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

The Watamote OVA is a rare episode written by a crew that knows that even though there is much more material in the manga, there was not enough sales for the show to continue in a second season. The episode literally starts with Tomoko having a hysterical Evangelion-inspired conversation about how every character needs be changed entirely to be more "cookie-cutter" to drive up sales, with Kiko finally telling her that she needs to get back to reality and that there will be no second season. This is peak enough writing on its own, but then it transitions into the second part ofthe episode.

As a proper sendoff to Watamote, the writers created the single instance in which Tomoko was considered cool while receiving the attention of a person of the opposite sex in a realistic setting: in middle school, when Tomoko didn't have as much social anxiety and was a bit chuuni. Some might consider Junichi's side of the story a bit dry, as it dragged for a while unlike a typical Watamote episode. However, it it was incredibly important that is was written from Junichi's first-person perspective. This way the audience could tell that he really was interested in seeing Tomoko again and truly thought of her as cool and interesting. Even the character design of Tomoko from Junichi's perspective changes drastically to show her as taller and more elegant than what is always shown from Tomoko's perspective.

If you want to see one of the best, heart-felt written send-offs to the least-deserving main character in anime, this is it. Just don't expect another standard Watamote episode and all of the hijinks that usually ensue.