Recent chapters of Watamote seem to be focusing on pop culture lately, namely manga and anime. But where other series may use pop culture references simply for comedic purposes, Watamote goes a bit further than that. In addition to jokes, the use of manga and anime serve to characterize our cast, highlighting why certain tastes appeal to specific characters, how media can influence their behavior and the community that builds from recommending your favorite manga. Speaking of which…



Chapter 136: Because I’m Not Popular, I’ll Recommend People Manga







Are Yuu’s appearances becoming so scarce that her very presence is enough to warrant a spot in my review? Absolutely.



I appreciate that while Tomoko may have her own opinions about manga/anime and how fans engage with it, they’re not set in stone. She’s open-minded enough to appreciate good content, even when it doesn’t usually suit her tastes. Just a tidbit of her character I don’t often get to talk about.



THE SAVAGERY.

Is Tomoko simply ignorant that Komiyama is implying that she wants to borrow it or does she know and she’s just quietly telling Komi to f*** off? Still savage, either way.

So even Mako’s getting the first name treatment? Poor Yuri just can’t catch a break.

It’s surprising that Tomoko labels Yuu as a normie, despite knowing that she’s into anime and manga like her. Perhaps this is saying that being a normie or otaku is not exclusively based on interests, but on behavior, values, and personality as well. In that regard, Yuu does seem to be more normie than otaku.

Have I ever mentioned the whole “hiding emotions by concealing the eyes” thing is one of my favorite visual elements in manga/anime? It’s especially unnerving when it happens to nice people like Mako. Even Yuri can’t help but get startled when it happens.



How do Reina’s shoes manage to stay on?



And thus, the hearts of many fans were shattered today.

Even though she’s “only” crying because of a manga, I’d say that it’s a testament to Nico Tanigawa’s drawing and characterization skills that we still empathize with Mako getting emotional. Cry it out, sweetie. You deserve to let loose once in a while.

Yoshida has a lot of unique dynamics with the rest of the characters. Her vitriolic friendship with Tomoko, her comfortably quiet relationship with Yuri, and now her mutually considerate relationship with Mako. They both seem to look out for each other, and have had a pretty good bond since the Disneyland trip. Given the lack of tension between them, I can see why their friend ship has been gaining popularity.



I’d like to think that if Yoshida really was an untrustworthy delinquent, Mako would never let her borrow Tomoko’s manga. Then again, Mako’s judgment of others has always been…questionable at times, but in this case, her decision appears to be in good faith.



Looking at the original text, Tomoko is referring not to eBay, but the Japanese e-commerce app, Mercari. I typically don’t approve of liberal translations like this because I believe much of what makes Watamote special is that the enjoyment is universal even when it’s set in Japan under culturally Japanese sensibilities. Westerning it up doesn’t actually “fix” anything and only trivializes the significance it has for the Japanese audience. Hope it doesn’t become a regular thing.



You can tell a lot about someone from the way they cry. Expressive people tend to cry in a very hard, but controlled manner. More reserved people tend to cry in a very restrained, choked up way as if trying to resist the overflow of emotions. We only see the aftermath, but Yoshida’s supposed cool-headedness betrayed by her ragged shirt and red face suggests that she’s more of a “bawl your eyes out” girl.

I couldn’t find anything that says “A Happy Cat”, is a parody of anything, but I’m assuming it’s effective in the way that, say, Marley and Me, was a tearjerker.

Taking a mile for the inch as always, Tomoko. Will she ever learn?

tsunderedelinquent.exe has been found and is already running.

Hmm, Yoshida and Tomoko having a totally civil conversation is pretty rare nowadays. It could be that their relationship has evolved to the point where it takes more to set off Yoshida’s hair-trigger temper, or that the manga they read was good enough to dilute the tension between them. I’d say both.

SQUAD GOALS: WALKING HOME FROM SCHOOL TOGETHER.

Yoshida was the final piece to complete the walking-home-together quartet. Sure, it may not happen often since she has her own posse to hang out with, but seeing it at least once validates that Yoshida has formally been indoctrinated into their group.

Admittedly, it was mildly disappointing that Tomoko didn’t actually recommend her the manga. But luckily, the end of this chapter reveals that there was a very good reason for that…



Firstly, props for consistency on Nico Tanigawa’s part for Yuri’s room design, first seen in chapter 121.

And secondly, I absolutely love Yuri’s fashion in all its casually stylish glory.

Damn…this one almost hits a little too close to home.

Logically speaking, it makes sense that Yuri is the type of person who isn’t prone to crying just by consuming a manga that’s full o’ feelz. Empathy is a tricky emotion to relay, and not everyone can look past the barrier between fiction and reality to achieve the same emotional response. Some fans have semi-joked that Yuri must be a sociopath for not crying, but think that’s a reaction in poor taste. Yuri certainly feels a little self-conscious about this, possibly worried that she may be “dead inside”. While her emotional capacity has always been hidden, it still exists, and moments like this only confirm that’s she’s well aware of her own difficulties.

Even Yuri’s best friend is, to an extent, unrelatable to her. Brutal.

The worst feeling is when your closest friend makes you feel terrible and it’s not their fault in the slightest. Brutaler.

Okay, so maybe Minami isn’t a total lost cause if she’s willing to read a manga just from a friend’s recommendation, right?

…

…bait and switch is the name of the game here, folks.

Also, neat strawberries.

As far as Minami’s tastes are concerned, she seems to represent the kind of audience that more well-read readers would easily dislike. The kind of reader who’s more into flashy, fanservice-filled, dumbed-down works that only appeal to the lowest common denominator. Not that such works should never be enjoyed, but Minami also represents the kind of reader who’s dismissive and insulting to anything she doesn’t like.

A.k.a. The Worst Kind of Normie.

At this rate, the only way Minami would say something nice is if she lost her fang. Pretty sure that thing is a parasite draining away her inner kindness.

There are very few times in this manga that blow me right back.

This is one of those times.

It’s easy to see Yuri and Minami as polar opposites, what with their contrasting personalities and all. But looking at it in retrospect, these two, frighteningly, have more in common than you’d think. They both are so ingrained in their ways, and they have trouble sympathizing with others they don’t understand. How can two vastly different people be so emotionally alike? Because extroverts and introverts can actually have the same temperament–but how you express it is what makes you a Yuri or a Minami.

…sorry. I can’t bring myself to make a joke here. Please save her, Tomoko.

As it turns out, Tomoko has a lot of intuition in times like this. She knew Yuri wouldn’t be into that manga, hence why she never recommended it in the first place. Power play move, Tomoko.

But even more mindblowing is that this is the first time in a long, long time that Tomoko has done something so sincerely kind. Usually, when Tomoko does anything overtly nice, it’s either because she has ulterior motives, or she does it out of a sense of obligation. She had no need at all to pick out another manga for Yuri other than simple friendship. A++, Tomoko.

Wait for it…

Boom.

Of course, because Nico Tanigawa are a bunch of goddamn teases, they’re not going to show us Yuri crying. But that’s okay. This chapter was set up so well, that the final payoff doesn’t lose much impact. Being able to convey strong emotion without relying on detailed facial expressions is quite the challenge, and Nico Tanigawa managed to succeed on that front.

This chapter may seem small in the grand scheme of things, but that’s Watamote’s bread and butter: Taking mundane acts of friendship and have it have so much meaning for the characters. The growth is incremental, apparent in the little details, which makes moments like this come across that much stronger. How Nico Tanigawa manages to keep the momentum, I don’t even know.

But never expecting a dud at this point really is the hallmark of a fantastic manga.