| "Welcome
to the NHK: 1st Conspiracy" DVD
...ohhhh boy.
The Japanese have completely
freaking lost it this time. I know I've said that literally dozens
of times previously, but this time, I think they've finally gone
off the bridge. There's a big sign hanging from Tokyo Tower, and
it reads "The whole country is out to lunch. Today's special:
Crackers, Nuts, and Bananas!"
How do I know? Because
this time around, they've created a new anime that's all about
anime fans, commonly called "otaku". Otaku are to Japanese
society what, for example, Wolverine fanbois are to ours. And
in this case, a secret underground network launched to pander
to those otaku is pumping out hours upon hours of high-quality
anime programming every day. Why, you may ask? Good ratings? Choice
commercial advertising timeslots to yield billions of dollars?
No sir! Nothing so
mundane. In this case, the network is brought to us by the NHK--the
Nihon Hikikomori Kyokai. Or the Japanese Social-Withdrawal Association,
for those of you what don't habla. Apparently, it's a network
designed to keep otakus off the streets--in a self-referential
state called "hikikomori"--and out of the gene pool,
which, judging by some otakus I've seen, is not a terrible idea.
Think about that--all those assholes you see running around conventions
smelling for all the world like a septic tank burst in a skunk
farm doing absolutely nothing but hanging around the house all
day watching catgirl / schoolgirl hybrids in non-stop gratuituous
panty shots.
Though the conspiracy
of the NHK has reached one young man, Sato--at his very lowest
point he meets a girl named Misako, who claims to know how to
"cure" Sato's hikikomori "disease". She offers
him a contract with a hefty termination fee--one hundred thousand
yen--and then, we're off to the races. With Misako convinced she's
got the cure, and Sato out to prove her wrong by creating a top-selling
pornographic video game in a month, the missteps and accusations
fly fast and furious.
This DVD only has the
first four episodes, you understand. So it's not much to say that
the whole thing is inconclusive. It's four episodes out of who
knows how many, so it's not as though we're going to get a lot
of satisfaction here. But it's good enough--there's no doubt of
that. It's solidly done for what little there is here.
That's the one thing
that sucks about anime DVDs. There's only a few episodes on each
disc, and who knows how many more there'll be until the series
is concluded? Or when we'll see them? It's not exactly a recipe
for long-term satisfaction, you know.
All in all, "Welcome
to the NHK: 1st Conspiracy" is good, for what there is of
it. Lacking in long-term satisfaction, but great in the short
run, it will definitely be worth a rental.
Welcome
to the NHK: 1st Conspiracy
***
DVD
Directed by Yusuke Yamamoto
Written by Satoru Nishizono
Starring various depending on language track
Produced by Scott McClennen
Check
out the Video Store Guy on his own ever-lovin' website.
Featuring never before seen pieces exclusive to Reel Advice! (reel.panel2panel.com)
|
