Quote Originally Posted by Ryllharu View Post
Not really exaggerated here, and it is based on historical fact.

He was a 34 year old NEET when the series starts (presume 2012 when the novels started). Work backward and he was in high school in the 1990s.

Bullying in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s made international news, and was the topic of a lot of sociology, education, and criminal justice studies. It was first noticed in the mid-80s, but then suffered from a severe spike right around when he would have been in high school.

At the time, it was a significant social crisis. It was considered that the suicides were spurred on by "normal" students bullying the victim (as opposed to like...delinquents), so it was pervasive. Ignored or encouraged by the teachers.
That doesn't mention any extreme bullying like this.