7.8/10213 votes#1 - Welcome To The Project!
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 7/9/2006
Tatsuhiro Sato is woken up from his deluded dream of conspiracies, by his noisy neighbour playing loud anime music non-stop. All this could be put to an end if he'd just go next door to complain however Tatsuhiro is unable to do this because he is a “hikikomori”. He later meets a girl named Misaki, who will later change his life around.
Director: Masahiro Sonoda
Writer: Satoru Nishizono
7.5/10183 votes#2 - Welcome To The Creator!
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 7/16/2006
In the park late at night, Tatsuhiro meets Misaki who claims to be able to cure him of his hikikomori ways, as long as he signs up to her project. Tatsuhiro remains stubborn and decides to forget about it however Misaki doesn’t give up that easily. So in the spur-of-the-moment Tatsuhiro lies by telling her that he has a job as a “creator” but she doesn’t believe him and asks for proof.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.8/10173 votes#3 - Welcome To The Beautiful Girl!
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 7/23/2006
By chance Tatsuhiro discovered that his noisy otaku neighbour was in fact an underclassman he knew from High School and they end up deciding to create an eroge (erotic game). Before this Tatsuhiro must first get some inspiration by trying out some eroge himself nonetheless he gets absorbed into the sordid world of bishoujo “beautiful girls”.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.5/10163 votes#4 - Welcome To The New World!
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 7/30/2006
The eroge creating has begun however Tatsuhiro has writer’s block, as he is unable to come up with a scenario or a main heroine for it their eroge. So Kaoru drags him out to many otaku hotspots, like maid cafe, to help him come up with a heroine but this appears to be a new world to him.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.4/10172 votes#5 - Welcome To Counselling!
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 8/6/2006
After 4 years and 4 months, Tatsuhiro has run into his old senpai from High School, Hitomi who now has become a civil servant. His reunion with Hitomi may have sparked something inside him, because now he feels the need to stop running away and to face his problems as a hikikomori. Now the counseling can begin.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/10155 votes#6 - Welcome To The Classroom!
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 8/13/2006
Tatsuhiro is struggling with the scenario for his eroge but this has to wait as he has his 2nd counselling session with Misaki. During this session the subject of Kaoru’s girlfriend comes up, which comes as a shock for Tatsuhiro who never thought of him as the girlfriend type. To confirm this Tatsuhiro follows Kaoru to his design school, where he happens to get lost and ends up in a class for game writers.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/10157 votes#7 - Welcome To The Moratorium!
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 8/20/2006
Ever since his panic attack at Kaoru’s designs school, Tatsuhiro has become even more of a hikikomori and hasn’t stepped out once. However something unexpected has happened as he receives a phone call from his mom, who’s wants to meet him to see what he has planned for the future. Tatsuhiro feels that he’ll just end up being dragged back home due to his current lifestyle, so he ends up lying to his mom that he works for a company and has a girlfriend. This will prove to be a very troublesome lie but luckily Misaki volunteers to help.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.5/10173 votes#8 - Welcome To Chinatown!
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 8/27/2006
The day for Tatsuhiro’s mom to visit has come and he is totally unprepared, as his room is in such a state and requires intensive cleaning. When his mom arrives they all go out for lunch in Chinatown. Tatsuhiro begins to feel the guilt from lying to his mom and considers revealing the truth to her, nevertheless she may already be unto him and Misaki and their lies.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.2/10157 votes#9 - Welcome To Summer Days!
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 9/3/2006
Following the recent intimate moment that nearly occurred between Tatsuhiro and Misaki, Tatsuhiro just can’t seem to get her of his mind. With Summer vacation finally here, Kaoru invites Tatsuhiro to the Summer Comic Market however they first need to finish the eroge they started, in one months time.
Director: Akira Kato
Writer: N/A
8.0/10146 votes#10 - Welcome To The Dark Side!
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 9/10/2006
The day after the fireworks festival, Tatsuhiro and Kaoru are back to working on their eroge nonetheless Tatsuhiro’s love for Misaki has grown and it’s beginning to surface itself in different ways. One thing that hasn’t changed is the fact that he still doesn’t know a thing about Misaki and he begins to have paranoid thoughts that she is plotting against him, as a part of the NHK.
Director: Jiro Fujimoto
Writer: N/A
8.1/10145 votes#11 - Welcome To The Conspiracy!
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 9/17/2006
Tatsuhiro has ended his counselling sessions with Misaki as he thinks that she is plotting against him, giving him more time to finish the game he’s creating with Kaoru, with the looming deadline. Meanwhile Hitomi is feeling the stress and strain in her day-to-day life and she beginning to feel like someone is conspiring against her, just like in High School. Later she goes to visit Tatsuhiro.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.6/10159 votes#12 - Welcome To The Offline Gathering!
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 9/24/2006
It is Summer vacation, Tatsuhiro and Hitomi are now heading to the “Offline Gathering”, which doesn’t seem to be what Tatsuhiro expected. They seem to heading to an island with some strange people and it isn’t until later that Tatsuhiro learns of the true meaning behind and offline gathering. Misaki, Kaoru and Hitomi’s husband later discover where they have gone.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
9.0/10234 votes#13 - Welcome To Heaven!
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 10/1/2006
On an island that should have been heaven for a hikikomori as become a hell because Tatsuhiro has learnt that the Offline Gathering, he went to with Hitomi, is for people who want to end their lives.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.3/10148 votes#14 - Welcome To Reality!
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 10/8/2006
With the Offline Gathering ending without a single fatality, all are reflecting on the reality of what just occurred, except Tatsuhiro who is still angry at Misaki. They all later go to rest and recuperate in a hot springs, where two of the offline gathering members are greeted by their worried parents. Tatsuhiro later returns home, back to his regular hikikomori life, but he later receives a worrying phone call from his mom.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.8/10142 votes#15 - Welcome To The Fantasy!
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 10/15/2006
The phone call from his Mom was about his Dad losing his job, so now Tatsuhiro’s allowance is cut and he needs a source of income. With the free trial he got from the kid in the offline meeting, Tatsuhiro is planning to make money from an MMORPG by selling game items. Yet things don’t go according to plan as he gets hooked on the fantasy life.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.3/10147 votes#16 - Welcome To Game Over!
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 10/22/2006
After discovering the wonders of the fantasy online gaming, Tatsuhiro has become even of a hikikomori and the one to find out is Misaki. While Tatsuhiro is trying to acquire rare items in the game, with his new party, Misaki is trying to get him off this new addiction but that may be unnecessary. Tatsuhiro later receives a call from someone from his High School.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.5/10136 votes#17 - Welcome To Happiness!
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 10/29/2006
The call Tatsuhiro received was from the class representative from High School, Megumi who he ends up meeting with. He admits to her that he is a hikikomori, so she invites him to her successful senpai who can supposedly cure him of his NEET problems. However once arriving to a weird seminar Tatsuhiro has noticed that he has wondered into a Pyramid Scheme.
Director: Akira Kato
Writer: N/A
7.6/10138 votes#18 - Welcome To No Future!
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 11/5/2006
Having just returned from being fooled into buying products in a Pyramid Scheme, Tatsuhiro and gang attempt to Megumi to call the deal off but she has no intention on returning his money. After being fooled a second time they all go to Megumi’s house, with the intention to return the goods, but end up finding out something truly shocking.
Director: Jiro Fujimoto
Writer: N/A
8.4/10147 votes#19 - Welcome To The Blue Bird!
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 11/12/2006
Tatsuhiro, Misaki and Kaoru went to Megumi’s house to return the “Mouse Road” goods, when they discover that she is looking after her hikikomori brother (Torotoro from the Ultimate Fantasy Online game). After clearing matters with Megumi and her brother the group head back to return to their usual lives.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.2/10134 votes#20 - Welcome To Winter Days!
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 11/19/2006
Tatsuhiro and Kaoru are back on track to finishing their eroge when all of a sudden Kaoru receives a serious call from home and has to return immediately. After a long period on his own Tatsuhiro is happy when Kaoru returns however he returns with bad news, of having to work at his farm once they finish making their game. The two end up drinking their troubles away and doing something foolish.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.4/10139 votes#21 - Welcome To The Reset!
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 11/26/2006
Tatsuhiro and Kaoru are in high spirits after finally completing their eroge nonetheless it doesn’t seem to do any better in the Winter Comic Market. Now with that over all that is left is for Kaoru to sort out his belongings before he leaves for his parent’s farm.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.3/10142 votes#22 - Welcome To God!
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 12/3/2006
After getting separated from Misaki, in the middle of Tokyo, Tatsuhiro runs into Hitomi ands ends up spending New Year’s Eve with her. They just end up separating after saying their farewells, when Tatsuhiro later meets up with a melancholic Misaki. The next day Misaki continues to spiral in despair as Tatsuhiro remains unaware, until their next counselling session.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
9.1/10211 votes#23 - Welcome To Misaki!
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 12/10/2006
Misaki’s mental state doesn’t seem like what it used to be, as she chooses an odd topic for their counseling session. It turns out that this is Tatsuhiro’s final session as Misaki is giving him a final exam before a graduation from the project. The graduation doesn’t go to well, because Tatsuhiro doesn’t think of himself as worthy enough to support Misaki, so he cuts all ties with her.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
9.0/10207 votes#24 - Welcome To The NHK!
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 12/17/2006
Tatsuhiro has managed to catch-up to Misaki, at the same cliff her mother committed suicide, in an attempt to stop the same incident from happening again. Having stopped her from doing such a foolish thing, the only way he can think of preventing it from happening again, is to do something as foolish. Now caught up in his fantasies about the conspiracies of the NHK, he tries to defeat it using unorthodox methods.
Director: Keita Noda, Yusuke Yamamoto
Writer: Satoru Nishizono
The Best Episodes of Welcome to the N.H.K. Season 1
Every episode of Welcome to the N.H.K. Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Welcome to the N.H.K. Season 1!
Sato's life – or what's left of it – is a paranoid mess of conspiracy theories and social anxieties. He's terrified of the outside world;...
Genres:AnimationComedyDrama
Network:AT-X
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"Welcome To The Project!" is the best rated episode of "Welcome to the N.H.K." season 1. It scored 7.8/10 based on 213 votes. Directed by Masahiro Sonoda and written by Satoru Nishizono, it aired on 7/9/2006. This episode is rated 0.3 points higher than the second-best, "Welcome To The Creator!".