Forum - View topicREVIEW: Welcome to the NHK DVD 6
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pachy_boy
Posts: 1341 |
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I had been waiting as patiently as I could for my copy of the final volume from Right Stuf. Funimation kept on pushing it back since December to the point where I was starting to wonder if I was better off selling all my previous discs so that I could just get the half-season sets and be done with it. The issue of money kept me from doing that. After waiting so long, after having gotten the volume in the mail, and after finally inserting it into my DVD player, I'd say it was damn well worth the wait.
Everything the reviewer said about this final volume is fair and true. Sato and Misaki make a huge, sympathetic heart, in a way that came across as a very sweet surprise to me. The only things I don't agree with is the part of the side-characters getting wrapped up 'too neatly'; with the series drawing to a close I thought they had appropriate conclusions, as did Sato trying to improve his life, and I thought the guitar music really set a mood as I watched it. There are plenty of good dubs, but Welcome to the NHK is one of the few that I consider alive, remarkable and stellar (especially with Chris Patton but also including Stephanie Wittels), something that would make me feel like, the next time I watch it I'm not going to bother with the subbed version. And it has become one of those series that leaves such an endearing impression that it stayed with me long after I finished watching it. I just could never dislike any of the characters. Along with Red Garden, When They Cry, Tweeny Witches, Gurren Lagann and Moribito, I'm proud to have this as one of the last series I've collected single volume by single volume. |
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bobber205
 Posts: 23 |
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Gurren Laggen came out in sets didn't it?
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kadian1364
 Posts: 60 Location: Indiana |
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For all the great anime series I've seen through the years, NHK stands with only a few that have made a profound, lasting impression on me. The story of those two broken individuals struggling with years of emptiness and self-deceit, trying to break destructive habits and find even the smallest bit of happiness is supremely moving and inspiring. It works so well because parts of them remind you of yourself, genuinely flawed and selfish, but even after hitting rock bottom, they reach out to the light at the end of the tunnel, though faint as it may be.
I may have to hide the DVD covers from my friends though, or they'll never take me seriously! 
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bobber205
Posts: 23 |
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I am quite disappointed with the dvd covers. Not reflective on the show at all imho. |
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RedHotFunk
 Posts: 67 Location: Ontario |
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Perhaps the covers don't fully represent NHK if at all, I still think they're not bad. At least, they could be much worse in that the art could be utterly ugly. A bit on the ecchi side, but doesn't bother me.
I agree with the review, the final episodes are rushed almost. The manga did a much better job in drawing it out, but for the most part, I was still satisfied extremely with the anime. NHK is a wonderful read/watch, and it does a good job of sticking out in a wave of genres that have almost turned into this one melting pot of same old material. Refreshing, vibrant, and witty~ NHK has left a long lasting impression on me and probably forever will. |
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Cait
 Posts: 503 |
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I'm glad the anime went in the direction closest to the novel, rather than the manga (and I totally called it back in volume 1 when the talking appliances showed up), though the whole "secret bomb" thing made more sense in the novel because it was directly related to the ero game. The craziness is a little harder to swallow in the anime, though, because all of Sato's drug use is completely cut out of the story, making all of his delusions and personality quirks that much less realistic (the talking appliances and insane conspiracy theories included).
But I'm glad Funimation finally stopped dragging their feet about the final single volume release. Seriously, wtf was up with that? At least they used the same cover art design scheme that the ADV volumes had (now I will only be a little bit annoyed that the publisher name is different on the one volume). |
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_Earthwyrm_
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Well, I'd say that they are somewhat reflective of the show, in that they're again a mockery of otaku 'culture'. Unfortunately, that's not something I could explain to my friends or my family or... anyone really. I'm glad that the boxsets are a little more subdued. |
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Quark
 Posts: 710 Location: British Columbia, Canada |
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Man, I was so relieved when I got the confirmation shipping notice for this disk. I was starting to get paranoid because on the day it was supposed to be released, it was listed as being on order on the Rightstuf site.
NHK is one of those shows that just stayed with me, and it ranks up there for me along with other shows like Evangelion, or Utena. The last batch of episodes just cemented my love for this show further. And this was one happy ending that didn't feel sappy, or forced. It just felt like a natural way to conclude things. Oh yeah, and NHK also happens to be one of the few anime that I can watched dubbed, mainly because of Sato's voice actor. He did a great job on this show. |
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kadian1364
Posts: 60 Location: Indiana |
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Exactly. If I showed these covers to the uninitiated and started ranting, "Well, these somewhat lascivious images of skimpy women in various alluring poses aren't really meant to titillate as much as to be satirical jabs at the base and oversexed tendencies of the underground subculture that this series aims to lambaste. It's really more of an inside joke!" I imagine I would've lost everyone between the cleavage and the lingerie. |
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Tuor_of_Gondolin
 Posts: 3524 Location: Bellevue, WA |
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I just finished watching this series. I thought it was well-done and a bit (more than a bit?) too close to home: the Sato at the end of the series was much more like me (in some ways) than I like to admit.
Rather than talk about the series as a whole, I'll just mention two instances where Sato showed he was really a pretty good guy beneath all that psychological baggage. The Off-line Party: spoiler[Hitomi assumes that Sato had read the letter in her purse about the Off-line party, but he DIDN'T. Sato thought that Hitomi was going to go on a regular vacation, and he knew that she was really hurting in side, but didn't know why. So, because he cared about her (and because he wanted to change) he told her he would go with her, no matter where she was going. When Sato finally realized what was going on, he still didn't pull out. Now, partly that's because he didn't want to cause a scene, but IMO it was also because he still felt that Hitomi needed him. When everyone started backing out at the end, he stayed with her until she backed out. BUT, she backed out because her BF proposed to her. Did you see the look on his face? Everything he'd done was for her, and she accepts a marriage proposal from some other guy. That's why, I think, he flips out there. But then, later on, he plays it off and never tells anyone anything about it. He doesn't tell Hitomi's fiancee anything, or Hitomi. He doesn't tell Misaki that he didn't know the purpose of the Off-line party. He asked Hitomi if she was happy, and when she said yes, he faded out. That's why he looked so torn up after Hitomi drove off and that other (older) guy patted him on the shoulder: everyone who had tried to kill themselves had reformed new bonds... except him.] The second time was during the Winter Festival. spoiler[Again it was with Hitomi. She gets drunk with him and he seems more relaxed than at any time in the series. Then she leads him to that hotel and suggests having an affair with him. He again asks her if she's happy, then he very suavely turns her down when she told him that she was. Desipte the fact that Misaki misconstrued it, it was a really noble thing for Sato to do.] By in large, even though Sato is messed up and often lacks the skills to interact in certain ways, at other times, he says some really shrewd things, and often gives people honestly good advice. Like his mother said about him: he really does seem to have a strong sense of justice, even if it is tough to get him to show it.[/spoiler] |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18462 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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I also finished this series recently and was quite impressed. I saw the whole spoiler[suicide thing with Misaki] coming after a certain point, but still liked how it was handled and how her motivations fit perfectly into the overall picture. Carl was right; despite how staggeringly dysfunctional those two are, it's hard not to root for them. Two such people as they are need and deserve each other.
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