If the past few chapters were all about getting us up to speed on what the relatively minor characters were up to, then this next chapter is all about how our major players are fairing after another influential school (though not always at school) event. As Tomoko’s final year of high school draws ever closer to graduation, will this be the chapter that sets up each character’s respective climax? Maybe, maybe not. All we can say for now is that–

Chapter 144: Because I’m Not Popular, I’ll Call You By Your First Name



An awkwardness based on mutual indifference is the worst kind of awkwardness.

Still, despite the relationship between Yuri and Ucchi being practically nonexistent, they do have one thing in common: their exponentially growing affection for Tomoko. As the two girls who arguably like her the most, Yuri and Ucchi could have something akin to a friendship, even as they make awkward small talk. The real kicker is that visual highlight between their hands, as if to say, “there ain’t much there now, but there will be.”

First Name Attempt #1: Failed.

Literally three centimeters between their faces.



Ucchi creeping up on Tomoko with an unexpected greeting is becoming a thing now and I love it. It’s especially great because it signifies a change in MO for Ucchi. Instead of stalking her from a distance and gritting her teeth, she straight up approaches Tomoko head-on, not caring at all that she’s forcing her way back onto Tomoko’s radar. Looks like it’s gonna be a game of catchup from here on out.

Much like Ucchi’s subtextual confession during the Disneyland fireworks, her comment here also has romantic implications in the Japanese version (kudos to my peeps on the Watamote Reddit page and 4chan threads for always saving my ass). I swear, if Ucchi’s endgame doesn’t result with a real confession, I’ll consider this series to only be 99.9% successful.

First Name Attempt #2: Failed.

Yeah, as if Ucchi actually reads One Piece. She probably just know of it since, well, everyone knows One Piece. Pretending to be an otaku to get on Tomoko’s good side can only work so far, Emoji Girl.

Dunno why, but I like the way Nemo’s body shifts here, like she’s almost too eager to greet Tomoko.

It’s been stated over and over that Nemo strives to be a voice actress, but it’s nice to see that she’s making a serious effort beyond lip service. I originally thought that Nemo’s dream was just that: a dream. But between building stamina during gym and going to vocal lessons, I can see now that this is absolutely what she wants to do, so good on her.

Though I wonder how long Nemo intended to keep her passion a secret had Tomoko not push her to come out.

ALL THE LIES.

The reverse of censorship in Western media. For those who don’t know, I live in a country where violence is relatively normalized in media, but a drop of anything sexual will send the soccer moms on a rampage. Crazy, eh?

Now that Tomoko’s been giving Nemo a run for her money in the verbal jousting department, a common belief in the fandom right now is that Nemo is the type of girl who is easily messed with, rather than the one doing the messing. Like a certain character from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (yes, I’m making a Marvel reference), she excels a preparation, but sucks at improvisation. Given the time, Nemo can take you down, but catch her off guard, and you got this in the bag.

At the risk of sounding closed-minded, I did find it weird that Tomoko, being a girl, would be a fan of eroge that are most certainly geared towards older males. Despite knowing much about it, Tomoko has only been shown to enjoy otome games and the occasional BL, so it makes sense that her knowledge of other eroge came about just from being an active member of the online community.

Nemo got freakin’ played.

Friendly reminder that just because Nemo can be screwed with, doesn’t mean you should screw with her. She’s an S-type through and through.

That’s what all the nonconfrontational introverts say, Yuri. Little did they know, that type of thinking is the leading cause of procrastination.

First Name Attempt #3: Failed.

In all the Golden Week excitement, I had completely forgotten that the Great Seat Change of 2018 was set to happen right after. It seems like only yesterday that Tomoko got placed next to Katou and inadvertently gave Nemo a confidence boost. Wherever she goes, Tomoko’s gonna be the life of the party.



See, this is how you give subtle characterization to a minor character. Not through infoboxes or expositional dialogue, but by how they get treated by the other characters. Given that Ogino elected him to be the class representative (her occasional lack of judgment notwithstanding), it can be determined in good faith that Kiyota really is as nice and personable as he looks.

So how long till he transcends minor character status to recurring supporting character status?

Oh, Katou, don’t you now that putting your name next to the person you prefer to sit by is a surefire way to not get that person? Granted, Katou tends to have everything she wants as she so rightly deserves so I wouldn’t be surprised if the seating arrangement did turn out well for her.

Hoo boy, this is gonna be fun. Let’s see..going clockwise:

A delinquent (absent, of course). Close range beatdowns from Yoshida will hopefully lead to that understanding with Tomoko I asked for in the last chapter.

Pineapple-chan is going to suffer. A lot. Her innocence has already been destroyed twice, it’s only a matter of time before history repeats itself.

What’d I tell you? Class Mom and Mojyo together again. Tomoko needs a support beam, and Katou is definitely the best choice right now. Plus, more mommy-crushing from Tomoko is always welcome.

Oh shit, a boy! Wada-kun, I don’t know you very well, but that posture isn’t exactly helping to detach your shota image.

Oka…who?

And Mako the Sweetheart. This is good since we either need to further the “Crazy Lesbo” shenanigans, or develop the Tomoko-Mako relationship beyond that. If not else, being next to Yoshida will be sweet shipping fuel.

The two newbies in Wada and Oka are great additions because as Tomoko becomes more self-confident, we need new faces to give Tomoko more of a challenge. And with a punk, two corrupted girls and a mom to supervise it all, this is truly going to be fun.

Yuri, on the other hand, drew the short straw. Going clockwise once more we have:

Nemo, the only girl Yuri has a budding rivalry with inside the Tomoko “harem”. Their dynamic has already shown massive potential, so it’ll be a real treat to see where they go with the whole spear-vs-shield battle they’ve got going on.

The purevert, Kotomi Komiyama. An unknown rival this time, given that Yuri is one of the “sows” looking to “steal” Tomoki from Komi. Could an unexpected friendship lead to mutual growth?

Minami, the fang-bitch. By far the worst (and best) match in this lineup. Perhaps it was inevitable, and I look forward to seeing how either Yuri or Minami handle being around each other without their nucleus friend there.

Futaki! That’s…odd. In a good way. If nothing else, the jokes will write themselves.

And Suzuki, the only dude. Filler space, or the unforeseen break-out character? His very existence will likely be shrouded in meta-commentary, lest the fandom implodes on itself should he show a twinge of attraction to Yuri.

And there you have it. Yuri’s in for a serious challenge, y'all. Not a single character she’s next to is on amicable terms with her. As painful as that is, I must admit that, narratively, it may be for the best.

So close, yet so far…

Nemo wastes no time in prodding her new frenemy with the elephant in the room. But Yuri, as we expected, is rock solid. Of course, it’s these moments when Yuri’s emotions are deeply hidden under a veil of apathy. With Nemo being as perceptive as she is, and Yuri as imperceptible as she is, we’re going to need a scorecard to see who gets the upper hand.

With the little screentime he’s had, I’ve always appreciated how Kiyota never treats anyone with any obvious favoritism. He always makes Tomoko feel included, even when they’ve only had one-and-a-half conversations between them. He’s a good boy.

Tomoko, the master of baiting herself.

Watch the yuri fans break out the machine guns on this guy.

While’s Wada’s not the first male student other than Tomoki to appear in this series, he may be the first to potentially impact the direction of this manga. Why?

Because he could actually be Tomoko’s first guy friend.

Unlike Kiyota or that one guy from the three-legged race, Wada has an actual common interest with Tomoko, and that already gives him bonus points. Tomoko usually keeps a barrier up when interacting with guys, but given that she’s willing to open up to Wada with an honest answer (as opposed to faking a favorite manga), Tomoko could feasibly befriend him.

Fans are always talking about Tomoko’s continuous growth, and how far she can go before she peaks. Since the very beginning, talking to a boy has been viewed as one of the highest achievements possible (with gaining a boyfriend sitting right at the top). It’s the next logical step in Tomoko’s development, and given all that she’s already accomplished, making a guy friend no longer feels like an impossible feat.

First Name Attempt #3: Inevitably Failed.

Oh, there’s Yoshida. (Whew, I was worried I’d have to exclude her from the tags of this review).

Thankfully, Mako’s there to give her bestie Yuri the support she needs. Absolutely nothing can ruin this mo–

Girl needs to step on a Lego.



I was told that the translation made Minami out to be considerably bitchier than she actually is. That in mind, I would perceive Minami as using words that are “softer” when directly translated to English, but don’t adequately express the harsher impact found in Japanese. Whatever the case may be, I think it’s pretty universal that Minami is a lovably horrible person.

Ucchi, there’s this old saying called, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Trying to appeal to Tomoko’s otaku side by bringing up the most mainstream of series (that you likely don’t even really read) can only take you so far.



Aw, the three of them are eating lunch together, just like relatively old times. Sure, they probably do this all the time and it just hasn’t been the focus in a while, but it’s still nice to see. Unlike all the other changes going on, this is the one routine that will always be the sa–



Nope–Gyaru Attack!



Tomoko, also the master of pointing things out before the reader can.

Cue the collective sigh of relief from the yuri fans.



We all know that Tomoko’s types are bishounens and bishoujos, so it’s no surprise that little guys like Wada don’t get her motor running. Most of the time, there’s no deep, psychological reason for one’s type, but if I had to guess for why Tomoko doesn’t see Wada like that, perhaps it’s because she sees too much of herself in him, and the thought of being involved with someone so similar in the best and worst ways isn’t exactly alluring.

I’ve been in the anime/manga community too long to know exactly what she means.

First off, it’s amusing to see Tomoko call herself a chibi. Her self-awareness is always delightfully amplified when she views herself in the context of fandom culture.

Secondly, the whole “shotas can only be shipped with seductive onee-sans” idea is probably based on how ships gain traction not by similarities, but by contrasts. Or more crassly, taboos. In this case, the “innocence” of cute shotas finds its opposite side of the coin when paired with the “experience” of sexy onee-sans. The yin finds its yang so to speak, leading to a harmonious relationship and plenty of lewd doujinshi.

Kiss-up.

Guess it wasn’t just lip service when Tomoko mentioned recommending Aoyama to Nemo. It’s nice to see Tomoko has no issues about her “rivals” going to the same college as her. Too bad the same can’t be said about her cousin…

First Name Attempt #4: Mostly Successful.

That tiny bit of blush is too precious for words. Be still my heart.

You can pinpoint the exact moment Yuri’s faith in humanity shattered.



I must admit, I hadn’t noticed that Tomoko went back to calling her Tamura-san, as I was more focused on her attempt to convince Yuri to apply to Aoyama. In retrospective, it made Yuri look like she was the unreasonable one. But when you realize that wasn’t actually the case, you get to see how bratty Yuri can look through Tomoko’s (and everyone else’s) eyes.



dayum…dat awkwardness, yo.

Aw, that’s really considerate of you, Nemo. Though I have to say, this whole moment sounds like you were…

Yes, thank you, Tomoko. Poor Nemo’s going to have to work extra hard to regain her alpha status now that Tomoko’s got a handle on her beta side.

Say what you want about cliches, but as Tomoko demonstrates, they exist for a reason. There’s an inherent appeal to those cheesy moments, that secret desire to experience it yourself, to live in a world where the laws of reality don’t apply. Even when Yuri’s close proximity breaks the momentum a bit, Nico Tanigawa can roll with it, because they know how to dilute those corny moments with self-aware humor without averting the cliche entirely.

Touching Crap™ by Tomoko Kuroki.

Even though Tomoko isn’t fully privy to Yuri’s moods, she’s definitely made progress with that apology. It may have been the wrong thing to apologize for, but I doubt the old Tomoko would have even conceived that there was something to be sorry about in the first place.

It’s pretty enlightening that Yuri is more upset about this whole first-name business than the possibility of Tomoko doing to a different college (though I’m sure that bothers her, too). I don’t mean that condescendingly, as I know that calling each other by your first names in Japan is extremely intimate and not to be taken frivolously. But the fact that Yuri is more concerned about her interpersonal relationships than she is about her future career speaks volumes on how she’s very much an “in-the-now” type of person. She’s more comfortable living her life day-by-day than preparing for the future, and it’s why moments that affect her long-term stasis, like being called by her first name, are so significant to her.

One day…

One. Day.

For Tomoko, it always, ALWAYS, goes back to sex.

Y'all know I gotta compare this moment to Yoshida’s “period” back in chapter 118. That time, Tomoko was basically fucking with her, getting all defensive for her own sake. Here, she accuses Yuri of the same thing, but in her own twisted sense, Tomoko actually cares about her wellbeing. She brings up menstruation not to provoke, but to empathize, and that’s the key difference between Tomoko’s cringiness of the past vs present.

Probably the same reason Tomoko is a decent runner despite being a more or less homebody. All that suppressed negative emotion has to be released somewhere.

First Name Attempt #5: Homerun.

Being friends with Tomoko is a medley of mixed emotions. On the one hand, you appreciate Tomoko for looking out for you. On the other hand, her idea of “looking out” involves tactless embarrassment. Yuri’s adorable smile says it all. The term “moron” has shifted from being insulting to affectionate, and her growing fondness for Tomoko isn’t because she unconditionally loves everything about her.

It’s because she’s accepted all of the bullshit that comes with her.

Despite the considerable gap between them as they walk, I get the sense that Tomoko and Yuri have begun to pierce the awkwardness that once separated them. In their conversation about embarrassment, there’s a candidness in the way they talk that wasn’t there before. They’re no longer holding back out of concern for crossing some invisible social boundary. Tomoko straightforwardly expresses her embarrassment for being called her first name, while Yuri meets that honestly with her own, citing the whole “Nemo-Kuro” deal as being more embarrassing. Tomoko and Yuri have finally aligned their understandings of each other (give or take), and it’ll only strengthen each other’s emotional maturity.

If we all thought that Tomoko’s high school life was going to wind down, then it looks like we were sorely mistaken. While some friendships have started to fully blossom, others have had their seeds planted. Wada’s informal introduction and Ucchi’s pursuit of happiness hint towards changes in Tomoko’s life that were in dire need of development. Whether you’re a Nemo, Yuri, Katou, Wada or Ucchi, everybody has a hand to play in the game of Life with the grand prize still in anybody’s grasp.