#wataru watari

[a-forbidden-detective]

Parallelism: On why RonToto is so real

On episode 4, before Amamiya fainted over the beauty of Ron Kamonohashi, she got a closer look in his eyes as the latter glanced at her doing his “yes, I solved who the culprit is” fwish-fwish gesture. His icy blue eyes shining, very exposed. She fell in love. (“So steaming hot!”)

During the first episode, Ron had a closer look at Toto. He was enamoured. How could be that this naïve police officer was determined to bring him back to detective business?

Toto, on the other hand, although he admires and respects his boss Amamiya, there is no desire involved.

This trope is called Eating the Eye Candy.

There's just something completely gorgeous about that other character. The character just can't help but stare and drool over their gleaming smile, sapphire eyes, or any other attractive features.

Akira Amano decided early on where the story is going. Series composition writer Wataru Watari is interpreting her vision. It is safe to say that the manga has never included nor focused on Amamiya’s eye. Meaning, the anime writers wanted to emphasise the significance of this trope to the possible pairings. We can rest assured who the OTP is in this series.

[ahb-writes]

Just how easily would it have been if we could have talked like this forever – without saying any of the important things, pretending it was the same as always, deliberately never getting to the point?

"Hachiman Hikigaya" (My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected, Vol. 14 by Wataru Watari)

[hatsumishinogu]

Yahari ore no seishun lovecome wa machigatteiru -Monologue- Vol.22 (end)

[remedialreviews]

It's charming to think this is exactly the sort of novel I would have written in high school, an impression helped along in this translation by relatively clumsy English diction. The witticisms and insults, over which you can almost hear the author giggle, are fun and the slow reveal of Hikki's empathy is very sweet. Truly, a light novel - wryly funny and pleasantly evocative of my own "wasted" youth.

[graphicpolicy]

Wataru Watari is coming to Otakon 2023

Wataru Watari is coming to Otakon 2023 #otakon #otakon2023 #otakon23

Author Wataru Watari will be a guest at Otakon 2023, according to Otakorp Inc. He debuted as an author by winning the third Shogakkan Light Novel Gagaga Grand Prize with “Ayakashigatari.” Watari has authored a number of titles, including the “Qualidea Code” series, and “Girlish Number,” but his most well-known work as an author is the series “My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected,”…

[ljaesch]

Otakon 2023 Announces Wataru Watari as Guest

Otakon has announced that author Wataru Watari will be a guest at its upcoming convention. He debuted as an author by winning the third Shogakkan Light Novel Gagaga Grand Prize with Ayakashigatari. Watari has authored a number of titles, including the Qualidea Code series, and Girlish Number, but his most well-known work as an author is the series My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected,…

[enstarblwrite]

I had an idea....

A Wataru x Eichi AU,based off of "your lie in April"

Eichi-Kosei

Wataru-Kaori

Based off of your lie in April but a bit of swap roles!

With Wataru suffering the same illnes as Kaori....

[animefeminist]

Author and scriptwriter Watari Wataru on cynical heroines, getting a lesbian kiss onscreen, and keeping his day job

Watari Wataru’s appearance at Otakon 2023 was announced with copious mention of his 2011 light novel series My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU (sometimes known by the shortened portmanteau of its Japanese title, Oregairu). While it has its issues (like a spate of fanservice-heavy anime promotional material rather disconnected from the novel’s mentality), it’s also drawn comparisons to era contemporary Toradora for trying to integrate more grounded character dynamics into the extremely archetype-dense school rom-com genre. The series earned a dedicated fanbase, three anime adaptations from 2013 to 2020, three separate manga adaptations and three visual novel spin-offs (including one in 2023).

Even more of interest for AniFem readers, though, is Girlish Number. Its heroine, Chitose, is a cynical young voice actress who finally manages to snag a major role; convinced she’d just never been given a chance to shine, Chitose’s ego takes a serious blow when she can’t keep up with her costars. The series isn’t a brutal indictment of an industry a la Perfect Blue or Oshi no Ko, but a work-com closer to SHIROBAKO – ultimately upbeat but unafraid of airing its complaints, or of letting a cast of adult women have a few rough edges.

Stepping into the role of anime scriptwriter and series composer first to adapt his own work, Watari has increasingly taken up work on adaptations. In 2023, that included AniFem staff favorite The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, an ambitious fantasy series that turned heads for managing to include both a love confession and onscreen kiss between its titular couple.

Such a move is almost unprecedented outside of titles marketed exclusively as yuri or BL, and despite the many beautiful queer love stories that anime has told over the years with one, the other, or only subtext to wield, it’s easy to see why this achievement touched anxious viewers: this interview was conducted only one day before Bandai Namco attempted to declare the couple at the heart of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury as being “up to interpretation” despite, among other things, their matching wedding rings (the creative team, in an admirable answering power move, released a staff art book at Comiket that included wedding and honeymoon art).

We were able to sit down with Watari, as well as SNAFU editor and Gagaga Bunko Chief Editor Hoshino Horinori, for a short interview.

Read it at Anime Feminist!

[mihai-florescu]

Mihai this thing is called Audition Vs. Audience Mihai he is wearing The mask again Mihai what does this mean if they do anything I disapprove of I'll be so mad and if they don't mention Eichi I'll be even more mad because they can not do that Mihai they can't they can't

Oh theyll mention eichi alright i know it in my soul. Especially if akira is writing it... audition vs audience i cant wait for another classic "god is always watching" wataru banger. I hope wataru turns to the audience and makes sure to mention he didnt break up with eichi and ask for his things back (/joke) Can we velieve exactly a year after atlantis we're getting another watari breakup scare...lmao

[beast-of-mosss]

I'm so sorry for the watary yume who followed me only to see me post about pregnant wataru

[fictional-birthdays]

Happy Birthday! (April 14th)

Jenna & Zaneri (Seven Deadly Sins)

Hikaru Tokugawa (Mob Psycho 100)

Wataru Onaga (Haikyuu!!)

Yuko Kumagai (World Trigger)

Kaede Nagamine (22/7)

Kairi Sisigou (Fate/Apocrypha)

Rin (Show By Rock!!)

Mio Kuniyashi (DRAMAtical Murder)

Kuranosuke Shiraishi (Prince of Tennis)

Rocket (Animal Crossing)

Sayuri (Pop’n Music)

Ryota Watari (Your Lie in April)

Sajin "Snatch" Higawara (My Hero Academia)

[a-forbidden-detective]

Curious add-ons, Episode 10 (Part 6), The Blush and other things

Like what I’ve mentioned before, Wataru Watari and co. edited out Akira’s dialogue and panels in the manga and added a few things that ante up RonToto’s relationship.

(If you listen to the RKDD voice actors, Youhei Azakami especially, they say RonToto when referring to their—his and EnokiJun’s— characters often during their radio show out of laziness, heh, and habit maybe.)

The blush after Ron notices that Toto is looking at him. Probably caught by his bashfulness, in the end, he smiles at Toto, but realises that there’s something off after Toto sighs loudly.

Honestly, this is so sweet. The anime writers are invested making use of Akira’s panels where Ron loves to smirk so we can hear him say “heh” with the movement of his lips and giving emphasis on the quiet moments where the characters can interact without words but still heavily imply that emotions are surging. I particularly like the scenes between Toto and John Grizzly where the BLUE instructor was interrogating Toto’s relationship with Ron. That was a minute of no dialogue only the reaction of their faces shown.

“So, that’s how much… she likes you” is replaced with this nicer statement from Ron. Anyone who treats his friend Toto nicely gets a star from him.

With the following scenes Toto has come out more dominant than in the manga.

And yesterday new merchandise had been unveiled just in time for the upcoming Jump Festa. Two of them are these images of the two. Ron is wearing a trendy attire with harnesses on his chest area and a dog tag. Whereas Toto is wearing a sort of street-smart urban outfit. The joke on X Twitter is who’s the “dog” and who is the owner.

Yes. It is all coincidence. And I am probably projecting.

They definitely removed Ron’s “I feel the same way” line and instead included the dialogue suggesting two things. 1)Ron sees that Toto is fond of ordering takeouts that it is implied that he cooks for the police officer from time to time. His recipes are mostly drenched with black syrup. 2) because Toto is not into cooking, he wishes that one day he does break this habit. Maybe because it is not healthy. This is where my head canon and speculation collide. Seeing that cooking is chemistry and Ron has been a hikikomori for five years and had lots of time during those times he probably had so many things tried and experimented.

From an outsider’s point of view, like Chikori, who has been wondering what the hell is the relationship between these two.

[ahb-writes]

Book Review: 'My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected' #14.5

My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected #14.5 by Wataru Watari, ponkan8

coming of age

romance

social commentary

My Rating: 4 of 5 stars

The final, blustery exhale that is MY YOUTH ROMANTIC COMEDY v14.5 is about as particular in its emotional guile as one would expect for a light-novel series about the fragrant and fiery impediments of youth. The new school year forces new obligations into frame, the changing seasons resurrect old compulsions to the fore, and all of the personal relationships that pin these notes to the back of one's mind risk crowding one another out. Hachiman Hikigaya is a third-year high-schooler; time to get to work.

Closing out this novel series, the author focuses on the casual, if mundane reality of transitioning into adulthood: testing for another level of education, cleaning up old allyships, saying goodbye to old rivalries, and shepherding the next generation into form. The stakes are relatively low, the risks are nonexistent, and the anxiety is manageable. The last time Hikigaya ever breathed a sigh of relief was probably never. However, at this point, at least he's got a few decent friends at his side.

The ever-meddlesome Iroha Isshiki is still hanging around the Service Club, if for reasons unknown. The girl's striking and manipulative nature (Hikigaya: "It's what you would call a cunning that isn't fawning," page 97), oddly, remind the protagonist of his younger sister, Komachi, now a first-year at Chiba City Municipal Soubu High School. It's an open-ended question as to whether the club can (or should) continue. Ms. Hiratsuka is gone, and all of the club members, exempting Komachi, will graduate soon.

But the need for the Service Club, as readers well know, extends less to the student body than it does to its individual club members. The core friendships assembled by the club's participants spans a spectrum of arrogant and untidy reflections on the woes of being a teenager. Yukinoshita, Yuigahama, and Hikigaya are all better and stronger for it, but they've been through hell to validate such a conclusion. Is that what's in store for future club members? Being young is so wearisome.

Isshiki observes, at one point, that she desires what Hikigaya and the others have, but can't honestly see herself surviving what they have survived. As such, the peculiar dynamic duo of Isshiki and Hikigaya-the-Younger emerges to carry on the club legacy, troubling interpersonal relations and all .

Isshiki: "Relationships like theirs — overly complicated, ridiculously troublesome, and constantly going wrong — can't be built so easily." (page 134)

MY YOUTH ROMANTIC COMEDY v14.5 makes peace with most of its outstanding errors of presumption in an effort to bind all remaining loose ends. Hikigaya and Yukinoshita are dating now, and their dynamic is crammed with all of the sarcasm, diffidence, respectful logic, apologies, and hard blushes as one would expect. The pair is a mess, and they both know it. But that won't keep them from charging forward. Even if that means attending the same cram school ahead of university entrance exams. Even if that means daydreaming about what comes one year, five years, ten years after that.

One regrets not stumbling into a "please meet my parents" moment, as hinted at in previous volumes of the novel series. Hikigaya has yet to meet Yukinoshita's father (and is in no rush to do so), but in lieu of an unbearably awkward dinner with the sort-of in-laws, a charming coffee date between the two young adults will suffice.

The author also makes peace with the secondary cast of characters and their rapport with the protagonist. For example, Komachi undertakes a thought experiment, in which she hunts for a worthwhile sister-in-law. Yuigahama? Miura? Ebina? Hikigaya hilariously (and very accurately) responds to each prospect, notably saying that getting married to Hina Ebina, despite being absent domestic affection, would be, socially-relationally speaking, "contractually viable." One presumes Ebina would no doubt say the same thing.

Speaking of which, this volume also provides a requiem for Tobe. Frequently derided as garbage, Kakeru Tobe is the novel series' resident punching bag. He is, to wit, grossly simple-minded and incapable of thinking for himself. And yet, the young man's niceness and reliability tend to rub off on those around him. Hikigaya's assessment of Tobe was never very high, but to a final point, he acknowledges the reason the guy is so dull is because he'll never truly understand that niceness only begets abuse by others (Hikigaya: "In this world, the nicer you are, the more you get used," page 35).

MY YOUTH ROMANTIC COMEDY v14.5 wraps a single, tumultuous, unforgettable year. One could ask for more details on how Yukinoshita and Hikigya are faring as partners. One could ask how Yuigahama is faring in her perpetual heartbreak. One could ask how Hayama is fairing, solipsistic smile lighting his path. One could also ask how Haruno is fairing, her bitterness constantly grinding her down like the ocean against a beach of water-smoothed pebbles. And on and on. But none of it matters. Not really. Because all of these encounters are so garishly, foolishly ephemeral. After all, youth is a farce.

Die in a fire.

❯ ❯ Light-Novel Reviews || ahb writes on Good Reads

[hatsumishinogu]

My youth romantic comedy is wrong as I expected. @ comic Vol.22 (end)

[regarding-stories]

Reading the books: "My Youth Romantic Comedy is wrong, as I expected."

What takes 15 days? Correct! Reading the 14 main line novels of "My Youth Romantic Comedy is wrong, as I expected." and the Volume 14.5 short story collection. What a ride...

What I definitely can say: The anime series was extremely faithful to the books. When you stick to the mainline and omit the short stories, you would mostly miss out on one thing. The best thing!

Hachiman Hikigaya's endless inner monologue!!

Good lord, this boy has issues. He's overly in his own head, makes lots of assumptions, is too smart for his own good, and too clueless. I just love it.

Gazing into the abyss with rotten eyes

Writing a series completely or almost completely from the point of view of its protagonist, basically mostly from his stream of consciousness, has of course its own set of challenges. Luckily it's not plain stream of consciousness but also scene setting and descriptions of the other people's actions, and a lot of the fun of the series derives from contrasting Hikki's assumptions and interpretations with your own.

It's also frustrating... (Also, spoilers, I guess.)

And late in the series I was asking myself, if the boy had any connection to his feelings at all. Author Wataru Watari has a habit of hiding the obvious, and so our main characters beat around the bush to the very last. I did get a tad annoying. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

What actually works quite well is the evolutionary change we see in Hachiman over the series. The way he thinks about people changes subtly and continuously. In the beginning he even calls the ever-lovely Yui Yuigahama a "ho" and a "slut" to her face. Hardly charming!! This is one of the moments one has to endure, proof of Hachiman's resentment towards the world after having been ostracized for so long, his hate for "normies." And on the surface, Yui is the uber-normie, the adaptable, the one willing to change for the sake of popularity - something Hachiman cannot abide with. Initially.

It paves the ground, however, for enjoying all the deeper the kindness Hikki displays in his thoughts later on towards Yui, or how highly he thinks of her in the end. (Though not of her lack of book smarts which he confuses for intelligence.)

While we're at it, Hikkitani's eyes gaze upon a few other things. I was remarking in my original post about the anime series how refreshingly low on male gaze it was. Well, our protagonist is male, and he occasionally compares bust sizes... not in the most charming way, either. However, it's neither permanently so nor done unconvincingly. We did enter the mind of a male teen, after all. In reality, we would have been bound to find much worse things there, after all... Of which we get one hint, really. (I will not tell.)

An almost unbroken stream...

What we also get is a lot of Hachiman's thoughts about his boy crush Saika Totsuka. Which is endlessly hilarious in all its bi-confusion. The scenarios unfolding in his mind without filter - I can't tire of them.

However, for the first 11 volumes we are home alone inside the head of our anti-hero. The last three, however, mix things up a bit. Labeled as "Interludes" there are scenes that take place without Hachiman, written from the view of another character. With Volume 14 we also get a multi-installment "Prelude" that features the scene between Yui and Yukino we didn't get a detailed glimpse of at the end of Volume 13.

What's annoying here is the tendency of omitting part of the dialogue and only describing it vaguely. We can infer that Yukino admits her love for Hachiman to Yui - whispered in her ear. Because that's what Yui knew all along but didn't want to hear. And we get Yui admitting the same to Yukino - that she's in love with Hachiman - but again it's not spelled out. We all know. But for some silly reason it's not spelled out.

Another central interlude is earlier when Yui discovers Yukinon's hidden treasure. Behind the stuffed Grue bear Hachiman got her, her hidden image of holding on to him on Splash Mountain. (Which hasn't been quite accurately transcribed into pictures.)

These scenes are necessary to understand everybody's actions for the complex ending. To understand why Yukinoshita seems to reject Hachiman and send him towards Yuigahama. To understand why Yui will in the end ask if it really feels alright and prompts her Hikki's final bid... towards the other girl. And why they all can remain together after. It also reveals Yui's mature side, her high degree of emotional intelligence, and her deep understanding fo and love for others.

We also get a bit into the head of Iroha Isshiki, Yukino and Haruno Yukinoshita, Hayato Hayama, and even Komachi Hikigaya. And a bit more of that if you read the final volume, 14.5. But the star of these scenes will always be Yui, the glue that holds them all together at the end - at great pain.

But in Volume 14 we get maybe the most convincing thing of all, something that I needed after seeing Hikki's indecisiveness for so long. He sums it up like this:

"I wish it had been a simpler kind of feeling. If it had been ordinary love or yearning, then I'm sure I wouldn't have felt so intensely. I wouldn't feel like this only happened once in a lifetime."

This is during Hachiman's confession. He says he wasn't struggling so much with being in love or a crush. What took him so long was figuring out a very complex feeling. (The passage is longer.) He's apparently able to discern between teenager hormones and the fact how well suited he is to be with this particular person, and how important that is to the other - to be seen, understood, and be loved at a deeper level. But the complexity is also discerning it from the love he already feels - like he would for Yui.

Other things you get from the books

One of the best things about the books besides Totsuka fantasies is the ability to read Iroha's terribly revealing rejections to Hachiman, each of them escalating over the previous one, getting ever more like invitations to ask her out just not right now. And her increasing complaints that he doesn't listen at all when she says them.

Also Irohasu's merciless teasing is best paced in the books. And Hachiman's opinion of her. These two would have chemistry for sure. It's just that this particular protagonist was made from the beginning for a particular heroine, and that's what I find so convincing about this series' narrative.

Sadly volume 14.5 only treats us to only one date between Yukino and Hachiman. I was hoping for more, but I take what I get. Even on their one month anniversary they're still all blushing smiles and red ears, but at the same time Yukino is already setting out a common future. Very cute.

If you want a real treat, however, search the internet. There are several anthology volumes filled with content mostly by other authors borrowing the characters - but also the short story "Thus A New Enemy Appears Before Him" from the anthology called "Yukino's Side" written by Wataru Watari himself. It has been translated by fans - I couldn't find a way to buy an actual English translation for any of this. The short story, however, is told from the vantage of Yukino's dad - his perceptions of the three highly intelligent women in his life and how they establish facts for him. The eternal struggle of the future father-in-law is real! The way he finds out that his youngest has a boyfriend had me in stitches. Also, Yukino's mom is on her game the whole time. Basically him mostly watching as his wife, Haruno, and Yukino interact is ... priceless.

[ao3feed-twiyor]

Anya Likes Ramen

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/grBPXZ4 by Betrayed_Dreams Anya Forger eats ramen for the first time with her 'Unkle Hikki' and finds it absolutely delicious. Just a simple, heart-warming tale. (One-shot) (Note: Could be read as a companion piece to my other fic, "A Bohemian Hikigaya's Rhapsody") (P.S.: You don't need to read "A Bohemian Hikigaya's Rhapsody" to understand what is going on with this fic.) Words: 802, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: SPY x FAMILY (Anime), SPY x FAMILY (Manga), やはり俺の青春ラブコメはまちがっている。 | My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU (Anime), やはり俺の青春ラブコメはまちがっている。 - 渡航 | My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU - Watari Wataru Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: Gen Characters: Hikigaya Hachiman, Anya Forger Relationships: Hikigaya Is Anya's New Unkle!, Hikigaya Hachiman & Anya Forger, Loid Forger | Twilight/Yor Briar Forger | Thorn Princess Additional Tags: Fluff, Comedy, Family, Hikigaya Is Anya's New Unckle, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Humor, The Forgers Moved To Japan, Anya Thinks Hikigaya Can Also Read Minds, Spoilers: He Can't!, But Hikki Is Really Good At Reading People, Hikki Has A Heart, Cute Anya Forger, POV Anya Forger, Anya Forger-centric, Post-Identity Reveal Loid Forger | Twilight/Yor Briar Forger | Thorn Princess, Minor Loid Forger | Twilight/Yor Briar Forger | Thorn Princess, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Anya Forger Needs a Hug read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/grBPXZ4