Twenty-two-year-old college dropout Tatsuhiro Satou has been a hikikomori for almost four years now. In his isolation, he has come to believe in many obscure conspiracy theories, but there is one in particular which he holds unshakable faith in: the theory that the evil conspirator behind his shut-in NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) status is the Nihon Hikikomori Kyokai (NHK)—an evil and secret organization dedicated to fostering the spread of hikikomori culture.
NHK ni Youkoso! is a psychological dramedy that follows Tatsuhiro as he strives to escape from the NHK's wicked machinations and the disease of self-wrought isolation, while struggling to even just leave his apartment and find a job. His unexpected encounter with the mysterious Misaki Nakahara might signal a reversal of fortune for Tatsuhiro, but with this meeting comes the inevitable cost of having to face his greatest fear—society.
Welcome to the N.H.K. has finished airing and it has 24 Episodes. It is also Known as: NHK ni Youkoso!, N・H・Kにようこそ！, Welcome to the NHK
Genres: Earth , Japan , Asia , Slice of Life , Comedy , Conspiracy , Coming Of Age , Angst , Plot Continuity , Present , Romance , Psychological
Try our anime quiz: Anime Characters Guessing Quiz/Game
Top 10 Anime Like Welcome to the N.H.K. [2024 List]
10. Planetes
In 2075, space travel is no longer just a dream, but an everyday reality for mankind. Advancements in science and technology have led to the colonization of the moon, the commercialization of outer space, and the formation of large space corporations. Ai Tanabe, an upbeat woman whose interests lie in the cosmos, joins Technora Corporation as a member of their Debris Section, a department dedicated to the removal of dangerous space junk between the orbits of the Earth and Moon.
However, Ai soon discovers how unappreciated her job is. As the laughingstock of Technora, the Debris Section is severely understaffed, poorly funded, and is forced to use a dilapidated spaceship nicknamed the "Toy Box" for debris retrieval. Undeterred, Ai perseveres and gradually becomes acquainted with the strange personalities that make up the Debris Section's staff, such as the bumbling but good-natured chief clerk Philippe Myers; the mysterious and tight-lipped temp worker Edelgard Rivera; and the hotheaded and passionate Hachirota Hoshino, who longs for a spaceship to call his own.
Winner of the Seiun Award in 2005, Planetes is an unconventional sci-fi series that portrays the vastness of space as a backdrop for the personal lives of ordinary people—people who may have been born on Earth, but whose hopes and dreams lie amongst the stars.
Planetes has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: プラネテス, ΠΛΑΝΗΤΕΣ
9. Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru.
So exactly what’s going to happen when Hachiman Hikigaya, an isolated high school student with no friends, no interest in making any and a belief that everyone else’s supposedly great high school experiences are either delusions or outright lies, is coerced by a well meaning faculty member into joining the one member “Services Club” run by Yukino Yukinoshita, who’s smart, attractive and generally considers everyone in her school to be her complete inferior?
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: やはり俺の青春ラブコメはまちがっている。, Oregairu, My youth romantic comedy is wrong as I expected.
8. Neon Genesis Evangelion
In the year 2015, the world stands on the brink of destruction. Humanity's last hope lies in the hands of Nerv, a special agency under the United Nations, and their Evangelions, giant machines capable of defeating the Angels who herald Earth's ruin. Gendou Ikari, head of the organization, seeks compatible pilots who can synchronize with the Evangelions and realize their true potential. Aiding in this defensive endeavor are talented personnel Misato Katsuragi, Head of Tactical Operations, and Ritsuko Akagi, Chief Scientist.
Face to face with his father for the first time in years, 14-year-old Shinji Ikari's average life is irreversibly changed when he is whisked away into the depths of Nerv, and into a harrowing new destiny—he must become the pilot of Evangelion Unit-01 with the fate of mankind on his shoulders.
Written by Hideaki Anno, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a heroic tale of a young boy who will become a legend. But as this psychological drama unfolds, ancient secrets beneath the big picture begin to bubble to the surface...
Neon Genesis Evangelion has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: Shinseiki Evangelion, 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン, Neon Genesis Evangelion
7. ChäoS;HEAd
Shibuya, Japan, 2008. Takumi Nishijou, a high school student at the Private Suimei Academy, one day hears about the 'New Gen' murders that have been occurring around the city. Although dismissing the subject because it doesn't involve him, Takumi begins to experience strange mishaps around him, from a horrific picture he received while on his PC, to a mysterious Pink-Haired girl standing at a murder scene.
From there on Takumi struggles to cope with the events unfolding around him, and is soon unaware of what is real or a delusion. As his fate opens up before him, the perpetrator behind the 'New Gen' events attempts to find him, leading him into a world where nothing is as it seems.
ChäoS;HEAd has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: カオスヘッド, ChaoS,HEAd, ChaoS, HEAd
6. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Nozomu Itoshiki is a high school teacher so pessimistic that even the smallest of misfortunes can send him into a pit of raging despair; some of these "catastrophes" even lead to suicide attempts. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is a satirical slice-of-life comedy set in the modern day, covering various aspects of Japanese life and culture through Nozomu and his interactions with his students: Kiri Komori, a recluse who refuses to leave the school; Abiru Kobushi, an enigma who frequently arrives to class with severe and mysterious injuries; the hyper-optimistic Kafuuka Fuura, Nozomu's polar opposite; and several other unusual girls, all of whom are just as eccentric as their teacher.
Sayonara has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: さよなら絶望先生, Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei, Goodbye Teacher Despair, SZS
5. ReLIFE
Dismissed as a hopeless loser by those around him, 27-year-old Arata Kaizaki bounces around from one job to another after quitting his first company. His unremarkable existence takes a sharp turn when he meets Ryou Yoake, a member of the ReLife Research Institute, who offers Arata the opportunity to change his life for the better with the help of a mysterious pill. Taking it without a second thought, Arata awakens the next day to find that his appearance has reverted to that of a 17-year-old.
Arata soon learns that he is now the subject of a unique experiment and must attend high school as a transfer student for one year. Though he initially believes it will be a cinch due to his superior life experience, Arata is proven horribly wrong on his first day: he flunks all his tests, is completely out of shape, and can't keep up with the new school policies that have cropped up in the last 10 years. Furthermore, Ryou has been assigned to observe him, bringing Arata endless annoyance. ReLIFE follows Arata's struggle to adjust to his hectic new lifestyle and avoid repeating his past mistakes, all while slowly discovering more about his fellow classmates.
Note: All 13 episodes of the anime were pre-streamed before the television broadcast on the ReLIFE Channel app on June 24, 2016.
ReLIFE has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: Re LIFE
4. Steins;Gate
The self-proclaimed mad scientist Rintarou Okabe rents out a room in a rickety old building in Akihabara, where he indulges himself in his hobby of inventing prospective "future gadgets" with fellow lab members: Mayuri Shiina, his air-headed childhood friend, and Hashida Itaru, a perverted hacker nicknamed "Daru." The three pass the time by tinkering with their most promising contraption yet, a machine dubbed the "Phone Microwave," which performs the strange function of morphing bananas into piles of green gel.
Though miraculous in itself, the phenomenon doesn't provide anything concrete in Okabe's search for a scientific breakthrough; that is, until the lab members are spurred into action by a string of mysterious happenings before stumbling upon an unexpected success—the Phone Microwave can send emails to the past, altering the flow of history.
Adapted from the critically acclaimed visual novel by 5pb. and Nitroplus, Steins;Gate takes Okabe through the depths of scientific theory and practicality. Forced across the diverging threads of past and present, Okabe must shoulder the burdens that come with holding the key to the realm of time.
Steins;Gate has finished airing and it has 24 Episodes. It is also Known as: STEINS;GATE, シュタゲ
3. Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!
15-year-old Tomoko Kuroki is a budding hikikomori—a shut-in who spends her time playing dating sims and watching anime. But even a lifetime of experience wooing virtual boys can't prepare her for the greatest challenge of all: high school.
Everyday life is a terrifying journey for Tomoko, fraught with hidden judgments and secret surprises. Her anxiety makes social interaction nigh impossible, but she's determined to figure it out. Will she make friends? Become popular? Maybe even meet a real-life cute guy? Find out in WataMote!
WataMote: No Matter How I Look At It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Unpopular! has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 私がモテないのはどう考えてもお前らが悪い!, Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaete mo Omaera ga Warui!, It's Not My Fault That I'm Not Popular!, WataMote
2. Genshiken
Sasahara Kanji is a college freshman who decides to join a student society to share his hidden thoughts on manga, anime and gaming.
When he first visited Genshiken, short for "Gendai Shikaku Bunka Kenkyuu Kai" (Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture), his groundless pride was destroyed by the plotting of Madarame, a sophomore student in Genshiken, but he still couldn't admit that he is an otaku.
However, as he participates in society activities such as visiting dojin (private publishing) shops and anime festivals, and hangs out with other society members Kosaka (a hardcore otaku despite his extreme eccentricities and good looks), Kosaka's girlfriend Kasukabe Saki (who isn't really an otaku), Ohno (a cosplayer) and the others, he opens his mind and resolves that he will make his way into the otaku world. With their help, Sasahara slowly adjusts to otaku life in Genshiken.
Genshiken has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: げんしけん, The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture
1. The Tatami Galaxy
One autumn evening at a mysterious ramen stand behind the Shimogamo Shrine, a lonely third-year college student bumps into a man with an eggplant-shaped head who calls himself a god of matrimony. Meeting this man causes the student to reflect upon his past two years at college—two years bitterly spent trying to break up couples on campus with his only friend Ozu, a ghoulish-looking man seemingly set on making his life as miserable as possible. Resolving to make the most out of the rest of his college life, the student attempts to ask out the unsociable but kind-hearted underclassman Akashi, yet fails to follow through, prompting him to regret not living out his college life differently. As soon as this thought passes through his head, however, he is hurtled through time and space to the beginning of his years at college and given another chance to live his life.
Surreal, artistic, and mind-bending, Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei chronicles the misadventures of a young man on a journey to make friends, find love, and experience the rose-colored campus life he always dreamed of.
The Tatami Galaxy has finished airing and it has 11 Episodes. It is also Known as: Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei, 四畳半神話大系, Yojo-Han Shinwa Taikei, Yojou-Han Shinwa Taikei, Yojohan Shinwa Taikei
