Hello and welcome back everyone, to another week of Welcome to the NHK! This is another really interesting week, we have a lot to talk about. From Sato meeting his Senpai to Yamazaki getting a girlfriend, this is a good week for NHK. So lets jump right into it!
Like I said in the intro, this was a pretty interesting week of NHK for me. Not the least because it’s moving at a much faster pace than I had previously expected. Remember last week when I talked about where I expected NHK to go? That this game might last us through an entire cour, how maybe we will go the entire show without signing the contract? Well NHK heard that and took personal offense it seems, because both basically happened in a single episode. It makes me wonder just how far NHK is going to take its premise. How much of the cast remains to be introduced, what kind of problems will Sato, Misaki and Yamazaki have moving forward. Because it feels like what I expected to last us the entire show barely made it 6 episodes. And if I’m being honest? That’s kind of exciting.
Getting into the episodes proper, first up we have episode 5, “Welcome to Counselling!”. This one was absolutely wild to me. I said it a bit above, but I cannot believe how much progress was made this episode. Since I’ve already talked it, let’s bring it up again: The contract. Sato signed, and began the seminars with Misaki, all on his own. She didn’t push him into it, he didn’t wait for the game to fail and have it be brought to light. He openly admitted that he lied to her, that he wasn’t a creator, and that he wanted to fix that. Sure, the admission came after a bit of prodding on her part, but that’s still big progress for him! The Sato of episode 1 would never have done something like this. He just feels so… so human in these moments of vulnerability.
As if that wasn’t enough though, Sato isn’t content to simply sign the contract and let someone else solve his problem. Oh no. That game he was making to impress Misaki and lie about being a game developer? Well now he wants to make it anyways. With no time restriction, for no other reason than because so long as he is working on something, so long as he is creating and not stagnating, he is better than he was yesterday. And the fact that he came to this decision all on his own is what makes it so great to me. Once again, this isn’t something Misaki or anyone put him up to. His decision to continue the game is purely his own. Because he thinks it will make him a better person. And I think that’s cool.
My favorite part of the episode however was neither of these things. In fact, it was the very first part of the episode: His Senpai. When NHK first introduced her to us via the flashbacks, I thought she was going to be an incredibly toxic relationship for Sato. Someone that pulls him deeper down the conspiracy rabbit hole. That encourages all of his worst traits, tearing him down subconsciously or otherwise. Instead what we get is easily his healthiest relationship. She doesn’t judge him or look down on him really. In fact, she recommends him a number of medications that helped her deal with her issues, motivating him to be better, even calling back to their old romance and admitting she wanted to properly date. This is the most positive affirmation Sato has gotten this entire series. Because for all of her good, even Misaki looks down on him.
And you can see just how comfortable Sato is around her! We’ve only ever seen him this chill inside his apartment. Smoking, joking, relaxing. Unlike with Misaki, Sato doesn’t hide anything from Hitomi. He openly admits to being a Hikikomori, showing off all the embarrassing Otaku shit he bought at Akihabara that day, talking about making an Eroge. When Sato came clean to Misaki, he still stuttered and lied, he was clearly flustered about the whole thing. But that’s not the case around Hitomi. Instead it was… Sweet. Calm. Like Sato knew he was safe in her presence, that she wouldn’t judge him or tear him down. And it was only after meeting her again, after getting this kind of non-judgmental interaction, that Sato was inspired to sign the contract and really commit to bettering himself. I really hope we get to see more of Sato’s relationship with Hitomi.
My only concern for Hitomi right now has to be those meds. Not regarding quality, I’m pretty convinced that NHK can do well with whatever direction it takes, just with content. I’m concerned that maybe Sato will be a bad influence on her, or perhaps she will stop taking those meds and cascade from there. Or maybe she isn’t as healthy as she seems on the surface. I don’t know! I want her to be a positive force in Sato’s life, the true heroine of this series where Misaki is just a red herring like those “perfect girl” Eroge’s. But knowing NHK, what little I know after 6 episodes, I’m not totally sure we will get a happy story like that. Whatever the case, I love Hitomi.
This brings me to episode 6, “Welcome to the Classroom!”. This episode was another huge step forward for Sato. Like, I can’t believe just how fast NHK is having him progress. Combined with episode 5, this feels like the first week of episodes where I can feel… positive about him. Not pity, not disgust, not surprised at basic human decency, I’m not looking down on him for his lifestyle nor his actions. Here we got to see the truly good person that lies deep down inside of Sato. The person who wants to grow, who cares for his friends, who doesn’t like being the way he is. And that’s a nice feeling to have for the lead character of a show.
As for why I think so highly of Sato this week? Well I am of course talking about his thing with Yamazaki and Nanako. The way he suspected Yamazaki, his reaction and treatment of him in the beginning, were some of his worst traits yes. There is no defending that. Yet after he learned the truth, after he heard what Nanko really thought of Yamazaki, what did Sato do? Did he rub his nose in it, kick him while he was down, tear down his friend to make himself feel good? Or did he throw away that jealousy, the opportunity to put himself above someone else, and instead go along with it to make his friend feel happy? To me, that’s the real Sato. What someone does when no one else is looking, when they have everything to gain and nothing to lose, that’s when someone shows their true character.
That isn’t where the episode stops either, as Sato also made more progress overcoming his Hikikomori nature. Sure, he only did it to stalk Yamazaki and find out what was going on. But that doesn’t change the fact that he went outside. To a busy building. And joined a class. Sato even managed to express his thoughts, to truly engage with the lesson and try to communicate his ideas. This was Sato trying to be better, to take an opportunity given to him. And yes, he eventually succumbed to his issues. But that doesn’t change that he tried. We got another look at just how concerned he is about how other people view him. About how scared he is of being judged, of showing himself to the world. And in that moment… It wasn’t funny. NHK didn’t play this scene for laughs. I felt bad for Sato. Because that hurts.
And the thing is, the criticism of Sato’s work wasn’t unwarranted. The teacher was kind of rude to laugh at it, yes. But at the same time his harsh words about how Sato has a tendency to look down on other people rings true to me. We’ve seen it with his treatment of Misaki, or how even in just this episode he assumed Yamazaki was lying and wanted to catch him in it. Sato doesn’t seem to engage with people on an equal level, can’t handle being judged as “lesser” by them. And I get it, it’s scary. This is more complicated than just “Sato is an asshole” or “Society sucks”. But it’s also something Sato can overcome if he betters himself in his own eyes, if he gains the confidence to say “I don’t care what they think”. So maybe he will take the criticism to heart.
Plus, for all my talk of serious stuff, the episode also had some good comedy. NHK got a good, strong laugh out of me at Sato screwing with Misaki. Using his knowledge of Freud to purposefully lead her down the “horny” dream route. Constantly needling her about it, because he knew exactly what he was doing. And then how she turned it on him with the virgin comment, bringing us back around to his relationship with Hitomi and the questions we have there. These were solid jokes, with expressive animation to back them up. Nor did they feel out of place in what was otherwise a pretty serious episode. In fact, that might be what impresses me most about NHK so far. The way it blends the comedy into the more serious, grounded subject matter. It’s probably to early to say that though, cause the Hikikomori representation has been fantastic.
Anyways, all in all I think these were another two fantastic episodes of Welcome to the NHK. It feels like its been a long time since I’ve enjoyed a series this much, this early, this consistently. Maybe all the way back to Princess Tutu? Usually I’ve had at least one “Well not every episode can be great” comment, where at least one person tells me to “be patient”. But I haven’t had that with NHK. I’m engaged and engrossed with every episode. I’m curious about all of these characters and their stories. I guess what I’m saying is… If NHK can keep this up for the rest of its run, this might break into my top 10, just like Princess Tutu did. Only time will tell I suppose.
