You probably have come across Welcome to the NHK at one point or another in its anime or, less likely, manga form but I doubt many are aware that the story originated from a light novel by the same name written by Tatsuhiko Takimoto. First of all, Welcome to the NHK isn’t an ordinary light novel, though it comes very close to being that. Its length isn’t that impressive, the narrative examines problems of young adults, and the cover illustration was made by none other than Yoshitoshi ABe. On the other hand, the novel certainly isn’t a graphic novel – there’s not a single picture inside, these young adults are past a high-school age, and their problems are a bit more complicated and dark than “Oh, senpai…”. Typical light novels often leave a hook in the end so that the series could be extended to at least several more volumes, and that’s not really the case with Welcome to the NHK. That should be enough to prove that this novel isn’t like anything else you can find, even if you have no idea what it’s about, and in that case I strongly encourage you to find that out. (more…)