Our social misfit of a protagonist is Tomoko, an unkempt antisocial teenager entering her first year of high school. Despite having difficulty with talking to the opposite sex and having hardly any friends in middle school, Tomoko convinces herself that she will become instantly popular after her high school debut. It goes without saying that this isn't the case. Instead, she ends up brooding, having odd fantasies, and lamenting the fact she isn't popular. She spends her days fading into the scenery and going unnoticed by her fellow students, except for her occasional bouts of awkwardness; her days off school are usually spent cooped up in her room. Still, she's determined to gain popularity among her peers, even if she has absolutely no clue how to go about accomplishing that goal. Cringe inducing awkwardness and hilarity ensue.
Majority of the show's humor comes from Tomoko's breathtaking ineptness. Not only does she have trouble talking to people, she has no sense of how to handle social situations at all. On top of that, she's also pessimistic and has a really dirty mind. Consequently, she constantly misinterprets even the simplest of interactions and blows them out of proportion; sometimes putting a sexual twist on them. A single kind gesture from a boy sends her into hilariously ludicrous fantasies of that boy having having a crush on her and becoming her boyfriend, even if there isn't a single indignation that he is actually interested in her. She comes up with half-baked ideas how to get noticed by her classmates which either go unnoticed or cause her embarrassment, even as she has overblown daydreams of becoming the most popular girl in class. She even botches an attempt to impress her visiting younger cousin, who had actually admired Tomoko until this particular visit. It would be depressing (actually, it still sort of is) if it wasn't for how clearly deluded Tomoko is (she takes social ques from anime), and the show's unhinged presentation of her delusional fantasies and social ineptitude.
The irony in this is, despite coming up with harebrained ideas to get her classmates' attentions, Tomoko rarely tries to interact with them normally. Instead of actually attempting to get acquainted with her fellow students, she just mopes around and daydreams about having friends. Of course, this is partly due to shyness, but Tomoko actively avoids interacting with people. She's also jealous, and even a bit spiteful, towards people more popular than her. Tomoko's loneliness is something she brings upon herself, if even just partly. Of course, she's unaware of this; propelling the show's morbid laughs as she runs around in circles.
Now, you may have noticed Tomoko is the only character I've mentioned so far. This is because she is very much the essence of the show; she is horribly pathetic and self-centered and incredibly counter-productive, yet somehow surprisingly sympathetic. Her desire to become popular, warped as it is, comes from a genuine place. Beneath her unkempt appearance and unsocial demeanor, she's a confused teenager looking for someone to connect with. As funny as her misfortunes can be, and they can be pretty damn hilarious, there's an underline melancholy to them. This resonate strong for anyone who has had crippling social anxieties like Tomoko. What makes WATAMOTE a breath of fresh air is that it is able to spin these negative feelings into something fun to watch. The show's manic energy and countless silly references to other anime (K-ON, Fist of the North Star, and Another just to name a few), which usually take form in Tomoko's delusions, keep the humor from being overwhelmingly bleak... most of the time, at least.
The other characters in the show have significantly less attention, which isn't surprising given the nature of the show, but add extra flavor to the show as they interact with Tomoko. In complete opposition to Tomoko's high school experience, her best friend from middle school Yuu (her only friend, really) has made a full transformation from quiet shy girl to a trendy, fashionable girl. Unlike our protagonist, she's friendly and sociable and actually pretty sweet; even with her new found popularity she makes time for her unsociable middle-school friend whenever she can. It's rather funny to see the striking contrast of the separate paths the two took after middle school. There's also Tomoko's younger brother, who always seems to be at the butt of Tomoko's shenanigans at home. Their vague animosity towards each other mirrors that of an actual sibling relationship, something that is oddly rare in anime. Late in the series, there's also a character that gives Tomoko a much needed hug.
Director Shin Oonuma has a very busy visual style, constantly throwing colorful and weird imagery into scenes; a habit that has been unnecessary in some of his previous works. This fits WATAMOTE like a glove, however. Tomoko has a very skewed outlook on life and an equally as overactive imagination; Oonuma's manic direction does wonders to illustrate this. Sometimes this comes in little touches like many of the characters having minimal detail in their designs, or Tomoko slowly becoming transparent and fading into the background. Other times it takes form in delirious spectacles, such as any of Tomoko's ludicrous fantasies. Also adding the unhinged visual design is the oddly angled lighting and color schemes and visual windows into Tomoko's thoughts. Tomoko's character design itself is cute in a dirty abandoned puppy kind of way; giving her some major icon power. You get the feeling that she would look pretty good if she actually took care of herself.
The music is on the zany side. It's reminiscent the usual light music used in high school comedy anime, but with a distinct oddness to it that works well with the visual design. The real attention catcher, however, are the show's opening and ending themes. The show has several different ending themes; all of which are both fun to listen to, and a little crazy. The main ending theme is preformed by Tomoko's seiyuu, Izumi Kitta (who does an incredibly job in the role), and fits the character perfectly. The opening theme is a blast of hard-rocking energy that is accompanied by visuals that encapsulate the show's themes and change slightly as the show continues. It is easily one of the best anime openers in recent memory.
WATAMOTE doesn't live to the likes of Welcome to the NHK or The Tatami Galaxy, which feature similarly dissatisfied protagonists, because Tomoko ultimately doesn't grow or develop much at all by the end. The show itself says that "her story doesn't really matter". However, perhaps because of this irreverence, the show is gigantically entertaining. While social anxieties are certainly a serious issue, there is something refreshing about having a show that centers around them not take itself seriously. The show isn't trivializing such anxieties or even making fun of them. It's simply inviting the viewers to laugh them off.
