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toonstarterz · 7 years

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BECAUSE I’M NOT POPULAR, I’LL READ WATAMOTE: CHAPTER #122

I’m gonna keep this introduction short since there’s so much to unpack and I’m dying to get to the good stuff.

It’s Tomoko’s third year, and any worries you might have had about Tomoko’s new life being too “normal” and “boring” were thankfully all for naught. This chapter reminds us that while circumstances may change, Tomoko is still an awkward little weirdo, and if her new classmates are any indication, her third year is going to be one wild ride.

Chapter 122: Because I’m Not Popular, I’ll Become a Third Year

The wording here is suspect as the narrator is definitely referring to Tomoko’s social circle than just Tomoko exclusively. It’s one of those changes that seems minor at first glance, but means more for long-time readers of the series. It’s sort of an “official’’ statement on how the series as evolved from being single-protagonist oriented to becoming an ensemble cast. And frankly, our side characters have earned it.

Damn, Tomoko can actually pass for being almost, kinda attractive here.

One thing that I’ve always liked about Yuri (in addition to everything else about her character) is that she’s very emotional underneath her comparatively stoic demeanor. We’ve seen before that Yuri cares very deeply about the things that are important to her, but struggles to openly express it. The fact that she has to physically calm her nerves is a testament to how much she values her new set of loner friends.

About time we got their full names, and fitting ones if I’m not mistaken (feel free to correct me if I am). From my understanding, “Tanaka” is a surname with very plain connotations, which matches quite well with the average-like Mako.

Then there’s “Masaki”, which is supposedly a very boyish name for a girl, but it’s written very femininely. It’s so perfect for Yoshida, that I can’t help but wonder if her parents predicted the future or something.

They say this smile sustained the lives of impoverished children for generations.

As I said previously, Yuri is strongly emotional even if it doesn’t show on her face. When her expression is physically visible, it’s a good indicator that she must be bursting with emotion. In other words, that tiny smile equates to jubilant fireworks.

Hey, Komiyama. It’s been a while. I’m glad Nico Tanigawa made the decision to put her in Tomoko’s class, as I imagine that the reason we don’t see much of Komiyama lately is because it’s difficult to include her in Tomoko’s social circle without someone like Yuu or Akari to bridge the gap between them. Maybe now they’ll be able to clear up any lingering bad blood between them.

I am somewhat surprised by how 'meh’ Komiyama’s reaction is. If this were one of the early chapters, I’d imagine she’d react more negatively to being in Tomoko’s class. What does this say about their current relationship? Probably that they’re still frenemies, but have actively stopped trying to antagonize each other. Looking back, it was usually Tomoko would cast the first stone, leading Komiyama to retaliate. But now that Tomoko has stopped this, Komiyama sees no interest in interacting with her more than needed. Let’s see if they can keep this up...

Quickly fanbase, time to connect names to faces!

Minami, your cuteness rating just dropped a peg.

The relationship, whatever it may be, between Minami and Yuri has always seemed uncertain, if not somewhat rocky for obvious reasons. But I think that with this moment, it’s safe to assume that Yuri and Minami honestly don’t like each other. I wouldn’t call it a personal vendetta, but by calling Yuri “that girl’, Minami makes it clear that she doesn’t view Yuri highly if she only calls Yuri by her name when Mako’s around.

Of course, Yuri and Minami aren’t about to get into a brawl like Tomoko and Komiyama might. They’re too respectable for something like that. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if we get some passive aggressive jabs between them now that they’ll be “fighting” for Mako’s attention.

This is a quality of Minami that makes me dislike and begrudgingly admire her.

It’s been established that Minami has quite a lot of friends. Not surprising as a hardcore extrovert like her likely finds it easy making connections. We can see this in action, where when faced with the dilemma of having no one to talk to, Minami easily walks up to a classmate and invites herself into their group, with no hesitation whatsoever. She must be a blast at parties.

But at the same time, she quickly dismissed the fact that Mako is in her class, meaning that she requires more than one person to satisfy her social comfort zone. I’m not saying she doesn’t care about her friends–her insensitivity seems inconsequential to her high extrovertism. It’s more that she requires a high degree of social interaction whereas Yuri doesn’t need nearly as much to feel that same degree of satisfaction.

Don’t worry, I know this is a mistranslation.

I do like this little exchange between Heroin-chan and Yoshida, because it gives a bit of insight into their friendship. Heroin-chan actually has to tell Yoshida to come hang out with her, as if expecting that the latter wouldn’t bother unless prompted. But she says it not out of annoyance, but in an endearing way. It’s pretty cool to see that Yoshida has friends whom she’ll actually tolerant teasing from. It’ll probably take all year before Tomoko can do that.

Apparently Eyeless-chan is a slacker, huh?.

Side note: these panels are really busy. Must be the cherry blossom petals.

I do wonder just what Tomoko was hoping for regarding whom of her friends/acquaintances would be in her new class. You’d think that after making her new friends, she’d be glad to be with them for their third year. But judging on her reaction, having so many people she already knows was not her desire. As for why, I think it may have to do with balance. A loner-type like Tomoko would probably prefer to have one or two people see can connect with in her class. But having so many people is probably overloading her capacity for social interaction.

Having Komi-something there likely doesn’t help either.

It’s going to be interesting to see just how Itou will fit into this story. She does seem very bland and boring at first glance, but then again, so did Yuri. You could even say that Itou is to Komiyama what Yuri is to Tomoko. Maybe she’ll surprise us.

Nemoto’s dark side truly is the scariest thing about this series.

I’ll be frank, I’m not entirely sure what’s going on in Nemoto’s head when she said this line. It could be a variety of things, but at the very least, she already knows that Tomoko did the same thing to her, so playing the innocent card seems to suggest some distaste for Tomoko. If I had to guess, Nemoto looks as if she’s bothered by Tomoko trying to pass off as “normal”, so she called her out in order to reveal her weird side. I don’t believe she’s doing this out of malice, though, but more on that later.

I saw the punchline for this coming an ocean away…

...Doesn’t make it any less spectacular.

Yeah, it’s no secret by now that Ucchi’s desperate for some Tomoko stalkin' lovin’. The only question was when Ucchi would finally accept the truth.

That moment when Ucchi gave her meat was the realization, but this breakdown is the acceptance. All those other times, Ucchi could easily talk her way out of any accusation about her attraction to Tomoko. But as of late, Ucchi has been increasingly public about her growing affection. Sure, Ucchi could’ve stayed silent if her friends egged her on about it. But I’d be hardpressed to see how Ucchi could possibly deny her friend-crush on Tomoko when throwing a tantrum for everybody to see.

Looks like Emoji 2.0 is going to be an official side character. Heh.

At first, I was pretty bummed that Ucchi wasn’t going to be in Tomoko’s class anymore. But in trying to look at the bright side, I think this situation has a lot of potential(-san). By keeping Ucchi away, all of her stalking–yes, it will continue–is going to look even more ridiculous since she’ll actually have to put some real effort into it. This subplot would likely just go through the motions if they were in the same class, but a decision like this could finally lead to the climax of Ucchi’s crush.

I can see it now: Tomoko starts acting all friendly with Emoji 2.0, Ucchi spots them together, Ucchi loses her goddamn mind.

Long time, no see, Hatsushiba. I certainly wasn’t expecting to see him again, but I can dig it. If you recall, Komiyama kind of thinks that Tomoko has a crush on this guy. If the mangaka decides to reopen that can of worms, it’s sure to be a riot.

I guess we needed a quick reminder that Tomoko doesn’t go to an all-girls school.

C’mon, Yuri. Don’t be so kuudere.

Yeah, Mako’s probably exaggerating when she said it was Yuri’s dream. Although, from Yuri’s smile earlier, I wouldn’t put it pass Mako to interpret her friend’s simple yet meaningful desire into something much more grandiose. Perhaps for Mako, a dream is a dream, no matter how small.

Battle of the ellipses.

Did Tomoko seriously not know Ogino was going to be her homeroom teacher until this very second? Guess for all of her development, her obliviousness is something she still has to work on. (If this is actually plausible in a Japanese high school, please correct me, so that I don’t make an ignorant ass of myself).

I’m curious as to how Tomoko thinks that having her “friends” around will protect her from Ogino’s meddling. Maybe it’s because if she gets embarrassed, the fallout won’t be so bad if everyone already knows what to expect from her? Is it because her friends will back her up when Ogino throws her for a loop. Maybe the class has some kind of camaraderie because they know what a pain Ogino can be? Could be a bit of all of that, but after reading the rest of this chapter, Ogino will likely be the least of her worries.

Well damn. Nemoto ain’t pulling back this year.

My first instinct was to take this as a provocation. But looking over it again, I realized she’s kind of taking a jab at herself for also being a normal girl. Nemoto has always been a bit of an enigma. Her perspective on Tomoko has been fuzzy ever since Tomoko found out her secret. I originally thought Nemoto’s occasional rudeness was from a minor superiority complex. But now I think that Nemoto is kind of projecting herself onto Tomoko. As if Tomoko’s decision to be “normal” reflects the soreness Nemoto feels about her own self-imposed normalcy.

First things first, Nice to officially meet you Katou. Your role as Class Mom will be severely tested.

I actually don’t think Nemoto’s gotten more snappish necessarily. It’s very possible she’s always had a ruder personality and she’s just really good at hiding it. But because Tomoko knows a side of her that nobody else does, Nemoto might be more comfortable letting her edginess show in front of her.

Having her real interests in parentheses has always been a favorite visual gag of mine.

It’s funny how Nemoto’s impression of Tomoko, and how Tomoko perceives that impression aren’t really the same. As I stated before, Nemoto doesn’t hold any real animosity towards Tomoko. Rather, she’s kind of envious of Tomoko. She sort of respects Tomoko for being true to herself, even if that “self” isn’t all that admirable. So when Tomoko pulls the normie act on her, it’s natural that Nemoto would be disappointed.

Of course, in Tomoko’s eyes, Nemoto’s just being a bitch.

I’ve always appreciated that no matter how screwed up Tomoko’s logic could be, she was never wholly off the mark about her proclamations. There’s always a kernel of truth in Tomoko’s words, whether it’s about the anime industry or being a loner in a world of non-loners. Even the absurd things like how popular kids have orgies at karaoke bars were likely based on some media she’d consumed.

Her little rant about how normies have to try so hard to be bland is actually something that can be kind of supported. Sure, it’s still generalizing and spiteful, but it’s also real–one of those implicit things that nobody says but everyone knows is true. I guess it goes to show that Tomoko, for all her inner ranting, isn’t totally ignorant to how the world works.

Slow clap. Slow clap. Slow clap.

There’s that old-school cringe humor. But of course, it can never be that simple. As others have pointed out, this isn’t just your typical Watamote awkwardness. The cringiest moments in the manga were always about Tomoko saying/doing something painful due to twisted logic. In this case, sure it’s painful, but there isn’t anything especially weird about wanting a boyfriend, even if it is worded in way that is so humorously casual.

In fact, you could even say that Tomoko is expressing a confidence here that she never would’ve had in her previous introductions. Perhap this is a kind of development for Tomoko in that her brashness, which was once her weakness, can now be her strength. It’d be nice if this starts to become a trend for the series.

I wonder if this is going to be a regular thing now where Tomoko has a “routine” to conduct whenever she gets overwhelmed with anxiety. At least she’s no longer wallowing in self-defeat.

Funny, remembering all these cringe-inducing moments would just stress me out even more.

Confirmed: Ogino is responsible for 50% of Tomoko’s worst moments.

If this were any other time Tomoko, I’d agree with you. Unfortunately, you just opened up an unspoken rivalry with someone who’s basically a much, much better-adjusted version of yourself. Good luck.

Oh, Komi-something. You’re baseball fangirlism never ceases to amuse me. I do find it interesting that Komiyama is a lot more upfront about her passions than Tomoko is. Granted, I know things like anime and manga are much less socially acceptable than being a fan of the Lotte Marines, but her obsession does seem to be on a higher level than Tomoko has for her own interests. But if she can be passionate without hesitation, I do find myself admiring Komiyama for it.

Meme-worthy quote right here.

The framing is phenomenal in this panel. Tomoko is partly cut off, but her expression mirrors Nemoto’s. This presents the thoughts here, which are coming from Nemoto, to apply to the both of them. Can’t wait to see even more parallels this year.

This is one of those awesome developments that’s been happening in the periphery, but didn’t become apparent until a moment like this. That being, Tomoko is not only being acknowledged by her peers, but is actually influencing them in a relatively positive way. It started with Yuri, with Tomoko unknowingly encouraging her to be more expressive, and now it’s happening with Nemoto and her decision to be more honest with herself. It seems to me that the more people learn about Tomoko, the more that they start seeing some of the negative aspects of her character as potential positives. More and more, Tomoko seems to be functioning on an even playing field with the normies in her class.

Nice to see that Nemoto’s friends don’t seem to hold her dream against her. See, Nemoto? That wasn’t so bad.

Wow, I wasn’t expecting Nemoto to take such a jab at Tomoko. I know that it’s likely meant to be endearing, but unless you already have an understanding with your classmate, I can’t see how you can call them a loner without it being just a liiiiiitle bit insulting. Will this eventually lead to some sort of fallout between them? We’ll just have to see.

Hooo boy, what a chapter. I made my predictions in the last review on who I thought would be in Tomoko’s third year class, and I made my choices based on what I thought would be realistic for the series. That being, a class with some fan favorites, and a couple of underdeveloped extras. But in true Watamote fashion, we get something expected, but not unsatisfying. It may have felt a little too convenient to have nearly all of Tomoko’s acquaintances in her class, but in way, it poses another challenge for Tomoko. As her personality becomes more and more transparent, I think it’ll be interesting to see which of her relationships will improve, which will stagnate, and which will decline. The cast may have quadrupled in size, but Tomoko Kuroki will always be the center of it.

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toonstarterz · 7 years

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BECAUSE I’M NOT POPULAR, I’LL READ WATAMOTE: CHAPTER #123

Just when you thought we had too many characters in Tomoko’s new class, Nico Tanigawa goes ahead and adds another person to 3-5...at least for one day. Ever since that chapter when Tomoki first ran into his sister’s circle of friends, I was wondering if we would ever expand on that to the point where Tomoki might officially meet them (exchange introductions and whatnot). Suffice to say, that kind of development seems very possible after a chapter like this.

Chapter 123: Because I’m Not Popular, I’ll Invite My Brother to 3-5

As I recall, this isn’t the first time Tomoki has forgotten his lunch (refer to chapter 83). I suppose that for being a responsible soccer star, the mangaka wanted to give Tomoki more plausible flaws (besides being a perpetual scowler). I think something like being forgetful works here, because not only does it make Tomoki more relatable, it also highlights Tomoko’s more concerned, “older sister” side. It’s easy to forget that for all her shit-talking, Tomoko does look out for him.

I wonder, did Tomoki really refer to her as a “chick”? It’s a minor grievance, but the difference does say quite a bit about Tomoki’s character. The term “chick” connotes a sense of misogyny for some people, but that doesn’t seem to be Tomoki at all, especially since in previous chapters he’d use words like “girl” instead. Hmm...

Honestly, as heartwarming as Yoshida’s smile is, I’d be lying if I said it kind of freaked me out a bit. I can’t recall any other time that Yoshida had a smile as big and as genuine as this, that for a second, I thought it might’ve been a different character. Perhaps it’s fact that a smile like this isn’t going to last very long, especially for someone who switches gears at the drop of a hat like Yoshida.

Funny enough, I love how Yoshida’s emotional state doesn’t really change the way she talks. In this case, she still has the nerve to call Tomoki a punk, which she’d probably still do if she were in a more sour mood. Basically, all of her dialogue here could be copy-and-pasted if Yoshida were feeling more confrontational.

I’ve been seeing people accuse Tomoki as being just as judgmental and rude as Tomoko is, but I don’t think that’s really being fair to the guy. We’ve all had moments where we would quietly make unfair judgments on people we just met, but most people have the decency to not be vocal about it until proven wrong or right. It’s different from Tomoko, whose filter seems to fluctuate between on and off at the worst times. Tomoki is only human, after all.

So there’s going to be another field trip arc in the future, huh? Now I’m REALLY excited. I wonder what we can expect from it, given that the first field arc was Tomoko’s first major turning point. Will there be a big fight between Tomoko’s friends (Yuri vs Minami), or perhaps Ucchi will confess to Tomoko on the ferris wheel (not happening)? I’m sure Yoshida will have a huge role, though. Maybe she’ll have her dreams shattered and Tomoko will try to comfort her and fail spectacularly.

If you thought being in a different class could stop Ucchi...

...you were so, so wrong.

Ucchi being a stalker is nothing new at this point, but there are a few things pull apart from this seemingly simple gag. For one, it’s not just Ucchi’s action that makes for a laugh–it’s her demeanor, too. She goes into the classroom with a smile, and comes out with a smile. Obviously, the latter is her trying to keep face in front of her friends, but there isn’t a twinge of hesitation in her actions. She must really be going for her.

But the other, somewhat more depressing part of this joke is how Ucchi’s friends apparently didn’t even notice she was gone for three seconds in another room. We’ve had hints before that Ucchi was the outsider amongst her circle of friends, but did you notice how Ucchi effortlessly re-inserted herself into the conversation? It suggests that Ucchi’s done this several times before, and she’s gotten used to being excluded. Poor Emoji-girl just wants to be noticed.

It’s not everyday that Nico Tanigawa gives us little tidbits to remind us that Tomoko is a girl, with all the issues that come along with it (for those who don’t know, women’s bathrooms often have long lines because they aren’t designed to fit the cumbersome routines women go through just to relieve themselves). Any time Tomoko’s gender is directly brought up, it’s usually in a sexual context, but this here is just an everyday issue about being a girl. I wonder if the artist had any input on this...

So I’m guessing that’s Emoji-girl 2.0′s shtick is that she’ll be doing all of these really impressive feats in the background, yet we won’t learn a single thing about her personality-wise. A gag character at its finest.

Cute.

It was only a matter of time before these two met each other.

Yuri sure has come a long way in regards to how she treats Tomoko. I doubt that if this was right after the field trip arc, she wouldn’t have bothered to confront someone rifling through Tomoko’s locker. Maybe she’d tell Tomoko later, since that’d be the passive choice, but that’s definitely not the case now. Ever since Yuri admitted that Tomoko is her friend, she’s noticeably been more considerate of her.

And pray tell, Yuri, what did you expect Tomoko’s brother to be like? We’re you expecting someone just as crass, weird, and idiotic like the sister? That’d be a reasonable assumption if all you’re going on is Tomoko herself. But speaking as someone with a sister who is very much different from myself, siblings being polar opposites are a lot more common than you might think, Yuri.

Wonder why Tomoko is particularly happy about her brother stopping by? I’d assume that she thinks her relationship with the popular Tomoki would make her look more popular by comparison, but popularity hasn’t been a goal of Tomoko’s as of late. Maybe she just wanted to freak out Komiyama...

Oh snap, she’s doing the sleeve grab! This is such a shoujo manga move, complete with the highlight and everything, that you cannot tell me that the mangaka doesn’t know the implications here.

I think this the first time we’ve seen Yuri act without fully thinking things out first, and it’s kind of amazing that someone like Tomoko is actually encouraging her to be a little more bold, though not to a degree Yuri can handle yet. We’ve already seen just how far Yuri is stepping out of her comfort zone to maintain her friendships, but I suppose forcing a conversation is not quite her speed yet. Baby steps, Yuri.

I guess now is as good a time as any to address the elephant in the room that is the YurixTomoki ship. Do I think it could work? In all honestly, I think it could. We really don’t know anything about Tomoki’s taste in girls, if he has any. But if the less than pleasant reactions he’s had to Tomoko, Komiyama, and Yoshida are anything to go by, he probably wouldn’t want someone vulgar, creepy, or challenging respectively. Likewise, we don’t know anything about Yuri’s taste in guys, if one exists. But I think it’s a safe bet that she wouldn’t want to deal with someone aggressively outgoing. That being the case, my only argument for them is that Tomoki and Yuri would likely be a very easygoing relationship if the ship were to start sailing.

Comedy-wise, I think the possibilities for Komiyama and Akari’s despair, and Tomoko being the awkward third wheel are endless.

It’s always funny to see how easily Komiyama can go from being the sensible one to being the dunderhead when the circumstances are just right. Most of the time, she’s the straight woman to Tomoko’s idiocy, but whenever baseball or especially Tomoki are concerned, she ends up being more of a fool than Tomoko. I’m not even annoyed that she insulted the best girl, since it’s obvious Komiyama is just thinking on impulse, and her words are only that of a jealous lust-filled admirer who needs to deny the possibility that Tomoki could be interested in any other girl besides her. You can be such a lovable bitch at times, Komiyama.

Komiyama sure is channeling her inner Tomoko, isn’t she?

I see the writers took the time to capture Yuri letting go of Tomoki’s sleeve. We have no clue whether Yuri knows what’s going on between Komiyama and Tomoki, despite Komiyama being an open book. It’s probably just a throwaway action, but I’d like to think that Yuri is aware of how it must look for a girl to cling onto another guy, and wanted to avoid looking like she had a relationship with Tomoki lest Komiyama get the wrong idea.

And yes, Tomoko’s friends truly are “the crazies” now, huh? To think that group used to be a population of one, aka. Tomoko.

One thing that’s been on my mind is what Tomoki actually thinks about Komiyama? We already know he views her as some kind of “pure pervert”, but it’s still up in the air whether he finds her truly repulsive or not. He likely has some inkling that Komiyama has a crush on him (he ain’t no oblivious MC), but probably doesn’t intend to reciprocate those feelings any time soon. At this point, he’s probably deliberately avoiding her just to keep from being sexually harassed again. But now that he’s been confronted, he’s got to throw her a boner.

Good gracious, this woman needs help.

I’m noticing some confusion at this line, and while I myself can’t adequately explain the inner workings of the female body, I think the important thing to understand is what this reaction means about Komiyama.

Whether or not Komiyama’s period actually happened is not what matters here. The overall impression is that Komiyama had such an immense reaction to Tomoki that it literally sent her sex drive on overload. One interpretation is that her hormones raged so bad that it jump-started her period. But what I personally think happened is that Komiyama had a “climax” and is using a period as a coverup. Either way, Komiyama truly is the most depraved girl in this manga.

The only girl that could outdo Yuri in the tsukommi department.

Now I’m curious as to how Komiyama and Itou met. Even better, how exactly did Itou see past all of Komiyama’s grossness to eventually become her friend? I’d imagine that the circumstances mirror Tomoko and Yuri’s relationship in some way.

And this is why relativity matters, folks. Even for us readers, Tomoko at the start of the series always seemed to be the abnormal one, but that was only because for a while, she was the only character we really got to see, which made everyone else look hyper-normal in comparison. So yes, Tomoki, your older sister actually is pretty normal...relatively speaking.

You know, I was worried that Tomoki, being the sole recurring male of this manga, would get sidelined in favor of all the new female characters. But thankfully, that doesn’t appear to be the case. Tomoki’s role in this story was initially that of an observer, a audience surrogate who could join us in reacting to Tomoko’s antics. But even that couldn’t last, so I guess the mangaka has been trying to find some way to characterize him even further. For now, it seems that Tomoki may soon find himself being more involved in Tomoko’s social circle. Just don’t steal your sister’s harem now.

So what do you suppose Tomoki’s role we be from this point on? Will he be characterized beyond having a desirable dick? Will a hidden dorky side bubble up to the surface? Or will his heart grow three sizes someday? But even if he stays in the background, I’ll always have certain fondness for the guy. Why?

Cuz he has not once, ever raised the siscon flag.

#watamote #watamote review #no matter how i look at it it's you guys' fault i'm not popular!#chapter 123 #tomoki kuroki #masaki yoshisa #ucchi #potential-san #yuri tamura #kotomi komiyama #itou #review

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