**First timer, subs**

* I hope the website doesn’t do that everytime.
* I’m such a sucker for vintage homage. Just the late 90s JK got me all giddy.
* What’s this? Official subs TL Notes? I suppose today’s young weebs might not know Ouran High School Host Club.
* [**It Goes Hard**](#seasonallisten)
* [Is This an Incel?](#isthisameme)
* Poor girl thinks she’s gifted.
* Oh neat, this was from before the Parasyte anime was made, so it would have been in reference to the original manga from the 90s.
* Ah, yes. Fire Emblem.
* Oh, that’s a cursed look.
* Lies! There wasn’t even a single potato chip.
* What is this family up to that both children have eyes like that?
* [Blueprint Shot](#neat)
* Poor girl just needs to pay off her sleep debt.
* …AKB48?
* [Small Victories](#SPORTS)
* How many of these Manga covers they are show are real? They seem to well done to all just be one-offs for the show.
* [Hamburger **Supremacy!**](#seasonalfoodie)
* Ah, paranoia. We meet again, old friend.
* Quick thinking. I was expecting her to just hide in there.
* [Pyrrhic Victory](#therethere)

**Prompt:**
It is well know that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Her we see our protagonist failing completely, attempting to do so through the antithesis of the back.

**QotD:**

1) Believe it or not? Shota.

2) Poor girl just needs someone in her corner to give her headpats. And also some sleep.

3) Mary Brown’s fired chicken. Just a big ol’ case of spicy chicken to share. Their chicken is the best, but their sides leave something to be desired.

4) 6/10. She’s like an oiled duck that needs someone to help clean her feathers. I can’t help feeling sorry for her.

5) I’m not going to be the only one to answer that, so… [](#mugiwait)

**First time watcher (sub)**

Alright, time to interrupt my monogatari rewatch for something that might have some even more out there scenes.

I see we’re wasting no time here! Buncha exposition in the cold open but nothing we didn’t already know from basic synopses.

Not necessarily the tone I was expecting from the OP, but I don’t dislike it. Fits the whole “It’s you guys’ fault” idea that I guess we’re probably going to see a lot of.

Oh no, she’s coping already 💀. You don’t want to hang out with the normies anyway, girl. Surely we won’t see any more of this…

LMAO I was not expecting the prompt scene to be quite like that. I can’t tell if it’s supposed to be a stand in for a rub and tug or if the game is actually making it seem to Tomoko that dudes love back rubs that much. Either way, funny scene.

Alright. That was a lot. I think Tomoko is even more hopeless than I was expecting, so far. You can’t help but hope that things are gonna get a bit better for her (probably not much more than a bit), but man, she is an absolute gremlin. I think her brother summed it up pretty well that if she were a guy, he would have already punched her.

First Timer

Sub

I am going to pretend the OP inspired a certain Attack on Titan OP.

All right, I know of this by reputation but haven’t even really seen even clips of it. So fairly blind but let’s jump in.

The cringe…dear fuck the cringe. There are a lot of references in this show and my copy has some of them but whoever did the notes missed the Samurai Deeper reference. Which might mean that I still remember that old as fuck show but whatever. Anywho, all of that was painful.

QotD:1 Loli seeking

2 I can’t guage

3 Nope

4 6

5 …Redo of a Healer

**Rewatcher**

– I don’t want to transcribe from japanese, someone give me the TL note on “misfit” from the beginning
– she still gets the protagonist desk. Back corner by the window transcends everything
– [banger op ](#seasonallisten)
– tomoki is like explicitly misogynistic in insulting her classmates. This is the kind of small touch of realism I appreciate
– I love the little [art style changes](https://i.redd.it/t09q2pxw3u7d1.png). also the b/w sketch eye later
– we get faceless bg characters. and anime references
– [end spoilers] >!oh wow the teacher interaction comes back for the final scene lol!<
– this is extra real after covid leading to me not talking to another human for a week at a time
– [looooong neck](https://i.redd.it/j4znxgxw3u7d1.png)
– [“but if that’s the case lolicons would be all over me”](#lolipolice). Don’t delay the rewatch again!
– the entire scene of her talking to her brother is going wild direction-wise
– I hadn’t noticed how much she is always talking like a video game. Again a nice little touch
– “the people here are all way worse than me. Feels good to be here” The constant dance between self loathing and misanthropy is just [](#scrumptiouslymoe)
– I love the movement of the highlight [here](https://i.redd.it/amd70fxw3u7d1.png). A nice little way to emphasize her aloneness within limited animation
– quick, who can identify [the manga](https://i.redd.it/7axuznxw3u7d1.png) (the right is barakamon, right?)
– oh no the wcdonalds scene is in the first episode?! I remember this being one of the most painful. just conjuring the most insane convoluted scenarios to torment herself. Too real [](#nanami-hug)
– I thought only kids and idiots ate this! [](#laughter)
– [:( 🙁 why were the brother’s friends so mean to her 🙁 :(](#nobully)
– [also banger ed](#seasonallisten). I love that the voice gets more and more rough throughout. I imagine its hard to sing doing that.

I remembered watamote being fantastic and more psychologically realistic than other loner character anime. But it holds up so far! Still very funny, still extremely cutting.

Rewatcher – subbed

I love Tomoko’s introduction. Tomoko herself is an unappealing protagonist on the outside and her introduction reflects that. It effectively establishes key parts of her personality, namely her false perceptions of her social interactions and her determination, while also managing to be funny and even, dare I say it, relatable. Another thing of note is the music. WataMote is a show where its music is almost always used to compliment its scenes, giving them an extra punch and aiding the mood it creates. Starting with a whimsical tune only to have it fizzle out with the narrator’s punchline is not only hilarious, but it sets the tone nicely as well. Tomoko constantly has these moments where she feels as though she has finally won, only for her to come down crashing and burning, so the music in the very beginning representing that fits in very nicely. The cherry on top of this cold open is the (smooth) transition to her new life in high school, which really serves to hammer home the fact that what Tomoko usually thinks is going to happen, doesn’t usually happen. Hasn’t she been through enough already as is!?

The opening is awesome. Another example of perfectly fitting music that compliments the show itself. The metaphorical chains representing her flaws that hold her down as she struggles gives the opening an over dramatic feel that encapsulates a socially anxious high schooler’s own over dramatic view of their own life. The song is a banger and the visuals are metal as fuck. A fantastic opening to a fantastic show.

In this scene is demonstrated one of my favourite aspects of WataMote, the direction. When I first watched it, I was immediately hooked by it. It reminded me of Shaft. Then I found out later that a former Shaft director did in fact direct it. But back to the topic at hand. WataMote’s direction is very effective and purposeful like a lot of Shaft shows. In this scene we see Tomoko trying not to panic as she confronts the fact that she hasn’t spoken to anyone this year. It slowly zooms in creating tension as people around her talk about various things she wants to be apart of such as Karaoke and couples, but can’t due to her anxiety, finally culminating to her mini panic session hitting harder than if the camera was simply stationary. Next she shit talks girls who form groups as the camera distances her from the background, which represents Tomoko’s own distancing from others. This is a common thing Tomoko does throughout the series. She insults something that she actually wants to be apart of. Tsundere-ing if you will. Another thing in this scene that is common throughout the series is the greying out of background characters. In the good old Shaft way, it’s cutting costs while also representing something. In this case, it’s Tomoko’s loneliness and isolation. She doesn’t fit in with these darkened silhouettes. She’s an outcast. A sad but very real fate for her. 5 minutes in and I’m already feeling bad for her again.

I’m a sucker for sunset lighting and WataMote uses it quite a bit. I think it’s a very visually pleasing show overall. Like Shaft, it prioritizes its creative art direction and cinematography over technically well done animation or special effects. A specific thing I really like is the unique, polygonal lighting that is used. Tomoko being a cynical shit bag as she leaves the school gets me every time. Her wishing terrorists would take over the school or various creatures from manga not only shows her spiteful side, but it also establishes her otaku side as well, just to really hammer home that relatability and “just like me fr fr” energy.

She gets home, talks to her mother, has a cup of coffee, and says she’ll get her middle school conversation skills back. Did she have any skills in the first place? No. But she at least has confidence so you cheer her on, only for those skills to simply be her expertise in dating sims. The selection of the “I’m lonely” option is the finishing touch to an excellent setup and punchline.

I’M COMING SOON!!!!!!!

Beautiful. Perfection. How this show only has 6.99 on MAL is beyond me.

She realizes these games are futile in her attempts to socialize, which is a minor piece of character development, so she chucks it, hatching a new plan. Here’s another example of that music usage and direction I love so much. The camera slowly pans up as it reveals this new form she has taken, cutting to her face occasionally as she contemplates her new appearance, creating tension as if it were a horror movie. The music swells as it reveals more and more until finally, she vomits. It would seem she hasn’t looked in the mirror for years. Truly the most relatable anime protagonist out there. After a dramatic, referential google search, she reveals she’s a monstrosity to her little (even if he does look older) brother. She may be an ugly as sin girl with that appearance, but she’s our ugly as sin girl.

Yet another thing I like about WataMote is the sibling dynamic between Tomoko and her brother. It’s a dynamic that feels realistic while also remaining fun to watch. They get on each other’s nerves, but they care about each other deep down when it counts. This is shown in this scene where she barges in and annoys him, but when she starts showing some concerning signs, he’s willing to listen to her and is genuinely worried for a second. Since I also have a little brother (who’s funny enough a lot like Tomoko’s), it made it all the more relatable.

And after that scene, here we have Tomoko’s first victory. She managed to talk to someone. And people say WataMote has no character development smh. Next she stops in a convenience store, where she struggles to purchase her goods, but still manages to and on top of that, “converse” with an ikeman. Victory after victory for our little gremlin. I really like how Tomoko’s wins throughout the series are handled. Considering the amount of terrible things that happen to her, the rare victories she does have are all the more satisfying. Now as a reward, she ends up at the bookstore. After an (unfortunate) couple and a cool lighting detail to cap the encounter off, she can finally blend in. She’s in her element now as she turns grey with the people around her.

Now the scene that usually sells WataMote’s relatability to people. The food order at Wcdonald’s. This scene captures the hearts of introverts everywhere, especially with that “excuse me” from the clerk, indicating that you should repeat yourself. Eternal damnation in the 9th circle of hell is a better fate than that happening. But here remains her character development as she did manage to order. She can now (slightly) talk to people. Tomoko’s development throughout may be slow, but it’s there and it being slow makes it feel all the more real. Change like that doesn’t happen overnight and the show is completely aware of that.

First timer, subbed

Wait what the hell this OP is actually fire.

I knew to expect the lowest of the low from our heroine, but even so I find myself surprised. In just a few lines, she’s surpassed even the likes of Hachiman Hikigaya.

The Japanese school uniform is so cute at the baseline, not even Tomoko can make it look unappealing despite her best efforts. Girls with glasses are superior! Unfortunately for her face, however, it is difficult to redeem even in the best of circumstances. I see the eyes run in the family.

Ya know, she may be the most pitiful worm, writhing and shrieking in the dirt unable to even comprehend how unholy her own wretched existence is, but the fact that she’s *trying* gets her points in my book. I can only judge her so far, as well, my teenage years were… not exactly the high point of my life.

The episode ends on a bittersweet note. Tomoko sulks in a park, but her brother goes out of his way to walk home with her. It was also genuinely sweet of him to avoid badmouthing his sister in front of his friends.

QotD:

1) I_saw_what_you_posted.gif

2) I can’t fix her.

3) Culver’s, probably. I’m fond of the patty melt, and extra crispy fries with white gravy.

4) She’s shabby as hell.

5) Only one I’ve read much of is Katawa Shoujo.

**Rewatcher, Sub**

* Tomoko plays dating sims
* Ah yes, Tomoko having derogatory thoughts towards her classmates when they annoy her with their conversations
* And failing to say goodbye to her teacher on the way back, but succeeds the second time
* Surfs the internet on how to make herself look better and uh…
* The hamburger scene, where she not only stutters while ordering but attempts to sneak past her classmates

Already I’m reminded of Tomoko’s quirkiness, even if she goes about these scenarios in a cringey way.