WataMote Chapter 19

Chapter 19
Information
Volume Number	Volume 3
Chapter Title	Because I’m Not Popular, Second Semester Is Starting
Published	16 May 2012
Previous Chapter	V02 Omake
Next Chapter	Chapter 20

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 chapter opens viewing the back of Tomoko sitting in the middle of her class while the narration states, "Everyone gets new seat for the next semester . . . and Mokocchi is surrounded."

It is the start of the new semester and Tomoko finds herself assigned to a seat located in the middle of the classroom. She is surrounded by Kiyota and his friends Okada, Hina Nemoto, and Suzuki. She becomes distressed over the new seating arrangement. Previously, she sat next to the windows and could avoid other students and spend time looking at her phone without anyone noticing. As she shrinks in fear of attention, she wishes her class would undergo a "Battle Royale," then imagines how she would dispatch the other students.

During lunch break Kiyota, who sits next to her, greets her by her last name and notes that this is the first time he has talked to her. Tomoko retreats into her embarrassment. She laments that she no longer has the anime and light novel main character's seat next to the window while conceding that nothing ever happened to her. She wakes from her daydreaming to discover another girl took her chair. She decides to have her lunch elsewhere, and after considering a few options which include the bathroom, she finds a corridor with a bunch of desks where, after cleaning one, she can eat and play video games in peace.

A week later, Tomoko avoids interacting with the students next to her by pretending she is asleep then retreating to her secret place to eat lunch and play video games. However, her Homeroom Teacher announces that her class must decide on a theme for the culture festival. Tomoko takes no interest in the discussion. She only hopes that they do not choose a "haunted house" like her middle school class did. She leaves while the rest of her class continues to discuss the themes. She sees students carrying desks down the stairs. The next day, when she goes back to the corridor she finds all the desks gone. She ends up not eating her lunch and passes out during PE, which gets her sent to the nurse’s office. The nurse informs her homeroom teacher that "it's just anemia" and Tomoko should be fine.

Tomoko wakes up after school ended. She gives an embarrassed apology to the nurse and returns to her now empty classroom. Alone, eats her lunch and states to herself that she wants to find a place for herself.

The narration declares this chapter "the calm before the storm" with the next chapter kicking off "the cultural festival!!"

Characters

In order of appearance:

• Tomoko Kuroki
• Yoshinori Kiyota (unnamed)
• Akane Okada (unnamed)
• Hina Nemoto (unnamed)
• Suzuki (unnamed)
• Homeroom Teacher
• Ogino (unnamed)
• Yū Naruse (flashback)
• Nurse (unnamed)

Trivia

• This chapter is adapted into Episode 10.
• First time Kiyota speaks to Tomoko.
• In the anime adaptation, Suzuki is the one who speaks to Tomoko, not Kiyota.
• In Middle School, Tomoko made a doll for the "Haunted House" that had real human hair.
• The nurse says that Tomoko has anemia of which one form iron-deficiency anemia can occur in menstruating girls.

Cultural References

• Battle Royale: refers to a book that was later adapted to a number of manga series as well as a classic film with a subsequent sequel. In an Afterword the author wrote for the Viz 2009 reedition of the English translation, he admits that the inspiration for his novel came from him imagining a teacher starting a class with a very similar line spoken by the Homeroom Teacher.

Memorial Moments

• Despite her overall progress, and vow from the previous chapter, Tomoko retreats back into herself when confronted by students around her.

Quotes

• "Ahh . . . It would be great if this class got chosen to take part in a Battle Royal . . . I'd manage to survive somehow. . . ." – Tomoko
• "You guys have to kill each other now."– Homeroom Teacher
• “Why…?! What did I do?! Why must I suffer through this? Did I kill a bunch of people in my past life?” – Tomoko
• "Well, I won't do that anyway . . . I haven't become that much of a loser yet." – Tomoko
• "Isn't that enough already? At this point we might as well do everything naked!" – Tomoko
• "I want to find a place for me." – Tomoko

Gallery

Tomoko hopes for a classic solution to her problem.

Tomoko misses her previous seat.