WataMote Chapter 14

Chapter 14
Information
Volume Number	2
Chapter Title	Because I'm Not Popular, I'll Try Being Pretentious
Published	February 29, 2012
Previous Chapter	Chapter 13
Next Chapter	Chapter 15

私がモテないのはどう考えてもお前らが悪い!

Watashi ga Motenai no wa dō Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!

No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys' Fault I’m Not Popular!

Synopsis

Tomoko surprises her mother by rising early. Tomoko explains that she stayed up all night and planned to eat breakfast then go back to bed. Her mother informs her that her cousin Kii will visit that evening so she must clean her room. The news makes Tomoko anxious since the previous summer she made up a bunch of things like having a boyfriend who constantly begged to do "perverted things" with her. She realizes that Kii might be too old to fool now, and she must figure out a way to keep up her ruse.

Tomoko stares at herself in the mirror and finds a figure far from what she boasted she was to Kii. Worse, she does not have a single friend, let alone a boyfriend. She vows to find a way to convince Kii that she is a "bitch," and decides to call the one "bitch" she knows. She calls Yū for guidance but she is unable to speak too long since she’s on her way to the beach with her friends.

Tomoko ultimately has to depend on herself, and her first order of business is to get more “bitch-like” clothes. She goes to a clothing store and finds herself intimidated by all of the other girls shopping. She takes notice of three elementary school girls and she resorts to asking for their help in choosing an outfit.

Back at home, Tomoko puts on the outfit the girls picks out and realizes she still needs something else to look like a “bitch.” She gives herself a kiss mark and has an eureka moment: if she is covered in kiss marks, Kii-chan will think that she is doing it all the time with her boyfriend. In an attempt to make more kiss marks on herself, she comes to the conclusion that she does not have enough suction power to actually do it. Her mother brings the vacuum cleaner and orders her to vacuum her room, and Tomoko gets the idea of using the vacuum cleaner on herself. It seems a success until she tries it on her lips. Her mother wanders in and becomes angry at what Tomoko has done. Tomoko cannot explain why she marked herself and, in frustration, yells back at her.

Later when Kii arrives and they sit together in Tomoko's room, Kii asks Tomoko about her "mark." Tomoko proudly shows off her "hickies," but Kii really wants to know about the hand-print on her face. Tomoko thinks, "'Ah, that's because my boyfriend hit me' is what I'd like to say, but I can't."

Characters

In order of appearance:

• Tomoko Kuroki
• Mrs. Kuroki
• Kiko Satozaki
• Yū Naruse
• Tomoki Kuroki (mentioned)
• Tomoko's Aunt/Kii's Mother (mentioned)

Trivia

• Kii's first appearance.
• This chapter is adapted into Episode 8 of the anime.
• This chapter reveals that Tomoko's mother is aware of Tomoko's behavioral problems.

Cultural References

• "The Bitch is Back!": "Bitch," spoken as "bicch(i)" (ビッチ) in Japanese with the terminal "i" suppressed, is a recognized slang in Japanese. As Tomoko uses the term, a "bitch" is more a girl who is cool and very popular and experienced with guys rather than a mean, snobbish, hated girl. This term is used in the anime episode based on this chapter. The popular series Assassination Classroom has a language teacher whose name is Jelavić. Despite her best efforts to teach her Japanese students how make a "v" sound, they default to a "b" and call her "Bicchi Sensei" to her continued irritation.

Memorial Moments

• Tomoko calls her mother a degenerate harlot.
• Tomoko gets slapped by her mother.
• Her mother's reaction should be compared to her reaction to walking in on Tomoko in a later chapter where she understands what her teenage daughter is doing even if she may find it weird.
• At this stage, Tomoko equates maturity with sexual experience based on appearances: mature girls have boyfriends who want to do "perverted things" with them.

Quotes

• "My clothes are all messed up . . . my skin's all pale from staying in all day . . . and I stink." – Tomoko
• I need to be able to convince her that I'm a bitch!" – Tomoko
• “Middle schoolers!? No wait, elementary schoolers?!! Do they think they're bitch cadets or something in those outfits?” – Tomoko
• "Is there anything else I can do to become more like a bitch?" – Tomoko
• "If I died to something like that, it would be so unsightly." – Tomoko
• "You always do these stupid things!" – Tomoko's Mom

Gallery

Tomoko spins tales to Kii.

Tomoko hatches a plan.