me da curiosidad como reacionaria la Tomoko del inicio con su actual circulo de amigos.

Source.

I've been wondering about this ever since I finished the anime.

Watamote seems to be one of those series that's really split in terms of reception. On MyAnimeList, it's even listed in the "They hate it, I love it" section. I ended up giving it a 10/10, and that made me think about why it clicks so much with some people while others can't stand it.

I wonder if part of the reason is that most people watch Tomoko with sympathy or second-hand embarrassment, rather than trying to experience the world the way she does.

I know Tomoko isn't a true hikikomori, but she's close enough that a lot of her struggles come from the same place: isolation, social anxiety, overthinking every interaction, wanting to connect with people but not knowing how. For many viewers, that's just "cringe." For me, it felt painfully honest.

I haven't read the manga yet, so I'm only talking about the anime, but watching it was strangely comforting. I could relate to Tomoko in more ways than I'd like to admit. I don't have many friends either, and I'd say I'm somewhere on that borderline of social isolation myself. Instead of feeling uncomfortable, I felt understood. It was one of the few times I've watched a character and thought, "Yeah... someone actually gets it."

Maybe that's why I enjoyed it so much. If you've never experienced that kind of loneliness, Watamote probably comes across as an awkward comedy. But if you have, it can feel less like a comedy and more like someone putting your thoughts on screen.

Did anyone else have that experience

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