Welcome to the N.H.K. (Free Anime)
(First things first, this is only viewable in the US, Canada and the UK.)
Crunchyroll (wait! dont' run yet!) struck a deal with ADV films to provide the anime 'Welcome to the NHK' for free on their site. Right now there are 2 dubbed episodes available, and they intend to put up 2 more each week until it's done.
crunchyroll - Anime - Welcome to the NHK
I watched this show while it was coming out on fansub, and I quite enjoyed it. Enough to be collecting the English DVDs now. The show is kind of in the vein of Genshiken AND Densha Otoko where it is a story about otaku, though it is much more scathing than either of them and has more going for it than just that. In fact, don't even go into the show looking for a 'comedy'. While there is an ever-present sense of humour, it is very dark and may leave you squirming uncomfortably more than smiling. I'm told the anime is rather mild in this regard compared to the manga and original novel.
The main character, Satou, lives a pathetic existence. He thinks the whole world is plotting a conspiracy against himself and others, oppressing him and forcing himself to shut out the rest of the world. A 'hikikomori' (explained in the show), he spends his days locked in his apartment living off of beer, instant food and porn magazines. Ultimately resigned to his fate, his whole world changes with the intervention of a young woman who is determined to 'save' him from himself.
Satou doesn't start off as an 'otaku' though. He eventually reunites with an acquaintance from high school who is a big time Otaku. He winds up influencing Satou immensely, exposing him to such luxuries as erotic computer games and internet porn. In one glorious scene early on, Satou manages to fill up a fresh 120GB drive full of porn from the internet in a matter of hours. The fact that he's his next door neighbour doesn't help with his rehabilitation with the young girl mentioned before.
There's a lot going on in this show. If my little description didn't scare you off from watching it, you may just have the fortitude to sit through some of the more cringe-inducing moments. It is a Mature rated show, and while there's no outright nudity you can kind of see the subject matter they're dealing with. Despite my description, it's not all about porn. At one point, there's a rather lengthy reference to FFXI where the main character becomes engrossed in an MMO and falls in love with a female player. The show is all about examining and sometimes rather ruthlessly criticizing a variety of 'social outcasts'.
I don't think I'd reccomend this to someone who wasn't already an anime fan, since it's not particularly accessible. In fact even among anime fans, it may have limited appeal because of the uncomfortable (for some) content. But I think if you're a 'Japan-o-phile', this show would be right up your alley. This show made me cease calling myself an 'otaku', and gets my seal of approval.
