- Joined
- Jun 25, 2013
Recently read/watched all of the versions of Welcome to the NHK. Starting with the manga, then the anime, and finally the novel.
I'm kinda curious as to how the manga ended up going in a completely direction from the novel. Like, I understand adding new scenes and characters for the sake of having a decently lengthy series to make money off of and to expand on the ideas presented in the novel, but characters like Satao and Misaki became fundamentally altered and their story arcs completely changed.
I was surprised to find how different and grounded the anime felt by comparison and then even more pleasantly surprised to see it was more faithful to the original novel. Granted, it adopted scenes and characters that were unique to the manga and certain elements such as Satao's drug abuse and obsession with underaged girls became omitted.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience. I really felt for all the characters and was fascinated by Satao and Misaki's co-dependency on each other. Despite how destructive and unhealthy it was, there was something genuine underneath it all. A desire to not be lonely and to feel good about themselves.
I also found it interesting how the original author based a lot of the story on his own at the time on-going experiences as a hikikimori. And even after the success of his work, he still didn't quite escape it yet and lived off the royalties he made from the series. It really humanized him in my eyes and made his work that much more authentic.
I haven't really experienced something like this since I first read Oyasumi Punpun. And I still wish that gets an anime adaption someday.
I'm kinda curious as to how the manga ended up going in a completely direction from the novel. Like, I understand adding new scenes and characters for the sake of having a decently lengthy series to make money off of and to expand on the ideas presented in the novel, but characters like Satao and Misaki became fundamentally altered and their story arcs completely changed.
I was surprised to find how different and grounded the anime felt by comparison and then even more pleasantly surprised to see it was more faithful to the original novel. Granted, it adopted scenes and characters that were unique to the manga and certain elements such as Satao's drug abuse and obsession with underaged girls became omitted.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience. I really felt for all the characters and was fascinated by Satao and Misaki's co-dependency on each other. Despite how destructive and unhealthy it was, there was something genuine underneath it all. A desire to not be lonely and to feel good about themselves.
I also found it interesting how the original author based a lot of the story on his own at the time on-going experiences as a hikikimori. And even after the success of his work, he still didn't quite escape it yet and lived off the royalties he made from the series. It really humanized him in my eyes and made his work that much more authentic.
I haven't really experienced something like this since I first read Oyasumi Punpun. And I still wish that gets an anime adaption someday.
