Mrs. Kuroki

Mrs Kuroki
Information
Title	Tomoko and Tomoki's mother
Nickname	Hahaoya (母親・ははおや) Tomoko and Tomoki
Gender	Female
Hair	Black
Eyes	Green
Family Members
Tomoko Kuroki (daughter) Tomoki Kuroki (son) Mr. Kuroki (husband) Kiko (niece)
Voice Actor
Risa Hayamizu (Japanese) Shelly Calene-Black (English)

Mrs. Kuroki is Tomoko and Tomoki's mother, as well as Kii's aunt. She is referred by Tomoko and Tomoki as "Hahaoya" (母親・ははおや), which simply means "Mother."

Overview

Mrs. Kuroki is a house wife who also does part time jobs. In the manga and anime, she acts as the main parent. She thus appears the "disciplinarian" with respect to Tomoko, such as forcing Tomoko to help around the house, while preventing Tomoko from shifting chores to her younger brother. As such, she seems the most "disappointed" when Tomoko comically screws up. She slaps Tomoko a few times when Tomoko refuses responsibility or, in one comic scene, lashes out at her mother rather than explain her reasons for marking herself with a vacuum cleaner! She also accompanies Tomoko for their parent-teacher conference with Tomoko's teacher Ogino to discuss her progress. These scenes may depict Mrs. Kuroki initially as a "disciplinarian" and "ever-disappointed"; however, she does appreciate the small progress her daughter makes as indicated by the thus far only depicted conversation between Tomoko and her father. In an infamous comic scene in both the manga and anime when she walks in on Tomoko listening to a salacious recording Tomoko constructed, she contains herself and leaves Tomoko alone. She does not yell at her, embarrass her, or, thus far, ever mention it.

Personality

Due to WataMote largely occurring from Tomoko's perspective, it is perhaps unfair that she often appears as the disciplinarian or someone who has to reign in Tomoko. Mrs. Kuroki actually appears a very pleasant and loving mother to her children. Mrs. Kuroki always encounters Tomoko cheerfully; she is not depicted cynically greeting Tomoko at breakfast or sniping at her. It is Tomoko who does something, or fails to do something, that earns the disappointement or wrath of her mother. Similarly, WataMote tends to imply things and reveal details about characters in pieces over many chapters. Thus, when a conversation between Tomoko and her father finally occurs in Chapter 121, her father mentions that her mother has noticed that she has complained less about going to school. Mrs. Kuroki does notice such things, even if they are not depicted directly.

Appearance

Mrs. Kuroki is a young woman with short black hair and green eyes. She is usually seen wearing regular clothes, such as a shirt and pants. In Tomoko's recollection, her mother use to have long hair.

Anime

• Season 1: Episodes 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, OVA

Manga

• Volume 01: Chapters 2, 6, 8, 9, 9.5
• Volume 02: Chapters 10, 14, 16, 17, 18, 18.5
• Volume 03: Chapters 25, 26
• Volume 04: Chapters 28, 29, 32, 32.5, 33, 35
• Volume 05: Chapters 38, 44, 47.5
• Volume 06: Chapters 49, 52, 53
• Volume 07: Chapters 58, 60, 62, 63, 66
• Volume 08: Chapters 70, 71, Special Edition
• Volume 09: Chapters 85
• Volume 10: Chapters 89, 90, 93, 97, Omake
• Volume 11: Chapters 102, 109
• Volume 12: Chapters 119, 121
• Volume 16: Chapters 158
• Volume 17: Chapters 160, 163, 168
• Volume 18: Chapters 170, 171
• Volume 19: Chapters 183, 183.5
• Volume 21: Chapters 193, Christmas Special Edition
• Volume 24: Chapters 214-1, 214-2, 214-3
• Volume 25: Chapter 217.1
• TBA: Chapter 224-3.5, 226-1

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

Relationships

Tomoko Kuroki

As the main parent depicted in both media, Mrs. Kuroki often appears in opposition to Tomoko. Thus when Tomoko intends to waste her break, it is her mother who becomes annoyed and angry when Tomoko tries to shirk helping out. She reminds Tomoko that the year previously, when Tomoko studied for her high school entrance exams, her brother did the chores. Now, with him studying, it is her time to pitch in. She has to deal with results when Tomoko fails to behave responsibly such as when Tomoko fails to mail her brother's high school application.

Though she may not appear to recognize and understand her daughter's difficulties, she is neither uncaring nor clueless. She does show some recognition that her daughter is dealing with all of the emotional and physical obstacles confronted by a young teen maturing. In a scene in both the manga and anime similar to the scene where her husband walks in on his daughter sleeping with a running "personal massager" and a yaoi game paused on her television, Mrs. Kuroki hears her daughter accidentally broadcasting a mix she made of her recording from a male voice actor and her own dialogue which sounds quite lewdly suggestive. While she pauses for a few moments as her embarrassed daughter freezes, she does not become upset nor otherwise acknowledge the embarrassing situation. She simple turns away and calmly asks Tomoko to come to dinner when she is finished.

As noted, her husband reveals to Tomoko that her mother has noticed Tomoko's improved attitude towards school. She also returns from a meeting with Ogino, Tomoko's teacher, surprisingly pleased at her daughter's progress.

Many chapters later she is inwardly pleased to learn after dealing with her daughter's suspension that she has friends.

Tomoki Kuroki

Mrs. Kuroki seems to have a better relationship with her son than daughter, even though she and Tomoki are not seen interacting much. Tomoki acts more responsible than Tomoko which Mrs. Kuroki notices and reminds Tomoko of.

Mr. Kuroki

Due to the flow of the story, Mr. Kuroki and Mrs. Kuroki are rarely seen together. The first in both media involves Mr. Kuroki returning home from work with a cake that leads to the infamous scene involving Tomoko asleep on the floor with her "personal massager" and a "Boy Love" game paused. In that scene, she seems cheerful and respectful towards him. Many chapters later, she happily sees him off when he spends a day fishing with Tomoko. During that chapter, he mentions to his daughter things her mother has said about her. As stated, WataMote tends to imply rather than fully describe relationships and personalities; thus, that scene implies both parents discuss their children.

Etymology

• The surname Kuroki means "black" (黒) (kuro) and "tree, wood" (木) (ki).

Trivia

• She is a housewife, but also has part-time job(s).

Memorable quotes

• "Tomoki does his share of house work all the time, not you, and you are his older sister! Tomoki also cleans his room and lately he's even been making his own lunches, and what about you? You are a girl and yet your room is a pigsty!"
• "Dinner's ready. Just come down later."
• "I'm sorry my idiot daughter caused you so much trouble."

Image gallery

Mrs. Kuroki becomes angry towards Tomoko about house cleaning.

Tomoko's recollection of her as a child reveals her mother once had long hair.

Mrs. Kuroki "walks in" on Tomoko

Shown Maternal Responsibility

Awwwww!

Mrs. Kuroki as a Young Mum!
From the Volume 11 Goodies!