What is going on in this opening?
As someone who read the manga earlier I had some big expectations for “It’s Not My Fault That I’m Not Popular“or WataMote as many people refer to it (yes, that’s not the exact translation, but no one calls it by the exact one). At any rate the anime is a very different experience from the manga despite dealing with most of the same content. The opening is absolutely bizarre as well.
The Awkward WataMote Appeal
The reason this show is so popular is probably because many of us can relate to how awkward Tomoko is. The main character is asocial and spends most of her days fantasizing about revenge or dreams. Anyone who was awkward or is can certainly relate to that. It also makes many of us feel better that we were never quite that strange. The fact that she is a female character who is somewhat perverted also helps people relate.
While I normally absolutely despise any series like this I found the manga interesting. The anime sticks to the manga fairly well, sometimes a bit too closely.
The Story of WataMote
As we have seen many times before each part basically consists of Tomoko having ridiculous thoughts and vainly attempting to make friends. Unfortunately her crippling anxiety insures that she fails nearly all the time. Part of the humor comes from watching her justify her failures. She decides that she is pretty and popular all the time. And of course there is judicious use of ridiculous expressions of concern and embarrassment.
I hope they have their brand.
The Awkward Art Translation from Manga to Anime
Watamote has decent art that works fairly well. However things I never really thought about in the manga stand out. Like some of the characters having blank faces. It fits but it’s strange to see in the anime. It stands out for better or worse. The show also has some nice scenes where the art gets really bizarre. It works for the series.
The Final Verdict on WataMote: 4/5
While certainly not bad by any means the show loses some of the charm when you know what happens. It’s still a fairly fun viewing and even better if you haven’t read the manga. Hopefully the art staff continues to take risks over time and really spice up the style. I’ll be watching it for a bit after this as well just to see if they do anything different. It gets the points simply for being able to appeal to people you would normally expect to hate it, like me.
