Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!

Before you decide to watch this show, make sure you do the following: First, lock your windows, close the blinds, and make sure you're in an isolated location (preferably soundproof). Also, have plenty of supply of water ready. Oh and don't forget some cough medicine. Now you're probably asking yourself, “why??” The answer is simple: You're going to be laughing so damn hard in this series like you've never ever before. Watamote, aka No Matter How I Look At It, It's You Guys’ Fault I'm Not Popular!, is an animated series based off the manga of the same name written by Tanigawa Nico. The series chronicles the lifeof an antisocial girl named Tomoko Kuroki. It depicts the every day life of this young girl as she finally becomes a high school student. The problem? She is literally an otaku with no social experience with no real friends, much less a boyfriend. Well, now that might be something that not any of us wants to be in the shoes of but for Tomoko, it's what she has to go through every single day of her life. For Tomoko, she is what represents the antithesis of a high school girl. While most girls in high school already have friends and are looking forward to the dating cycle, Tomoko is still in the baby stage of her making a real friend. (a boyfriend would obviously be better but I think that might be out of her league for now) Tomoko has always being a shy girl throughout her childhood and has a problem of getting along with others socially. In fact, her social skills are so below average that through flashbacks, we see she has only made three actual “conversations” with her peers. But hey, it's high school so the opportunity to shine is now right? WRONG. For Tomoko, it doesn't seem like much has progressed. She is still stuck as an antisocial girl with zero experience in socializing. She often has thoughts in her head too that are filled with delusions about others. For instance, she often fantasizes what it would be like if she really was popular. These delusions expands on her being the queen, majesty, or some sort of celebrity in her own mind. Other times, she pictures herself in a world of her own where she is the ruler and the subjects are those 'popular kids'. Unfortunately, she often mixes the wrong way between her fictions and reality. These usually result in consequences...mostly getting herself embarrassed or humiliated. What impresses me most about her character is that Tomoko is very relatable. In fact, most of her life situations can be traced to our own childhoods. In fact, some of you reading this might be one of those folks who were once antisocial yourself. There's a line though between being antisocial or just a nutcase. In Watamote, Tomoko takes it to the extremes through her behavior. She has a love for BL games, often gets ideas from the manga/anime she is in love with, and always seems to say or do the wrong things at the wrong time. (mostly anyways) Furthermore, Tomoko seems to have a perverted mind as well as she fantasizes about genders of both sexes. In particular, her 'friend' Yui is a target of those perverted thoughts as she plays strange imaginations in her head. The series follows a slice of life format so don't expect any form of arc going on. What you should expect though is Tomoko's progression as she tries to climb out of her shell in terms of being the antisocial kid. She doesn't have any real friend and seems like High School isn't getting any better. In fact, her vow to become more popular is played as parodies with each of her attempts. These usually are plans played in her head that often doesn't seem to go the way she wants to. Tomoko's reliance on the knowledge she gets from anime, manga, and in the otome game world doesn't help her at all. Although it's played as a parody most of the time, there are moments where we may also feel sorry for her. Why? Perhaps it's because we might have been in the same situation before. In fact, there is probably one moment in life where you feel like you just can't succeed in something no matter how hard you try. In the end, you realize it might all be pointless. For Tomoko Kuroki, it's something she has dealt with many times in her life. “What's the point?” Tomoko's relation with her family is surprisingly quite realistic; at least at first glance. She has caring parents whom often cares for her daughter despite them not knowing of her way of life. Tomoko's younger brother Tomoki Kuroki is also portrayed as being just what a younger brother might be like in the real world – impatient, reserved, and often brutally honest. Throughout the series, we clearly see that the two of them behaves like siblings because of the way the argue. Some of these are based off of normal norms while other times are related to almost no reason. Regardless, it's realistic in my point of view because siblings always gets into fights no matter what. In fact, if you had a sibling, wasn't there at least one time where the two of you disagreed over something? (even if it's completely pointless?) On the other hand, we later meet another character who served as an 'old friend' of Tomoko. Unlike Tomoko though, she significantly changed not only physically but also in terms of her personality. She represents what Tomoko is not – pretty, cheerful, and sociable. It's sad to see Tomoko being compared to such a person throughout the series because the gap in their differences. Furthermore, she seems to have accomplished a goal in her life that has been an obstacle that Tomoko tried to overcome all this time. Sometimes, you just have to feel sorry for her. The idea and originality of Watamote isn't as fresh as some people might think though. Recent series such as My Romantic Comedy SNAFU also depicts a young boy with delusions and being antisoical while being acquittance with a beauty. Other series such as Welcome to the NHK and The World God Only Knows also depicts the otaku culture with an antisocial character and being unpopular with their peers. The highlight to Watamote though is that Tomoko is an extreme case but also struggles to overcome her obstacles in a more humorous way. The way Tomoko is portrayed often shows that she is stuck in a labyrinth of her own problems. There seems to be no way out for her because of various reasons. These reasons are often humorous but if we take them to the real life world, it can be a serious problem. Regardless, I find Watamote and its portrayal of Tomoko's character to be very entertaining to watch. The comedy of the series are also the highlights. There are references being made to pop culture as well as other popular anime/manga series. Sometimes though, I feel like the show is trying a bit hard or more repetitive than it should be. Tomoko's quest to become more popular in high school might also frustrate viewers especially those who wants her to succeed. Then finally, Watamote might also be a painful watch especially for those who has truly been in Tomoko's shoes before. It makes some of us look back and tell ourselves, “wow, I think I've been there before..just look at me now”. Watamote's artwork overall is painted with a simple style. Tomoko's character is probably the most noticeable. The way she looks isn't what some people might call 'attractive'. Rather, she is designed in the way an antisocial kid might be like. Her long hair, bagged eyes, and way she dresses shows that she isn't the typical valley girl. In fact, she doesn't use makeup or spent hours doing her hair in the morning. Silver Link adapts the manga well for the visuals just the way it ought to be – straight forward and simple. As for soundtrack goes, Watamote's OP song, Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaete mo Omaera ga Warui by Konomi Suzuki n' Kiba of Akiba is extremely noticeable with its combination of rock and metal cords. Along with the strange appeal to her character, the song depicts Tomoko as a kid who doesn't fit with the popular crowds. The OST of the show is pleasant and often times plays noticeable tones of its soundtrack during certain scenes. These usually include moments when Tomoko gets caught up in awkward moments. The ED contains several different styles but all of them are portrayed as humorous and awkward. Finally, I would like to give praise to Tomoko's VA Kitta Izumi for her role in this series. Her voice as Tomoko truly shows that she is antisocial girl with no social skills and troubling delusions. Ultimately, this show is one hell of a fun ride. I forgot the amount of times I had to screenshot those hilarious moments involving Tomoko. It brings about the humor of what an antisocial girl might be like in the case of Tomoko. Although the series does take it a bit to the extreme at times, I find it funny to watch because it pokes fun at the idea. In fact, the idea of being antisocial is often portrayed as a serious consequence. And indeed it is but in Watamote, the show gives off more of a humorous experience in the eyes and shoes of Tomoko. It's not a good thing to be antisocial or delusional but this show portrays it in such a way that you can't sometimes help but laugh. (at least I did) I hope you get a good laugh from this series as well. High school experiences might not be something we all enjoyed in our lives but it's certainly an important part of our memories. For Tomoko, that might not be appealing but this series sure was.

WATAMOTE -No matter how I look at it, It's you guys fault I'm not popular- is a comedy aimed straight at dysfunctional geeks, or former dysfunctional geeks, who can laugh at their own faults and take them with a grain of salt. Its gallows humor centers around a socially inept mess of a protagonist who goes through life repeating the cycle of self-embarrassment and loneliness while learning nothing from it, and garnished with anime and pop culture references and parodies. It's a show that hits painfully close to home for anyone who has social anxieties, yet playful enough that it remains morbidly funny rather thanbecoming straight-up depressing, most of the time at least. It's also pretty blunt about who's really at fault for all the main character's problems. Our social misfit of a protagonist is Tomoko, an unkempt antisocial teenager entering her first year of high school. Despite having difficulty with talking to the opposite sex and having hardly any friends in middle school, Tomoko convinces herself that she will become instantly popular after her high school debut. It goes without saying that this isn't the case. Instead, she ends up brooding, having odd fantasies, and lamenting the fact she isn't popular. She spends her days fading into the scenery and going unnoticed by her fellow students, except for her occasional bouts of awkwardness; her days off school are usually spent cooped up in her room. Still, she's determined to gain popularity among her peers, even if she has absolutely no clue how to go about accomplishing that goal. Cringe inducing awkwardness and hilarity ensue. Majority of the show's humor comes from Tomoko's breathtaking ineptness. Not only does she have trouble talking to people, she has no sense of how to handle social situations at all. On top of that, she's also pessimistic and has a really dirty mind. Consequently, she constantly misinterprets even the simplest of interactions and blows them out of proportion; sometimes putting a sexual twist on them. A single kind gesture from a boy sends her into hilariously ludicrous fantasies of that boy having having a crush on her and becoming her boyfriend, even if there isn't a single indignation that he is actually interested in her. She comes up with half-baked ideas how to get noticed by her classmates which either go unnoticed or cause her embarrassment, even as she has overblown daydreams of becoming the most popular girl in class. She even botches an attempt to impress her visiting younger cousin, who had actually admired Tomoko until this particular visit. It would be depressing (actually, it still sort of is) if it wasn't for how clearly deluded Tomoko is (she takes social ques from anime), and the show's unhinged presentation of her delusional fantasies and social ineptitude. The irony in this is, despite coming up with harebrained ideas to get her classmates' attentions, Tomoko rarely tries to interact with them normally. Instead of actually attempting to get acquainted with her fellow students, she just mopes around and daydreams about having friends. Of course, this is partly due to shyness, but Tomoko actively avoids interacting with people. She's also jealous, and even a bit spiteful, towards people more popular than her. Tomoko's loneliness is something she brings upon herself, if even just partly. Of course, she's unaware of this; propelling the show's morbid laughs as she runs around in circles. Now, you may have noticed Tomoko is the only character I've mentioned so far. This is because she is very much the essence of the show; she is horribly pathetic and self-centered and incredibly counter-productive, yet somehow surprisingly sympathetic. Her desire to become popular, warped as it is, comes from a genuine place. Beneath her unkempt appearance and unsocial demeanor, she's a confused teenager looking for someone to connect with. As funny as her misfortunes can be, and they can be pretty damn hilarious, there's an underline melancholy to them. This resonate strong for anyone who has had crippling social anxieties like Tomoko. What makes WATAMOTE a breath of fresh air is that it is able to spin these negative feelings into something fun to watch. The show's manic energy and countless silly references to other anime (K-ON, Fist of the North Star, and Another just to name a few), which usually take form in Tomoko's delusions, keep the humor from being overwhelmingly bleak... most of the time, at least. The other characters in the show have significantly less attention, which isn't surprising given the nature of the show, but add extra flavor to the show as they interact with Tomoko. In complete opposition to Tomoko's high school experience, her best friend from middle school Yuu (her only friend, really) has made a full transformation from quiet shy girl to a trendy, fashionable girl. Unlike our protagonist, she's friendly and sociable and actually pretty sweet; even with her new found popularity she makes time for her unsociable middle-school friend whenever she can. It's rather funny to see the striking contrast of the separate paths the two took after middle school. There's also Tomoko's younger brother, who always seems to be at the butt of Tomoko's shenanigans at home. Their vague animosity towards each other mirrors that of an actual sibling relationship, something that is oddly rare in anime. Late in the series, there's also a character that gives Tomoko a much needed hug. Director Shin Oonuma has a very busy visual style, constantly throwing colorful and weird imagery into scenes; a habit that has been unnecessary in some of his previous works. This fits WATAMOTE like a glove, however. Tomoko has a very skewed outlook on life and an equally as overactive imagination; Oonuma's manic direction does wonders to illustrate this. Sometimes this comes in little touches like many of the characters having minimal detail in their designs, or Tomoko slowly becoming transparent and fading into the background. Other times it takes form in delirious spectacles, such as any of Tomoko's ludicrous fantasies. Also adding the unhinged visual design is the oddly angled lighting and color schemes and visual windows into Tomoko's thoughts. Tomoko's character design itself is cute in a dirty abandoned puppy kind of way; giving her some major icon power. You get the feeling that she would look pretty good if she actually took care of herself. The music is on the zany side. It's reminiscent the usual light music used in high school comedy anime, but with a distinct oddness to it that works well with the visual design. The real attention catcher, however, are the show's opening and ending themes. The show has several different ending themes; all of which are both fun to listen to, and a little crazy. The main ending theme is preformed by Tomoko's seiyuu, Izumi Kitta (who does an incredibly job in the role), and fits the character perfectly. The opening theme is a blast of hard-rocking energy that is accompanied by visuals that encapsulate the show's themes and change slightly as the show continues. It is easily one of the best anime openers in recent memory. WATAMOTE doesn't live to the likes of Welcome to the NHK or The Tatami Galaxy, which feature similarly dissatisfied protagonists, because Tomoko ultimately doesn't grow or develop much at all by the end. The show itself says that "her story doesn't really matter". However, perhaps because of this irreverence, the show is gigantically entertaining. While social anxieties are certainly a serious issue, there is something refreshing about having a show that centers around them not take itself seriously. The show isn't trivializing such anxieties or even making fun of them. It's simply inviting the viewers to laugh them off.

What happened? Watamote was a series about this socially retarded girl who came across with some social situations and acted retarded. Then what happened? This same thing over and over. Social situation, then retardation. This happened few times, then few times again and in the end few times happened few times too many, and that is what happened. Main points where this anime fails are pacing, character development and plot. 1-cour series can achieve a lot, but Watamote didn't even try to get anywhere. Many criticize Slice of Life series for being pointless, even state that Slice of Life is meant to be pointless, butin Watamote's case, it's mainly just waste of potential. Watamote had the key elements to be the NHK with OreImo funfun, but someone thought it would be cool to start repeating the same stone age joke till nausea, and it sure was. (Stone age and nausea, not funfun). The characters are meeting my picture of laziness. Kuroko is pathetic, a no-life loser and more importantly, a characters which is easy to develop in whatever direction. ... NOPE. Let's have a character who is the same person always, and an annoying one too! This formula works in fighting tournament shonen, but not here. Never here. Her brother reminds me of an alpaca. Always that stupid fucking face. By alpaca I mean that one guy from Twilight. There is other character too, but they won't matter, except that one senpai girl from the last episodes. She is interesting, why won't they make an anime about her instead of this little fucker? When it comes to the animation and art, Watamote does a good job not being like all the other recent school series, so it passes. If we ignore the glorious op, the music is forgettable. Same thing with voice acting when ignoring her (you know, her) squeaking voices. Nothing impressive nor disappointing in the production, just the typical neutral nothing.

I simply wanted to say that Watamote is one of the most depressing anime I've ever watched. Just as I kept watching it, I couldn't stop wondering how much it would've took to reach the end. This anime has often been described to me as "realistic", "relatable" and "funny", and as a fool, I believed that it would've actually been a fun trip. It is even labelled as "Comedy" on almost every website. The show itself is nothing but a lonley and geeky high-school girl ( Her name is Tomoko ) and her struggle to integrate herself into the society and make friends. At first, seemsrelatable towards the ones who have or had the same problems, but it truly isn't. The title itself says "No matter how I look at it, it's your guys' fault if I'm not popular", but it is actually Tomoko's own fault for being so bad, and isolated. Now, you'd expect such a character to be not cold nor hot, to have her issues but a positive side, something that we can say about her that would not be as we think... Instead, she's straight up rude, awkward and disrespectful, either with people she doesn't know or her own family. The story is just filled with sadness, all over it. Not a happy, or even NORMAL moment. For those who praise this anime for being "realistic" clearly didn't think this through, as the show is filled with clichés and silliness. As an outcast and anti-social person, I can describe Tomoko's experiences past and present as totally unrealistic and odd. Like the fact that in an entire week of school, she had not shared a word with ANYONE exept a barely said "Goodbye" to her teacher. Which she took like a win to the lottery, by the way. There are also dozens of references to other anime, that are nowhere near subtle, as the only thing that stops from saying their respective name is a censorship *"beep"* in the dialogue. Not only some of these reference are out of place, but they are so obvious and in-your-face that I couldn't even enjoy or appreciate them, and I like parodies. The characters are basically clichés and nonexistent, as this anime focuses only on one and one character only. The animation is mediocre, with good, but often overwhelming effects and lazy scenes that can easily be improved. The music can hardly be noticed, and barely adds any impact to any scene. Which is a shame, since the opening is absolutely awesome, and despite the ED isn't one of the best, it is very creative. The voice acting is well done, but when 80% of the dialogue are just inner thoughts coming from the main character, you can barely notice it. Overall, no character, nor story development whatsoever. If I'd just put some percentage to sum it all up, it would be: 60% Depression 30% Random references to other shows 1% Actually relatable scenes 2% Of out of nowhere useless Ecchi you can't even predict And 7% of western and anime clichés spread around in random order. I do not recommend this anime, unless you really enjoy tragic "comedies" or find funny a depressed girl that threatens to kill herself if she doesn't talk to her brother once in a while. Solid 3/10 and I'm being generous.

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