WataMote Chapter 120

Chapter 120
Information
Volume Number	Volume 12
Chapter Title	Because I'm Not Popular, I'll Attend The Party
Published	07 September 2017
Previous Chapter	Chapter 119
Next Chapter	Chapter 121

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

Yoshinori, Hina, Akane, and others clink their glasses of non-alcoholic drinks as they cheer. A shy Tomoko sits next to a surly Yoshida. Mako stirs Tomoko by offering her a "cheers."

After sheepishly returning it, Tomoko muses that "the cheerful types" seem to love Korean barbecue restaurants. As she watches Mako cook and serve the meat, Tomoko admits to herself that she does enjoy the experience of eating with three others while not really caring about "the whole party thing." Yoshida sits on her left with her normal stern expression. Tomoko does not seem to notice Uchi sitting on her right. Another student out-of-frame chides Uchi "for taking the whole cooking thing a little too seriously." Uchi does not respond. She seasons and prepares a piece of meat with care then, to her friends' surprise, sneaks it onto Tomoko's plate.

Uchi blushes after sneaking meat onto Tomoko's plate.

 When her currently unnamed friend Kayo across from her starts to ask about it, Uchi remains silent and blushes. For her part, Tomoko notices the meat on her plate but does not know how it got there.

Yuri notes that this may be the last time they will all be together since they may not be in the same class in the next grade. Yoshida calmly reminds her that they could still hang out together if they felt like it. Yuri replies that Yoshida and Tomoko are not the type to do that and neither of them wanted to go to the party. She appears to forget that she seemed reticent to attend as well. As Mako suggests they will at least share electives, Uchi's Friend with Glasses announces that everyone should swap seats "to make new friends."

Tomoko finds herself between a boy and Asuka Katō, while Yuri sits next to Minami. Minami notices Mako sitting behind her and offers her meat since Mako had been too busy cooking for others. Yuri sits across from Tomoko, and both silently listen to Minami remind Mako about the class trip and how Mako did not hang out with her on the third day. Suddenly, Katō notices Tomoko is out of meat and needs a drink refill. Inwardly, Tomoko wonders if Katō thinks she is the "class mom." Feeling inadequate in comparison to her other classmates, Tomoko furiously tries to cook a lot of meat and causes a flash of fire. Katō and the boy congratulate Tomoko on her scream. The boy then reminds Tomoko that he was her partner in the three-legged race. Since they may not see each other again, he says he wishes to ask her a question:

Always Delete Your Search History Tomoko!

 Did she really search for penis pictures on her phone in homeroom!

Tomoko runs a few excuses through her mind with each ending with a worse outcome. Finally, she claims that a friend from another school sent them to her as a prank and she forgot to delete them. The boy teases her further: "You sure you weren't just looking at them for fun?" With inward apologies to Yū, Tomoko shows a picture of Yū and her on her phone. The boy finds Yū cute and asks if she has a boyfriend then insists Katō see. To herself, Tomoko notices that she can now talk to a boy without falling apart.

Across from her, Yuri sits in silence. She looks to Yoshida who sits next to Akane. Neither seem to know what to say to one another. After the party, Minami invites Mako to karaoke, but Mako demurs and finds Yuri standing alone. Yuri wonders why Mako came to her since she normally takes the bus, but Mako claims her station is closer by train. As they walk, Yuri confesses that she wanted to spend more time with Tomoko and Yoshida, but they were seated with other people. Yoshida joins them, then Tomoko. Tomoko claims she did not go to karaoke since her throat feels "a little scratchy," but, inwardly, she is happy she made it through dinner without embarrassing herself.

When the train comes and Mako bids her farewell, Yuri sits quietly. When Mako asks her what is wrong, she responds, "Next time can we hang out for longer?"

The side panel narration notes: "Their feelings for each other grow stronger. . ."

Characters

In order of appearance:

• Yoshinori Kiyota
• Hina Nemoto
• Akane Okada
• Masaki Yoshida
• Tomoko Kuroki
• Mako Tanaka
• Yuri Tamura
• Emiri Uchi
• Miyazaki (unnamed)
• Uchi's Friends (currently unnamed save Natsu)
  • Kayo (Girl with Black Hair)
  • Nagi (Girl with Glasses)
  • Natsu
  • Kaede (Girl with Long Braid)
• Koharu Minami
• Sachi
• Tomoko's partner in the three-legged race (unnamed)
• Asuka Katō (unnamed)
• Kakinuma's friend (unnamed)
• Tomoki Kuroki (mentioned)
• Yū Naruse (picture)
• Kotomi Komiyama (picture)

Referbacks and Forwards

• Minami talks to Mako about their Kyōto field trip, which was from Chapters 72–80.
• Uchi's friend Girl with Glasses appears to be the organizer of the party.
• Tomoko's partner in the three-legged race from Chapter 86 asks her about what happened in Chapter 43.
• The picture with Tomoko, Yū and Kotomi was taken from their Christmas party in Volume 11 Special Edition.
• Tomoko's Lie: Tomoko infamously looked at pictures of penises in Chapter 43. She will confess to Katō that this explanation is a lie in Chapter 140.
• Yoshida will renew her offer to hangout together to Tomoko after she, her currently unnamed friends Rena and Anna Haruna, Tomoko, and Futaki spend an afternoon together in Chapter 147.
• The back cover of Volume 12 reveals that Uchi had hoped to sing karaoke with Tomoko.

Cultural References

• Tomoko's excuse that foreigners sent her photographs of their penises over Twitter mirrors an occurrence the manga's artist had shortly after its initial surge of popularity in America.

Memorial Moments

• Yoshida and Yuri sharing a friendly moment.
• Yoshida suggests that they can all hang out together in the future if they want to.
• Uchi sitting next to Tomoko and meticulously preparing meat to sneak on her plate appears a significant development.

Quotes

• "So she picked a KBBQ place, huh? Is it me, or do all the cheerful types love BBQ?" – Tomoko
• Yeah, but you and Kuroki-san aren't really the kinds of people to make plans like that. Neither of you even wanted to go to this party in the first place, remember?" – Yuri to Yoshida 
• "What is she? The class mom?" – Tomoko
• "Somehow I managed to make my way through dinner, but . . . I feel like going to karaoke would be a huge disaster waiting to happen. So in order to avoid looking like an idiot, leaving after dinner was the best choice." – Tomoko
• "I'd say my growth since last year would be an 'A.' Though my ability to keep it up for any amount of time is still like a 'D.'" – Tomoko

Gallery

Uchi sneaks meat onto Tomoko's plate.

Tomoko demonstrates her Cordon Bleu.

Uchi's fantasy versus the reality as depicted on the Volume 12 back cover.