each member offers their life as a hostage to the other. in short, it says: if you die, i'll die too. if we do this, like the faceoff between nuclear powers during the cold war, even if one wants to die, they won't be able to." that scene really got to me as my friend and i made the same agreement in order to stay alive.

I don't cry often but this is the closest a show was to making me cry. I was always on the verge of tears.

After losing my job and not doing anything for an entire year I was in a terrible place. Watched NHK soon afterwords and it helped so much. Still dont feel too accomplished now in my late 20s, but content and ready for the future regardless.

What I always loved about this series is the bittersweet conclusion. It isn't just a good or bad ending like it happens usually in anime, just an ending like in real life. People that come and go, crushes which never realize, events that never happens despite how much effort you put in. I think of Sato's journey as the man crushed by the Aut-Aut as described by Kirkegaard. What destroys Sato is the fact his entire life is a costant crossroads of choices he has to take and he simply decided to run away from responsibility and chose not to chose because he had the fear of make a mistake, He felt always on the line, judged by everyone and he just losts it at the beginning of the story. In the end he understood that making a choice is better than nothing. That what others think is not very important because everyone is failing at life like you are. That's why he takes the important choices he left "blank" in its life. He block his senpai to cheat and let her go, knowing she can have a good life. He renounces to making the game with Yamazaki because he knows that that thing wont bring 'em anywhere and tells his friend to go on in life and finally he lowers his guard to let love in. It's not a good ending in any way because Kaworu became an alcoholic, her senpai is still depressed and Misaki still has self esteem problems and is obsessive in his regards because of her trauma. But yeah, its still an ending because that's how real life is. "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

Welcome to the NHK was the most emotionally painful anime I've watched. This is the best video I've seen about it.

Purupuru pururin pururin Purupuru pururin purupururin Purupuru pururin pururin

This series resonated with me, as a hikikomori and suffering from clinical anxiety and depression, I can relate to them both (Misaki and Sato). Great show.

The best tool to cure any problem in life is kindness. The psychological impact of kindness is enough to make a person resist any pain.

It took me a while to realize that the suicide arc was, well, a suicide arc. When I finally did, I felt a special kind of tension that you don't get from other half-assed attempts at tackling suicide. It was depressing to watch all those people share why they went on the trip, and get rid of the fuel. The anime overall had lots of moments that hit real close to home, too. Great video man

Upon rewatching Welcome to The NHK, I found that there's a lot of important aspects the series has to say about life. It's one of my favourites, so I hope you all can appreciate it the way I do. Leave a comment, I'd love to know what you think! :) See you all soon.

"If you don't want to live for yourself, then live for others." Wise words man.

More powerful than 13 reasons why

the ending made me feel so empty man, but not the emptiness that another animes makes, the “i want more eps” one, this one was like, why i dont have a misaki chan in my life.

I like that NHK mostly takes place during the scorching, summer months. The environment plays a significant role in the psyche of the mc. It makes his attempts at a ''normal'' life seem futile and distant.

Watching this series really resonated with me. I’ve been dealing with depression since senior year of high school, but have gotten a part time job and go to community college. However, I only do that to make my parents believe I have a plan and not think of me as a failure. I have no goals, dreams, or motivations for the future, and fear I’ll end up just like Sato. I’ve been a recluse in my free time, and it’s torture to leave my house because of social anxiety. Everything about the series is perfectly melancholic, and the music alone takes me back to how I felt watching it anytime I hear it

I just watched this anime for the very first time and finally finished it last night. This is one of the only animes that actually managed to make me cry. I never thought I was going to be able to relate to both Sato and Misaki so much. I never had suicidal thoughts like they did, but my ex did. At one point she was considering suicide, and I tried my hardest to convince her that it wasn't the answer. Fortunately it worked, but she admitted that she was using me for emotional support, and felt ashamed that she played with my feelings to fix hers. I didn't mind though, I'm just glad she reconsidered attempting. We no longer talk anymore, but I check up on her on Instagram every now and then, and happy that she's living a happy life now. That part of her reminds me of Misaki in a way, since she pretty much does the same to Sato. But for anyone who ever is feeling like giving up, please just keep on keeping on. Nothing in life is permanent, and I know that each and every one of you is more than capable of trying your hardest to get ahead in life. If you read this far, I thank you for your time. Good luck out there, and never stop fighting.

unfortunately not all of us have the choice to live or not. some of us cant even find one person who cares. sometimes people put in all their effort poor their entire soul into trying to live but if others arent willing to accept you. there isnt a whole lot you can do. just keep trying and pray one day someone cares just a little. even if you know that day will never come.

Welcome to the NHK is one of those things that you have to watch multiple times, just once in a while. This Video was an on-point analysis, good job, I always appreciate a compact analysis of a great anime, thanks.

i just finished this show last month and it was the thing i needed, im 22 i dropped out of college, i lost all my friends from high school other than maybe one or 2 i bump into sometimes. What i’m trying to say is this show was really special to me, i am Satou, afraid to go outside, afraid to live my life. I wish i could recommend this anime more but man does it hurt when it feels like it’s opening up a window to your soul.

4 years ago when I first saw it I thought I'd never relate to this character. Now, 4 years later I can clearly see that I am becoming him day by day...

This show is too real. Changed my life many years ago when I first watched it.

I feel such an empty void after watching this

This analysis brought tears. Love this show and its soundtrack, always. Love everyone who can relate to this. It hits hard, but be inspired and motivated by this series--push forward, don't just use it to accept your rock-bottom.

I only got 4 episodes in,i had no idea NHK was about suicide. As someone who experienced suicidal opiate addiction and chemical imbalance i feel this movie did the opposite of spoiling the series for me. I feel NHK was made with people like myself in mind. Thanks for making this man (If anyone reading this is going thru a dark time just know your not alone and you are loved,PLEASE CHOOSE LIFE!!)

this anime left a really strong impression on me. my heart get very sad when i think about misaki and how she suffered and what it took for her to want to keep on going. i just wanna go in the anime and give her a hug (T . T)

"The easiest path in life is often the wrong one" Could'nt say it better

i found this series out of nowhere and now it's one of my favorites

Well-spoken. Well said. Great review to a wonderful series. The show really spoke to me when I was in a dark place in my life. And while I didn't have a manic pixie dream girl to guide me through the valley of depression it did provide me introspection and inspiration to drag myself through that valley.

This is a good video. Welcome to the NHK really opened my eyes. And you talking about it makes it even better.

This deserves so many more views than what it got. I know it has only been a day but it deserves tens of thousands by now at least

Empathy is important, and it should be everywhere. But it's people who no longer care, people like me, that make it so much harder to care for others or even ourselves. And when you don't care about yourself, you drive people away. It's not something many people do because they want to, but because they-, no...we don't know how to. We wish for things to change without changing yes, but to change ourselves is to build up the desire to change. That takes energy, energy we don't really have. So we hope others give us the energy and when that doesn't happen, we give up. When we give up... We hear the void, so calmly luring us in and persuading us with her sweet voice to walk in... Eventually, we listen, and then it's too late. Empathy is important, you're right. But people aren't going to show us empathy when we barely show any ourselves or even care for that matter. It's a terrible thing and most of us joke about so people don't worry, but deep down we're asking, screaming for you to help us. We drop hints so subtle you'd sooner see an ant walk mile away, and then tell ourselves "they must not care." Nobody chooses to be a shut-in, right? Well, no one also chooses you be ostracized, tormented, or be cursed to live the tragic comedy that is mental health issues.

I totally randomly picked this anime after watching Bocchi cuz it looked interesting. Man did I hit the jackpot ! What a ride ! I did not see that coming. Really deep and relatable.

This was my first anime back when I was pretty depressed, I was barely fifteen and wasn't living with my parents instead living with a family member who didn't want me there. So I was constantly hungry not in the house so forth but I ended up watching this at night on Netflix. Prior to this I hated anime but this really got me, its one of my favorites besides Trigun. Now as a adult I have abandoned the whole thing with self worth I haven't had a girlfriend since I was in high school and my only goal in life is to become a EMT to help others. If I kind find a way to make myself happy I'll try to make others happy.

Great analysis. I've watched this series many times and it's my favourite anime alongside Clannad. I like these shows about real life and real life issues. Welcome to the NHK tells a great story about a character who is an outcast and completely lost in life. I like how it portrays the messy parts of life, for example how Satou becomes an otaku and the porn addiction among other things. He is trying to find something to do with all the time he has on his hands. He tries to escape with the online game and falling in love with a character in the game that turns out to be an avatar created by Yamazaki. It's an effective and realistic way to portray how people try to find meaning and content in life even if it turns out to be completely unfounded. If you don't have genuine connection or love in your life, you end up inventing it one way or the other. No matter how illusory it ends up being. This is real life and Welcome to the NHK portrays this effectively. I think anyone who's been in a dark place in their life can find something relatable in this anime. It's messy and it's not pretty but it's how real life often is.

This anime so good it sends chills down my spine.

Well friends he said right shitty things do happen in life , my medical education came to halt in this Russian-ukrainian war i was studying there and now I can't continue. I have been depressed since like 7 months since i have nothing to do and trust me guys it's difficult to change ur field when u r so much invested in a particular thing. I hope things will get better . I love u all in this comment section

Another great video! NHK was a real eye opener when I first watched it, and I think you made a perfect video of what it's mostly about.

Absolutely beautiful and deeply understand of what NHK is. This was fantastic, great job.

god it's been so long since I've watched this anime. the points you make throughout the video strike home so hard. literally had me crying halfway through. good work Kevin.

Personally I was not really a hikikomori. But at a young age I suffered parental abuse from kindergarten to gradeschool. And at gradeschool I suffered from Bullying too. High school on wards I had not suffer them no more but that early years of suffering basically turned me into a more cynical or skeptic about stuff when I got older. I have a hard time trusting stuff and people. And also my self esteem was already busted then and am very shy introvert. Like I open up once I get to know people and generally will be very funny, the comedy and like to make people laugh. And I have steeled myself when it comes to emotions, love etc. (that made it hard to relate to people and or find a relationship). But ye usually being shy and low self esteem is usually accompanied with being depress, anxiety and more. I watched Welcome to the NHK, I dunno a LONG time ago I can't remember and myanimelist does not really list the dates I entered the shows I have watched. But honestly, Sato's situation really hit home. So hard that it made me feel deep emotions that makes you upset or cry. Which I did. And that's rare cause as I said as I got older, I was more stoic per se. I don't deal with emotions, I don't cry, don't get upset etc. but truly it was just me bottling it up. And Welcome to the NHK made that gush out. RELEASING the pressure. You'd feel better afterwards. And no other anime made me feel the same way apart from Clannad and Clannad After Story. And the Movie: COLORFUL. (this anime apart from the "spoiler" plot, he MC is also very relatable as its basically the majority of people's everyday life when they were young well when they are in that circumstance..) Both anime also hit so hard. But yeah, lesson is that, life can be sucky. But we gotta keep going. From the words of our eternal Gym Bro Zyzz. "We are all gonna make it bro!". And from the anime, the same. And eventually we might get our own Misaki. But yeah, if you liked Welcome to the NHK which is easily my top fav. of all time. I recommend watching the Movie : Colorful and Clannad and Clannad after story. Angel Beats is also good. If you have trouble finding the shows.. It is very easy to find ! =)

everyone who has problem like College,School,Respobility,or Something is Genuinely Abstract or Feeling Of Rejected would be Understand to every characters going through episodes

Man I loved Welcome to the NHK because it was so real with the meaning and characters that I can relate too . Great video 🔥

After I watched welcome to nhk for almost a year now, I am still Sato. All my life I am Sato. College drop out, hates/scared to society, unemployed, disabled. My room is so dark. I also painted it black so the light wont bounce that much. I hope this ends.

I have watched this anime for the first time when I was around 13/14, Also dealing with depression but almost all my teenage years. Now at 21 the story relates even deeper.

This anime is a masterpiece, I've watched it for the first time more than 10 years ago and recently I repeated the experience. The fact is no other anime or tv series filled the void it created inside me upon watching it. I doubt there's something that has the same feeling as this but since we seem to be all in the same page here in the comment section, what can you guys recommend? I already saw Tatami Galaxy and while it is really good and the message of the anime is similar to NHK it's not quite NHK

The single most anime show to watch during these lock-down blues.

2 years later but i recently watched it and I have to say I loved this series, man I’m glad I watched it

When I watch this when it came out when I was 25 years old I was in a time and place where I was kind of scared of dating and I'd be somewhat of a shut-in but not to this extent of the show. After watching this show pretty much boosted my confidence to 9000. Great Anine 8/10 stars.

When the only cutscene is not dubbed, that shows you the guy who made the video is a real pro. Good video, gave me a lot, not only feels. 10/10 will watch again

this analysis brought back the emotions I had watching the series, thanks for this video

the atmospheric feel of this anime is unmatched

Great video buddy. NHK is in my top 3 favorite anime’s and it’s nice to see it connects so much with other people. This is such a unique anime.

Too bad society doesn't understand this and it's hard to actually find a Misaki that'll walk alongside you through this loneliness...

I think NHK is ultimately a story about finding and securing your true love. Sato finds his love, Hitomi gains assuredness in her love, Yamazaki finds love, and Misaki finds her love. In the end this the primary motivation of our main characters and all of their actions converge towards the same outcome, you could say this is the central theme of NHK and it's delivered through the unique quirks and circumstances (time and place) of our characters. They just so happen to be island of misfit toy types and so they struggle to compete like your average person, they aren't getting what they want and so they are weighed down by negative emotions, they start questioning the purpose of life, they start seeing life as not worth it in their own ways but in the end they find the motivation to keep going despite the difficulties precisely because they get the payoff they all desired. Whether the author knows it or not he is touching on the meaning of life, that being replication because love precisely evolved to lead to the production of babies - the continued cycle of life. It's in this sense that this story is relatable to essentially everybody. Intentional or not it's perfection and seals this show as my favorite anime of all time (the tight script and direction helps!)

misaki is my most relatable to me beside satou

this anime literally cured my depression

nice video. what I like the most about the show is that it's so realistic and that it shows us that no matter how much you've already suffered, connecting with others is key.

This video made me have goosebumps throughout the whole video and I cried at the end. I had to watch the anime right after it, it felt like I never watched an anime before (I've seen 212) because there really isn't an anime like this; it's special. Thanqu for this, thanqu for showing me something that I really needed.

Deep thanks to you for making this anime essay and giving your own words, truly helps me!

this anime is my spirit anime

I cannot even begin to put into the right words how phenomenal this video is. NHK hits-and continues to hit-real close to home since I first watched it back in 2019; I hold it pretty close as one of my favorite anime of all time and I suspect I'll still think that way even on my deathbed after (hopefully) many, many years. I won't go into the personal details, but I'll say that I ended up attempting suicide (overdose) only two months later and survived by almost nothing but a vast amount of sheer luck. 7:50 onwards started welling the feels and after 9:12 I turned into a total sobbing wreck. Seriously, outstanding video.

I was very confused about what to take from this show. I personally don’t know what to do to change myself for the better. Should I just starve to death in order to finally change? Its not the brightest idea but I guess the correct answer is to open up and find connection with other people.

This may not have anything to do with what's been said in this video, but I once got literally saved by this anime...A couple of weeks after watching the episodes about Megumi, I met this person online by chance who brought me to an actual (unbeknownst to me at the time) pyramid scheme group meeting...Fortunately, I immediately recognized it (because it looked EXACTLY like how they portrayed it in the anime)...I ran the hell away, and never talked to that person again...I want to say THANK YOU to the author and studio who created this wonderful masterpiece of anime.

I already feel like I can relate to the protagonist's struggles. Being born with Autism, even though I am high functioning, I was often ostracized, pigeonholed from the rest of my age group by peers and adults alike merely due to my diagnosis. I was expected to work harder and behave more strictly than the others simply because of my label, while the rest of them got off scot-free. Many of my social skills camps and special education classes were disorderly and dysfunctional, as many of the teachers there were unqualified, unskilled, and neglectful, as they expected us Autists (and other Neurodivergents) to figure things out on our own though we were still kids, rather than taking responsibility themselves for our development. I was conditioned to be self-conscious of my mental disorder, and overly caring about what others think of me in the name of self-improvement. I was taught that if I was disliked or mistreated, that I was doing something socially unacceptable. In a manner of speaking, I was set up to fail in my youth. To this day, I still suffer PTSD from being psychologically abused by my peers and staff alike. Even as an adult, I was still mistreated by fellow adults. I can't help but feel paranoid that some people are out to get me, as I've been stalked, doxed, and threatened to be hunted down and killed by people online who wished me grievous harm since Lockdown. I want to watch this anime, but I am afraid of being triggered and spiraling into a relapse. Can anyone help?

The best part of the video is when you said "The easiest path in life is often the wrong one" so fuckin true! That phrase definitely hits close to home; I also liked when you said "you have to face life with the hand you're dealt with" I personally told my cousin something similar today because he is going through some rough times. Great Vid Kevin! I really get excited when people talk about Welcome to the NHK, It's also one of my favorite anime! I'm really glad I found this video, early last year when I finished NHK they weren't a lot of videos talking about it. This show definitely needs more attention!

Light will always shine through, never give up.

"Just easier that way" Exactly. This is how you fuck your life up. Watching shows and playing games. Instead you should choose discipline, you should choose to train skills or get uncomfortable with physical workouts. So yeah, good analysis. I was this person in the show. Decided to start running, then climbing, then juggling, then training saxophone. Now my life is in pretty good shape.

That's the quality animetubers I want to follow

Great video, the first I havent paused to come back to later or got distracted in. Watched in 1 go and gotta say you hit the nail on the head, alot of things I couldnt say were say perfectly, nicely done man got a new sub here

Rewatching this show. I forgot how much of a masterpiece it is, I can heavily relate to many of the themes now

"the easiest path in life, is often the wrong one." "no one should ever need to feel that there's no way out in their life" "If you don't want to live for yourself, then live for others" "people understanding other people and there's nothing more comforting than that"

Great video loved it. The only thing is maybe going into Hitomi a bit more as the conspiracies represented a guilt free way to blame an out side force of your misery and inability of pursuing fulfillment. Hitomi in my opinion is a very prominent archetype in today's world of those that give up on life because there is a greater force working against them, so why eve try.

can't believe this is 4 years old already, can remember watching this on the last day of high school

I have a love-hate relationship with this anime. I am currently healing from my depression but was immediately pulled 50 steps back from my path to recovery. I have watched a lot of depressing anime but none has ever compared to the emotional and psychological impact that it left of me. Yeah that's the type of show this is, It made me remember all the pain and suffering that I have endured in the past like loneliness, despair for romance and attention and It even reminded of the hell of the day I joined a Multi-Level Marketing scam. It's so eerily identical to the short and sad adolescent life that I had. And despite all that, I also loved this show and has a special place in my heart because in my opinion it is the most realistic to life anime that I have watched where in other shows; we watch an anime to get entertained and escape reality for awhile where in this particular show instead of escaping reality you get slapped hard in the face by harsh truths that this show depicts. Thank's N.H.K I love you and I really hate you. (Btw I won't recommend this anime to a person that is already depressed).

just finished watching it, I can say that it's now one of my favorite animes, definitely a must watch

if you like slice of like anime welcome to the nhk is probably one of the best you could watch

I like your end quote mate it so meaningful

Welcome to the NHK, aka my favorite anime

Holy shit, word.

This was a very beautiful anime,very relatable.

good video. Welcome to nhk is one of favorites animes, It's message is realistic and characters are very charismatics. A anime that all have to watch

There is no meaning in life, thats all

Wanna cry after watching your video and the anime welcome to NHK. Such a meaningful anime.

We really need another anime like this

This is not a good series to watch being an anime recluse and stressed out from school. I saw a few episodes and it was surprisingly relatable. Almost too relatable to the point it made me even more stressed out.

I have never watched an anime like this. The characters, with all their flaws, adorable attributes and awkardness, also the whole plot felt so fucking real and relatable. No predictable and cliché love stories, no simple black and white, no shiny heroes and villains. Just human beings like us who struggle in a capitalist society full of suffering, soulless consumerism, exploitation and crippling, societal expectations (in many cases even more extreme in Japan). Also the humor is goddamn awesome, I shit my pants because of so many absurd and funny moments despite the dark undertone. It´s crazy that I found this Anime only now 16 years after release, but I´m glad I did. And thank you for your great review! Beyond that: I still would criticize that "Welcome to the NHK" dismisses the structural and social roots for many problemes we are facing in our lifes too much: Alienation, exploitation, poverty and pressure because of high social expectations and to perform. These things are not just inevitable blind forces of nature and our life. We can overcome this social illnesses if we fight collectively for a better society.

gona say there are anime/ manga that really teach you life lessons when you really need them i watch welcome to the nhk on a perfect moment that i really need it on my life and really help me to keep going

it's really sad that deep, realistic anime like this is so underappreciated/underrated... while trash anime shows get very popular nowadays...

holy shit i saw your koe no katachi review and thought to myself this guy will like welcome to the nhk definitely awesome man im subscribing , they're incredibly similar in terms of the dynamic between the main two characters each have alot of problems but promise to help each other and be there for each other

OH WHOA! Long time no see friend! Happy to see you're still alive haha

Great vid

welcome to the nhk. criminally super good anime. i can relate & its also a wake up call bruv

I just watched the last episode and I'm just empty after