Welcome to the N-H-K explores a strange and interesting segment of the Japanese population known as NEETs.

Welcome to the N-H-K, Vol.1: 1st Conspiracy
2006, TV series (four episodes). Director: Yusuke Yamamoto. 100 minutes. DVD, bilingual, $29.98. Distributor: ADV Films.

What do J.F.K., cigarettes, and Roswell, New Mexico all have in common? They are all great conspiracies that remain a mystery due to misinformation, fabricated or lost evidence, and the simple fact that certain "people" don't want anyone to find out the truth. I am not a huge conspiracy theorist, but personally I don't like the way my computer looks at me sometimes. In fact, what if everyone's computer weren't just a tool to work with or a toy to play with? What if in fact every time a computer logged onto the Internet there was someone, somewhere, not only monitoring what people see, but actually manipulating the data to keep people addicted to using their computers? Think about it: all those websites that remember credit card numbers, secured email that doesn't require a login on the same computer, Windows Vista! All kidding aside, Gonzo studios fired up the conspiracy machine and cranked out a title humorously exploring the idea that the media want the entire world to sit at home all day in front of their computers.

Now, one thing I would like to point out about this title is that the trailer is a little misleading. Honestly, I thought Welcome to the N-H-K was going to be a slapstick comedy of a dude struggling with his Internet addiction. Well, it isn't. So I was a little disorientated because I was expecting something totally different, but, after I started to get the idea behind this series, it became pretty interesting. Welcome to the N-H-K is an exploration of a strange segment of the Japanese population known as NEETs. The acronym stands for "Not engaged in Employment Education or Training." Making matters a little more confusing is the fact that NEETs are a special subsection of Hikikomori, or people who shut themselves in. The NEET in this story is Tatsuhiro Sato. On the surface he seems to be a fairly normal guy. In high school, he wasn't the toughest of dudes, but he was a decent student and had friends. Then, when Sato moved on to college, something changed. As he walked to school one day, Sato felt that everyone was talking about him and they knew his secrets. Then he turned around, ran all the way back home, and hasn't come out of his apartment during the day since. Fast forward almost three years later and Sato is still locking himself in his small apartment, afraid to go outside. A college dropout with no job, Sato sleeps almost 16 hours a day and fills his time by smoking, drinking, and staring at the ceiling.

Although Sato's troubles are self-generated, it's nearly impossible not to feel sorry for him while watching N-H-K. All Welcome to the N-H-K images © 2006 Kadokawa Shoten/Welcome to the N-H-K Partners.

After the first two episodes, I don't think it is possible to feel anything but sorry for Sato. It's weird because all Sato's troubles are self-generated and if he just would live his life, things would get better. I suppose that is the kicker about social disorders. Emotional hurdles can be more crippling than any physical barriers. So one day it occurs to Sato that he is trapped in a real conspiracy. For some reason, the television station N-H-K has plans to turn everyone into otaku by showing more and more addictive anime. Somehow Sato deduces that N-H-K stands for Nippon (Japan) Hikikomori (social withdrawal) Kyokai (Association), and thereby proves his conspiracy theory. In reality it shows that Sato has really hit rock bottom. All hope is not lost for Sato, as a beautiful angel has decided to save him from, well, himself. While he's deep in thought about his involuntary involvement in the N-H-K conspiracy, a mysterious girl named Misaki Nakahara randomly shows up at his doorstep. True to his hikikomori ways, Sato is deathly afraid of what others may think of him and he can't seem to speak truthfully to Misaki for fear that she would think he is a weirdo. But somehow Sato is oblivious to the fact that all the lies he uses to protect himself make him look like a weirdo anyway. Well, good thing for Sato that Misaki already thinks he is a major weirdo and, despite that fact, she wants to help him. And so, with Misaki's help, Sato begins his recovery from Hikkiomori. All Sato has to do is actually admit to someone besides himself that he has a problem, and possibly create a hentai game with an old high school friend. Yeah, I know things aren't looking good for Sato.

As far as the story goes, I have to say that Welcome to the N-H-K has to be one of the most honest I think I have ever heard. Sato's friend Yamazaki seems to scream out loud with unabashed candor what every male otaku feels. The fans that will get the most out of this series will be the hardcore fanboys/girls out there. The story's charm will be lost on those who are new to fandom and whose experience with anime consists of pretty much whatever is shown on Adult Swim. But for those who have made annual pilgrimages to anime conventions, could be driving a better car if they didn't spend so much cash on anime-related merchandise, and who have had better relationships with characters in hentai games than in real life, this series may produce an epiphany. The honesty about Otaku lifestyle, and the types of people caught up in it, is where the great majority of the humor comes from. There are so many funny little references that I don't even know where to begin, but those who have ever found their checking account overdrawn after a trip to the local anime retailer will be the ones who find this show laugh-out-loud funny. In these first four episodes, the plot doesn't progress very far, but there is some very solid character development. I can see so many fans that I have met over the years (and some of myself) in Sato that you can't help but feel for the guy.