~pururin puru pururin~
I seem to be very negative about NHK ni Youkoso!, which isn’t good in any show that I watch. Perhaps this is only my perspective, but I don’t want to observe the lives of depraved men: I have enough problems to deal with in my own life. It’s like Big Brother: characters are constrained within a house, and they have to deal with one another without exiting that house for some period of time. In this series, a Tsushiro Satou has to deal with himself, but this time, the exile from the real world is self-imposed: he is a hikkikomori. He thinks that everything is a conspiracy.
Intelligent readers may form a hypothesis that perhaps I detest this show because I’m so much like Satou. I will agree that I don’t like going out much, definitely, but I also have my reasons. For one, going out and socializing will simply equate to me wasting much money. I don’t want that. My family isn’t rich, for one, and I definitely don’t want to strain them more than I already am. Second, the Internet is a compendium of information, so I don’t have to go to libraries or go anywhere else to learn a lot about the world. In fact, I do a lot of things with my computer, thus, I don’t separate from it often.
However, I do go out with my friends once in a while; I do play games in Internet cafes; but most importantly, I go to school. Despite some previous posts of mine detesting school (believe me, I still do) I realized a long time ago that if I wanted to flourish and live in the real world I have to get decent grades and graduate. I’m not much of a social person, but I think that it’s simply in the paradigm shift of one’s perspective: one can totally avoid being a hikkikomori.
Blaming society is just what cantankerous and slothful jerks like them do. For the rest, there is what one calls action. As I said in an AnimeSuki forums post, society is a vague, inchoate idea. It may be bad and it may be good, but it mostly lies in the gray area. To blame society for one’s own shortcomings is simply cowardice; and despite the fact that I’m not much of a social person, I take responsibility for it and my actions.
Thus, it’s hard to sympathize with jerks like Satou. It’s practically an isolation that was self-made, out of conceit and unwillingness to improve. Just because these guys don’t have it great in life doesn’t mean they can’t view the world positively. It’s all a matter of perspective, and these guys are just idiots simply because they can’t cope with the beauty and madness of the world. It is entirely their own fault. They can do like I do and underachieve; they can pour out their negative energy in exercise or sports; they can do infinitely many things than smoke weed and hashish, but they don’t. That’s the reason why it’s very hard to sympathize with them.
July 13, 2006 at 8:27 am
NHK isn’t a series about how he stays in his room all the time and wastes his life, that’d be boring.
The thing about Satou is that he tries.
Even in the first episode, he opens his door and interacts with people. He tries to go out and get a job. He goes out to the park. It’s just that his setback sense is overinflated related to other people.
As long as he keeps trying to get out of his current life, he has my sympathy.
My feeling with NHK is that all of the characters are broken. Fundamentally broken. All of them. They don’t think like normal people. They don’t act like normal people. They aren’t normal people.
But that doesn’t mean they can’t find happiness.
It’s too easy to dismiss Satou as a loser and a jerk, but it’s like blaming depressed people for being depressed, it doesn’t help. The attitude that people like this just have to “get over it” is one of the reasons it’s so prevalent.
Anyway, the first ep has nice music, and that’s a good enough reason for me to watch.
July 13, 2006 at 9:25 am
I suppose it’s hard to say if Satou’s a sympathetic character. In the end, I’ll say yes, because he does want to change things, but each time he tries, he fails (sometimes spectacularly).
Is it fun to watch? Well, that’s another matter. I could see why it’d make some people uncomfortable and others angry. The anime lacks a lot of the comedic tone of the manga, which makes it harder to deal with.
That said, I’ll agree with SmileTheory… Satou wants to change, he tries to change, but every time he encounters a problem, he feels like he’s failed utterly and this keeps him from trying again. Sure, you could tell him to buck up and get out and do something, but that seems to entirely miss the point…
July 13, 2006 at 10:48 am
I’m very far from a normal person, but the thing is, I’m not depraved. If you think it’s normal for an 18-year old to stay in his room for the most part of the day and do nothing but either read or surf, you need help yourself. If for four years you keep on trying without anything happening, I guess those tries of yours are either half-assed or half-willing. Because in a try, there is a definite desire to succeed and stand back once more once a failure is imminent (that’s how I see it, anyway). Sometimes keeping on trying is not enough. There must be something coming from within.
The thing I find wrong about your analogy is that most of depression is genetic, not really self-brought. Some people just crack easier than others. But being a hikkikomori is brought about by an unwillingness to move on. You’re totally helpless when you’re genetically prone to manic depression, but you’re not when you’re a hikkikomori because it is YOUR choice. I can definitely understand what you’re driving at, but I really don’t think he deserves sympathy, not unless something really happened within him that won’t hinder him to simply ‘tries.’
July 13, 2006 at 12:19 pm
Would it help if I replaced “depression”, with, say, “high functioning autism”?
I would also have to disagree about the half assed or half willing tries. Just because someone fails over and over, it doesn’t mean they weren’t trying their hardest. Sometimes circumstances just don’t allow such a thing.
We’re not too privy to Satou’s particular circumstances, but I suspect it wasn’t an unrealistic anime-cliche Single Defining Event(tm) that drove him to being a hikikomori. It was probably a lot of small things, like being rejected by this or that, or embarassing himself in front of his sempai with whom he always had a crush.
Anyway, once he started in the hikki state, he probably remained there long enough for his social skills to atrophy. Now when he goes out to socialize, he’s at a distinct disadvantage, and thus won’t succeed, which feeds his desire to remain isolated. It’s a vicious cycle, to steal a cliche.
Yes, I realize that it sounds like I’m defending this way of life, but that’s not my aim. My aim is to show that it’s perfectly understandable that someone could end up this way. Arguing about how he shouldn’t be that way or that he could’ve easily avoided becoming this is all beside the point, since he’s there now, and he needs to find a way out.
If we look at it from a dramatic standpoint, the first ep is just to establish that Satou’s in this state, and that he’s at least willing to try to get out of it. We can spend the rest of the series trying to get him out of it.
Though if we’re realistic, he’ll make progress, but a typical anime series isn’t enough time for someone to get out of this bad a funk.
Though if he suddenly became unhalf-assed and magically regrew his social skills instantly, we’d have a two episode series.
July 13, 2006 at 2:29 pm
Nice post, you just said almost everything that I didn’t find right words. I don’t have much desire to watch how some loser don’t go out at all.
It’s true that I’m not that socialized person compared to average Joe, but circumstances are something that I can’t change. My future career (hopefully) revolve around computers and that means I have to practise lot of stuff in my room during free time (I don’t own laptop). Considering current situation in my family I have to get things working before it’s too late, playing football outside or drinking every night doesn’t help me any way. I do spend time with friends, but that’s not main point of life right now.
July 13, 2006 at 3:23 pm
Smile, autism is just as genetically predisposed as depression is. Anyway …
That ‘magic’ you talk about happens in life everyday. Not magically, but all it takes is a firm decision. If he really was willing, he wouldn’t let anything stop him. Because he’s only half-assed, even the smallest things do.
I really thought that I was the only one who didn’t like the first episode. Thanks for clearing that up, Anga.
July 13, 2006 at 3:38 pm
I probably sounded like I saw first episode, but not yet. Just my thoughts in advance though they are usually accurate and what I have read why it should be good doesn’t sound that great. Not really expecting much.
July 13, 2006 at 4:17 pm
You may like it. Watch it first. It’s just an anime where your mileage may vary, definitely.
Although, yes, I agree with Smile in that the OP in particular for me was great.
July 13, 2006 at 5:57 pm
Yes, a good OP or ED can cover a multitude of sins.
I actually like the incidental music too, but maybe I’m just a sucker for acoustic guitar and piano.
The reason I mention diseases like autism and depression is that you can’t just draw neat little white lines around which social disfunctions are a person’s responsibility and those to which a person is simply predisposed.
Plus they aren’t mutually exclusive. Are there no cases of depression where the subject also expresses symptoms similar to a hikikomori case?
Is Satou depressed? He looks pretty depressed to me, but I’m not a psycologist.
Also, in my experience, (yeah, yeah, the best kind of evidence, anecdotal) people don’t change instantly. They say they do, but they don’t. Everyone I know who has dedicated their life to a particular change has either done so slowly or not at all. It takes time to learn or unlearn behaviour. Otherwise school would be a lot less repetitive.
I suppose, in the end, I sympathize with Satou despite the fact that his exile is likely his own self doing. I see a person who needs help, and is currently incapable, in my view, of helping himself.
You believe that he does have the capability to resolve his own problems, but lacks the will to do so. Even if so, I don’t fault him for this. Not everyone has an iron will, and one cannot be forged overnight.
Hmm, maybe I should get a blog, so I can share my insight (or lack thereof) with the world. It would surely save you on bandwidth, anyway.
July 13, 2006 at 9:30 pm
Generating discussion in my blog is one of my aims. I love it when I’m not the only one ranting. Don’t worry about the bandwidth: WordPress offers it for free. I guess that in the end, we agree to disagree. I think our opinion is ingrained in how we view the world, and I definitely think we view the world differently.
I do like your point that they’re not necessarily mutually exclusive, but for the most part, they are. What I mean is that autistic people aren’t usually hikkikomoris, and hikkikomoris are (unusually) in the right mind despite their condition. Change doesn’t happen in a snap, I agree, but I didn’t mean this. I meant that if he only gave an effort his all he could have had done something more, and I believe that he should have had.
An aside: I must have played the OP more than a couple of times already. I loved the tranquil music (IMO).
July 14, 2006 at 12:22 am
yeah~ the manga is already interesting! now~ hope e anime won’t fail us!
July 15, 2006 at 2:31 pm
I liked the manga of NHK even though it hit a bit close to home. Even though the animation style of the anime doesn’t impress me, I really like the music throughout the episode.
Thank you SmileTheory for your viewpoint. I actually am clinically depressed and have symptoms of a hikkikomori. My depression can be so bad sometimes that I don’t have the will to go to class or hang out with friends, not that I have many friends to begin with. I think that’s another thing about Satou- when you’re a hikkikomori, you don’t have many friends to help you through it so you can go out to see them or talk to them and such. Satou isn’t 18 though, I think he’s around 20? Anyway, when you’ve spent so much time isolated from society, it is difficult to make a sudden re-entrance and quite scary. It’s difficult and frustrating when people don’t understand that depression can’t be cured overnight and that occupying your time supposedly makes depression go away. I personally find that the more occupied and stressed I am, the more depressed I get. I mean, I don’t do drugs or anything (except prescription), but I really feel for Satou who I think is depressed.
August 4, 2006 at 5:24 pm
Hikikomori is a nice Japanese label for clinical depression and all, but make no mistake, they are one of the same mental conditions. I’ve studied about clinical depression for the past few years and have observed many patients. Looking at Satou’s case, I can say for certain that the man suffers from major depressive disorder (MDD)as a result from multiple symptoms that characterize the disease. Symptom examples mentioned throughout the Manga are:
- Sleeping in too much
- Indecisiveness
- Feelings of failure/guilt
- Hopelessness/Bleak outlook on life
- No energy to function
- Occasionally anxious
- Long periods of isolation
- Suicidal thoughts
Ask any pyshiatric, enviroment can directly influence MDD with or without a genetic history of the disease.
Like the previous posters have mentioned, you cannot simply snap out of depression. When people have not gone under the experience of depression themselves (or know anyone who has) it is difficult for them to understand and sympathize with people like Satou. Depression isn’t a condition that someone had wished upon themselves and if they could get out of it, they would have a long time ago. And if it doesn’t get treated properly, it only becomes worse over time.
I find this subject highly interesting because of the fact that depression will be the most debilitating disease in the next century or so. We are still in the early stages of prescribing treatment for it.
August 10, 2006 at 8:12 pm
Hmmz, interesting blog entry. Too bad I didn’t find it earlier. Well, I’ll say what I would like to say anyway, though I know it probably won’t be seen or perhaps even responded to (and no, that last part wasn’t injected for reverse incentive response).
One thing I’m glad about is that you decided to criticize the anime on moral grounds. These are grounds based on, as you said, your view of life, or the world. Most viewers of any medium oftentimes do not realize that entertainment challanges or agrees (on varying degrees) our views of reality. What I have percieved from your blog is that you did not like the first episode of “NHK ni youkoso” because Satou, as a character, has a disagreeable personality. I understand this reasoning perfectly; I myself have criticized and disliked many animes for this very reason.
But one thing about this situation is that I do not share your sentiments. Mainly because I do not see the anime as pervading the lifestyle you describe. As a matter of fact, I believe the directors, even if unintentionally (though it was probably intentional), even show the self-destructive nature of Satou’s lifestyle. Putting that into perspective, it actually agrees with your outlook on hikkikomoris. Of course, I cannot change whether a show is aggravating for a person to watch or not, but I will say that I myself, while I do agree with you, do not find the anime, or Satou, annoying to watch.
[i]smile[/i] said it himself: “NHK isn’t a series about how he stays in his room all the time and wastes his life”. If it was, I think I’d dislike the series as well. But it’s not. In analogous terms, that would be like saying Evangelion is unlikable because Gendo is a jerk of a father. I think it’s a bit “unfair” (sounds so passifistic, but it’s the only word I could think of) to criticize the anime on a device that [i]lends[/i] to the point of the anime, and is not the central focus of it. You also said that it is hard to sympathize with Satou. While it is true that many directors make their characters (especially their main characters) perform actions or have personalities that the audience can sympathize with, there [i]are[/i] characters that are simply meant to be understood. I do not sympathize or condone Satou’s personality either, but I think, to a certain level, I do understand him.
Anyway. Blah blah blah, yeah i know, I talk too much. I also make reiterations on my past statements and whatever; I just do it to make sure I’m understood ’cause i’ll probably never post in a blog again (this is probably my first time doing so). I just found this page by typing “pururin” in Google ’cause I wanted to see if it had any usages in Japanese (as Satou seems to impy when he’s contemplating about girls with jelly bodies and pudding).
September 27, 2006 at 11:50 am
I`m not have much time. I think that NHK Ni Youkoso is the best anime that i have ever seen in the last 5 months besides The melancholy of Suzumiya Harui. I think this serie is original and realist, i know cause i`m a little like an hikikomori, cause besides surf and go to school, i dont do to much. This Anime makes me read a book of sigmund freud xD. I guess this anime influence my life.
Someone know if the song of “puru puru pururin”, cause i like it P=, i was searching for all the web and in the emule and in the shareaza but i dont find the song, if someone have it, i plead: please share it to me. U can find me by this blog.
I congratulations for the owner of this blog , cause is funny xD, for me. I greet all u.
“”I just found this page by typing “pururin” in Google”" —> Me too =P
Note: Sorry for my english, i know is bad.I`m From Mexico.
And Here in my comtry exist a song that its name is “Blah blah blah” Only if u wanna know.
October 9, 2006 at 9:21 pm
Why is it so hard to understand Satou’s personality? I understand him because I’m almost exactly the same as him. Ever tried to split your personality so you could have someone to talk to, someone to prod you and encourage you and care about you while totally understanding you? Well I have, but it didn’t work out very well as you should be able to guess.
Like me, Satou has reached a point of hikikomoriness that he feels the need to defend it, because it’s the only logical refuge for him. It’s very easy to get stuck in this state for a very long time because, to him, staying at home is far easier than going outside to look for a job or so, and it’s human nature to do what’s easier.
Regardless of the reasons that could lead someone to hikikomoriness, the resultant logic, or software if you will, that the brain follows is incompatible with that of a regular person. A hikikomori’s brain is in a deadlock state (a computer science term – I’m a programmer [unemployed of course]). Briefly, it’s like “I’ll give you the cash when you give me the goods” and “no goods until you give me the cash” (stupid example, I know). I think all cases of hikikomoriness happen to people who either have little or no useful skills that would make getting a good job easy, or are insecure about their skills. The latter case often comes coupled with a degree of something that could be called perfectionism – if their work is not perfect, they scrap it. And since humans are fundamentally imprefect, nothing gets done.
Anyway, Misaki-chan advised Satou-kun to look down on people. This is because one of the hikikomori’s biggest “fears” is to be scrutinized by others, especially strangers. Looking down on them means not giving a crap about what they think about you. But that doesn’t help much either, because if I don’t give a crap about what they think, then I don’t give a crap about them, then there is no reason for me to go out of my room and hang around with them. I’m not perfect, and I don’t believe that I can make money for my employer, so asking an employer for a job is like begging for food. “I know I can’t do you any good, but please, include me in this group of stupid strangers who know how to get things done”. That’s right: stupid people who know how to get things done. Ever been so certain that you understand a material so well, but then find out that your grades are lower than a certain stupid individual’s because he knows how to study to get high grades without having to even understand the material? That’s life.
What am I saying? This is stupid. Ah crap, I don’t get it either.
November 25, 2006 at 12:40 pm
In reply to Koko Neneis request for “puru puru pururin”, i have it as an mp3 file from a torrent file along with all the music from the series.
If you google the following “Nipponsei NHK” you will find a link to mininova, you can download it from there.
December 7, 2006 at 7:03 pm
I typed ‘pururin’ in Google oo, this is quite funny XD
I really like NHK but sometimes I get scared watching it because I can see myself in the characters. What actually scares me in that is the absolutely pessimistic tone the story takes whenever he makes an effort. I feel like there is a second me watching myself doing an effort and laughing itself to die.
I’m not a hikkikomori, I go out, I go to uni and I have a job (although I do have trouble believing in my abilities). When needed I can forget my problems and just get what I need. But I am quite depressed and not getting any better. Thus I understand Satou and when I’m anoyed at him I think I might actually be annoyed at myself instead…
I’d like to say something about Misaki chan. She creaps me out. Who is she?
March 1, 2007 at 2:44 am
You’re such a loser!
March 6, 2007 at 8:05 am
you can download the song from here (2.29mb):
http://files-upload.com/files/90753/pururin.mp3.html
April 21, 2007 at 8:12 am
whatcha talking about? satou is such an interesting character… why hate on him so much jeez better than any of those flat 1-dimesnioanl harem girls or those wuss guys in harems.
April 22, 2007 at 1:57 am
oh god I love NHK, I LOVE PUIRIN CHAN I LOVE TEH SONG!!!!!
purupurupururin…purupurupururin puru pururin…
June 2, 2007 at 2:32 pm
i agree about not blaming it on society, but i disagree that it’s all a matter of perspective. i’m a hikkikomori (or rather, a recovering one). i have a job, and occasionally i go out with friends. half the time i’m fine, but the other half i end up with panic attacks, or come home feeling severely depressed, and that’s definitely not something i have control over. i tend to think positive about things, but the depression/panic overpowers that. those sensations are intense enough that theyre like a physical presence and not something i can turn off by thinking nice things. it’s not unwillingness to improve, it’s fear of feeling those things again. i can imagine it’s hard to sympathize if youve never felt that before.
June 28, 2007 at 4:57 pm
i have no sympathy for sato.
he leeches off his parents. and his seclusion is a product of his own creation.
i have slightly more sympathy for the average “hikkikomori” who are victims of circumstances out of their control.
August 4, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Panic Away
This brought me back from the Brink!
August 6, 2007 at 8:16 pm
Panic Away Program
This helped me out of those DARK PLACES.
August 7, 2007 at 9:15 am
Panic Away Now
This helped me out of those DARK PLACES.
September 10, 2007 at 12:11 am
I totally agree with your post! NHK was overall a good series, I think, but at many pointsIi really wanted to just beat the living hell out of Satou. I mean, I understand that he has a major personality disorder, but it really is hard to sympathize and relate to the protagonist, which I think is really important to enjoying a series.
September 10, 2007 at 5:43 am
that becuase that u aint just like him…
I can relate me with him becuase im just like him ^^
September 11, 2007 at 12:13 am
by the way do any of u guys and girls know where to get the pururin puru pururin song ?
November 27, 2007 at 5:42 am
i download it from http://www.komugi.se/var/
April 3, 2008 at 11:07 am
both song download links are down.
August 27, 2009 at 10:52 am
I wouldn’t say I’m a Hikikomori. Thing is that I just don’t bother going outside unless there’s a reason. I’m not working at the moment and I’ve finished high school. I’ve thought about going to university but that costs money and for money I need a job… which i don’t have. yeah it’s easy to say “go get a job you slack basterd!” and hey…. maybe it is as easy as that. but the thing is that I don’t want to… and its not just like: I don’t want to do it so I wont do it. its more like: Every part of my body screams at me and tells me not to do it. basically its physically impossible for me to get a job even though there’s nothing wrong with me. anyway… Don’t look too deep into it *thumbs up* I know its a bad way to look at life but for me, in the end, stuff seems to pull itself together.
November 25, 2009 at 8:48 pm
LOL, I just watch the series, now listening to the puru puru pururin website, I put it on my twitter that I am listening it. YES, I am staying in front of my laptop almost all the time. And yes, few years ago I am a hikkikomori. I stay at home, I hate working, I have no girlfriend, and thanks to my parents I can stay in their house and eat in there as well. I am quite anti-social, so I do not have many friends. I hate alcohol, and I hate going out to the pub, etc. I spent time playing games, games, and games … LOL and I feel happy while wishing that sometimes an angel will knock my windows hoping that I will get an extra power to save the rotten world LOL..
But now after 5 years of depression, I am working hard to finish my Master degree as I decided to go back to university. Maybe next year I will try for my Phd. And finally I found my passion, which is Physics.
So to all of you saying negatively towards hikkikomori, I will tell you something. It is NOT merely a choice! Sometimes people just can’t help themselves but to stay alone because they are FEAR to reality like I once before.
So yes, I give my sympathy to Sato and also to his Class Rep big brother, Toro Toro. But I would say that life can be changed! I change because there are people around me who gives me enough love and care so I can bravely climb up step by step .. little by little.
Please people who said that hikikkomori is a ’sin’, I told you that sometimes, there are circumstances in life that you just cannot avoid.