WataMote Chapter 159

Chapter 159
Information
Volume Number	Volume 16
Chapter Title	Because I'm not popular, I'm still in suspension.
Published	June 20, 2019
Previous Chapter	Chapter 158
Next Chapter	Omake

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

The cover depicts Yoshida and Tomoko in the Student Counseling Room with Tomoko with her head on the desk and Yoshida stretching backward while the sunshine streams through the window. The narration reads: "in a room where the tension has disappeared."

The unnamed Male Teacher with Glasses reviews their apology essays. Pleased, he dismisses them for the day. As they walk together in the corridor, Tomoko remarks, "the third day is finally over!" Yoshida replies that while they have completed one half they still have another half. Sighing, Tomoko agrees then tells her to go on ahead since she needs to stop and pick up a dictionary.

Tomoko enters her empty classroom and stares.

Outside, Yoshida observes Hikari Itō playing her trumpet and asks her if she is in the band club. Itō inwardly recognizes that Yoshida is the one who put Kotomi in her place. Yoshida asks her name, and when Itō replies, she gives hers. Itō offers that it is a tough time to be in the Student Counseling Room. When Yoshida agrees, Itō asks if Tomoko was with her. As Yoshida starts to answer, Tomoko walks up and is surprised that Yoshida is still at school. Itō gives Tomoko an encouraging greeting after a hard day working; Tomoko inwardly recognizes her as "Komi-something's friend." Itō claims that "Koto" was worried about her. Surprised, Tomoko replies that she should be worried about herself, while inwardly admitting that she feels the same.

Yoshida asks "'Koto?'" and Tomoko explains that she is from the cafeteria, "Komi-something," then quickly changes to identify her as "Komiyama-san." "Th-that crazy glasses?!" Yoshida explodes. Tomoko confirms and refers to Kotomi as "that huge pervert glasses!" Itō inwardly deems them awful nicknames but feels she cannot complain since they actually fit. Yoshida calmly observes that Itō is still doing her activities. Itō replies that she is until the summer competitions are over, and then there is still the cultural festival.

Yoshida hears noises and turns to look at the field where students practice soccer and track and field. She and Tomoko both recognize Tomoki, with Tomoko thinking "younger brother" and Yoshida realizing that "Tomo" (智) is in the soccer club. Itō also recognizes him as the boy Kotomi loves even if he is a bit restrained. Later that night in her room, Tomoko looks at her phone and notices many text messages. She sees a single word どう (dō・"how") from Yuri.

Yellow: "Kuroki"
Red: "Who?!!"
Blue: "Scary!!"

"How?" Tomoko thinks exasperated since it is difficult to reply to that. Hina writes "E? Suspension?" with the rhetorical question asking if Tomoko did something wrong "again," along with an emoji of Tomoko. Tomoko inwardly rages at the possibility of Hina making fun of her. She then reads a long concerned text from Katō asking if she has been eating enough and even invites her to call. Tomoko muses "Mama." She then reads a single text from someone she does not recognize: "くろき (Kuroki)." "Who?!! Scary!!!" Tomoko wonders.

She notes that she also received a text from "Forehead" as well as many others. Since it is late she decides to only reply with a text to Katō since it is too late to call her. She thinks "another half. . . ."

The following day, Katō reads her text from Tomoko which merely insists that she is "fine." While Katō smiles as she looks at Tomoko's empty desk, she notes that Tomoko never called her and wonders if Tomoko is avoiding her. Behind her at their desks, Hina remarks to Yuri that Tomoko never replied to her texts. Yuri responds that she also did not receive a reply which Hina deems "typical" of Tomoko.

Katō approaches them as Hina responds to Yuri.

Not Shown: A Serial Killer . . . goodness no!

Hina asks her if anything is wrong. Katō smiles and responds that there is nothing wrong while inwardly relieved that she was the only one who received a response. Behind her, Itō informs the sitting Kotomi that she ran into Tomoko the previous day. Kotomi asks her how she was, and Itō responds that she was doing well. Katō turns and looks at Itō with a silent smile, which Futaki, Yuri, Hina, and Kotomi all notice.

"Was she disgusting?!"

Hina pleasantly asks Itō when she saw her. She replies around 6 P.M. Yuri then asks if Yoshida was with her, and she replies that they were together. Uchi seems to suddenly appear to ask if Tomoko "was disgusting?" The stunned Itō denies that she was while inwardly wondering who Uchi is.

Katō silently grins again to Futaki's surprise.

While Uchi is silently surprised that Tomoko was not "disgusting," Itō explains to Kotomi that Tomoko and Yoshida did not seem that interested in her. Kotomi muses to herself that she would prefer to talk about the Lotte Marines, then suggests to Itō that she should ask Yū about such things.

Still Not Shown: a Serial Killer
Probably . . .

She then remarks that Yū called Tomoko the day before while Katō continues to listen and silently smile.

Minami arrives and is shocked to find Katō sitting at her desk. She sees Mako reading a magazine and sits next to her. She notices the magazine is for vocational schools and asks Mako why she is reading about them when she said she planned to attend college. Mako responds that she is doing research for a friend who wants advice on future careers. Minami demands that Mako make a decision for her, and Mako is surprised that she has not made a decision. Minami claims that she has some idea but insists that Mako choose for her. Mako insists that Minami needs to think for herself. When Minami whines that Mako is deciding for another, Mako insists that she is only helping her, and it is up to her to make her own decision.

In the Student Counseling Room, Tomoko yawns and stretches as she announces that it is 3 P.M. Yoshida, who is reading a magazine, does not respond. Tomoko remarks that she seems really into it, and Yoshida replies that she thinks she should think about it. She explains that after seeing everyone at their clubs the day before, she thinks she should consider doing something during her third-year summer.

Tomoko sheepishly flips through Yoshida's small pile, picks out one, and suggests that Yoshida obtain her driver's license. Yoshida asks if she is picking out a career choice for her; Tomoko responds that she merely suggests that she will have more options if she has her license. She suggests that It would also be fun if she could rent a van and drive around with "everyone."

Yoshida looks at her silently. When Tomoko asks her "what?" Yoshida notes that Tomoko has been talking about "everyone" (みんな・minna) a lot recently. Tomoko sheepishly and inwardly admits that going on a trip with everyone is something a completely cheery person would do and wonders if all the time in suspension without seeing everyone has thrown her character off. She muses to Yoshida that since she was suspended for riding a motorbike, she would probably get expelled if she rode in a car.

Yoshida agrees but then suggests it may be something to consider after graduation. Tomoko agrees that it could be a post-graduation thing. Yoshida then adds that she will need to get a part-time job before she can get a license. Tomoko asks if licenses cost a lot, and Yoshida thinks they can cost as much as ¥300,000 (≅$2,800).

Later, Yoshida texts to Mako that she will probably decide a future career by idly deciding on something based on working part-time during the summer. Mako texts back a scold that it is not just about her, and she should not decide things on her own.

Yoshida wonders why she is so upset.

Characters

In order of appearance:

• Masaki Yoshida
• Tomoko Kuroki
• Mitsuyama [Male Teacher with Glasses] (unnamed)
• Hikari Itō
• Kotomi Komiyama
• Tomoki Kuroki (mentioned)
• Yuri Tamura 
• Hina Nemoto 
• Asuka Katō
• Akane Okada (mentioned)
• Shiki Futaki
• Emiri Uchi
• Yū Naruse (mentioned)
• Koharu Minami
• Mako Tanaka

Referbacks

• This chapter takes place one day after the previous.
• Catfight!: between Yoshida and Kotomi occurred in Chapter 134.

Cultural References

• "Good Work": Itō gives Tomoko the traditional farewell (おつかれさま・otsukaresama) a boss gives a worker as he leaves.
• "My Brain Hurts!": Tomoko literally remarks that Kotomi should worry about her own "brain."
• High Ace: this is the name of the van Tomoko suggests to Yoshida which is censored in the Japanese Original. WataMote Wiki will note that Tomoko is incorrect: her high school executes students who drive cars [Citation Needed – Ed.] 
• The High Cost of Driving: as this site explains, Yoshida quotes the entire cost required for obtaining a license which includes the test fees. Her desire to pursue that common method of attending an expensive driving school is explained by this multi-part description of the hurdles involved in obtaining a license without attending one. That link goes to the final part since it contains links to each part.

Trivia

• "A Girl has a Yoshida Nickname!": Yoshida refers to Kotomi as イカレメガネ (ikare megane・"crazy glasses"). Megane (眼鏡・めがね・メガネ) is a venerable Japanese nickname to insult for people with glasses seen in too many manga, anime, and movies to list. For her part, Tomoko calls her ド変態メガネ (dohentai megane・"huge pervert glasses"), using the same term she used to describe herself to Katō.
• Hina's Emoji: she types <(^^;) ← クロ where "クロ" means "Kuro."
• Emoji Text: Uchi refers to Tomoko as "Kuroki" which suggests she is the one who simply texted くろき.
• What is the Sound of Katō Grinning?: it is "piku (ぴく)."

Memorable Moments

• "And This One Time . . . at Band Camp!": Yoshida approaches someone and nearly politely introduces herself.
• "キモい！キモい！": This is of course Uchi's catchphrase silent description of Tomoko. However, she has openly called Tomoko "disgusting" in front of her friends in Chapter 152, and, for some reason, she seems to expect others to understand what she means. WataMote Wiki could speculate at length what "disgusting" actually means to Uchi but that would send the readers screaming into the night. However, readers may take some comfort that subsequent chapters make it more clearer . . . or not . . . probably. . . .
• "When the Lady Smiles": While WataMote Wiki confesses some humor behind the captions, Katō's grins appear to demonstrate a concerted effort to maintain composure while taking a very keen interest in the conversations. Just as it appears "creepy" to the reader, Futaki appears to notice it as well. Katō specifically grins with the hiragana onomatopoeia when Uchi asks if Tomoko was "disgusting" and Itō responds. Futaki is surprised by this reaction.
• Itō's Lie: if not clear, Itō does not want to tell Kotomi what Yoshida and Tomoko called her.
• Mako X Yoshida: while WataMote Wiki will not indulge fans who have speculated on some relationship between Mako and Yoshida, this chapter makes clear that they do communicate, and Yoshida, possibly after Ogino's suggestions in the previous chapter, has asked for her advice on a career.

Quotes

• "A . . . the person who regulated Koto. . . ." – Hikari Itō referring to Masaki Yoshida
• "Hey! From the cafeteria! Komi-something . . . it's Komiyama-san." – Tomoko Kuroki
  • "Th-that crazy glasses?!" – Yoshida
• "He's the boy Koto has a crush on. He's so serious he's kinda boring" – Hikari Itō about Tomoki
• "Who?!! Scary!!!" – Tomoko reacting to reading the single text of "Kuroki"
• "Was she disgusting?" – Emir Uchi asking Itō about Tomoko
  • "Eh?! She's not disgusting . . . " – Itō
  • "Who?" – Itō wondering who Uchi is
  • ". . . not disgusting?" – Uchi thinking

Gallery

". . . not disgusting?"

"Go ahead, Minami! Make her day!"

Yoshida Texts Mako