Welcome to the NHK!

[ranger]

Definitely one hell of a complete series... The plot twists are definitely effective... The series has definitely shown the lives of people who are Hikikomori, Otaku and Gamer with some extent of realism...

Spoiler:

plot twists?  I didn't notice anything really drastic...in fact, when i first started the series, after reading your statement, throughout the show i was waiting for one of the characters to ACTUALLY be part of this NHK conspiracy, a la Black Organization style - however I ultimately continued to watch to observe their struggles and actions in their daily lives.

Sorry for the misuse of the term. I must have been referring more on the character twist rather than plot.

Spoiler:

But still I liked the fact that Satou was actually the one teaching Misaki at the end of the series. Not really a fan of their pairing cause I would like Satou to end up with his sempai. It must be noted also that the "wannabe saver" (Misaki) was actually the one who wanted and/or needed to be saved toward the end of this series.

Spoiler:

Whaa, Satou with his senpai?  She really doesn't care for Satou though, she likes her boyfriend more..and Misaki does so much for Satou, she's so nice (even though her motives may not be entirely innocent).  I think it's romantic that they both need in each other - Misaki with her counselling and her kindness eased Satou to recover from his condition, and Misaki needed someone in her life - she needed someone who she would be important to (basically a companion as she was really lonely).

They are really just perfect for each other!  Misaki had to go through a lot with putting up w/ Satou, cleaning his god-awful room is one thing..

[CoolKid3]

Spoiler:

Whaa, Satou with his senpai?  She really doesn't care for Satou though, she likes her boyfriend more..and Misaki does so much for Satou, she's so nice (even though her motives may not be entirely innocent).  I think it's romantic that they both need in each other - Misaki with her counselling and her kindness eased Satou to recover from his condition, and Misaki needed someone in her life - she needed someone who she would be important to (basically a companion as she was really lonely).

They are really just perfect for each other!  Misaki had to go through a lot with putting up w/ Satou, cleaning his god-awful room is one thing..

Spoiler:

You can say I'm a big fan of complicated relationships to begin with. The Satou-Misaki pairing at the end of the series is something that one would expect.

Nevertheless, it appears that they really complement each other..

[ranger]

I read the manga, relatively short...It's so different, like a parallel dimension different.

First of all, Misaki is a completely different person - she's not your sweet high school girl - she's SO MUCH MORE manipulative!  Plus, she's a lot more seductive/not as shy.  I didn't like that, one bit - makes me prefer Satou with his senpai instead.

Secondly, there are huge plot differences.


Differences between Manga/Anime (spoiler alert)

Spoiler:

Misaki's parents aren't actually dead in the manga version, which is really weird - so the whole background of her child abuse is just thrown out into the dump.

Also, the whole project's intention is COMPLETELY different.  In the anime, Misaki's project was to find someone who was even worse than her so she could be important to someone's life.  In the manga, her project's goal was to achieve something great (ie love w/ Satou) and then break it off in order to become stronger.

I think the anime's 'project' was a much more believable/powerful device compared to the Manga's.

There are many other differences in major plot events, such as the offline suicide meeting - It's not jumping off a cliff, and Yamazaki and Misaki did not stop Satou.  Satou, tried to kill himself, but passed out, and was brought back by the others.  Definitely not as dramatic.

The anime skips out on some story arcs such as when Satou moves back to his parent's for a little bit and Senpai moving into Satou's apartment.

Regarding the other characters, Satou is pretty much the same.  Yamazaki is a lot darker/not as friendly, and the whole 2d vs 3d girls is brought to the extreme, where he absolutely hates real life girls.  Yamazaki and Natsuko's relationship is different as well, Natsuko actually tries to continue the relationship after Yamazaki casts her out, but in the end, it is revealed that Natsuko is actually lesbian (go figure..).  Senpai's relationship with her boyfriend/husband is quite different as well, he's not as perfect as he seemed in the anime and there's a mutual hostility between them.

The whole "Pres" (i forget her name) storyline is completely changed - Satou never gets his money back from the multi-level market scam.  Misaki actually saves Pres's brother, and becomes very successful and gets in a relationship with Misaki (Once again, Misaki being completely different).  Pres, on the other hand, sinks to a level similar to a hikki state.

More importantly, the thing that bothers me the most is the fact that it completely lacks the whole "conspiracy aspect' in the manga.  The NHK is not brought up at all; it's mentioned like, twice in the series.  So in essence the manga completely loses this plot theme.

The endings of course are different as well, due to of course the differing project's goals.

All in all, the manga is a lot darker/gruesome than the anime, and there are MAJOR differences, despite both of them being based on the novel, which was finished by the time both released so they weren't just winging and "filler-ing" it.

I personally prefer the anime as it is more dramatic and acts better as an entertainment device with its storyline.  Plus, you get awesome soundtrack music + Voice Acting.  People always say "manga's better" which might be the case for the majority of series, but I honestly would say the anime is better in Welcome to the NHK.

I think I might pickup the novel at Border's later for a broader perspective.

[kkslider5552000]

yeah from what I've heard the manga is darker and seems to ruin a lot of the realism and likability of the anime counterpart.

Spoiler:

Really, this is the first series that I have ever found to be somewhat depressing (not just sad) that I didn't think was stupid or unlikable. And on a similar note, I love how the more ridiculous moments in the series (Sato's solution for saving Misaki at the end especially) work so perfectly.

[ranger]

awesome thread needs to be revived

[kkslider5552000]

this is true

[ranger]

I have the soundtrack, it's so gooooood..

especially this one; I personally think this would be a great track for DC actually, but oh well

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwyLt-4fYtg#

[ranger]

once again, by the powers invested me I bring you back to life!

[kkslider5552000]

[ranger]

Purururururrin

[ranger]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7asrTH3 ... re=related

hyping conspiracies!!

[kkslider5552000]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7asrTH3 ... re=related

effing conspiracies!!

it will be playing long after we're all dead

[ranger]

EEEH I see you be on episode 2 kkslider!! :O :O

[nanilola]

I might have had way too high expectations for this one because of rave reviews.
Well, no, scratch that.
I liked almost everything about it:
the OST and I'm not just referring to the OP and ED
Yamazaki FTW!
Satou - a very likeable protagonist
the RPG and galge scenes
the depiction of hikikomori tendencies
that hot and troubled Senpai - forgot her name but I liked her, I wish she'd been the female lead instead

What ruined this series for me is Misaki. 
I know she had a deeply scarred past and all but was I supposed to feel sympathy for her when I only learned about this in the last episode? Her story was traumatic but I just couldn't care less now that she's in the custody of her nice and rich uncle and aunt, which is a blessing she couldn't even recognize.
She'd rather think their recent fighting is attributed to her existence around them. How self-centered.
I certainly didn't enjoy having to sit through her scripted lectures and shy/mysterious act. At first, I thought she was a stalker which would have been cool.  Normally, I would've liked her because I like characters with twisted motives - she just wanted to feel needed so she found Satou, who was more of a garbage than she perceives herself to be. I don't know. Even Yamazaki hated her at first.

Anyway, the purupurupururin song of that mahou shoujo is addictive! And the ringtone, too. Sorry if I liked Purin a whole lot more than Misaki. XD

[ranger]

nanilola, you shall enjoy this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRNTKld- ... re=related

Yeah Misaki is a rather strange character, if you read my earlier posts, in the manga she is portrayed as a lot more sinister - her ulterior motives are completely different, meaning, she isn't just helping Satou for the sake of feeling "needed". 

I actually hate manga Misaki, she is very bitch-like.  Ugh.  I have yet to read the novel though.

i actually like Misaki, she plays the cute and innocent role, and no matter what her motive is  (in the anime I mean) I still think it's pretty nice that she's helping Satou, and ultimately changing his life for the better.

And yes, OST is amazing, I love the openings (Puzzle), and the 2nd ending.  I have the entire OST and it's very relaxing to just press play all when doing homework or reading.