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

Social anxiety is something that I have to deal with almost every day. Though I’m still not that comfortable talking to someone that I’m not familiar with, I’ve learned to control this “illness” by keeping everyone at an arm’s length. I hide behind my personal shell in order to be as professional as I possibly can. Now, back tracking to 2 years ago, a certain show came up. Watashi ga Motenai no Wa Dou Kangaete mou Omaera ga Warui! (yeah, I typed that. No google.), Watamote... a show that has the same premise that people with same “illness” are supposed to relate to. Well, atleast that’s what the show intended to do… on paper.

Story:

Now, forgive me when I say this but this show… is shit. That’s your cue to get the fuck out if you’re one of the few people who liked this series. I don’t know why people love this show so much when it came out. This show was made not for people with social anxieties to relate with but this show is rather made in order to make fun of them. People go “Oh, I know what it feels to be in this situation. I feel for her.” but at the end of the day, let’s be honest, all the situations she’s been through is created for comedic reasons. I have a hunch that the author of the manga is one of the “popular ones” that knows someone like Tomoko and goes something like “Hah! This human’s situation is ridiculously amusing, I should make a manga even if my drawings are as bad as her situations so I can sell it and make some quick buck.”. I’d like to say that the series HAD potential after the first episode but rather than improving her situation, nothing changes apart from her situation getting worse every episode. To quote Alain from Bakashift, “the entire series is the first episode 12 times”. This is a review of the anime but from what I’ve seen in the manga, nothing has changed. There’s a scene in the manga where she was participating in a marathon then she suddenly felt an urge to shit. What did she do? She knocked on the door of a total stranger and asked the homeowner if she can use their bathroom… *sigh*. That’s the last chapter I’ve seen and decided to never again touch that abomination. Let’s just make one thing clear… I’m not offended on how the series made fun of my previous/semi-present situation. I don’t take any show to a personal level (except ef: melodies & oregairu) so don’t start pointing fingers.

Character:

Every character in this series is more interesting than the main character. See, their personalities are so colorful and interesting that sometimes I wonder what will happen if they’re taken out of the series to be moved to a completely different show as the main character. I can surely watch that show and probably not be pissed about it. In the topic of moving characters from this series to another, I wonder what’ll happen if I move Tomoko and put her in a series like Berserk, Deadman Wonderland, or High School of The Dead/Gyo? I just want to see her get killed miserably and have a good laugh so forgive me. Hmm… Now, for the sake of my reviewing format, let’s talk about the “main character” Kuroki Tomoko.

See, I can understand her situation if she got bullied or something but no such thing was mentioned in the series or in the manga from what I’ve read. Why is she such a despicable tiny little shit? No one in the series (except her younger brother) talks badly about her yet she treats everybody like they’re trash. Maybe, just maybe, this is her way to hide her inferiority complex but still… why? Also, she calls her best friend, the ONLY ONE person that she can portray herself as herself a bitch? You know as an atheist, I don’t believe in hell but let me just say that there’s a special place in hell for people like her. I really don’t think she has any redeemable traits. Wait, let’s be fair, I’ll think about it for a minute… just a minute… Hmmm… She’s a liar, she cheats to beat kids in card games, she searches pictures of penises on her phone during class, she badmouths everybody… nah, nothing. I hate her, that’s that. If you count that as a “redeemable trait” then by all means do so.

Animation:

Silver Link… What are the other shows they’ve made? *searches google*. Baka and Test/Akiyuki Shinbo Jr. directs a show outside Shaft, Kokoro Connect/Four kids exchange bodies while Inaba remains best girl, and this season’s (Fall 2015) “The Worst One” and The 35th Anti-Magic Platoon. Well, the studio’s not really “up-there” by a long shot by they have their merits. In Watamote, the character designs don’t really appeal to my taste but at least it’s better than what is on the manga. It’s pretty normal with some amazing utilization of angles. There are some scenes where everything goes landscape mode and that was amazing. Apart from that, nothing else. I really have nothing cool to say about the animation section because it’s pretty much average with not much about it standing out.

Sounds:

Apart from the OP and the Natsu Matsuri ED, I find everything about this soundtrack forgettable. Like in the animation section, everything when it comes to music, at least from my perspective, is pretty standard. Nothing much stood out and it was probably happy to be at least forgettable.

Now, disregarding that fact, let’s talk about the dub. Monica Rial as Tomoko… is fucking amazing. When I first heard that Monica Rial was playing as Tomoko I went “fucking nailed it!”. See, I hate, I despise, I LOATHE Monica Rial like you can’t even imagine. But that fact aside, I also know her potentials… well, if you can really call it “potential”. I know what her voice is capable of. And when I finally got the chance to re-watch it dubbed, my expectations were not betrayed. She sounds fucking awesome as Tomoko. How can I put this if you haven’t seen the dub and just refuse to? Hmm.. Let’s just say Tomoko’s seiyuu is capable of speaking fluently in English. There, the best example I can think of. Monica Rial and Tomoko’s seiyuu sounds like one person to be honest. Re-watching Watamote was a pain but since Monica Rial finally finds a role that she’s 100% compatible with, it became a bit bearable. I finished re-watching it not because I liked it but because I was deeply moved by Monica Rial’s performance which is coming from a hater, is probably a good thing, right?

Verdict:

I never really wanted to review this series but I found myself having too much to say about this series when I was looking for something to review. This series is one of the few series out there where I question myself as to why it even exists. Apparently, it was popular in 4chan but popularity is pretty subjective in my eyes. The producers were like “Oh… this manga is popular overseas! Let’s make it an anime so we can sell it abroad for a couple of bucks.” Well, I think they’ve succeeded in doing so. Now, can we stop it at that? I heard there is an ongoing petition in the internet to make another season of this series. People, if you’ve indeed signed this petition, please tell me your name and where you live so I can shake your hand personally… and burn your house.

With all that said, I’ll (not) gladly give Watamote an overall score of 4.88 out of 10. I seriously wanted to give it a lower score but since I follow my own formula when it comes to scoring, the score was somehow pulled by the animation and sounds section. I may have talked about how shit this entire series is throughout my show but it’s really not as bad as I claim it to be. Maybe it just rubs me the wrong way and didn’t laugh as much as a chuckle while watching it but who knows? You might like it if your tickle bone is softer than mine. Well, that’s your decision. Try not to use my review as an excuse to not watch it. I still recommend the series, though I don’t want to, if you want to laugh at other’s misfortunes. That’s your call.

Alternate Anime Recommendation:

For alternate recommendation, why don’t you try My Teen Romantic Comedy Snafu (I recently found out that snafu was in fact a word. I was surprised to be honest)? A series that has the same premise: a loner trying to fit in society, or rather in school. But in Snafu’s case, Hachiman, the protagonist is the textbook example of how loners should act (though he crosses the line sometimes). I’ve said before that I consider Hachiman as the torchbearer of loners worldwide and I still believe that fact.

Also, if you don’t want that, there’s always Welcome to The NHK. A show that Watamote should have been but never did. That’s all you need to know.

Well, that’s it for me. Thanks for reading again as always. Bye!