WataMote give me a very mix feeling when watching it. In one way, I did chuckle as I watch Tomoko fail in almost everything or in a situation which show her in a very awkward position (see: Tomoko's Dad scene when he saw her with the sex machine as she was asleep, not realize she didn't use it for dirty thing). On the other hand, it's very depressing and very uncomfortable to watch her fail so many time to the point you kinda feel pity for her (almost
).
WataMote is a slice of life, comedy (a bit on the uncomfortable side), and school life. You follow a main female character name Tomoko who is in her 1st year of high school and (basically the entire plot of the whole show) simply wish she is well liked by her peers and look attractive to the opposite sex. In a way, this is what we all went through when we go to school for the 1st time and want to have friends to talk to and be liked by other peers in the class. For Tomoko, this is a struggle she have to face every day of her life in the high school and this is mostly cause of her personality. She is a very lonely girl and very socially inept to the point she need help by asking her younger brother to teach her to talk to guys (even though her brother doesn't care about her issue).
In some ways, you can say the problems she have in life is cause by her personality of what she thinks of other people (aka: very negatively). You see this quite a bit when you listen to her thinking of what she thinks of her classmate when she overheard them talking. It's kinda sad how she thinks that way to other people as if she just talk to push that aside and maybe talk to them, she might able to break away from her issue. Also, she try too hard to be somebody else when she isn't but you can see why as she didn't have some sort of a resembling of normal life sine she was a small kid. This explain why she is always angry of herself and her lifestyle.
Even when Tomoko have a chance to change her life for the better, she squanders all of it which leave us a hopelessness feeling. As a audience, you wonder what is the point for her to keep doing this as they isn't any payoff for her and for us. In the end, she basically tell the audience it doesn't matter anymore if she isn't liked by her peers. Which kinda me feel like they is no point of the entire show.
I guess the humor of this show is come down to laugh at somebody depressing situation and feel happy that our lives is not as bad as Tomoko. I can see that side of the show and did laugh at certain scene joke like the watching porn but put the wrong plug when listen it in the computer or when asking the famous actor to say something that is very weird and nasty. Even with this, you start to realize it isn't too funny as it droves into teenagers lifestyle and how they have to go though this issue like we all did when we're in high school. The final episode show this a bit more detail when Tomoko want to know what her classmate are saying about her and then found out no one say one thing of her which make her feel like she is been exclude. Hell, certain scene in the show make me feel uncomfortable as it remind me a bit of my past to the point I have to stop watching the show for a bit and do other stuff.
In a way, I will give this show a credit as it didn't try to make high school lifestyle look nice but instead portray the reality of high school. You seldom see this side of it too much in animated which make sense as fans want to get away in the real world of issue and into a fantasy world when watching animated show. Even with this positive, this is a very depressing show to watch as we basically see Tomoko trying desperately to cling what hope she have of one day she can have some sort of a normal life with some happiness. Unfortunately, as an audience, we know this won't ever happened for her and this is why it's a sad and depressing show to watch.
