Welcome to the NHK (Novel) Paperback – October 9, 2007

*Tatsuhiko Takimoto's Welcome to the NHK is a lot of things: dark, dreary, hopeless, depressing, deviously humorous, shocking, and disturbingly amusing. It is also a fascinating read, one that delves into a largely misunderstood social problem and backs it up with a solid, albeit strange, "love" story.In a "tiny, six-mat, one-room apartment," Satou Tatsuhiro has holed himself up for four years straight, stepping outside his walls of solitude only as necessary to obtain food. He has no job, no girlfriend, and no life. He is a hikkikimori, a social recluse who is absolutely terrified of all social contact. Out of the blue, a missionary knocks on his door, and with her is a beautiful girl. Misaki Nakahara, as she soon reveals herself to be, wishes to enlist Satou to join her special project, a project through which she hopes to rid Satou of his reclusive ways. Eventually, Satou stumbles upon his next-door neighbor Yamazaki, an otaku who has made sexy hentai games his primary ambition in life. In order to impress Misaki, Satou desperately tries to develop a hentai game to show her in order to prove that he is not a useless hikkikimori. As the story progresses, Misaki's darker side emerges, and Satou begins to find a bit of hope.What makes this book so interesting is Takimoto's ability to make something so ugly into something absolutely beautiful. He turns his own experience of being a hikkikimori, or NEET, into a brilliant "downer" novel, a sad yet overall charming look at what a fear of social situations can do to a person. I constantly found myself identifying with Satou, even if his dramatic failures were merely severe magnifications that people like you and I face every day. Misaki, no perfect character herself, is made all the more appealing in how she wants to help Satou work his way out of his miserable existence.Now that you know that at least I thoroughly enjoyed the content of the story, I must help you to decide whether or not to shell out what could be over a hundred dollars to buy one of the few remaining copies of this printing of the book. In order for you to know whether this purchase is right for you or not, you need to understand what you're getting and how this representation of Tatsuhiro Takimoto's vision compares with the anime and manga versions of the same name.For your hard-earned cash, you get a Tokyopop paperback, 230-some pages of novelization, two afterwords by the author which are well worth reading despite their short length, and a glossary detailing some of the terms that may be difficult for the prototypical Westerner to understand. I am lucky enough to have a well-maintained copy of the book, but considering the quantity of this title left available on the Internet, the condition should not factor too much into your decision on whether or not to buy a "reasonably" priced listing.Compared to the anime and manga, the novel is less fleshed out in terms of character development and far shorter. You could read through this in a short two hours if you're a quick reader but, after all, it IS a "light" novel. However, the novel maintains the author's original and authentically gritty account of hikkikimori life, with all the drug references and Lolicon intact. The manga is far more comedically grounded, and the anime serves as a middle ground between the two printed mediums. Thus, one should only get the novel if they either a.) Loved the anime, b.) Adored the manga, c.) is extremely interested in the subject matter, or d.) is simply addicted to reading Japanese light novels.Overall, despite the inflated prices online, what you see is what you get- a book. But, if you enter into it with an open mind and a willingness to understand the plight of a young man so like and so unlike ourselves, you will thoroughly enjoy it. Although rough around the edges, it shines on the inside like the potential Misaki sees in Satou. Welcome to the NHK is not a flawless work, but if taken for what it is- a truly original, modern-day pioneer on an important issue that provides a frankly beautiful love story to boot- it succeeds dramatically.

First, don't judge the book by the blurb, as it is somewhat misleading: this is not a comedy. Second, the translation is excellent, so don't let that hold you back. Third, since this is a Japanese novel it will read like one; the style is different to what Westerners expect, but once you get past that its a page-turner. Fourth, the quality of the paperback is top notch. Fifth, one quibble: I would have preferred footnotes, so I did not have to turn to the end of the book. Overall, well done to the publisher.Story-wise, this is an engaging book. The author, as explained in his preface and afterward, drew on his own experiences to portray the hikikomori (or NEET) life in all its despair, paranoia and self-loathing. You will oscillate between cringing, laughing, and potentially crying at the events and emotions contained within. In its own way, it's a powerful exploration of a rarely explored phenomenon, written by an insider. Its honesty makes it all the more believable.The only weak point of the narrative is towards the end, where things move just a little too rapidly, and with too little explanation, in light of what you come to expect. The ending itself is fine, it's just how it builds to that point which is flawed. Speaking of which, the ending is more bitter than bittersweet. If you are expecting a clichéd 'happy' ending, where serious problems vanish for the sake of closure, look elsewhere.The bottom line: Is this book worth you money? Yes.

I watched the anime version before this one, and it became one of my all-time favorites.When I found out that it was based on a NOVEL, not a manga(though it later was...), I just HAD to buy it!I wasn't disappointed, but things were of course altered to make it novel worthy, like cutting out character time, and eliminating encounters altogether.It's a good and a bad thing, Good; since it can focus more on the mind/psyche scenes as well as focus on the main character relationships, and Bad; since those many encounters he faced in the anime helped him face the "NHK".All in all, NHK is a story about people who have nothing but bad luck, bad experiences, and shattered dreams. It's funny, invoking, often depressing, but a unique story. There is some grahic text in here so watch it. If you like this book, check out the anime, since THAT version is something everyone can appreciate!

Be warned: This book is dark. It is not a happy book. For those who have read the manga and/or seen the anime, and are thinking of reading the book to complete the trio, it's definitely recommended. But although there is overlap and similarities, don't expect the same story or the same characters. The novel is significantly darker than either.This translation is done quite literally, with one result being that it's stylistically somewhat awkward compared with a normal, native-English novel. This is just something to keep in mind while reading it.Nonetheless, I enjoyed it a lot.

I love this book so much. It was so much fun to read that I couldn't stop reading once I started.it's an amazing store, the cover is beautiful as well.This book was SO damn hard for me to find, and I feel lucky that I was able to buy it for $30? I think I paid.Totally worth it. It's almost a trophy item in my collection of books. Not only since it was so damn difficult to find a copy to buy, but because the story itself is just so amazing. Read it!

Excellent condition. Novel was great.