Generally speaking, there is a line that must be made when “developing” a character. When said character goes through an important change, one must determine just how far that change must be realized. Not enough change and your character risks becoming static and antiquated. But too much change and you potentially lose what made your character so special to begin with. And it’s teetering that line that becomes the focus of today’s deceptively low-key gag chapter.

Chapter 148: Because I’m Not Popular, I’ll Shorten My Skirt



Nemo is channeling her audience surrogate.

Poor Tomoko has little clue as to the small and very particular subset of the fanbase that finds her desirable.

But her self-deprecation aside, Tomoko’s iconically long skirt has always been quietly essential to her character. It represents her ironic modesty despite her perverted personality. To bring it up now calls forth Tomoko’s slow-as-molasses effort to improve her appearance, and it only makes sense that the upfront Nemo would be the catalyst for it. Next thing we know, they’ll point out her improbable hair horn.

Had you not come out of the closet, Nemo, that would’ve been drastically hypocritical.

I do recall that way back in the day, long skirts used to be the norm for high school girls. But as regulations loosened up, short skirts became the standard, and the long skirts were mostly adopted by delinquents to signify that they don’t need a man. I’d imagine that in another era, Tomoko would make a fine delinquent girl, baseball-bat-full-of-nails and all.

I never get tired of Tomoko invoking “Actually Pretty Funny” with Yuri. She may not(?) like ecchi manga as she so claims, but evidently, she’s not totally above Tomoko’s sense of dirty humor, even if she won’t admit it.

From what I understand, Tomoko is going for multiple layers with that joke. “Pink” would’ve just been a jab at Nemo’s colorful underwear, but “lewd pink” suggests that Tomoko actually got a peek at her nether regions, or even more explicitly, that her panties were so flesh-colored, it looked like she didn’t have any at all. That’s killing three birds with one stone. How do you do it, Tomoko?

Ya’ll hear that subtle condescension, ‘cause I do.

I believe something may be lost in translation here, as having two pairs of underwear seems a bit…excessive, even if you’re wearing a skirt. Perhaps Yuri was referring to spats, which Tomoko thought Ucchi was wearing that one time. And if Yuri bothered to show the hem of her skirt just to prove it, I doubt she would be wearing anything racy in the first place.

Is that a smug expression I detect on your face, Yuri? Never knew you had it in you.

I’m kind of digging the atmosphere of this scene right now. Sure, Yuri is still trying to one-up Nemo, but it’s a tad more playful now. Perhaps this is Yuri revitalizing her more casually easygoing side. Now that she and Tomoko have gotten closer on a sort-of-first-name-basis, she doesn’t feel the need to be so prickly to Nemo anymore.

And if what Tomoko’s saying is true and Yuri is just bullshitting, then it looks like Nemo’s gotta start watching out for them double-teaming her.

Oh, Nemo. The one drawback to being more upfront of things is that you’ve become a heck of a lot more transparent. Ironic, given your eyes’ frequent opaqueness.

Exposed kneecaps!? How shameless, Tomoko!

Is this a callback to chapter freakin’ one? Well played, Nico Tanigawa.

Naturally, Tomoko figures that Nemo is exacting revenge on her for all the panty roasting. And while that might not be Nemo’s actual intention, I can see it as an underlying bonus in Nemo’s subconscious.

Living proof that Okada’s brain is housed within the Pineapple.

It’s pretty sad that Okada now has to reassess her friendship with Nemo after the Great Falling Out. I doubt that’s what Nemo desired, and while having more of an open mind will surely benefit them, it seems that being consistently mind-broken has led her to question the wrong things. But while it’s sad that Okada has to start casting doubts, the willingness to make those doubts actually has some merit since it highlights a desire to learn more about her friend, no matter how much it could destroy her innocence (again).

Distraught avoided…

For now.

If Nemo is the audience surrogate, then Katou is the mangaka. The argument here is that Tomoko’s long skirt is basically her trademark, one that isn’t really a big problem. Even though the audience thought it was strange, it never brought Tomoko’s character down or anything since she pulled it off so authentically. Katou has seen first-hand the difference between the “clean, public” Tomoko, and the real Tomoko, but she readily accepts that the latter exists along with the former, which I believe is what Nico Tanigawa wants us to understand as well.

Katou better wipe her shoes, because I think someone just melted into a puddle at her feet.

Once in a blue moon, Nico Tanigawa throws all caution to the wind and gives us some unironic harem antics fodder. I let it past since Yuri and Nemo’s constant side-eyes at Katou are too golden to pass up.

While she did wear a short skirt during her college visit with Katou, that’s much different than adjusting her school uniform. Along with being physically unfamiliar with the skirt, Tomoko’s discomfort likely stems from attempting to incorporate such a style in her everyday appearance. Events like touring Aoyama are special occasions, and Tomoko can dress herself up knowing that’s not the “real” her. But doing it at school makes it the “real” her, leading to this out-of-body experience.

Cue (in)convenient breeze.

It took five years, but Tomoko’s feminine instincts have finally jump-started.

I’ve always been interested in Tomoko’s gender identity, even though it’s never really been an issue before. While she is most certainly biologically female, Tomoko is more comfortable in expressing the behavior, mannerisms, and even the self-perspective of a traditional male. But at the same time, her interest in otome games and occasional interest in makeup do suggest she embraces her own femininity. And the fact that she now covered her skirt instinctively, not conscientiously provides evidence to the latter. I once thought it was just easier for the author to simply self-insert himself into a female lead, but now I think Tomoko’s sense of self is unique all on its own.

As I just inferred, assuming that “sluts” were trying to protect themselves from perverts sounds like a very male-oriented perspective for Tomoko.

But as it turns out, it’s not sex, but hygiene driving Tomoko’s actions.

It’s easy to think in a patriarchal society that a woman’s physicality is always in response to male expectations. But in the case of covering your skirt, it’s really about preserving one’s modesty for your own self-interest rather than for anybody else’s, which impressively, gives more agency to the female. I can’t help but wonder if Niko (the male writer) learned all this himself from working alongside Ikko (the female artist). It would sure explain a lot about this series.

And on the flip side, I’m sure that Ikko has learned quite a bit about guys from working with Niko…

Well, “females” don’t usually cover themselves so obviously on public transit, but given that this is new territory for Tomoko, it’s expected that she’d blow things out of proportion.

The cold, hard truth?

Girls do feel anxious about exposing themselves. But due to generations of living in a society obsessed with women’s appearances, they’ve learned to internalize all the frustration that comes with it. They’ve learned to tolerate it, and the ones that deal with it best are the ones that wear short skirts as a badge of female empowerment. Tomoko hasn’t yet learned to how to handle what the other girls have already accepted. And to that end, she’s actually kind of right in that the other girls have a lower threshold for modesty than our poor, inexperienced heroine.

Oh hey, Miyazaki. Enjoying your side character status?

Mischevious Nemo is my favorite Nemo.

It’s a sad, sad day when I can agree that flipping a girl’s skirt is some well-deserved payback.

Despite her decidedly uncute “Ugyaaa!”, this might be the most stereotypically feminine reaction Tomoko has ever had. She better own it, ‘cause it’s going to follow her forever like Komiyama’s famous “Uooooooh!”.

Having girls show a shameful expression to some manner of sexual harassment is unfortunately not that uncommon in manga, but Tomoko’s Face of Shame here is so unique for one specific emotion:

Spite. At herself.

Many female characters express shame through a sense of loss. Double-facepalming and bemoaning a “ruined for marriage” are prime examples of this. But Tomoko, ever the rebel, refuses to accept such loss, and takes the shame she feels as something to reject rather than embody. What a power move.

Well, not every girl can give off a cutesy “Kyaa”, but unelegant embarrassment is natural, Tomoko, and you shouldn’t dwell too much on–waitwaitwait, is Tomoko POUTING!?!?

She’s acting cute? UNIRONICALLY???

I have reached Nirvana.

I guess it would’ve been too much to expect Tomoko to completely forgo the whole “sexual harassment” thing after one chapter’s worth of development. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and Tomoko doesn’t change overnight.

How does she know that exactly? Unless Tomoko suddenly gained a massive stealth upgrade, she couldn’t have possibly gotten a peek just now…

Hold the phone–so was Tomoko just fishing and managed to a land a bite? Forget stealth, Tomoko’s got a master’s degree in trolling.

And apparently, Nemo’s a deviant in Okada’s eyes now. We’re gonna need a scorecard for all these traumatizations.

This chapter saw a return to the basics for Watamote in that it surrounds Tomoko trying something new for a gaggle of gags. But while the stakes were low-key this time around, it brings up a development for Tomoko that was right under our noses.

Becoming girlier.

It’s come up in bits and pieces mostly after the 100-chapter mark, whether it’s making Valentine’s Day chocolate, wearing makeup in class. or wearing fancy clothes in public. Tomoko’s tried it out before in desperation, but these recent events were all done out of genuine interest. Being a “girly girl” is something she’s come to appreciate.

That said, I question just how Tomoko can go before people begin to cry wolf. That’s increasing her “girl power” would be a betrayal of her character or something. At this point, I think it’s done nothing but add on to Tomoko’s already three-dimensional personality. She’s still fundamentally the same loner-type she’s always been, and while these acts of girliness don’t always hit the mark for her, Tomoko has finally come to respect it.

For someone who once denounced girliness as “for sluts”, that’s saying a lot.