Welcome to the NHK! ep.2

July 18, 2006 | 16 Comments

Sorry for the late review but I just come back from a trip to Nagoya and Nara. I'll try to post the detail on Kongetsu tomorrow. At the moment though, I'm just trying to keep up with the reviews because I know I'll just have more backlog if I don't do them. Anyway, I'm quite happy with the second episode. I realise that there have been concerns raised regarding the toned down content of the story. However, I don't think this is a problem because the story has never been about making Satou the sickest and most vile character in anime history. Admittedly, it does appear this way if you've only read the first few chapters of the story. Having said that, the main content of the story is an examination as to why Satou and other characters fail to connect with societies in general. How did they get to this point and what could have been done about it.

Continuing from the previous episode, Misaki produces a contract to Satou and tells him that she'll save him. Satou wonders if it's okay for Misato to come out this late at night and points out to a sign that warns girls of perverts. In return Misaki asks him if he's an offender and upon hearing Satou profusely denying this, she tells him that she'll be okay and besides, her house is very close. Misaki also tells Satou that the woman that came with her yesterday was her aunt and she thinks the aunt is a bit bothersome. She then presses Satou to sign the contract but he refuses and tells her that he's not a Hikikomori sufferer. Satou then gives the contract back to Misato and proceeds to walk back home. Misato tries to persuade Satou to sign it by saying that this is his last chance. When that does not work, she runs towards him and hands the contract back to him after saying that tomorrow she'll wait for him again around the same time.

At home, Satou does not understand Misaki's action but he's disturbed the continuous Purin Purin song. The next day Satou wakes up from his sleep to have breakfast before going to sleep again. After fooling around like an idiot in the evening and having dinner at night, he goes back laying on his bed again. Satou realises that almost everyday nothing happens in his life and wonders until when this will continue. He thinks his situation reminds him of a sci-fi that he once read about a guy who's imprisoned by an alien. Despite this, he believes that Misaki has wrongly categorised him as a Hikikomori. He thinks the fact that he went out twice so far proved that he's not a Hikikomori. Because of this Satou decides not to come to the park. He, however, is horrified when he realises that Misaki is probably still waiting for him in the park. He then starts imagining Misaki getting molested after being flashed by a pervert.

Satou then imagines Misaki being interviewed by the media and tells them that the incident happened because she was waiting for Satou. As a result, the journalist begins houding his apartment. Unable to bear the burden of his own imagination, Satou decides to run towards the park and finds Misaki perfectly safe there. Misaki complains that he's late for almost an hour but Satou once again denies that he's a Hikikomori sufferer. Misaki points out that when she visited Satou with her aunt, Satou admitted himself as one. Satou, however, claims that he works from his apartment. In return, Misaki asks him what is this job and why he went out looking for a part-time job at the manga cafe back then. Satou claims that was just a whim and tells Misaki that he's creating a computer software. Despite the explanation, Misaki does not seem to believe his word and tells him to bring the contract tomorrow.

Back home, Satou starts drinking and tells himself that he has a computer so surely creating one or two software is not that difficult. His thought, however, is distracted by the anime song that is blaring from next door. Satou finally loses his patience and decides to knock on the door next to him. When he doesn't hear any answer, he decides to open the door and much to his surprise, it's not locked. Satou then barges in and asks the guy to turn the sound off. The guy, who rests his head on his hand now looks up and is surprised upon seeing Satou. The guy then calls Satou by his name and Satou realises that his next door neighbour is none other than Yamazaki Kaoru, the younger classman that he saved from the bullies back in high school. A flashback to Satou's high school days shows him being recruited by a female senpai to a fine arts club. During their second year, the two saw a bunch of bullies beating up a first year student.

In order to impress the senpai, Satou decided to help the underclassman but ended up receiving the beatings as well. That underclassman later on decided to join the arts club as well and revealed his name as Yamazaki. In the present time, Satou is disturbed to see Yamazaki's room filled with anime models and posters. Yamazaki, however, still can't believe that his next door neighbour is Satou and thinks that Satou is still studying at a University in Tokyo 4 years after they parted ways. He also tells Satou that this spring he will become a new student at a technical college and since the rent at this apartment is cheap, he decides to stay here. After noticing all of the anime in Yamazaki's room, Satou realises that the other guy still hasn't changed from when he first met him back in high school. He then asks Yamazaki if he's still bullied in high school. Satou believed that before he entered the room, Yamazaki was crying.

Yamazaki reveals that his classmates don't understand his interest in games. Upon hearing this, Satou decides to go back to his room and grabs some beer and a cigarrete. The two then end up talking to one another until morning. While chatting, Satou notices a book called Game Product Introduction on Yamazaki's bed. Satou gets an idea to borrow Yamazaki's book so he can tell Misaki that he's a game creator. Misaki does not believe him and decides to ask Satou to explain a few terms from the book. When Satou fails to do this, Misaki demands that he shows her his work. Satou lies even more and tells her that it's not completed yet. He promises to show her next month and Misaki accepts this. After Misaki left, however, Yamazaki appears and lets Satou knows that he heard everything. He is not going to lend Satou his work but asks Satou if he'd like to create a game together for the sake of getting rid of his NEET status. Because Satou lacks any skill, however, Yamazaki asks him to write scenarios for an Eroge.

Impression:

The life of a Hikikomori looks kind of relaxing and depressing at the same time. I can't imagine staying home the whole day because I know I'm going to get bored quickly. I once had a flatmate who stay in front of the couch when I'm about to go out in the morning and by the time I go back home at night, he is still sitting in that same couch. I assume he goes out to buy foods but I always suspect that he remains in that couch from morning till night. He's by no mean a Hikikomori and the only time he does this is on the weekend. I personally think it's a waste of time to stay inside when the day is really nice. Moreover, the more a person stays inside, the more likely that person will develop an aversion towards the outside world because it's more convenient to stay inside. I've done this myself on occassions but later on regret it because it feels as if I had waste an entire day without doing anything productive. The only exception to this is when I have chores to do.

Going back to the story, this episode shows that despite his Hikkikomori status, Satou is actually a kind person who cares about others. He ran towards the park when he realises that Misaki could be molested by a pervert. It's true that he probably got off at the thought and partly went there because he's afraid journalists are going to hound him if something happens to Misaki. However, the first thing that came into his mind was her safety and that has to count at least. In addition to this, for a Hikkikomori, Satou actually gets along quite well with a few people like Yamazaki. I think what Satou is afraid of is not individuals but rather groups/society at large, which can be rather cruel at times. If you think about it, that's just how life is for most people. In a person's life, he or she probably encounters more jerks than kind individuals. However, the few people that one does get along with is more than enough reason to continue socialising with others.

Anyway, I like how this episode reveals a little bit about the characters. For example, I can't help but wonder if Yamazaki actually plays all of those loud anime music so that no one can hear him crying inside the room. Satou correctly guessed that Yamazaki is still bullied in high school and was actually crying before Satou barged into his room. There is something sad about this scene because not only Yamazaki lives an unpleasant life where he got bullied by his school friends, he can't even cry openly in his own room. Since the wall is thin, he knows that his neighbours will be able to hear him crying. Society has been known to make fun of guys who cry because there is an expectation for guys to be strong both physically and mentally. Yamazaki clearly understood this unwritten 'rule' and therefore decided to cover up his cries with a loud music. Yamazaki probably feels that he'll have more embarassment on his plate if he had not done this.

Preview:

Satou is going to start working on the scenarios for Eroge. I wonder what kind of imagination he'll have while writing said scenarios.

© memento 2003