Watamote Episode 9
What They Say:
As summer break nears its end, Tomoko is looking forward to seeing a movie with Yuu-chan, but gets a phone call informing her that the date has been canceled. Tomoko is shocked, convinced that Yuu-chan has finally grown sick of her… But when Yuu-chan treats her to cake as an apology at the café where she works, Tomoko decides that she wants to be part of a trendy work environment, too…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Having just finished summer vacation for my own kids, who range in quite a few different years and grades, there’s something about the final weeks of any vacation like this where it can just be too much. Boredom sets in in some ways, especially if there isn’t a lot of structure in general, and someone like Tomoko will find those endless days of possibilities more about tedium than anything else. As she enters the final days before the break finishes and it’s back to school, she tries to make a connection or two in order to have some positive memories. Unfortunately, pinning her hopes on Yuu doesn’t work too well as their lunch date gets canceled due to other commitments that Yuu has.
While those plans fall through, Yuu at last is smart enough to make additional plans when canceling and they’re fun ones as it involves them meeting at a trendy cafe and having some cake. Trendy and Tomoko don’t mix though and you can see her uncomfortable nature in broad daylight – literally – since there are so many happy couples there. What makes it worse is that Yuu is actually a waitress at the cafe and is the embodiment of sparkling purity and fetishes. The way Tomoko is fascinated by it all is hilarious but it’s the way she decides that she wants to work there too, figuring that it’s a path to popularity that will skyrocket her own life. It’s a pretty good plan in its own way, but it’s filled with the kind of simplistic anime ideals and fantasy sequences that one would expect from someone like Tomoko, as opposed to the reality of the situation.
Naturally, Tomoko only gets so far with it when it comes to dealing with her family first as she gets called out plainly on how her life is. With Tomoki doing so many chores and taking care of himself and Tomoko doing absolutely nothing productive this summer, her mother really lays into her about things and makes it clear that Tomoko has been on the wrong path and has to learn to change it herself. That means some hard work, but nothing that really strikes a chord with her about how she’s handling her life, even if the end result is a very clean place overall. Still, all of this does leave her with plenty of time in her own head and watching what she goes through, especially at the end where she’s just wishing upon a star for something positive in her life, you can’t help but to feel for her. And to wish that she’d turn the corner and do the right and necessary things.
In Summary:
As much as one can like Tomoko, and she is very easy to like as an audience member, you really do find yourself in the position of wishing that she’d do what’s necessary to fix her life. And part of that is that it makes you look at your own life and try and figure out what changes you need to make in case you’re on a similar or familiar path as she is. This episode again gives us a whole lot of time with Tomoko and she’s quite the character with one of the juiciest female lead roles out there that really lets us get into her head and understand her. It continues to provide a lot of meaty character material and this episode is no exception as it works through another aspect of how she struggles through life, largely because of her own causing.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.