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Impressions:

Another pretty good episode. I’m not sure why I liked this episode, as if I were to reason with myself, I’d say that nothing really happened. I think it’s because there were a lot of psychological references. Satou’s thoughts and such are probably what I liked about his episode, as it wasn’t all jokes and fun (although some parts were quite funny). The overall animation is still good and should stay that way. The end where Satou concludes that Misaki must’ve lied to him about her parents makes me think that, if Misaki really did get all her information on Satou from Satou himself, they must’ve known each other some time ago. That’s another thing I like about NHK ni Youkoso: more questions keep popping up. It’s all quite subtle and very interesting.

Summary:

Satou is dreaming of a life where he has overcome his hikkikomori problems. However, when he is thrown into the populated world, he is mocked by his game scenario teacher. All his classmates suddenly rip off their outer clothes to reveal black tuxedos underneath. It’s a conspiracy!! And so, he ejects himself out of the building using the seat he is in, and somehow winds up in the desert, where he is being pursued by numerous tanks. He flees but is halted by the sun which proceeds to engulf him…

Satou wakes up. Ever since he went to Yamazaki’s game design school, he has become more of a hikkikomori. He has even tricked Yamazaki into believing he has the summer flu so he can bring him food and look after him, when in fact he is just more afraid of going outside now. He spends a lot of time inside pondering about where his life is heading and such. He starts hallucinating, where the fridge tells him that it’s all the NHK’s fault (Nihon Hikkikomori Kyokai). Other electrical appliances start talking as well and try to convince him to do something about this. Interrupting his visions, the phone starts to ring. He allows it to go to message bank as he is too paranoid to even answer it. The person who called turns out to be his mother, who announces she will be coming to visit him in two days. When she calls again, Satou picks it up and they discuss his current situation. His mother wants him to go home and get a job, but he pretends he already has a job as an employee at a game design company. He even tells her that he has a girlfriend who he’s planning to marry. But now, he must face he problem of how to get out of this mess that his thrown himself into without a second thought.

He gets a call from Misaki asking about his absence from their meeting. He informs her about his mother coming to visit. The meet at the park and discuss this in detail. She is about to suggest that she pretend to be his girlfriend but Satou gets up and announces he will ask Yamazaki. Misaki thinks he is going to ask Yamazaki to pretend to be his girlfriend, when in fact he just wants him to make a company. Yamazaki, after being woken in the middle of the night and hearing Satou out, agrees and the two proceed to plan out their company.

Their discussion is quite funny. The first thing to decide on is the name of the company. Satou suggests taking the ‘Sa’ from Satou and ‘Yama’ from Yamazaki to call it the ‘Sayama Company’, but Yamazaki reason people might think the owner is called Sayama. Satou then suggests an English name: ‘Wonderful Fantastic Dreamy Galgames Company Created by Yamazaki and Satou from MH for the Future’. This is obviously rejected by Yamazaki and in the end, they settle for the ‘Y.S. Company’. After more talk, the only real thing they decide on is the business card. This is only the real thing Satou needs to convince his mother he is indeed a company employee. At first, Yamazaki prepares Satou a card with the status of ‘NEET’ on it (Not in Employment, Education or Training). This gets him a kick in the face, so he quickly fixes it up.

After listening to the whole discussion, Misaki comes into Yamazaki’s room and once again tries to offer to be Satou’s pretend girlfriend. However, Satou doesn’t hear her and races back to his room to call Kashiwa. He asks her to pretend to be his girlfriend, but she is busy on that day, mainly because she has an appointment with her own lover. After this, Satou lowers his head in failure. Misaki tries one last time and the message finally gets through.

The next day, Misaki and Satou go out on a date to get a feel for the real thing. On the train, Satou expresses his concern about being in a populated place, thinking his condition might get worse. Misaki reassures him that as long as they are together, things will be fine. They spend time together like any normal couple; going out to eat, watching a movie, hanging around, until the day is almost over. As the two are walking down the street, Misaki suggests they lock arms to make them look more like a couple. Satou reluctantly agrees, but starts to freak out when she grabs his arm and holds it against her breasts. He is afraid that ‘truth might emerge from a lie’, meaning that this fake coupling might turn into a real one. These thoughts escape though, when Satou walks into a pole.

When it is night again, the two return to the park and are about to part ways when Satou realises he knows almost nothing about Misaki. He asks Misaki about herself as otherwise his mother will become suspicious that he is clueless about her. Misaki tells him that while he doesn’t know much about her, she knows a lot about him. She reveals all she knows about him, which surprises him greatly. Misaki says that Satou had told her all this once before, but he can’t remember it. She then explains about her own family and asks Satou to remember it. When she runs off, Satou realises that it must be a lie, and starts wondering who Misaki really is.

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