Review of WataMote: No Matter How I Look At It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular!
No. 1: This is a GAG anime not a romantic comedy, This show really only can compare to Lucky Star and Azumanga Daioh. Almost all other gag animes follow the 5 minute formula, but not WataMote, Silver Link gambled on full length episodes adapted from what is essentially a bunch of one off comic strips. They weaved the jokes so seamlessly that viewers still believe there will be character development or an overarching story or "plot" when in reality, "These are the jokes folks" Tomoko won't be changing her formula any more than Dennis the Menace or Garfield will change theirs. When it comes tomusic and sound there was no contest that season or even year. It's not even fair to gatchaman and danganronpa. All bow down before the mighty score and soundtrack of WataMote. Every other episode we were treated to a special customized exit song by a popular band or musician. Even Kana Hanazawa and Hatsune Miku got in on the action. I mean come on!
Regarding story I wouldn't call it a slice of life,it's more of a deconstructed slice of life. Tomoko is a big Japanese pop culture nerd, but none of her schemes ever match up to the fantasies of the light novels or videogames she uses for life manuals. This is where the humor stems from and it is unbelievable, after pausing the show for a few and bracing yourself, you will bust a gut. She's a big woobie always trying her best despite countless failures and this is what life really is, getting up and trying again, this makes her very relatable.
The art really held its own. There wasn't any obvious production budget issues where you could tell it was rushed or they ran out of money. It was fairly consistent throughout. Some of my favorite details were the changing of the seasons, the sunsets, and the soul shattering revelation picassos.
Fan service was high in areas of parody and homages, I believe there is a large wiki somewhere devoted to chronicling what shows were referenced. There was one scene where they beautifully mixed terra formars, haruhi and attack on titan all in one. The few ecchi scenes involving sexual harassment and her friend yu were clever and funny.
This comedy is not for everyone, it is an acquired taste. I would call the humor in this series as the closest thing to high art there is in anime comedy. It is new, it is ugly, it is raw, it is scary, it is honest, it is relatable. If you can take cringe humor ala the office, Seinfeld or louie, you will love it, if you don't take a pass.