WataMote Chapter 188

WataMote Chapter 188
Information
Volume Number	TBA
Chapter Title	Because I'm not popular it's about that girl.
Published	March 3, 2021
Previous Chapter	Chapter 187
Next Chapter	Chapter 188.5

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 Tomoko and and Yuri ascending a school staircase as they happily chat. They are followed five steps behind by Minami who stares up at them sheepishly with the caption, "I'm somewhat jealous (どこか羨む・dokoka urayamu). . . ."

The chapter takes place the day of Tomoko's practice.

Male Teacher with Glasses reads from a book. Minami sits behind Shiki and grumbles to herself that a seat in the rear is better. The narration indicates the previous week. Mako sits with her head in her hands as she inwardly laments that it is no good since no matter how she tries to keep Minami and Yuri's seats apart, Yoshida and her seats, but her thoughts are interrupted by Yuri who tells her that she sees she is having difficulty with this, so she is fine sitting behind her.

Depicted as a sketch, the stunned Mako inwardly screams that the always selfish Yuri is holding back for her. Minami then recalls pleasantly indicating her seat to Minami's surprise. She somewhat meekly replies to Mako that it is pretty far in the front, and sitting further back would be better. Mako explodes that if Yuri can put up with the arrangement, so can she. Minami asks her why she is so upset as Tomoko with an intense-looking Yuri are in the foreground. Minami repeats to herself, "even?!

Returning to the present as she writes at her desk, Minami glares at Mako who is chatting with Yoshida. She cannot believe that "Makocchi" lost her temper with her. She wonders how she can be so close to "that delinquent." In the meantime, Mako whispers to Yoshida to wake up since the teacher is coming around.

Minami stares ahead at Shiki and rationalizes that at least "that one" is in front of her, so it is fine.

In another class, Sachi asks the sitting Nori where they should eat today. Sachi asks about "Koharu-chan": "Isn't she coming today?" Nori replies that they did not make plans for the day, so is it not fine? She then adds that Minami went home by herself the other day. Sachi admits that she would like to see Minami's reaction when she comes to their class, a sweating and shocked Minami stands with lunch asking "Sachiii Noriiii." They walk past the sitting Maki, and Sachi asks if she is having lunch with her boyfriend, could she video Minami when she comes to the classroom. Maki sighs, "such a pain." With a view of Nagi with Kayo, Sachi remarks to Nori that Maki has been no fun recently. She suggests that Maki does not care about them since she has a boyfriend. Nori replies that they are so lonely. Maki quickly agrees to do it as she apologizes.

Nagi and Kayo reach the desks brought together by Uchi, Miyazaki, and Kaede for lunch. Emiri asks if they are getting something to drink and volunteers to get it. Kayo assures her that she can run errands for once, and Nagi reminds her that when Uchi goes off alone she makes too many stops.

As they get drinks at the machine, Kayo asks Nagi if they have always has such horrible personalities. Nagi replies, "A- the Sac-chans." She explains that she did not really talk to them in the second year so she would not know. She does concede they act as she would imagine a "Minami-chan Group" of kids would act. Kayo agrees that Minami-chan is "kinda," as she startles looking out the window she is passing. She sees Minami walking behind Shiki. Minami asks her if she is not going to the gym, and Shiki replies that she is working on her legs today so she is going to use equipment from the club building. Both Kayo and Nagi pause as they watch, smile, and Kayo giggles. Meanwhile, Sachi's phone indicates from Maki that Minami never came to the classroom. Nori thinks, "lame."

Later, outside the Study Room, Sachi, Nori, and Minami complain about it being closed early for the week. Nori suggests they go to the Censored in the Japanese Original "Starbucks" or "Saizeriya," which Sachi agrees to but then suggests that Minami will only ditch them again. Sweating and clasping her hands, Minami insists that she already apologized for that. Sachi asks her what she did for lunch. Minami replies that she did something with someone then asks if they were waiting for her.

Sachi responds, "not particularly (別に・betsu ni)." She decided on the censored Starbucks, and a chibi Minami asks them to wait for her to collect her textbooks. Sachi states they will since they are not like her. Chibi Minami sweatingly repeats that she apologized whilst inwardly demanding that Sachi drop the matter.

As she walks the empty hallway, she hears a voice from a classroom haltingly proposing to put on a movie. She peers in to see Tomoko's practice presentation with Hina before Akane, Asuka, Emiri, Yuri, and Mako. Tomoko notices someone and stops and turns, but Minami quickly walks away as a chibi Hina asks Tomoko what is wrong. A concerned chibi Tomoko replies she saw someone passing by.

Shown: A Freaking Kokushi . . . seriously. . . .

On the way to Starbucks, the trio of Minami, Sachi, and Nori notice Reina, Anna, Shiki, and Masaki in an arcade playing video majong together. While Shiki holds her hand up, Reina screams in frustration. Ever sympathetic, Anna replies that she was so obvious. While Reina demands another game and expresses surprise that Shiki reached third rank again, Nori notes that "those girls" are there again. Sachi sarcastically notes how nice it is for them to not care about their entrance examinations. Inwardly, she thinks it is the girl from the other day. For her part, Minami inwardly notes that Shiki is friends with those girls as well.

Sachi turns to Minami and notes that the other day, one of the girls in the arcade, only to be interrupted by Nori who notes that she was with "that loner Kuroki." In a flashback, Tomoko gives Masaki a juice box while Nori and Maki pass by. Chibi Nori laughs that Tomoko was spotted by Yoshida in their second year, and she still acts as her "gofer (パシリ・pashiri)." She sarcastically claims to feel sorry for Tomoko. Minami thinks that Nori probably does not know that, given the way Tomoko is now, she and Masaki may actually be friends. She admits that it upsets her so she will not correct their mistake. Sachi notices Minami's silence and playfully asks if she is okay: "You're not being bullied, are you?" Nori laughs as she adds that if she is being bullied, she should tell them or a teacher.

The scene moves to Tomoko's class presentation. Unimpressed, Minami sighs that this is so annoying. However, she does realize what Tomoko and the rest were doing the day before. As Yoshinori calls for a vote on the choices, Minami asks Shiki if she is going to the arcade. When Shiki responds that she is, Minami asks if she made plans with someone. When Shiki replies that she has not, Minami mutters a Japanese "hmmmm." Later, Sachi receives a text from her telling her to go home without her since she has something going on.

At the arcade, an anonymous member of the "Otaku Group" greets Shiki. Behind her, Minami shakes her hand to get her attention. Sweating, she asks Shiki if they are her friends. Shiki replies that they are her arcade friends. Minami starts to explain that they were all in the same class with her, "but they were," and stops speaking as Shiki looks at her questioningly. Minami then says she will go home since they probably remember all of the bad things she said about them. Shiki tells her not to worry since there is plenty of insulting involved with gaming. Minami protests that she does not understand. Inwardly, she complains that she does not want to be friends with these people. She watches Shiki play and beat the guys. She declares them weak, and the thinner one with glasses as chibi insists that he is not weak, it is just that Shiki is that strong. Chibi Minami protests that she does not understand.

Shown: Shiki Shakes Her Shaker . . . for SCIENCE!

Shiki stands dramatically, then starts her dancing game. Minami notice that the boys make a deliberate show of averting their gaze when she looks at them. She calls them out for appearing even more "creepy (キモ・kimo)." She demands to know why they are blatantly averting their eyes given they have all circled around her. She accuses them of trying to peek at her panties, as they deny it, concluding that they are "gross (キモ・kimo)." Shiki stops her dancing as Minami denounces the boys as otaku and perverts. One continues to deny that they were peaking and says that Minami has gone too far.

Shiki interjects that everyone is not as bad as Minami says they are, they are just not getting any better. A chibi sweating Minami insists that she has not been to an arcade in a long time and asks Shiki to cut her some slack.

Two eyes intensely stare.

Minami turns.

Shown: Two Eyes
Which Intensely Stare

In the foreground, the trio of Maki, Sachi, and Nori watch Minami with Shiki and the rest. "Koharu-chan! There you are!" declares Nori. Maki suggests that perhaps Sachi likes Minami too much?

Nori and Maki giggle. Nori suggests that Minami is happy with them and calls her a "normie." Nori sarcastically declares that they were so lonely studying. Minami tries to protest as she sweats.

Sachi finally addresses her. She now has an actual face, and she stares at her intently with a smile that makes WataMote Wiki reconsider the designation of Asuka Katō as "Most Likely to be a Serial Killer." She states that they are going and asks if Minami will go with them. She then acidly adds that she does not care if Minami stays with "those creeps (そのキモい奴ら・sono kimoi yatsura)." Nori and Maki laugh between themselves and indirectly taunt Minami while Sachi declares her situation, "so annoying." Minami sweats in fearful silence. Maki directly asks her if she has said something, then Sachi tells her to hurry it up. Minami relies that she is coming.

She pauses to look back at Shiki before leaving. Shiki turns to the Otaku with Glasses and asks, "I'm gross (キモい)?" He sweats and insists that Minami was addressing the guys.

Characters

In order of appearance:

• Tomoko Kuroki
• Yuri Tamura
• Koharu Minami
• Male Teacher with Glasses
• Shiki Futaki
• Masaki Yoshida
• Sachi
• Nori
• Maki
• Nagi
• Kayo
• Emiri Uchi
• Miyazaki
• Kaede
• Akane Okada
• Hina Nemoto
• Asuka Katō
• Anna Haruna
• Reina
• Yoshinori Kiyota
• Kakinuma
• Otaku Group Members (unnamed)

Referbacks

• Seating: the conflict over new seats occurs in Chapter 185.
• "This Here is Boss Minami's Ditch": Minami ditched Sachi and Nori in the previous chapter.
• "They are how I imagined the girl's in Minami-san's group to be, though": In Chapter 172, Nagi revealed about how both her and Kaede were in first year in the same class than Yuri, Mako, Koharu and Sachi, reason by which she cound inferr what kind of people were Koharu and Co.
• "The otaku boy trio": It has been long since last time Kakinuma and his two friends were seen together, furthermore, the last time it was seen one of them was to the glasses guy in Chapter 150

Cultural References

• Saizeriya: an Italian-style restaurant chain.

Trivia

• The Left Hand of Darkness?: thus far, only Yū has been consistently depicted as having been bless'd to be left-handed. In this chapter, in the second panel, Minam holds her pen in her right hand. However, in subsequent panels, she writes with her left hand.
• "She was spotted by Yoshida during the second year and still acts like her gofer to this day. I feel sorry for her": Out of all ignorance from Sachi-Nori-Maki about Tomoko being still a loner, in the Volume 18 Special Edition there was a short chapter about how things would have been of Tomoko started hanging out with Delinquent Group, in where Tomoko feared to become the gofer of the gang, accusation which Nori did about Tomoko in the original story.
• "So annoying": In Chapter 186-2, when Tomoko was nervously presenting the idea to the movie to the class, she was thinking in how her old self would be sitting over there showing barely any interest, curiously Minami does that in this chapter, and to add more parallelism with the old year Tomoko, she has exactly the same posture than her in her vision.

Memorable Moments

• "A Girl Still Has a Title": usually the "because I'm not popular" refers to Tomoko. This is the second chapter in a row that it comes from Minami's perspective.
• "When the Lady Smiles": Yuri smiling on the cover page!
• "A Girl Has a Face": Sachi appears with a face. WataMote Wiki will ask Jaqen H'ghar whose face she took. . . .
• "It's fine you can let us take care of errands once in a while": This chapter provides of surely the most common excuse which Emiri uses with her group to go to stalk Tomoko.

Quotes

• "It's no good! No matter how much I try to put some distance between Minami-san and Yuri, Mine and Yoshida-san's sats end up being" – Mako Tanaka
• "Yuri, who is usually selfish and does whatever she pleases, is holding back for mi sake...!?" – Mako Tanaka
• "I can't believe Makocchi of all people got upset with me!! I don't really get it, but she seems awfully close with that delinquent!" – Koharu about Mako and Masaki
• "She was spotted by Yoshida during the second year and still acts like her gofer to this day. I feel sorry for her" – Nori about Tomoko
• "Nori probably doesn't know but knowing Kuroki as she is now... it's not that kind of relationship, they might actually be friends... that kinda ticks me off, so I don't really feel like going out of my way to explain that to these guys" – Koharu about Tomoko
• "There's plenty of badmouthing and flaming in the gaming world, gamers won't be bothered by a little badmouthing" – Shiki Futaki
• "I don't wanna be friends with those weaklings..." – Koharu Minami
• "Given that you're all circled behind her, I bet you'd just be peeking at her pantis if I weren't around, right? Gross. So you're otakus, you suck at games and you're closet perverts, you're totally trash" – Koharu Minami to those creeps
• "Koharu-chan, we're leaving, but are you coming with? I don't really mind if you wanna stick around with those creeps, though" – Sachi
• "I'm a creep (キモい・kimoi)?" – Shiki Futaki

Gallery

Original Art from Nico Tanigawa Twitter

"Creepy?"