If your looking for a wholesome fun slice of life, then you should probably look elsewhere. Watamote is about a first year high school student who recently had an epiphany and realizes she might not be as popular as she thought she was, so the series recounts her countless attempts at gaining the attention of her peers and generally being accepted by them, these attempts include: changing up her look, trying to get patted in the head, becoming a cabaret girl and much more which all fail flat at her face.
There are two ways to interpret this series, first is being offended at the clear jabs at the titular character Tomoko Kuroki's life, who is a shut that has trouble communicating people who aren't relatives and has many perverted thoughts. Some people might find her feelings, situations, and actions to be somewhat relatable and be put off by the series because of it.
The other way of interpreting the series is to see Tomoko Kuroki as a sort of commentary on lonely shut ins, but these people unlike the other group see this in a good light, as seeing such a character fail in social situations like they did might bring them a sense of acceptance. Seeing other people fail like you do (even fictional characters) could make you feel at ease that those problems you faced were faced by other people too.
Throughout the entire review until this point I have been mostly talking about the main character Tomoko, this is because she is heavily featured and we see the world through her eyes and perspective, but there are other characters such as Tomoki which is her brother. Tomoki is very reserved and cold especially towards his sister, unlike his sister Tomoki is actually shown to be popular with his peers as we see a girl coming to his house to give a leaflet. Tomoko is not devoid of friends though, as they introduce Yu Naruse during the second episode. Yu was a plain girl during middle school who was friends with Tomoko, but between middle school and high school she has a change in appearance and becomes a popular girl, all to Tomokos dismay. More minor character include Tomokos mom who accepts Tomoko but will try to discipline her when she becomes too much, Kiko, Tomokos cousin who looks up to her but slowly realizes she isn't as popular as she thought her to be, The group of popular kids, who Tomoko loves to inwardly berates and criticizes as she calls them the derogatory term "normies" Megumi Imae, who is a second year high school student in Tomokos school, she appears to be very popular with the other second year high school students and she tries to help Tomoko in her quest to gain friends, lastly there Kosaka, a boy who gave Tomoko a umbrella during a rainstorm, as that is the first nice thing a boy has done to her (aside from relatives) she has a crush on him, a conversation with him is also the final straw to Kikos respect towards Tomoko.
In conclusion Watamote is not for everybody, it will make many people uncomfortable either by how hard it is to stomach a few scenes or by how perverted her thoughts and actions can get. But I believe if you could handle and push through, you can find many heartwarming moments in this show and how surprisingly funny these situations could get for her. In heart though, this show is meant to remind you of socially awkward situations during your past, but that's what makes it special in my opinion. Embarrassing moments are a part of life and it shouldn't be taboo to talk about them and even make jokes or make fun of how dumb you were back then.
There are two ways to interpret this series, first is being offended at the clear jabs at the titular character Tomoko Kuroki's life, who is a shut that has trouble communicating people who aren't relatives and has many perverted thoughts. Some people might find her feelings, situations, and actions to be somewhat relatable and be put off by the series because of it.
The other way of interpreting the series is to see Tomoko Kuroki as a sort of commentary on lonely shut ins, but these people unlike the other group see this in a good light, as seeing such a character fail in social situations like they did might bring them a sense of acceptance. Seeing other people fail like you do (even fictional characters) could make you feel at ease that those problems you faced were faced by other people too.
Throughout the entire review until this point I have been mostly talking about the main character Tomoko, this is because she is heavily featured and we see the world through her eyes and perspective, but there are other characters such as Tomoki which is her brother. Tomoki is very reserved and cold especially towards his sister, unlike his sister Tomoki is actually shown to be popular with his peers as we see a girl coming to his house to give a leaflet. Tomoko is not devoid of friends though, as they introduce Yu Naruse during the second episode. Yu was a plain girl during middle school who was friends with Tomoko, but between middle school and high school she has a change in appearance and becomes a popular girl, all to Tomokos dismay. More minor character include Tomokos mom who accepts Tomoko but will try to discipline her when she becomes too much, Kiko, Tomokos cousin who looks up to her but slowly realizes she isn't as popular as she thought her to be, The group of popular kids, who Tomoko loves to inwardly berates and criticizes as she calls them the derogatory term "normies" Megumi Imae, who is a second year high school student in Tomokos school, she appears to be very popular with the other second year high school students and she tries to help Tomoko in her quest to gain friends, lastly there Kosaka, a boy who gave Tomoko a umbrella during a rainstorm, as that is the first nice thing a boy has done to her (aside from relatives) she has a crush on him, a conversation with him is also the final straw to Kikos respect towards Tomoko.
In conclusion Watamote is not for everybody, it will make many people uncomfortable either by how hard it is to stomach a few scenes or by how perverted her thoughts and actions can get. But I believe if you could handle and push through, you can find many heartwarming moments in this show and how surprisingly funny these situations could get for her. In heart though, this show is meant to remind you of socially awkward situations during your past, but that's what makes it special in my opinion. Embarrassing moments are a part of life and it shouldn't be taboo to talk about them and even make jokes or make fun of how dumb you were back then.