#Only character that is friends with Komi not because they think she's cool or hot but because they think it will help them eventually have

[kkat-astrophic]

V3-3 Trial

erm so about my theory with the katana being the same one from thh, here's evidence.

Jajajjajaja 1-1

--- The Start:

Things I said during the psyche Taxi gameplay:

"Hitting babes with my car hell yeah"

"Shuichi wants them hot babes"

"Just hit the Culprit with your car shuichi"

"Why am I following road rules, I can go 200km/h (*proceeds to hit a car*)

"Honk honk outta my way the bitch machine is coming through!"

Also, wouldn't it be cool if shuichi picked up the remaining survivors instead of random babes.

Like how cool would that be!

The Middle ---

KOREKIYO IS GOING INSANE? HE DID IT? WHAT THE FUQ-

Korekiyo in 4K ---

Why is he tweaking now lil bro.

"Their words are all hollow" what the skibbi

Did he get fucking possesed bro what the hell

Apprecitation Ramble for the Kork fans---

VA appreciation rq: "IT'S FULL OF DOUBTS! OF MYSTERIES! OF A DENSE, IMPENETRABLE FOG! NOTHING IS CLEAR AT ALL!!!" Holy shit bro kudos to you for that performance, I love that man, good job.

"BUT THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE, WAS THERE SHUICHI" oh goddam my respect for the character and the VA goes up, why DOES NOBODY TALK ABOUT THIS OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BRO???

Alot of people HATE this trial, but I actually enjoy it! I like it better than majority of the THH trials tbh, but maybe I'm biased? I have alot of respect for Himiko (not being killed off as soon as she gets development, GREAT VOICE ACTING FROM HER OMG) and Kaito (YES KING, LOVE YOU HELPING HIMIKO OUT!!!) and Korekiyo! (I know you killed them both, but goddam my respect for you is high rn, great acting, nice plan!)

Wait he highkey sounds like a more chilled version of Light Yagami "N-no... I'm not the culprit!" I hear it bro I hear it and I think I'm insane for it...

NO I CAN HEAR THE PAIN IN HIS VOICE, THE CRACKING THE WAY THE VA IS BREACHING HIS LIMIT HERE, EVERY TIME HER TALKS AUGHHHH! (Maybe I'm glazing idk, but goddam bro this guy is sick.)

And he still keeps his "Kehehees" in place. Nice.

3rd trial syndrome---

APOLOGISE?? WHY IS HE TWEAKING BRO??? IS ANGIES DEMON POSESSING HIM BECAUSE THE SEANCE WENT WRONG?! IS THIS THE CURSE BRO WAS SPEAKING OF???

AND OH MY GOD WHEN HE GETS CAUGHT... HIS SCREAM... OH MY GOSH CHILLS, LITERAL CHILLS, THE TALENT! I LOVE KOREKIYO FOR THIS BRO HE'S FULL OF SURPRISES!

CUTIES!

ANGIE AND TENKO AND HIMIKO AND SHUICHI ALL LOOK SO CUTE IN THE COMIC STYLE AHH!

Angie didn't even know what he was planning.. :/

THE END FINALLY AUGH! ---

Spinning Kaede is so funny

"My regret... my only regret... is not being able to make 100 friends."<- Komi-San???

--- Conclusion:

I GOT AN A

A FORRRR ATE!!! DEVOURED! SLAYED! SERVED! LEFT NOOOO CRUMBS AT ALL!!!

--- Motive:

....

Incest subplot in 2024 is wildddd....

I audibly screamed "WHAT THE FUCK!!!" and started crying... kork, babes, you good there mate?

HE KILLED 100 PEOPLE FOR HIS GODDAM SISTER?! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS MATE!

OH HE GOT BURNED???

MONODAM NOOOOOO

Wait why is his sister throwing salt on him? I don't get ittttt-

DON'T CRY TSUMUGI NOOO DON'T CRYYYYY

AUGH THE TENKO FLASHBACKS REALLY HURT OH MY GOD

"Tenko... Angie! I'm so lonely!" OH MY GOD HIMIKO NOOO :( IM CRYING :((

AWWW GONTA IS HELPING HER OH MY GOD HE'S SO SWEET :(

(Talking to Kaito) "If you dislike scary things, then you should've said so earlier. I thought you were sic-" oh... Maki the cutoff... OH MY GOD KAITO'S SICK ISN'T HE???

He's coughing....?

WHAT?! HE'S COUGHING BLOOD?! WHAT??? KAITO BB?! HE HASN'T GONE TO SPACE!HE'S DYING. KAITO. KAITO DON'T DIE HERE PLEASE OHMIGOD-

--- FINALLY!

We finished chapter 3! IMO the trials just keep getting better, AUGHHHH TENKO BB I MISS YOU.-

Yeah that's all.

[toonstarterz]

BECAUSE I’M NOT POPULAR, I’LL READ WATAMOTE: CHAPTER #166

Baseball season is in the air! Thankfully, you don’t need to be a fan of the sport to like this chapter. So long as you enjoy the stupid antics of a bunch of socially awkward teenage girls, there’ll be plenty of fun to be had. And of course, it wouldn’t be Watamote if they didn’t include a bunch of expertly intricated plot threads and natural character development as well. With all of Nico Tanigawa’s passions coming together once again, I can say that this chapter is definitely in top form.

So without further ado, let’s play ball!

Chapter 166: Because I’m Not Popular, I’ll Go Cheer

Tomoko getting flabbergasted just by Katou existing never gets old.

You know, I always had the impression that Tomoko wording things in the most perverted way was just a gut reaction due to her mind being perpetually in the gutter. But now, I feel like her answer here is just too on the nose to be anything but deliberate. IdiotPerv!Tomoko is hilarious, but TrollPerv!Tomoko is too powerful. 

Consequently, Tomoko can’t say shit without it biting her in the ass.

Okada with the save. Sure, she probably didn’t want to look like a slacker from Katou either, but still. If Katou’s the mom friend, then Pineapple-chan’s the exasperated, but supportive onee-san friend.

I just realized that this is a standard routine with these two: Yuri will say something tactless and Mako will call her name out in admonishment. If this has been going on since they first met, then Mako has boundless patience and/or is the absolute best friend that no person should ever take for granted. Not that 

Yuri does...mostly.

Y'all can tell that baseball fan Ikko had a blast drawing the backgrounds in this chapter.

Speaking of which, I’m 212% certain that Komiyama’s role in this chapter is to be the mouthpiece for Nico Tanigawa’s baseball fanatism. Given that it’s technically in-character (for who is basically their self-insert), and baseball chapters can only feasibly happen every hundred chapters or so, I’m fine with the mangakas taking these little indulgences.

Hey, let the girl live a little! Komi’s gotta cram ten chapters worth of dialogue she won’t get into one.

Pardon me, Tomoko, but you seem to have left your self-awareness by the entrance to the stadium.

Naturally, Tomoko hates that Komiyama isn’t making a fool of herself in front of her mom-crush. It’s easy to forget that so long as you don’t set off her berserk buttons, Komiyama is actually quite...normal. Like, being amicable with others and casually humble-bragging is her default state. 

Nico Tanigawa’s artistic habit of putting nicknames under faces always amuses me.

There’s being upset, and then there’s being petty. We all know that Tomoko is aware that Itou is in the band, and any other day, she wouldn’t hold that against the girl. But because she’s salty over Komiyama acting cool, her sensibilities revert back to Year-1 Tomoko logic. 

Now, if I were a more crass person, I could make the assumption that the majority of those underclassmen were a combination of girls admiring Fuuka’s “cool beauty” status and boys wanting to check out an attractive senior girl in a cheerleading outfit, discrepancies notwithstanding. 

But I won’t.  

Oh yeah, Miho. Based on the above cheers, she seems like your average popular girl, but if you recall, she got a kick out of Katou’s “offers” to Tomoko. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if she had a bit of a mean streak in her.

Btw...armpits? Okay, then...

You’d think that by now, Tomoko would learn some subtlety before pulling shit like this.     

Normally, I’d call Tomoko out for shenanigans since I thought she was mostly over the whole “slut-shaming” thing. But given how she wasn’t thinking this when the girls in her class wore cheerleading outfits during last year’s sports festival (that we know of), I can only assume that this is more of Tomoko’s jealousy due to Fuuka’s friendship with Katou.

Either that, or Tomoko just doesn’t want to admit she finds her hot.

I think we’re all in agreement that Ucchi’s gonna lose massive points for this.

On the other hand, the image of Emoji Girl screaming about Tomoko’s crimes through a megaphone is peak absurdity, and I’ve been laughing my ass off for twelve minutes. 

In all seriousness, I’m kind of glad that Tomoko is finally getting her way overdue karma for all her skirt-peeping. Sure, it’s all been played for comedy, but that doesn’t change the fact that its sexual harassment, or the fact that she’s more than likely gotten away with it for being female.

It’s all fun and games until your stalker calls you out on it.

LIES.

You know...maybe it is Tomoko’s fetish. She’s done it so frequently, and it’s always been portrayed as just another one of Tomoko’s “quirks”. But given the context of all those occurrences, having a skirt-peeping fetish actually sounds very plausible. Thank you, Yuri, for that insight. 

Looking at Katou’s expression, it might be her fetish, too...

Seeing Tomoko get more and more mortified as everyone keeps dogpiling on her shame makes for quite the cathartic reading. 

Add on to the fact that Komiyama, the biggest perv of all, is the most dignified at this moment just makes this whole chapter an absolute treat.

Considering that Tomoko basically just got outed as a pervert in the middle of a crowd of spectators, she’s taking this quite well. First-year Tomoko could’ve had a legit panic attack if that had happened, but now, she actually has enough nerve to retaliate. Sure, Tomoko had some decent ammo with the Tanabata wish, so she likely had more guts than she would’ve been, but it’s still impressive nonetheless.

Sasaki Fuuka–putting a new spin on the term “victim-blaming”. 

Komiyama can be the reasonable one while Tomoko is the crazy pervert, or Tomoko can be the reasonable one while Komiyama is the crazy pervert.

But the universe just can’t have both be reasonable or perverted at the same time. 

As someone who knows jacksh*t about sports, I have to admit that this is an interesting fun fact if it can be applied to the popularity of real-life sports teams and cheer squads.

I could totally see this becoming a meme in the Watamote fandom. Anyone?

These moments of zero dialogue, sometimes a whole page’s worth, excel at immersing the reader into the story. Suddenly, you’re not just reading about characters in a story. You’re now experiencing first hand what’s like to be at a baseball game, with a few familiar faces from the band and cheer teams making it feel a lot more lively. 

If it weren’t for all the wonderful peeps on Reddit, I never would’ve caught that this is the same baseball manager we’re seen periodically since the beginning of the series. You know, the one Tomoko did that fake dub for?

Perhaps I’ll call her...Beta!Nemo. 

A PSA to all you non-sports fans: You can now pretend to be interested in your favorite high-school teams just by tuning into your local service provider.

Go, Harajuku Makuhari!

You know, I think I mentioned before that I wasn’t sure what Komiyama’s career prospects were.

Now I’ve got a clue.

Yo, I could feel that pain from my screen.

For a second, I thought this was Reina, given we can’t see her eyes and that she’s manspreading (sounds like something she would do). But then I pictured her actually signing up for cheerleading and...yeah, no. 

Not to sound all pretentious if you already know, but cheerleading really is one of the most difficult, dangerous, and underappreciated sports there is. In addition to all the physical risks, you have to maintain an endlessly cheery disposition, even when it’s hard. That’s why I call it the “customer service job” of the sports industry.

The go-to method to keep your in-story sports team at peak realism: 

Unwavering mediocrity. 

As opposed to them hurrying up and win? Quite the pessimist you are, Tomoko...

not.

As startling as it is to hear these words come out of Tomoko’s mouth, it’s not entirely unfounded. For all her negative worldviews, crude behavior, and general apathy, the one thing that has always been constant about Tomoko is that she knows things can be better and she wants things to be better. She never got the chance to really strive for it back then when she had nothing to latch onto. But now that she’s got friends, Tomoko realizes that she can feasibly make some of those ideals a reality.  

Their unbridled admiration is sweeter than diabetes.

Insert long-winded discussion of a related social phenomenon that probably exists, but the author is too lazy to research here. 

She...didn’t deny it. 

Character development...I guess?

I was wondering where Tomoko would draw the line on her slut-shaming towards Fuuka. Granted, it’s probably easier to feel empathy when you can see that shit happening from other people rather than yourself. 

But seriously, Katou? Pimping out your friend? You terrify me more and more with each passing chapter. 

See what I’ve been getting at? Tomoko knows that realistically speaking, her summer is probably not going to be anything extraordinary. Inconveniences will occur, moments of boredom will arise, and missed opportunities will transpire. But as I’ve reiterated time and again, even those “plain” experiences can become delightful memories when shared with those you care about.

That’s going to be a crucial feeling from this point on, it looks like. ‘Cause based on Yuri’s expression, she may have the most difficulty resonating with that kind of emotion. Let's see just how Yuri handles an expanding social circle–Tomoko included–that’s a little more bright-eyed than she is. 

We’re in the seventh inning stretch of Tomoko’s third year, and time will only tell if it ends in a victory.

[toonstarterz]

BECAUSE I’M NOT POPULAR, I’LL READ WATAMOTE: CHAPTER #124

Nico Tanigawa are really giving us exactly what we want with this chapter, aren’t they? I know I wasn’t the only one hoping that Tomoko’s middle school posse of Yuu and Komiyama would meet her new friends, so I was really pumped when that day finally came. But of course, the mangaka can’t throw us a bone without a little unexpected twist, can they? Naturally, this meeting proves to be a real insightful one. One I’m sure will stick with our characters onwards.

Chapter 124: Because I’m Not Popular, I’ll Watch My Friends Meet

Two panels in, and Minami’s insensitivity meter is already blinking.

I’m sure Mako expected Minami was going up to talk to her, so it must have been quite the surprise when Minami walked right past her to reach her soon-to-be-buddy Katou. As always, I’m sure Minami meant no harm, and maybe she just knew Mako was already going to go home with Yuri, but the fact that she didn’t even bother addressing her suggests that Minami’s current friendship with Mako isn’t as important right now as the potentially new friend she sees in Katou. Ouch.

Woah, I wasn’t expecting the field trip to be coming up so soon. Maybe it’s just me, but year three feels like it’s going by at a noticeably faster pace than the previous years. This is a little concerning, as I’m sure I’m not the only one who wants to savor Tomoko’s last year of high school as long as possible. But if it’s this mangaka, i’m sure the final year will be twice as impactful to compensate.

Akane, huh? Cool.

This is a particularly interesting scene because we aren’t entirely sure what the character dynamics are here, and even if we did, that could change if Minami becomes a regular member of their group. We’ve seen Okada hang around Katou before, but this friendship isn’t as clear as Nemoto’s posse. From what I can presume, Okada is aware that Minami is trying to edge her way into their circle, and is trying to accommodate her without being too obvious. If Katou’s the class mom, then I see Okada as the big sister.

Aww, Nemoto’s really taking that “I just don’t care anymore” philosophy to heart. It does feel like that apprehension she felt after “coming out” during the class introductions is no longer there, but I don’t think that’s too big a leap in character development or anything. After revealing she wants to be a voice actress, admitting an interest in anime seems like it’d be easier comparatively. In any case, good on you Nemoto! No more hiding. 

I do like the little ways that Komiyama shows just how little she sees Tomoko. Past experience has probably attuned her to Tomoko’s forgetfulness and ignorance, so I can’t really blame her too much. Naturally, Tomoko does not like being talked down to, especially since she’s shown to be well-aware of things that involve Yuu, so I can’t fault Tomoko too much either. It’s an ugly cycle of “I hate how you treat me, but I can’t defend myself”.

If these three are at a cafe together, then you know something big is gonna go down this chapter.

Ah, Yuu-chan, how I’ve missed you. Even if your popularity with the series has dwindled in response to all the new characters, you’ll always have a place with the fans as Tomoko’s OG friend. And I must say, your blissful ignorance to Tomoko and Komiyama’s frenemy status makes for some memorable moments. I wonder if she’ll ever catch on...

Have I ever mentioned how much I love that Tomoko and Komiyama openly resent each other? ‘Cause I do.

Poor, Yuu. Your bubble’s about to burst. Also, hearing Tomoko casually refer to her friends as “friends” still brings a smile to my face.

Even if Tomoko’s relationship with Komiyama is still rocky, I think it’s telling that the former is “telepathically” relaying her idea to Komiyama, as if sensing that she’s likely thinking of the same thing. When will they realize just how alike they are?

Interesting analogy, Komiyama. It’s a dynamic that’s actually prevalent in a lot of celebrities, not just comedians (Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman from Mythbusters come to mind). I think a lot of that trend is that once you’re obligated to deal with someone for an extended period of time, the pressure to socialize beyond that isn’t as heavy. Unfortunately, it also sometimes means that your partner is someone who’d be annoying if you dealt with them any longer than needed. Thankfully, Yuu hasn’t seemed to pick up on Komiyama’s big, fat lie.  

You know, Tomoko can be surprisingly manipulative at times. She managed to skewer Komiyama’s image while at the same time building up herself in Yuu’s eyes. Of course, this sort of thing only happens when Tomoko has the upper hand. And granted, it’s not like Tomoko is completely wrong. Her bullshit is grounded in her perception of Komiyama, which probably makes her delivery that much more convincing. Give Komi a break, Tomoko. 

Given that Itou is the first person Komiyama thought of when Tomoko brought up “that one friend”, I think it’s safe to assume that Itou is pretty much Komiyama’s only friend at this school. I seriously hope we get to learn the history between those two someday.  

Komiyama’s cuteness factor just rose a few pegs.

But yeah, it’s kind of crazy how just saying Tomoki’s name was enough to set Tomoko off. I mean, sure, Tomoko thinks Komiyama’s attraction to her brother is disgusting, but it’s still pretty harsh of a reaction. Perhaps an unspoken agreement was established between them, that Tomoki is a taboo subject that Komiyama should not utter when Tomoko’s around. But that’s speculation at this point.

As for why Komiyama pulled back, perhaps she realized that if she really went into it, she’d have to reveal that Tomoki got her wet the other day. Nice retreat.

I bet in Yuri’s mind, she’s started calling Minami “fanged bitch”.

People always seem to comment on how cute Yuu is whenever they first see her. Not that there’s anything weird about that. Judging someone from their appearance is a natural first impression. What I’m wondering though is whether Yuu’s cuteness comes to a shock when they see her association with Tomoko. As if to say, “how did someone messy-looking like Tomoko become friends with a cutie like her?”.

Did Nico Tanigawa get that name from those 4chan users who would call Yuri ‘twintails girl” because they couldn’t remember her name? Probably.

More of Yuri’s boldness coming through. Unfortunately, that may not be such a good thing in this case. Considering how even Mako is shocked by this, something about Yuu must have really set her off...

The first thing I thought when I saw this is that Mako takes the lead when introducing themselves, and Yuri has no discernible issue with that, suggesting this has happened before. That doesn’t surprise me too much given Yuri’s quiet reservedness, but it does make the implication that Yuri may be dangerously reliant on Mako when they’re in social situations. Makes me shudder at the thought of how Yuri might have turned out without Mako in her life.

I really like these panels and no, it’s not for the legservice.

It’s a great way to emphasize how totally separate these two groups are. There’s more free space between Yuri and Mako, suggesting an air of comforting openness between them. On the other side, the trio of Tomoko, Yuu, and Komiyama are all bunched together, further expressing their trio status against the duo across from them.

Oh, and I do know that it’s actually Komiyama speaking in this shot and not Yuri. Thank goodness, as I can’t see Yuri being this indelicate.

I’m seeing Yuri’s feelings in this chapter being a hot topic in the Watamote fandom, so I’m gonna try and space out my thoughts on the matter instead of having a wall of text at the end of the review. Saavy?

Initially, the first thing to come across Yuri’s head is how affectionate Tomoko and Yuu are, from using nicknames and “indirect kissing”, which appears to come as quite the surprise to her. It makes sense, given that Yuri has no knowledge of Tomoko’s prior friendships beyond their own field trip group. In that regard, it can also be assumed that Yuri believed that Tomoko had no one before they met each other.

But if that’s true, then could be that Yuri feels threatened at the thought that Tomoko isn’t as close to her and she is with Tomoko? And after seeing Tomoko with such an attractive friend, is Yuri worried that Tomoko will leave her since she’s already got someone lovely like Yuu around?

In short, Yuri be jealous.

I love how this whole scene plays out because it’s something that’s isn’t too out of place at the start. It’s just Yuri sharing a story from their field trip to Tomoko’s friends. Nothing odd at first...

But there we get to here and we realize that something is odd. First thing that stood out to me was that Yuri’s stories weren’t exactly positive. That sort of pivots the reader’s thinking, because we now know that Yuri isn’t trying to make Tomoko look any better in front of her friends. Rather, it would seem that what Yuri’s doing is just giving examples about their friendship. Which wouldn’t be such a bad idea except...

...this happened. It’s here when the reader may realize that, if you know Yuri’s character, suddenly going off on a tangent is very out of character for her, meaning that this scene is purposely trying to make the readers uncomfortable. At this point, it still unclear to what that may be, but the part when Yuri mentioned Tomoko groping Yoshida was when the lightbulb in my head went off.

Normally, that is something you would not bring up in a group setting, especially to people you just met. That fact that Yuri would do this reveals that this isn’t just casual conversation for her. Yuri is forcing herself to bring up something, anything that puts her friendship with Tomoko in the spotlight. And moreso, she’s directing the conversation to everyone and not just Tomoko, meaning that she intends to have everyone be aware of how buddy-buddy they are, despite having no real reason to prove it other than sheer jealousy.

Seeing Yuri so oblivious to what she had just done is both gratifying and disappointing. The gratification comes from realizing that Yuri wasn’t purposely being inconsiderate–she is a good girl, after all. But it’s also disappointing because it shows that Yuri didn’t have the forethought to be mindful of her actions. Who knows how many times Yuri’s been innocently insensitive?

Thank goodness for Mako. I’m not joking when I say things could gone way south if Yuri had really gotten into it. On that note, having the shadowy eyes on usually kind-hearted characters usually spells nothing but trouble, and I’ll tell you, I was genuinely nervous to turn the page.

Damn, I know I downplayed this in earlier reviews, but Yuri must really hate Minami. And Yuri, you’re great and all, but I can’t defend you here. That was a bitch move.

Not gonna lie, Yuri’s punch looked kind of silly to me at first glance, probably because her body language didn’t really line up with the punch’s impact. But at the same, this sort of physical violence is exactly what you’d expect from Yuri. Having one hand in her pocket adds an element of frightening casualness to the punch, and her hardened expression indicates some barely concealed rage. It’s also telling that Yuri is looking away from Mako, as if for that one second, Mako ceases to be her friend and is just an unfocused existence that’s pissing her off. That dark shadow in the mirror could also be a reflection of Yuri’s blind fury made visible to the readers.

Oh course, once the initial rage passes, Yuri’s sensibilities come a’crawling back. It’s not instantaneous though, because Yuri still has her fist on Mako’s arm, meaning that she isn’t about to regret her actions entirely. Naturally, people need convincing before admitting they’re wrong.

Well, shit. It’s not everyday that I have to call out my favorite character twice in a review, but I’m gonna do it. Yuri, please stop being so rude. Your pride is gonna get you in trouble one of these days. I understand that displays of stubbornness were a part of Yuri’s personality in previous chapters, so rather than blame her for being out-of-character, I see this as an honest-to-goodness fault that she needs to work on.

Yuu, the original “good girl”, always coming through when it really counts. 

There you go, Yuri. As expected, all she needed was a little time to cool off before her better nature comes around. Though interestingly enough, it only when shown an act of kindness does Yuri make the right choices (here, Yuu asking for her LINE, and before, getting a gift from Mako on the field trip). I’m not saying Yuri is so shallow that she’s easily swayed by special treatment, but that tangible, visible acts of friendliness are easier for Yuri to understand and internalize.

Also, I find it intriguing that apparently Tomoko doesn’t speak much of her school life with Yuu, especially now that has people to talk about. As a first year, she would’ve killed to have these kinds of stories to tell Yuu, so it tells me that Tomoko no longer venerates the concept of friendship and instead it has become just another everyday facet of her life.

This is exactly how I imagined Yuu and Yuri’s first meeting would end.

Am I disappointed? Not a bit.

Only Yuu could say diabetes-inducing lines like this and still have it come across as totally genuine. It’s almost kind of funny how stoic Yuri is in the face of pure-hearted kindness, but as we’ve seen in the past, her lack of expression doesn’t equate to being emotionless. I imagine that there’s a mixture of confusion and guilt in Yuri’s current state as her opinion of Tomoko’s best friend rises. In any case, the possibility of Yuu and Yuri bonding over Tomoko is almost too precious to comprehend.

Yowch. This one hit hard. We’ve seen before that Yuri has a bit of an edge underneath her general niceness, but that characterization was always inferred by the fans. This is the first time I can recall of Yuri being so self-deprecating and self-aware towards her own personality. The fact that she readily admits this says wonders about Yuri’s values and motivations, all while making her friendship with Tomoko all the more believable. Top-tier characterization as always, Nico Tanigawa.

Yes, I know Tomoko did not actually use her name here…

I love when the mangaka lampshades ideas that we as fans only thought we discovered, only to realize that the mangaka had already thought of that. As they say, nothing in a good story is incidental.

Tomoko never calling Yuri by her name is one of those things. As she muses, it’s only awkward when you bring it up. And to be fair, Tomoko could probably get away with never calling her by name if she didn’t have to. But now, Tomoko cares enough about Yuri that she’s willing to put in that little bit of extra effort to become closer to her. Notice how while Yuu and Komiyama are having their conversation, Tomoko is lost in her own thoughts? That’s a testament to how important Yuri is to her. 

And lastly, we can’t have a Yuu chapter without some of her low-key savagery. And it’s funny how it’s Komiyama this time that takes the heat and not Tomoko. Given their history together, it makes me wonder just how aware Yuu is to Tomoko and Komiyama’s flaws. My guess is that she’s subconsciously aware of it, but doesn’t realize it herself. In this instance, the readers may see Yuu’s comment as a stab on how Komiyama’s personality makes it hard to get along with her, but in Yuu’s eyes, she may just see it as nice people being attracted to another “nice” girl like Komiyama. Yuu’s mind can be a real enigma...

The way this series has been getting increasingly popular, it’s easy for the characters to devolve into two-dimensional characters–especially when the fans start clamoring for screen time of their favorites. Take Yuri Tamura, in this case. Her popularity skyrocketed at a pace that I never expected it to go but was secretly hoping it would. Many mangakas would play up her appeal even more as a form of fanservice. But instead, Nico Tanigawa pulled a move that was pure genius. They showed off Yuri’s flaws, and I’m not talking moe flaws like clumsiness and ditziness, but real flaws that most people would disapprove of. And in doing so, the mangaka actually added a layer of depth to Yuri that, ironically, could make people like her even more.

It’s something we’ve seen before with nice characters like Nemoto becoming passive aggressive, or the sexually frustrated Komiyama being purevert of heart. On the basic level, it’s the moe gap, but that gap is twisted and turned into something very refreshing and frankly, just entertaining to watch.

Next time, the Disneyland arc??