Fittingly enough, the experience of watching this OVA was an avalanche of mixed emotions. First things first – Watamote is still great. The OVA doesn’t miss a beat – it’s every bit as smart, hilarious and gut-wrenching as the TV series, and plays much like a regular episode with a […] Read more
I’ll just be over there in the corner, silently weeping… Author’s Note: In light of the news of Robin Williams’ death today, I thought I’d top this post as I couldn’t help but be put in mind of Watamote when I heard this news, because it’s one of an extremely […] Read more
Of all the 2013 series that end up on my year-end Top 10 list, it’s very possible that Watamote will be the one I least expected to find there. It’s not an exaggeration to say that shows like Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaete mo Omaera ga Warui! (I […] Read more
Watamote certainly hasn’t lost the ability to surprise me. I must be well-conditioned, because all throughout this episode I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it stayed solidly airborne. For once there really was a light at the end of the tunnel that wasn’t an oncoming shinkansen. […] Read more
Ah, Watamote – why must you take me on this emotional thrill ride every week? In all my years of watching anime, there’s never been anything that strikes me as much similar to Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaete mo Omaera ga Warui!. There have been plenty of black […] Read more
And so, the emotional roller-coaster ride continues. If you consider the emotional spectrum of anime a true circle, there must be a point where the two extremes meet – where funny and hopeful transitions into bleak and tragic. There are series that spend some of their time moving back and […] Read more
I’m going to need the thesaurus to do justice to how freakishly brilliant (and freakish) this episode of Watamote was. This series has been an emotional roller-coaster from the very beginning (except it would have to be a roller-coaster where you’re going up, down and upside-down all at the same […] Read more
Watamote is certainly sticking to its guns – if you’re looking for moderation and restraint, look elsewhere. Sometimes I try (don’t ask me why) to explain the appeal of anime to non-anime fans. It’s never an easy process and rarely successful in terms of communicating the point, but looking at […] Read more
Having been a manager for Starbucks in the hazy past, this episode held a special resonance for me. Watamote continues to be a hard show to watch sometimes, but not nearly as hard as it is to be Tomoko. There’s an old Yiddish story (any of you old enough to […] Read more
Watamote is quite adept at walking on tightropes, and so far there hasn’t been a major slip. Without any question, this is a series that plays with your emotions in a big way. It makes you laugh, then feel bad about laughing, the gasp and groan and laugh again. There’s […] Read more