Review of WataMote: No Matter How I Look At It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular!

This review contains no spoilers. Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui, or in short Watamote, is a comedy anime about an otaku girl with null social skills and her attempts to become more popular now that her high school life has begun. What started as a fun show filled with hilarious jokes and awkward yet relatable situations (albeit exaggerated to the extreme) quickly turned repetitive and monotonous as more episodes came in. It's one of those times where wrong expectations can kill an anime: I actually expected character development. Unfortunately, that never happened. Let's start with the characters. Tomoko is our main character, agirl with abysmal social skills or self confidence that is addicted to anime, manga and videogames. Her younger brother, Tomoki, a 'normal' guy who always has to put up with Tomoko's weird behavior, often putting a dent on his patience. And finally (yes, already), Tomoko's middle school nerdy female friend, Yuu, who not only did a 180° turn for high school, but also grew up noticeably in many ways. Note that she's not in the same high school as Tomoko anymore, however.

Three characters and a few episodic ones not worth mentioning, and that's it. Most if not all the episodes revolve around Tomoko's attempts to becoming more popular through a bizarre and ineffective method (often using her otaku 'knowledge') that always seem to backfire, much to her dismay. The other half of the times she's feeling out of place and lonely... and that's it.

It was funny at first but then it became tedious to watch. The delivery is just too similar every single episode, nothing really happens or improves. Watamote is filled with parodies (probably one of the better aspects), delusions and awkward situations that in the end turn to despair. While the mix of sadness and comedy was nicely done most of the times, it also grew thin as the series went on. Like I already said, if I knew from the start that I should have NOT expected any development, maybe I would have liked Watamote more, yet I kept waiting for something to happen and in the end I was only disappointed time and time again.

I enjoyed greatly the first 1-3 eps, then the enjoyment decayed a little more every episode up until the anti-climactic finale. You know something's wrong when by the final episodes you keep checking how much time is left until it's over, or when you start to fall asleep while watching.

Animation, voice acting or sound. Nice job on those, got no complaints. Though the OP is a little overrated and unfitting. Those chains are never broken in the actual anime.

Detailed analysis GO!

General:
Atmosphere 8/10 --- Successfully showcased an otaku's life, although exaggerated for laughs.
Characters 5/10 --- Too few, too little development. Tomoko was likable at first but she became a little annoying over time (because she never really changed and kept expecting different results).
Story development & ending 2/10 --- You could start watching any episode and not be able to tell if you're in the beginning, the middle or by the end. By episode 11 she greets her teacher in the exact same way as it happened in episode 1, that basically tells you that NOTHING actually changed, not one thing. The ending was also pathetic

Technical:
Art 8/10 --- No complaints.
Soundtrack 8/10 --- Okay OP, cute ED and a fitting soundtrack.
Voice acting 8/10 --- I think Tomoko was done greatly. I couldn't picture her sounding any different.

Personal:
Priority (How eager I was to watch the next episode) 7/10 --- I never watch airing shows. I prefer to watch them once they're completely out. At first I would be hyped about a new Watamote weekly episode, but halfway or so... not that much.
Memorability 4/10 --- Really didn't care when it ended. I won't be remembering this one.

Final score:
6/10 --- Okay

Overall Watamote is a decent comedy anime (especially if you can somehow relate to how accurately they represent Tomoko's problems) and if I had to rate only the first 1-3 episodes I'd give it an 8 or even 9, but sadly taking into account the entire show I must drop it to a 6, and even then I think I'm being generous (If I had to rate the last 6 eps alone... heh).

Tomoko is not a saint, so expect some slight sexual themes and minor fanservice. I'd rate it for 12-13 years teens and older.

That's all I got for now, I hope you enjoyed this review!