Emiri Uchi

Emiri Uchi
Information
Title	High School Student
Nickname	"Emoji" [絵文字・えもじ] (Tomoko) "Ucchii" [うっちー] (Friends)
Gender	Female
Hair	Honey (dyed) Black (natural)
Eyes	Unknown

Emiri Uchi (内笑美莉, うちえみり^?), better known in the English translation by her nickname "Ucchii," is Tomoko's second then third-year classmate. Because she could not form a group of five with her friends for the school trip to Kyōto, she along with Yoshida and Yuri are put in Tomoko's group. Since that time and despite her initial dislike of Tomoko, she has become progressively interested in to obsessed with Tomoko to the point of developing a crush while still declaring that she finds her behavior "disgusting (きもい・キモい・kimoi)!"

Overview

Aside from a possible view of her from behind on the cover page of Chapter 20, Uchi first appears in Chapter 59 during Tomoko's second year of high school when she and Tomoko sit next to one another on the bus to a baseball game. To Tomoko's irritation Uchi spends the whole ride chatting with her friends who are sitting behind them. This parallels Uchi's subsequent actions during the school field trip where she tries to spend most of her time with her friends in Group Two rather than her assigned group of Tomoko, Yoshida, and Yuri. She would occasionally return to their room to gather her things. In a comic scene, Uchi walks in and spies Tomoko trying to groom herself with a pair of scissors in the bathroom. When Yuri and Yoshida return they seem stand-offish. Uchi decides to stay away from all of them as much as possible, though she does discretely toss Tomoko her pants which she left outside. Uchi and her friends can hear through the walls of their room incidents such as fights between Tomoko and Yoshida which only supports her resolve. For her part, Uchi gives little reason for the trio to want to know her.

This changes when she and Tomoko share a room together on the last night of the trip, and comic misunderstandings lead Uchi to fear that Tomoko is sexually interested in her. From that point Uchi invariably misinterprets Tomoko's behavior as "perverted"; yet, she begins to follow Tomoko and even feels some pride that, in her mind, Tomoko is attracted to her while becoming severely jealous when she interprets any interaction Tomoko has with other girls as "flirting" or worse. She eventually tries to find opportunities to be near Tomoko and has a tantrum when she learns she will not be in Tomoko's class. Tomoko has such little interest in her she does not bother to learn her name. Instead, she refers to Uchi as "Emoji" (絵文字・えもじ) in reference to her expression resembling an emoticon.

During the field trip to the amusement park, Uchi engineers the opportunity to join Tomoko's group by pretending that she became separated from her friends and did not bring her phone. When Mako Tanaka offers to call them, she quickly stops her. She subsequently takes the opportunity to be near Tomoko without really conversing with her. While she walks next to and stares at Tomoko, she inwardly accuses Tomoko of having a "harem" of girls. When her friends text her on the phone she claimed she did not have, she lies that she found "that girl I was talking to you about" alone and felt sorry for her. When her friends find her, she is reluctant to leave. Later, she returns to stand next to Tomoko when watching the fireworks. After Tomoko gives her one of the cheap souvenir keychains, Uchi interprets this to mean their "hearts" will always be together until she sees that Tomoko gave the same to others. She then resumes secretly watching Tomoko during lunch breaks; however, she also quietly joins Tomoko, Hina Nemoto, and Akane Okada walking together.

When she visits a university with her friends, she sees Tomoko with Katō. As usual, when the parties join, she sits with Tomoko while inwardly assuming that Tomoko and Katō have a "disgusting" relationship. She overhears Tomoko's confession as to why she feels she is not worthy to be Katō's friend, where Tomoko declares herself a "huge pervert," and angrily recalls her belief that Tomoko stole her panties. Nevertheless, when she next appears in Chapter 144 she approaches and greets Tomoko directly and twice initiates a conversation with her. Since she was  shocked to see Tomoko embracing Miyazaki on a train, she had not been depicted secretly watching Tomoko, but Chapter 152 indicates that she has been regularly visiting Tomoko in her class during breaks, though they apparently from Tomoko's perspective do not have a meaningful conversation. All that changes with that chapter when Uchi's friends confront her over constantly spending time away from them, which crescendos into Uchi facing the possibility that her friends have discovered her crush.

Personality

From her initial appearance, Uchi seems only interested in her small and consistent circle of friends who miss her when she is separated from them. Her Friend with Glasses claims their group is "boring" without her. To some like Yoshida and Yuri, she appears very shy to stand-offish. She shows no interest in talking to Tomoko when they sit together on a bus. She shows similar disinterest in her assigned field trip group and instead spends most of her time chatting with her friends. Due to some comic misunderstandings and Uchi's own behavior towards Yoshida, she vows to have as little interaction with them as possible.

Uchi near completely loses her "Emoji-Face" talking about Tomoko.

Uchi's personality gradually reveals itself as her interest in Tomoko develops. Due to a few more comic misunderstandings and Tomoko's attempts to seem mature and experienced, Uchi believes Tomoko is a "pervert" who is sexually attracted to her. However, on her ride home from the trip, she keeps thinking about Tomoko looking at her. Seemingly contradictory behavior develops: while following and watching Tomoko she consistently angrily deems her imagined behavior as "disgusting!"; yet she starts to try to be close to Tomoko which includes her wanting Tomoko to be pressed up against her on a train. Despite inwardly declaring Tomoko a lesbian and "disgusting," she takes pride in her imagined interest from Tomoko. When she sees Mako Tanaka looking in Tomoko's direction, a sweating and smiling Uchi talks to Mako freely about her conviction that Tomoko is sexually attracted to her, to Mako's confusion, only to flee when Tomoko looks in her direction loudly declaring that she is Tomoko's "fetish fuel." Later, she corrects Hina Nemoto's impersonation of Tomoko in front of Akane Okada, Suzuki, and Yoshinori Kiyota. She becomes angered whenever she observes Tomoko interact with other girls and invariably leaps to the conclusion that Tomoko is either hitting on the other girl or they are both lesbians. Over time, Uchi's apparent disgust with her belief that Tomoko is attracted to girls mixes with her own progressively apparent desire to be with Tomoko. Her friends do notice and remark that she spends a lot of time talking about "that girl." Whether this is just jealousy, curiosity, or actual feelings remains undefined until Chapter 131 when she confesses, without naming her, that she believes Tomoko and her hearts are "one."

While she may appear quiet and shy to Tomoko, Yoshida, and others, she will throw sudden public temper-tantrums when her plans to be near Tomoko are thwarted. When Mako does not respond to Uchi's sob-story, Uchi becomes very agitated until Mako invites her into her group. Later in the same chapter, Uchi throws another tantrum to try to again ride the roller coaster next to Tomoko. These may seem like acts to get what she wants, but she earlier throws a full rolling-on-the-ground tantrum in reaction to not being assigned to Tomoko's class when it cannot change the assignment.

As with many characters, Uchi's own true feelings remain unrevealed and probably developing. Like Tomoko, she has curiosity about sexuality: in Chapter 77 when she finds the other members of her assigned group all asleep in the room during dinner time she figures she should at least wake them. When she attempts to wake the difficult to arose Yoshida for dinner, she pauses and then possibly takes the opportunity to touch her as Tomoko did. The sleeping Yoshida dreams it is Tomoko "pinching" her "nipples": "乳首つまんで. . ." again. Unlike Tomoko, her own fantasies currently remain undepicted, though that remains the case for most characters in the series other than Kotomi Komiyama, Akari Iguchi, and Yū Naruse. Even her conversations with her friends, who do gossip about the relationship one of them has, remain undepicted. Thus, exactly "what" sort of relationship she wants or fantasizes about with Tomoko at any stage, and the answers to the multiple questions concerning her own orientation, remain unknown.

However, a brief scene in Chapter 163 makes clear what Uchi means by her catchphrase キモい. Her friend Kayo asks her in the hallway if the passing Tomoki makes her "heart pound." Uchi stares at him, to his consternation, but then flatly tells Kayo that there is no キモい in him nor is there potential for him to develop it. While she may not have intended to do so, this is her first admission that Tomoko has qualities – キモい – that make her "heart pound."

Uchi verbally mistreats Shizuku.

Regarding her relationship with other characters who are not Tomoko or her group of friends, Chapter 130.5 ends with the suggestion that Uchi may have at least come to tolerate Yoshida and Yuri, since she is the mostly likely of them to think: "They were all a bunch of disgusting creeps, but still I - had a lot of fun!"  While inwardly she may find many "disgusting," she does not vocalize this or attack others. However, later in the afternoon of the day she learns Tomoko did not give her the keychain as a symbol that they shared an emotional and romantic bond, Uchi spies Shizuku Hirasawa sitting with Tomoko. When Shizuku subsequently bumps into her, Uchi directly insults her.

In response to Koharu Minami, insulting Tomoko, she curtly demands that she never bring her "filthy face" into her classroom again.

Appearance

Uchi loses her "Emoji Face."

Unlike most other characters, her face looks like an emoticon with dots for eyes, a similarity that Tomoko notes with irritation by referring to her as "Emoji (絵文字・えもじ)." Her face is drawn more conventionally when she becomes emotional, such as when she becomes incensed thinking Tomoko has been staring at her only to see she has been staring at some other girl. When Uchi inwardly denounces Tomoko or becomes jealous, she tends to grit her teeth. In the released color panels, her eyes are drawns as black dots save for a released picture included in the Gallery where she is dressed in a maid's costume and appears to have light brown eyes.

Uchi has the same hairstyle as Yū's. Drawn without color in the manga, her hair is revealed on the color cover of the published Volume 8 to be dyed honey also like Yū's. The TomoMote 10th Anniversary reveals that she had black hair with two braids. Based on that, in retrospect, it appears that Uchi sat behind and to the right of Tomoko during their entrance exam. In this depiction, she removed her braids and let her hair grow longer into shoulder-length twin tails. The Volume 15 Special Edition reveals that she lightened it somewhat and wore it shoulder length without the twin tails when she entered high school.

In the Omake for Volume 13, which takes place after Chapter 129, her friends spy Kowarith. After they immediately greet him with "Wahai (ワイハー)," they turn to find that Uchi changed her hair and is straining to change her face into yet another emoticon (><) while denying that she is "Emiri." This is similar to her change when she throws her temper-tantrums. From the color covers of Volumes 8 and 13, along with the manga scenes such as in Chapter 134 depicted in the Gallery, she stands slightly taller than Tomoko. When she tries to apologize to Tomoko with Katō present in Chapter 162, she appears about as tall as Katō.

Anime

• Season 1: Episodes 10, 12

Manga: WataMote

• Volume 7: Chapter 59
• Volume 8: Chapters 69, 72, 73, 77
• Volume 9: Chapters 78, 79, 80, 82, 87
• Volume 10: Chapters 93, 95,
• Volume 11: Chapters 99, 105, 106, 107
• Volume 12: Chapters 110, 112, 113, 114, 116, 117, 120, 122
• Volume 13: Chapters 123, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130.5, 131, 132, Omake
• Volume 14: Chapters 134, 140, 141, Omake
• Volume 15: Chapters 144, Special Edition, 145, 146
• Volume 16: Chapters 152, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, Omake
• TBA: Chapters 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 171

Manga: TotoMote

• 10th Anniversary

(Strikethrough episodes or chapters indicate the character was mentioned but did not make a physical appearance)

Relationships

Tomoko Kuroki

For much of the series Uchi has a complicated and developing relationship with Tomoko. As explained under her Personality, due to several misunderstandings, Uchi believes that Tomoko is attracted to her, which she repeatedly deems "disgusting" to herself and sometimes out loud. Yet, Uchi boasts of her belief that Tomoko is sexually attracted to her to Mako, grows jealous whenever she mistakes Tomoko having an interest in another girl, and eventually seeks opportunities to be not only with but in physical contact with Tomoko. Her friends note that she has come to talk constantly about "that girl"; however, the details of her conversation with them about Tomoko have not been depicted.

Until the two share a room together on the last night of their field trip, Uchi seems to have little regard for Tomoko. Unknown to Tomoko, Uchi previously noticed her in the bathroom with a pair of scissors preparing to groom herself when Ucchi returned to their room to retrieve some of her belongings. When the two end up sharing a room, a number of comic misunderstandings arise that convince Ucchi that Tomoko is a lesbian. From that time forward, she secretly watches Tomoko and makes bizarre assumptions such as concluding that Tomoko is turned on by the sound of urination when she finds her in a bathroom in Chapter 82. Beyond the comedy, Tomoko vaguely recalls her from the school trip and greets her, but Uchi flees in panic.

In Chapter 93, she sees Tomoko at a mall with Yū who bears a striking resemblance to her. Uchi assumes the worst when she notices Tomoko in a lingerie store holding panties similar to the ones Tomoko stole from her when they shared the room. She stares intently while sweating at Tomoko when Tomoko explains to the class what a "lesbian" and "bisexual" are.  When she sees Mako staring at Tomoko, she asks Mako if Tomoko has done something perverted to her, such as stare at Mako while she was naked or try to look at her panties. Mako remains skeptical as Uchi loses her "emoticon face," smiles, sweats, and claims that Tomoko did those things to her, and insists she is Tomoko's "fetish fuel." When Tomoko turns to look at them, Uchi flees imagining that Tomoko is "molesting" her "with her eyes." This event encapsulates the developing ambiguous and seemingly contradictory nature of Uchi's feelings where she on the one hand wants to be near Tomoko while, sometimes in the same scene, inwardly denounces Tomoko as "disgusting!" if Tomoko is near another girl. Thus, from behind a tree in Chapter 116 she secretly watches Megumi Imae hug Tomoko and concludes that Tomoko "made a pass" at Imae.

Over the course of the series, Uchi appears progressively obsessed with Tomoko. She creepily lies in wait behind the lockers for Tomoko to put chocolate in her locker and, in Chapter 117, she goes so far as to travel on a train hoping to be near Tomoko having heard from Miyazaki that she was pressed against Tomoko when the train was crowded. She purposely sits next to her at the barbecue restaurant in Chapter 120 without talking to her but cooks meat she then sneaks onto Tomoko's plate. As noted in the Trivia, the back cover of Volume 12 reveals that she wanted to sing karaoke with Tomoko. When she discovers she is not in Tomoko's class, she becomes hysterical, rolling on the ground. Separated from her usual group of friends when visiting a park based on Disney World in Chapter 126, she refuses any help to call her friends or find them when she sees that Tomoko is in the group. It is later revealed that she lied when she claimed she did not have her phone to call her friends. She sits next to Tomoko on a roller coaster, and as they all scream, Tomoko's hand clutches Uchi's on the railing and her hair blows into Uchi's face. Uchi does not resist or think "disgusting!" On the contrary, she immediately wants to ride the roller coaster again, but she becomes disappointed when it is Yuri who sits next to her instead of Tomoko. When Tomoko and Nemoto sit together on another ride in front of her, Uchi inwardly seethes that the two are "flirting" in public. Yet soon after in Chapter 128 she asks Tomoko directly if she can have her picture taken with her. Later during the fireworks she works her way to stand next to Tomoko. She does not in either case, however, try to have an actual conversation with Tomoko.

While her true feelings towards Tomoko appeared unresolved and developing, Chapter 131 reveals she does have a crush on Tomoko. Tomoko gave Uchi one of the cow keychains she bought. She wears it on her bag, and when her friends ask her why she sits alone during break, when she normally goes off, she replies as the panel focuses on the keychain: "No matter how far apart we are, even if we can't meet . . . our hearts are always connected." When she discovers that Katō also has a keychain, she returns to her seat, stares sadly out the window, and imagines Tomoko. For her part, Tomoko appears utterly unaware of Uch's feelings towards her. 

While Uchi tries to find opportunities to be close to Tomoko, since their night together on the last evening of the field trip she has thus far only briefly talked to Tomoko, such as to ask if Tomoko finds roller coaster rides scary, to request to have their picture taken together at the amusement park, and to simply remark that the fireworks they are watching are beautiful. Even when she briefly believes that their hearts are connected, Uchi curiously does not try to develop even a friendly relationship with Tomoko. Afterwards, she then resumes secretly watching Tomoko during their lunch break.

For much of the series the nature of her crush appears undefined and developing. When she sees Tomoko visiting the same college in Chapter 140, she sits next to her, becomes jealous that Asuka Katō is with her, even falls asleep against her, but when Tomoko happens to look at her she immediately recoils over her belief that Tomoko wants to seduce her. Her inward nickname for Tomoko is revealed in Chapter 140 to be "Creepy (キモ・kimo)," which has the same root as her repeated "Disgusting! (キモい・kimoi)!" whenever she interprets any interaction Tomoko has with another girl as a lesbian relationship.

Reviewing the development of her crush, her attention remains focused on Tomoko. Other than possibly taking the opportunity to pinch the sleeping Yoshida, Uchi shows no apparent interest in other girls, or boys for that matter. Her friends identify Tomoko as "the girl Uchi talks about." When asked by an amusement park character to be his "girlfriend," she declines and declares, "I already have someone I love." In Chapter 129 one of Uchi's unnamed friends asks if Yuri Tamura is "the girl" she keeps talking about while the other rhetorically asks her, "you finished what you needed to do, right?" Uchi only mutters "um" in response. Despite the comic aspects of Uchi imagining Tomoko and any girl she interacts with as "disgusting" lesbians, believing Tomoko is "turned on" by the sounds of girls urinating, all the way to her fantasizing to Mako that Tomoko has sexual fantasies about her, any fantasies Uchi has about Tomoko have thus far not been shown. As recent as Chapter 140, she still recoils yet still fantasizes about Tomoko wanting to seduce her.

In more recent chapters, Uchi summons the courage to talk to Tomoko. In Chapter 144 she sees Tomoko leaving a store on the way to school, rushes up to her, and wishes her a good morning then talks about how beautiful the sky is. When she asks Tomoko what she bought, and Tomoko responds that she bought the latest Shonen Jump, Uchi asks her if she likes the series One Piece. Later in the school day, she approaches Tomoko again to talk about the series. How Tomoko responds to her is not shown. Perhaps unfortunately, in the next chapter she notices Tomoko's train arriving and wonders if she is one it. She sees what appears to be Tomoko embracing Miyazaki on the train and is stunned. Since that time, Uchi has not been seen secretly watching Tomoko.

Chapter 152 provides a significant change in their relationship. Uchi walks past Tomoko prior to the intramurals and states that she is waiting for the fourth match. Unfortunately, she and her class loses, so she will not advance to play Tomoko's class. She harangues her friends, and Kayo responds by accusing her of abandoning them frequently to go visit Class 3-5. Tomoko observes the argument, and when Uchi runs away, she follows her without really knowing why since, in her mind, they have never even really talked. Uchi discuses her argument with her friends with Tomoko. When her friends find her to apologize, Tomoko thinks that if she insults Uchi, all of the hate will be directed to her and the "Emoji Group" will be reconciled against her. She tells Uchi that not only are they not friends, she does not like that Uchi visits her class. Uchi runs away crying.

Her friends examine Uchi's weird behavior over the last two years and quickly come to the conclusion that it involves Tomoko. They recall Uchi stating that she was interested in someone whom they assumed was a boy. Her friends quickly figure out what is going on: Uchi likes Tomoko, may have a crush on Tomoko, and Tomoko insulted her to give Uchi and them an excuse to break from her. They encourage her to be Uchi's "close friend."

They text Uchi to return, and Tomoko apologizes to her using her nickname "Ucchii" as recommended by her friend with Glasses. However, Uchi begins to panic when her friends tell her they have been talking to Tomoko about her relationship with Uchi. When Miyazaki tells her that they all now understand that Uchi wants to be a "close friend" of Tomoko, Uchi inwardly panics. Like Tomoko insulted her, Uchi tries to pass off their relationship by saying Tomoko is "disgusting" and pretending that they all misunderstood her fascination with someone "disgusting." Highly insulted, Tomoko spats back that she wished she had not shown such consideration to an "Emoji" and runs away with tears in her eyes. Uchi is stunned by this reaction.

Unpacking this, it appears that Uchi has still been visiting Tomoko's class, though this has not been depicted in the chapters since she saw Tomoko embracing Miyazaki. For her part, Tomoko continued to have little regard for Uchi. Uchi's friends have noticed Uchi's behavior over the past two years and come to conclude that the person Uchi claimed to be "a little interested in" in Chapter 105 is "a girl": Tomoko. Her friends slowly suspect that she has a crush on this girl, and they think Tomoko insulted Uchi to give her an excuse to break away from her and return to them. They also seem quite supportive of the idea of Uchi having a crush on a girl, but Uchi does not understand this. She does not want her friends to know the truth of her crush, and she denigrates Tomoko to them as she has denigrated such relationships in her mind as "disgusting!" It appears that Uchi expected Tomoko to understand that she insulted her to cover her crush similar to Tomoko's attempt earlier.

What happens next in their relationship remains to be seen. Tomoko does recall in a flashback in Chapter 154 that Uchi cheered her with Shizuku Hirasawa during her match; however, she does not seem to react to the fact that Uchi, who just deeply insulted her, made good her offer to cheer her despite her telling Uchi not to bother. The cover of Chapter 155 reveals that she resumes watching Tomoko enter her classroom from the door. Despite the encouragement from Kayo and the Girl with Glasses to do so, she has not apologized to Tomoko. In the next chapter she appears to have summoned the courage to apologize, but when she finds Tomoko not in her class and then learns that she has been suspended, she runs to the Student Counselling Room and cries Tomoko's last name outside. Chapter 158 reveals that Tomoko does hear her crying and shouting her name "Kuroki."

To add another layer, presumably Uchi texts Tomoko the simple hiragana くろき (Kuroki). This implies that Uchi obtained Tomoko's number from one of her friends since Tomoko not only does not recognize the sender, she shockingly wonders, "Who?!! Scary!!!"

Chapter 161 reveals that Tomoko does figure out who messaged her when Uchi tries to apologize to her. Tomoko either does not recall or politely diminishes Uchi calling her "disgusting." Uchi then asks if it is find to call her "disgusting," to which Tomoko objects. This leads to Uchi's explanation contained in the next section.

"What is Love? Disgusting! Disgusting!"

Uchi consistently uses the term キモい (kimoi・"disgusting/creepy"), usually written with that combination of katagana and hiragana, to describe Tomoko and anything Tomoko does which Uchi can imagine to be sexual and, in particular, lesbian. Over time, it becomes clear that Uchi uses it to deny her feelings for Tomoko. As noted, she on the one hand denounces Tomoko and her understanding of Tomoko's behavior, while on the other remains fascinated with it to the point of erotically fantasizing that she is Tomoko's "fetish fuel!" Eventually, she will come to confess that such attraction does not always "disgust" her, it also makes her "feel good."

In Chapter 156, when Kayo directly confronts her about not apologizing to Tomoko since anyone would feel insulted to be called キモい, Uchi stares off and insists that this term is not an insult for Tomoko, since she is キモい, and if the キモい were to be removed from Tomoko, there would be nothing left of her. Her friends do not have the opportunity to ask her what, exactly, makes Tomoko キモい; however, Uchi receives a picture of Tomoko that Minami took when Asuka applied make-up on Tomoko to preserve how ridiculous Tomoko looked which she then observes very closely while declaring it the "most disgusting of disgusting (キモいキモすぎる・kimoi kimoisugiru)."

Chapter 159 suggests that Uchi expects others to know what the term キモい means with reference to Tomoko. When Hikari Itō talks about meeting Tomoko the previous late afternoon as Tomoko left the school after her third day in suspension, Uchi asks her if she "was disgusting" (キモかった・kimokatta) to Itō and Futaki's surprise. Itō denies that Tomoko "was disgusting," and a confused Uchi mentally repeats her response.

Despite seeing Tomoko with her group of friends at the end of Tomoko's suspension in Chapter 161, Uchi summons the courage to try to apologize to Tomoko. Tomoko either does not remember or politely chooses to diminish her insult. This leads Uchi to ask if she can keep calling Tomoko キモい. Tomoko angrily responds that it is not, and Katō interrupts to use a more formal term for "disgusting": (持ち悪い・kimochiwarui) to suggest that Uchi should not call others that since she would not wished to be called that in turn. This leads to a confusing but significant semantic argument. In another one of her tantrums, Uchi firmly denies that her term キモい is the same as 持ち悪い. She unsuccessfully explains that just as the term for "crazy (ヤバい・yabai)" can be used to describe such things as "awesome," "cute," and "delicious," her キモい encompasses "good points." Katō, Tomoko, and others do not understand this distinction, and Uchi does not do a very good job of explaining it. She finally screams that Tomoko does not only make her feel "disgusted (気持ち悪い)," Tomoko also makes her "feel good! (気持ちよさもあるの・kimochiyosamo aruno)." When Hina refers to Tomoko by her personal nickname "Kuro (クロ)," Uchi cites this as an example of キモい to Hina's irritation. Since Uchi recognizes the significance of nicknames given her shock when Tomoko calls her "Ucchī," this suggests that she considers the close relationship she suspects Hina would have with Tomoko to call her by such a nickname to be キモい.

Reviewing her character arc, Uchi initially appeared legitimately "disgusted" with Tomoko and her behavior, particularly Tomoko's boasting about her sexual experience and a number of intentionally comic misunderstandings that led her to believe Tomoko to be a lesbian who is interested in her. Such an attraction, it now seems clear, Uchi considered キモい; however, "she doth protest too much," since she assumed Tomoko wanted to stare at her body, then became enraged when she noticed Tomoko looks at other girls, then expected Mako to share her opinion, and when Mako did not, she boasted that Tomoko is sexually attracted to her: "fetish fuel." As she imagined Tomoko flirting with every girl around her, Uchi declared this behavior キモい while still appearing fascinated by it and Tomoko. She then confesses Tomoko's キモい does not just "disgust" her, it makes her "feel good." This suggests that Uchi is starting to accept that her feelings even if she still considers them "wrong" and "disgusting." In Chapter 162, she watched Tomoko with Shizuku during the Tanabata Festival which infuriates her and leads her to write, "It doesn't get any more disgusting than my disgusting person on Tanabata!" on her tanzaku which she then rushes out to hang.

WataMote Wiki usually can only advise: "Stay tuned." Indeed in the following chapter, Uchi perhaps unwittingly reveals to Kayo that キモい attracts her. However, the next chapter depicts some of Uchi's fantasies. She learns about a camp that Tomoko wishes to attend. Rather excited, Uchi recalls the events that led her to deem Tomoko a lesbian: the panties, Tomoko peeking at her in the shower, then Tomoko looking at her when she thinks she is asleep. Uchi inwardly exclaims, "A repeat of that disgustingness?!!" then emphatically declares: "I'll go too!" The comparison of the depiction of the events in Chapter 80, and her fantastical recollection proves telling: Uchi wants what she denigrated as "disgusting."

WataMote Wiki does not judge. WataMote Wiki can only advise: "Stay tuned!"

"The Emoji Gang"

Shown: "What we've got here is . . . failure . . . to . . . communicate!

Uchi has a consistent set of friends: Miyazaki, Natsu, Kayo, and two other currently unnamed girls. Like many characters in WataMote, they had no names for much of the series other than nicknames created by fans and WataMote Wiki. Currently, the first names of any of them remain unknown.

Uchi spends most of her time with them on the field trip and becomes separated from them during a trip to a famous amusement park. As of Chapter 152, only Miyazaki and Kayo are specifically named though Natsu seems to be identified by process of elimination. They all notice that Uchi talks a lot about "that girl," Tomoko. Other than the more prominent Miyazaki, they are:

• Girl with Long Braid:
• Natsu (ナツ): Girl with Light Short Hair: in Chapter 129 she is absent from the group and the Girl with Glasses states that "Natsu ditched us to go with her boyfriend." Previously, the Girl with Glasses teased Natsu about being with a "Kazuki."
• Girl with Glasses: who has her hair, which is drawn between colorless and black in the manga, in a pony tail. She appears intrigued that Uchi has a crush on Tomoko and encourages both to form a friendship.
• Kayo (かよ): Girl with Black Hair: Miyazaki calls her by her name in Chapter 152. While initially surprised that Uchi has a crush on a girl, she neither opposes nor denigrates it. She sternly prods Uchi to apologize to Tomoko. She does ask Uchi if a cute boy like Tomoki can make her "heart pound."

In more recent chapters, Miyazaki indicates that she has had a falling out with Uchi. Chapter 152 reveals that she and the rest have felt abandoned by Uchi who keeps slipping away from them. Girl with Glasses appears to understand that Uchi has a crush on Tomoko. Kayo initially protests that Tomoko "is a girl," but then urges Tomoko to be friends with Uchi. This all suggests that Uchi's friends would support her having a crush on a girl or being lesbian. In Chapter 156, Kayo sternly, and the Girl with Glasses gently, urge Uchi to apologize to Tomoko for calling her "gross" (キモい), while Miyazaki asks Mako if Tomoko has ever mentioned Uchi. In Chapter 160, they wish her well as a smiling Uchi prepares to meet Tomoko after her suspension to apologize to her.

Mako Tanaka

Uchi feels comfortable approaching Mako to discuss Tomoko with her to the point that Uchi insists that she is Tomoko's "fetish fuel." Otherwise, they have little interaction shown; however, Mako does have Uchi's friend Miyazaki's phone number stored on her phone. In Chapter 152, Uchi laments that she misses those she shared classes with for two years and mentions "Makocchi" specifically.

Yuri Tamura

Yuri at least remembers her from the field trip. When Uchi tries to ride a train to Tomoko's stop so she will get pressed up against Tomoko by the crowd, Yuri recognizes that she will miss her stop and helps Uchi, who feigns weakness in her legs, off the train. During the field trip to the amusement park, Yuri is somewhat offended that Uchi is disappointed to sit next to her during a ride rather than Tomoko. In response, she pinches Uchi's arm hard. However, when Uchi observes Mako walking away with Koharu Minami, she turns and asks Yuri if she is okay with the situation.

Masaki Yoshida

Uchi would seem to have little, if any, interaction with Yoshida prior to the field trip. However, she possibly takes the opportunity when trying to wake the difficult to arouse Yoshida to pinch her nipples as Tomoko did in the same situation previously. Yoshida, dreaming her to be Tomoko, viciously elbows Uchi in the stomach. This would seem to end any relationship between the two. Nevertheless, Uchi does not avoid her when she joins her and Tomoko's group at the amusement park. She even appears to readily take part in activities Yoshida enjoys such as singing with a costumed character.

For her part, Yoshida notices Uchi using her phone in secret. Otherwise, she refers to Uchi as "that one chick" (さっぱりした奴・sapparishita yatsu).

Does She Actually Pinch Yoshida?

Absent the Authors clarifying, this remains ambiguous. Yoshida is very difficult to arose. As the Gallery picture shows, Uchi puts her hands on Yoshida's shoulders. Yoshida dreams it is Tomoko. She dreams Tomoko's hands, which have different sleeves than Uchi has, reaching down to pinch. She later emphatically accuses Tomoko of specifically pinching her nipples "again" to Tomoko's confusion. Yoshida previously could not be woken by simply shaking her; the actual "pinching" is not shown either by Uchi or in the dream.

Either way, this does not change much regarding Uchi: If she did there are, thus far, no other depictions of Uchi touching a girl in this way, and the incident can simply be curiosity; if she did not the rest of her curious development remains, though one can now speculate why Yoshida would dream of this.

Shizuku Hirasawa

Their current relationship is literally brief, but there are potential implications for Uchi's development. Uchi that morning had her fantasy of Tomoko considering their hearts connected shattered. She resumes secretly watching Tomoko during their lunch break and observes her entire encounter with Shizuku. After a happy Shizuku leaves Tomoko, Uchi walks directly into her and warns her not to over-step her place. Nevertheless, Uchi and Shizuku together cheer Tomoko during her table tennis match. Later, seeing her with Tomoko during the school's Tanabata Festival sends her into a rage.

Shiki Futaki

In the midst of her tantrum over learning she is not assigned to Tomoko's class, Uchi hears this girl remark that she is in that classroom and becomes jealous. Like Uchi, her face is drawn like an emoticon, and she has blond hair gathered into two "twin tails." Uchi appears to know who she is. Mako and Yuri recall that Futaki was part of their team in the cavalry battle when the see her again vigorously playing a video game, but otherwise know nothing about her. No further information regarding her is known; her last name was not revealed until Chapter 128. Looking for his sister, Tomoki sees her near the shoe lockers and tries to gain her attention, but he stops when he notices her stretching alone in full splits. This suggests that, like Uchi, she is a cheerleader, which may explain why Uchi knows her.

Koharu Minami

Uchi and Minami have very little if any interaction until Chapter 156 when Minami overhears Uchi describe Tomoko's "grossness" to Kayo and the Girl with Glasses. Minami takes the opportunity to join in denigrating Tomoko and reveals that she has a picture on her phone of Tomoko when Katō did her make-up. Uchi stares at it very intently and asks that Minami send it to her. Minami happily does as she rationalizes that while Uchi is only a "B Ranked" person she is now a friend. After receiving the picture, Uchi curtly orders her to never come to her class with "that filthy face" again.

Trivia

• "A Girl has a Name": For much of her existence she is known by her surname "Uchi" (内・うち), or "Ucchi" in the English fan translations of her Japanese nickname うっちー (Ucchii). In Chapter 127, she reveals her first name is "Emiri" (笑美莉・えみり).
  • 笑美莉 : 笑 means "laugh," 美 means "beauty," and 莉 means "jasmine." The kanji is not used for "Emoji," however.
  • "A Girl has a Nickname": the last "i" is long and held for two or more beats: "ī".
  • "A Girl has a Wrong Surname": The English fan translations initially gave "Sasaki" as her last name for some reason and added it to lists where her actual name is obscured.
  • "A Girl has a Wrong First Name": The officially released translations curiously render her name "Emily" for unknown reasons. This is incorrect: she uses the kanji (笑美莉) to express her name rather than katakana that would indicate it is a foreign name; and Japanese does not have the "l" consonant.
• She shares her name with Chiba Lotte Marines pitcher Tatsuya Uchi .
• Her and Yū's hairstyle is known as a "bobcut (ボブカット・bobukatto)."
• Anime Girl: While she does not officially appear in the anime, her name appears on the class seating chart. The girl sitting in her seat based on that seating chart in Episode 12 does have a "bobcut" hairstyle. Since there are other girls with similar hairstyles as noted in the Comments, this is not definitive. It may be just a happy coinicidence, but WataMote Wiki is happy to include it for now.
• The back cover of Volume 12 reveals that Uchi hoped to sing karaoke with Tomoko after the barbecue in Chapter 120.

Quotes

• "She is eating white rice while trying to sneak a peek of my underwear!"
• "I bet you're just after my body! Fine, look all you want then!"
• "She's going at it this early in the morning? Don't tell me the sound of peeing excites her?!"
• "Well, I suppose you do sound a bit like her. . . But she's actually quieter, has a higher pitch, and sounds far more depressed. The real her sounds ten times creepier, but there's this strange charm to her creepiness." – correcting Hina's impersonation of Tomoko
• "She's supposed to be a loner, so where'd she get a harem like this from?! Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting!" – thinking about Tomoko during the amusement park trip.
• "Disgusting! (キモい・kimoi)!"
• "No matter how far apart we are, even if we can't meet . . . our hearts are always connected." - referring to Tomoko.
• "She's cuming from make-up?!! Disgusting!! Disgusting!!"
• "Who on Earth would want to get closer to this creep?! You guys are totally misunderstanding here! She's like the creepiest creep to ever exist!" - attempting to deflect Miyazaki and her other friends when they conclude she wants to get closer to Tomoko.
• "Never come to this class with that filthy face again." – Uchi to Minami
• "Goodbye, Disgusting Dog (キモイーヌ・kimoīnu)."

Gallery

Uchi as a middle school student in TomoMote 10th Anniversary

Uchi takes the high school entrance exam.

Uchi with lightened hair color on the first day of high school.

High school Uchi in color from Chapter 132.

Possible Uchi from Chapter 20

Uchi?
according to the seating chart, this would be Uchi. The anonymous character does have Uchi's hairstyle.

Uchi's Friends: from left to right: Miyazaki, Kayo (Black-Haired Girl), Natsu, Braids Girl, Glasses Girl, and Uchi

The original manga does not contain the name "Sasaki" It shows "Kuroki," "Yoshida," and "Tamura."

"Sasaki" is added in the English translation for some reason.

The English again adds "Sasaki."

Uchi's name is obscured by the speech bubble.

Uchi in color from Volume 8 cover.

Pinch?

Uchi completely loses her "Emoji Face" thinking about Tomoko.

Uchi's last name on her locker: 内 = Uchi

A jealous Uchi loses her "Emoji" face and grits her teeth.

Uchi reacts to Tomoko explaining to the class what "lesbian" and "bisexual" mean.

English translation has a person address her as "Ucchi."

Uchi spying on Tomoko after the graduation ceremony.

Uchi demonstrates a surprising knowledge about Tomoko.

Kayo ("Black Haired Girl") is obscured by Uchi, Natsu sits to the right of "Glasses," and Miyazaki sits in between "Glasses" and "Braids."

Kayo ("Black Haired Girl)" discusses Tomoki with Miyazaki.

Uchi has a sudden tantrum when she learns she is not in Tomoko's class.

Uchi cannot believe that Futaki, who also has an emoticon face, is in Tomoko's class rather than her.

Typically, whenever Uchi sees Tomoko with another girl, she immediately concludes the two are flirting with one another.

Uchi gives her first name えみり笑美莉. Tomoko exclaims, "That's Emoji's name?!!"

Uchi pulls the costumed bear's arms together to bring herself in contact with Tomoko.

Uchi thinks about Tomoko.

Uchi completely loses her Emoji Face when she learns Tomoko gave keychains to other girls.

For the first time depicted, Uchi insults someone directly.

Uchi resumes secretly watching Tomoko.

Uchi begins following Tomoko more directly.

Emiri tries not to be noticed by Kowarith.

The Official English release mistranslates her name.

"Disgusting! Disgusting!":
Uchi's catchphrase is きもい・kimoi

"Disgusting!"

Uchi's term for Tomoko.

Uchi First
Uchi directly approaches Tomoko and greets her.
Go Emiri-chan!

Uchi First
Uchi sits down next to Tomoko to initiate a conversation about One Piece.

Uchi reacts to seeing Tomoko appear to embrace Miyazaki on their arriving train.

Uchi's face takes on her other emoji look during a temper-tantrum.

Uchi condemns Tomoko's mountain climbing . . . probably.

The Volume 12 back cover reveals that Uchi hoped to sing with Tomoko at karaoke after the barbecue.

Incensed by Uchi's "Digusting" insult, Tomoko refers to her as "This Emoji!"

Uchi reacts to Tomoko's claim that they are not friends, and she does not want her visiting her class.

Uchi Does Cheer Tomoko
Tomoko recalls that some cheered her. She does not seem to react to the fact it is Uchi and Shizuku.

Awwwww:
Uchi walks with a tear after Tomoko dismisses her in Chapter 152 until she is called back. She approaches warily. . . .

絵文字じゃない！: Miyazaki recalls Uchi's reaction to seeing Tomoko grabbing on to her, particularly her asking if she and Tomoko "are. . . ." Miyazaki initially misinterpreted what Uchi was asking.
Rather nice rendering of the emotions

Uchi "Researches" Tomoko's Picture on Minami's Phone
"Aaah This! I know. . . . Disgusting! Utterly disgusting!"

"Go Emiri-chan!"

"Not Disgusting?":
Itō's response that Tomoko was "not disgusting" (キモくない・kimokunai) surprised Uchi.

Uchi Maid
July, 2019 released sample Nico Tanigawa artwork from Square Enix

Uchi First: drawn with shadows

Feelings: Uchi uses Katō's term to "feel digusted" which consists of kimochi 気持ち (blue) with the infamous last word from the series title warui 悪い (red) to insist that Tomoko does not just disgust her, she "also" [も・mo] makes her "feel" (blue) "good" [よさ・yosa]. Neither Tomoko nor Katō understand her explanation.
WataMote Wiki also notes this panel reveals the relative heights of the trio.

キモい
Tomoki Does Not have it!

Uchi Wants the キモい
WataMote Wiki does not judge. . . .