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4[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_bf33fea2830c6b2eb25de7e2ba1ad6931374105898_full.png]]
5[[caption-width-right:349:''Why, who's this fine babe!? [[SarcasmMode There oughta' be lines out the door to see her!]]'']]
6
7->''Here we have a particular girl.\
8An unpopular girl.\
9And her story... that really doesn't matter.''\
10'''Tomoko:''' In other words, an ugly girl who guys don't like. That's not me at all.
11
12Tomoko Kuroki is a legendary high-school girl with over ''fifty'' years' worth of romantic experience and over ''one hundred'' male admirers... in the world of [[RomanceGame otome gaming]], that is. In the real world, she is an unattractive, lonely, creepy fifteen-year-old {{Otaku}} schoolgirl with severe self-esteem issues, so much so that she avoids all contact with her classmates.
13
14When she enters her first year of high school expecting her life to suddenly become cool like it does for protagonists in manga and games, she is stunned when absolutely nothing changes. This forces her to take a hard look at herself for the first time, and resolve to become more sociable and popular. HilarityEnsues.
15
16''No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular!'' (''Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dō Kangaete mo Omaera ga Warui!''), also known by its official shorthand "''[=WataMote=]''", is a CringeComedy manga published online by Creator/NicoTanigawa (actually two people). The series initially took off due to developing a cult following on [[Website/FourChan /a/ and /v/]], turning into something of an Anglophone darling as a result. Later on, it developed into something of a ComingOfAgeStory, focusing on Tomoko's relationships with the friends she ''does'' manage to make, resulting in a large cast of oddballs.
17
18Unlike its protagonist, the series is quite popular, with the third volume selling more than 170,000 copies in the first month. In addition to an anthology and a fanbook, in January 2013 a SpinOff, ''No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault My Friend's Not Popular.'' (''Watashi no Tomodachi ga Motenai no wa Dō Kangaete mo Omaera ga Warui.''), began running in ''Monthly Joker''. It starred (and was written from the point-of-view of) Yuu Naruse, Tomoko's best friend from middle school who crossed the threshold into adolescence ''far'' more gracefully than she did.[[note]]The spinoff is reprinted in the digest collections of the main series.[[/note]] The spinoff concluded after 28 chapters.
19
20A [[https://twitter.com/seikaisha_kt/status/1186901570987773952 novel anthology]] was released in 2019, dedicated to the much-expanded cast of characters that Tomoko had gotten herself acquainted with since her second year. A second novel anthology was released in 2021.
21
22As a sort-of-milestone special, Volume 18 of the series included a special edition that finally came with official character bios as well as Main/WhatIf stories featuring what would happen if Tomoko befriended different cliques of girls during her first year. Volume 20, which ''was'' a milestone special (marking 20 volumes and 10 years of serialization), included a special edition with the results of a character popularity poll as well as stories following up on the What Ifs.
23
24The series has been licensed by Creator/YenPress. A [[TwelveEpisodeAnime one-cour]] anime adaptation premiered in July 2013. An OVA was released in October 2014.
25
26The anime can be legally viewed at [[http://www.crunchyroll.com/watamote-no-matter-how-i-look-at-it-its-you-guys-fault-im-not-popular Crunchyroll]] for people living in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. It's also available on Creator/{{Hulu}} in the US.
27
28See also ''Manga/{{Choku}}'', an earlier manga by the same authors, and ''Manga/KuzuToMeganeToBungakuShoujoNise'', also by the same authors. For tropes belonging to the movie Tomoko makes for her third year cultural festival see ''JustForFun/AYouthLikeThis''.
29
30----
31!!''No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular!'' provides examples of:
32
33[[foldercontrol]]
34
35[[folder:Manga tropes (A-D)]]
36* AbsurdlyHighStakesGame: Invoked by Tomoko in chapter 92, after Yoshida asks Tomoko to play a claw machine to get her a plushie; Tomoko convinces herself that Yoshida will beat her up or worse if she loses, and compares her situation to that of a protagonist of a death game manga.
37* AbsurdlyPowerfulSchoolJurisdiction: A story arc from chapters 157-160 involves Masaki and Tomoko being punished at school for riding an electric scooter outside school grounds. They were still in uniform, which in Japan means they're expected to still be following school's rules.
38* AccidentalPervert:
39** In bonus chapter 27.5 Tomoko follows the StudentCouncilPresident Megumi trying to greet her, only to end up accidentally witnessing a blow of wind [[MarilynManeuver lifting Megumi's skirt]].
40** In Chapter 38 Tomoko accidentally flashes some children while wearing a skirt.
41** Played with in chapter 74. Tomoko accidentally starts groping her classmate Yoshida while trying to wake her up, [[CovertPervert but does not stop when she realizes what she's doing]]. [[spoiler:Even though she ended up punched by Yoshida, she seems to remember the incident fondly, and brags about it to Tomoki in chapter 134.]]
42** In the second episode, Tomoko mentally shames herself for accidentally glimpsing up the skirt of a girl walking up the stairs in front of her.
43** Every interaction Tomoko has with Ucchi. Every single one.
44** Also most of Tomoki's interactions with Yoshida, including an accidental [[ThanksForTheMammaries chest grope]] and [[ShowerOfAwkward walking in on her showering]].
45* ActingInTheDark: Happens in-universe with the "Cinderette" play, where the ending is changed without any of the actors being aware of it until the ''very moment it occurs on stage'' on the day of the performance. Which put the two leads, Tomoki and Akari, into an awkward situation as the revised ending now called for the former to kiss the latter and bring her character back to life when he originally was supposed to kill himself to be TogetherInDeath with her. The whole thing was yet another [[MatchmakerFailure poorly-thought plan]] by Sayaka to push the two together.
46* ActorAllusion: In chapter 56, Tomoko gets to school late after she catches an episode of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' on TV and gets drawn in. ("Who the hell schedules a cartoon like that in such an early time slot? Even elementary schoolers couldn't watch that without missing school!") The show isn't named, but Tomoko's TV shows an image of Rainbow Dash -- who is voiced in the dub by Tomoko's actress, Izumi Kitta.
47* ActuallyPrettyFunny: When Tomoko, Yuu, and Kotomi hold a gift exchange to see who can buy the funniest and most useless present imaginable for Christmas, Yuu gets Tomoko a pack of condoms. Tomoko is understandably insulted by the [[NerdsAreVirgins implication]], but admits it ''was'' the funniest and most impactful of the presents given that day, naming Yuu the winner of the contest.
48* ACupAngst: Part of her self-esteem issues.
49* AffectionateGestureToTheHead:
50** Chapter 85 revolves around Tomoko's failed attempts to make her male schoolmates pat her on the head. [[spoiler:In the end she does get a pat... by a stray cat.]]
51** She gets her wish in chapter 115, as a graduating upperclassman actually pats her head.
52* AgonyOfTheFeet: Tomoki uses the culture festival play to vent his frustrations with Sayaka by repeatedly stomping her feet and kicking her shins, and making it look like it's just his character showcasing his dislike of her character. [[spoiler:It backfires on him because all the pain he subjects her to causes Sayaka to fall on him at an inopportune moment and deliver an AccidentalKiss]].
53* AllGirlsWantBadBoys:
54** Tomoko is attracted to abusive boyfriends, as evidenced by how much she listens to {{Yandere}} FetishizedAbuser [=CDs=] with clear arousal.
55** When Tomoki says he really wants to kill Sayaka, Sachi, who's developed a crush on him, gives him high marks for wanting to kill girls who aren't herself.
56* AmateurFilmMakingPlot: For her class' third year cultural festival, Tomoko sets out to make a movie with all her assorted friends and acquaintances. It's a long story arc where the project suffers various setbacks, from Tomoko struggling to come up with an actual story, getting some of her actors to agree to say the lines she wrote for them, having to cut out some of the racier content, throwing an ending together a day before the deadline, and pulling an all-nighter on the eve of the festival, but it ''does'' get completed. The end result is ''JustForFun/AYouthLikeThis'' and is [[StylisticSuck terrible, amateurish]], and hilarious.
57* AmbiguouslyBi: Tomoko plays a ton of otome games with an erotic bend, listens to audio recordings of {{Yandere}} boys verbally abusing her, and dreams about getting a boyfriend. But while she doesn't consider the possibility of getting a girlfriend, she still lusts after Yuu and later Asuka and equates a number of interactions between girls, like getting her nails done or borrowing some chapstick, as intimate behavior.
58* AmusingInjuries: Tomoko gets hurt a lot, usually from getting smacked around by her brother, her mother, Yoshida, or anyone else she riles up. It's always played for laughs, and her hits usually leave hilarious marks.
59* AnachronicOrder: While events in the manga otherwise unfold in chronological order, Christmas specials are the exception and are usually inserted into the past or future of the story's current timeline. The first four take place during Tomoko's first year in high school, the next two occur in her second year, and the ones following that happen in her third year. Justified because the passage of a year in the manga does not correlate to the passage of a year in the real world.
60** Chapter 187 is notable in that takes place a week before the events of 186 and shows glimpses of previous chapters from Koharu Minami's point of view.
61* AndTheRest: When Tomoko is asked how she got good at table tennis, Tomoko explains that she got a lot of practice playing it with "Yuu-chan and the others." In a flashback panel, [[SitcomArchnemesis Kotomi]] and ''only'' Kotomi is explicitly labeled as "others."
62* AnxietyDreams: In Chapter 103 Tomoko has a dream where her cousin, Kii-chan, attacks her with good omens. It's an apt metaphor for the state of their relationship.
63* ArentYouGoingToRavishMe:
64** In Chapter 24, Tomoko hears a girl mention being molested on a train and starts to wonder if not being molested is a sign that she's ugly. [[spoiler: Subverted when she thinks she is being molested, and realizes that was a dumb thing to hope for (it was actually just a wooden training spear getting caught between her legs).]]
65** In chapter 87, Ucchi, the girl Tomoko had previously creeped out on the school trip, starts to panic that Tomoko might be following her around trying to perv on her. She resolves not to let it get to her during her cheer routine but ends up getting pissed when Tomoko watches another girl instead.
66* ArmsDealer: Back in middle school Tomoko had the desire to become Japan's first female dealer in illegal weaponry. By the time the main story started she apparently gave up on it, and even finds the idea embarrassing.
67* ArousedByTheirVoice: Tomoko shows clear signs of arousal in listening to audio [=CDs=] of {{Yandere}} boys issuing abuse. She's later seen listening to a custom performance a professional voice actor made for her to similar effect, which gives her the idea to splice it together with her own voice and record her own homebrew audio erotica.
68* ArtifactTitle: On multiple fronts.
69** The series title itself. The manga used to be about Tomoko's attempts to make herself popular, or at least make friends, and how she was her own worst enemy in that regard. Over the course of her second year in high school, she mellowed out a bit and moved away from that mindset in favor of just having a normal high school life, and has since made a circle of friends and acquaintances to regularly socialize with. Tomoko still has no boyfriend and is by no means the DudeMagnet she set out to be at the beginning, but she's not really all that concerned with either anymore, making the title of the manga even more outdated.
70** Chapter titles (with exception of the title of chapter 131) still go by the [[IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming idiosyncratic format]] of "''Since I'm Not Popular, I'll [Subject]''." This was originally done to illustrate Tomoko's latest harebrained scheme to improve her popularity. The titles aren't true anymore because Tomoko no longer does anything in relation to her lack of popularity.
71** Chapters are typically referred to as "Mournings" or "Fails" depending on the translation, often because they involved things going hilariously bad for Tomoko in one way or another. After the school trip, Tomoko in general stopped suffering so much humiliating defeat, and actually starting seeing some success in her endeavors. Usually, when things go bad, they do so for ''other'' people.
72* ArtShift: In Chapter 132, after a discussion with her friends about stock {{Shoujo}} manga tropes, ''Tomoko herself'' gets a hilarious ''shoujo-esque'' filter after she (accidentally) does something nice for an underclassman.
73* AscendedExtra: A good chunk of the current main and supporting cast started out as scene filler before slowly gaining more importance as the series continued.
74* AscendedMeme:
75** Tomoko gained the nickname "Spaghetti-tan" in /v/. [[http://25.media.tumblr.com/4ddb9941c18e79aa6a2a1ae426c7c563/tumblr_mumi0fR4IS1rkbzf7o2_500.jpg Nico Tanigawa drew her eating spaghetti for the licensed version of the manga as a thank you for the people who made the manga popular overseas.]]
76** After chapter 162 depicted a scene where [[ItMakesSenseInContext a slip of paper draped over Yuri's nonplussed face]], fanart of her as a [[ChineseVampire jiangshi]] became popular. Then in October 2020, as part of a Halloween-themed art exhibit, Nico Tanigawa released an image of the girls all dressed up in costumes...[[https://www.medicos-e.net/newsdetail/goods_watamote/ and sure enough, Yuri was a jiangshi]].
77* AttentionDeficitOohShiny:
78** Happens to Tomoko in chapter 35, when she is sent by her mother to mail Tomoki's application to the high school of his choice. She finds a cat on her way and tries to play with it, putting the application in her bag because it got in the way; and later she goes to the bookstore, forgetting about the application altogether.
79** Happens again in chapter 96. Tomoko's trying to study for a test, but keeps on getting sidetracked by things she finds online, like videos of pole-dancers. She goes so far as to consider learning how to pole-dance in an effort to become popular, only to furiously rail at herself for falling into that line of thought again. The next day, she resolves to head home after school and study for her next test...only to involuntarily start dancing on the first pole she comes across.
80* AuthorAppeal: The author seems to be a fan of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiba_Lotte_Marines Chiba Lotte Marines]], as the manga includes several references to the team and to baseball in general, and in-universe Kotomi Komiyama is a fan of the team. It is unlikely to be a coincidence that all named characters share the surnames of Chiba Lotte Marines current or former team members.
81* AwkwardFatherSonBondingActivity: It's the daughter this time around, but the pair go fishing to spend time with each other in Chapter 121.
82* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: A non-romantic version of this occasionally occurs between Tomoko and Tomoki. However, chapter 35 has a subversion: Tomoki reveals that he isn't angry at Tomoko for forgetting to send his application to his chosen high school, and for a moment it looks like a setup for "Aww, look! They really do love each other" moment... but then Tomoko ruins it by whining that she got lectured by their mother because of the event, and blaming Tomoki for it because he didn't say so sooner. Tomoki promptly kicks her out of his room.
83* BaseballEpisode: As part of a promotion with the Chiba Lotte Marines, Volume 10 of the manga featured a special chapter where Tomoko, Yuu, and Kotomi attend a game of theirs. [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall They even mention how the team is involved in a cross-promotional deal with some manga or anime that's "about a loner protagonist]]." [[spoiler:[[BaitAndSwitch It was]] ''[[Literature/MyYouthRomanticComedyIsWrongAsIExpected My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU]]'']].
84* BathroomStallOfOverheardInsults: In chapter 39 Tomoko overhears two of her schoolmates badmouthing someone while in the bathroom; she wonders whether they were talking about her, but it is never resolved.
85* BeachBury: In the BeachEpisode (read below), Tomoko lets both Yuu and Kotomi bury her on the beach. Unfortunately, they load so much sand on her that she can't move, but by the time she realizes this, they've left to go get some drinks. They take a long time getting back, and Tomoko is stuck lying there getting dehydrated because she's too timid to just ask someone to dig her out. When Yuu and Kotomi finally do return, she buries them both as revenge.
86* BeachEpisode: Subverted in chapter 64, where Tomoko, Yuu and Kotomi go to the beach, only to find out that swimming is prohibited there because of dangerous stingrays. Played straight in chapter 65.
87* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Tomoko tries to get sick by spending time with her sick brother in an attempt to miss school for a few days. [[spoiler:While it does work, she gets sick around Saturday, causing her to be stuck in bed on the weekend.]]
88* BlackComedy
89* BlandNameProduct:
90** In chapter 19, she is seen playing a ''PFP''. Could also be a shout-out to ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows''.
91** Also Winners Eleven for PF 3.
92** [[http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2013/03/30-1/its-not-my-fault-that-im-not-popular-anime-visual She has also been seen]] wearing a parody of "beats" designer headphones, {{Palette Swap}}ped from red to blue and with the "b" flipped into a "d".
93** In one episode/chapter, Tomoko plays TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering with a bunch of kids. The cards are simplified and have a lot of details changed slightly (like the backing and logos), but it is obvious what they are supposed to be from the layout. You can even tell Tomoko is playing an [[DarkIsEvil all]]-[[EvilWearsBlack Black]] deck and draws a [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=389474 Crypt Ghast]] as her first card.
94** In chapter 67, Tomoko picks up a copy of [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Super Grind Bros]] to try and befriend the nerds who play the game near her desk
95** The English dub of the anime mentions "''[[Literature/BattleRoyale Brutal Royale]]''" at one point. The logo used is almost identical to the ''Battle Royale'' logo, except it has an ampersand in the middle.
96** In episode 2, Tomoko tells Yuu she watched a series called ''[[VisualNovel/EfaFairyTaleOfTheTwo efb]]''.
97** In chapter 97 Tomoko mentions that she watches "''[[Manga/AttackOnTitan Attack on]] [[Anime/KabaneriOfTheIronFortress Kabaneri]]''".
98** One chapter has Futaki eat store-bought bread from BVSE, a parody of BASE BREAD.
99** The girls once go to a store called PLVZV, a parody of the Japaneese shop PLAZA.
100* BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine:
101** Tomoko could be described as a chronic Boke with a lot of Tsukkomis. In her one-on-one interactions, she has a tendency to say and do some very dumb things that usually get her smacked by other, more down-to-earth characters, including Tomoki, Yuri, Masaki, and Hina.
102** Sayaka and Akari have developed into this dynamic respectively. Sayaka is the dimwitted loudmouth who keeps on coming up with bad ideas and saying dumb things (always in relation to trying to help the latter get together with Tomoki), and Akari has grown so frustrated with her that she's taken to slapping her whenever she goes too far.
103* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: In chapter 108, after being told by Tomoko that Kotomi is a raging pervert [[spoiler:and being told by Akari that Kotomi is a very pure person, Tomoki concludes that she must be a very pure pervert]].
104* BreakoutCharacter: Sachi spent nearly the entire series as a SatelliteCharacter to Minami to the point where she had [[EyelessFace the typical design used for unimportant mob characters]]. After her prominent role in Minami's own story arc late in the third year, however, her popularity exploded and she's gone from a tertiary character at best to having a prominent role in most of the subsequent chapters.
105* BriarPatching: In chapter 45 Tomoko sets up a prank she wants to play on her brother by telling him that she has dates with [[BlatantLies her boyfriend]] in a certain place and telling him not to go there; her plan is to wait for him there and mock him when he comes to peep. [[spoiler:Her plan fails because Tomoki doesn't show up for several days; when he finally does it's by accident and Tomoko's prank falls flat.]]
106* BrickJoke:
107** At the beginning of chapter 30 Tomoko mocks in her thoughts people who have trouble running the marathon and finish it dead last while being cheered on by their schoolmates. She claims that if that happened to her she'd feel pathetic. [[spoiler:Needless to say, this is exactly what happens to her at the end of that chapter.]]
108** Chapter 19 establishes that Tomoko considers eating one's lunch in the bathroom to be pretty much the rock bottom of loserdom. [[spoiler:In chapter 48 she catches her SitcomArchNemesis Kotomi eating her lunch in the bathroom, and it gives the opportunity to offer her rival some CondescendingCompassion.]]
109** In the seventh special chapter, Yuu gets Tomoko a pack of condoms as part of a contest to see who can get the silliest and most worthless gifts for Christmas. While Yuu wins and uses her victory to make Tomoko and Kotomi sing karaoke songs for both Christmas this year ''and'' next year, Tomoko tells her that if she actually does use the condoms, then Yuu's win will be disqualified. [[spoiler:Three years later when the next Christmas special comes out, Tomoko presents the unused pack of condoms in front of everyone, admits she owes Yuu another song, and thoroughly embarrasses her friend in the process.]]
110* BringMyBrownPants: In chapter 61, after Kii pulls a scary prank on Tomoko, Tomoko lectures her on the difference between pranks that are OK and ones that are not, stating it would not be OK if - [[BlatantLies purely hypothetically speaking]] - Kii had scared her so much that Tomoko would have wet herself.
111* BrokenPedestal: Tomoko's cousin Kii-chan starts out seeing Tomoko as a CoolBigSis, but starts having doubts about when [[spoiler: Tomoko lies about having a boyfriend]] and realizes the whole truth after [[spoiler: catching Tomoko cheating in a card game with little kids just to impress her.]] The next time Kii appears, she treats Tomoko like a rather pathetic puppy.
112* BrotherSisterIncest:
113** Invoked in chapter 25 by Tomoko towards Tomoki. While she's deliberately trying to get sick by spending time in his room when he's sick, she jokingly asks if he's finding her interesting as a woman. He vehemently denies it.
114** In chapter 6, she becomes convinced she's become sexy enough that he's lusting after her (in reality, he thinks she looks like a mess).
115* BugCatching: Tomoko, Yuu, and Kotomi spend a summer day catching bugs together, with Tomoko hoping they can create a magical super bug that can curse people if it eats up all the others. That doesn't happen of course, though Yuu does manage to find a big rhinoceros beetle that she ends up keeping as a pet. [[spoiler:Kotomi does the same with a ''centipede''.]]
116* ButForMeItWasTuesday:
117** Tomoko gave Kotomi a really hard time in middle school, but while Kotomi still bears some bitter memories, Tomoko doesn't even remember her by the time they meet again.
118** For Ucchi, the last night of the Kyoto field trip was a life-changing experience that left her with great paranoia over Tomoko that only grew more intensely over time, prompting feelings of fear, obsession, jealousy, and a whole lot of romantic attraction in her. But for Tomoko, it was just another series of embarrassing moments in her miserable life.
119* ButtMonkey: Tomoko is quite often on the receiving end of some [[{{Slapstick}} physical comedy]], e.g. getting smacked by Tomoki or Kotomi for being obnoxious, getting accidentally hit with her own desk while daydreaming in her class in chapter 9, getting accidentally hit in head by a basketball while daydreaming during a P.E. class in chapter 25, crushing into Tomoki and getting a nosebleed while trying to annoy Kotomi in chapter 48, spraining her wrist while trying to pull off a pass she saw in a manga while playing basketball in chapter 56, getting hit by Yoshida for being an AccidentalPervert, etc. - all PlayedForLaughs.
120* CallBack: In chapter 35, when Tomoko tries to apologize to Tomoki for forgetting to send his application to his chosen high school, she greets him at home wearing her school uniform in the same way she did when she looked in the mirror in chapter 1.
121** In chapter 89 Tomoko, who just realized that she left her cell phone (with some compromising materials) at school, tries to calm herself down, pointing out that she went on living even after everyone found out she looks at dick pics in class - which indeed happened in chapter 43. [[spoiler:The incident is brought up again by Tomoko's classmate during the class farewell party in chapter 120, where he asks Tomoko what that was all about.]]
122** In chapter 122 Tomoko remembers several embarrassing incidents from previous chapters (including the aforementioned incident with the dick pics) [[spoiler:to remind herself that she lived through embarrassments that were much worse that the one caused by her introduction at the first day of her third year of high school.]]
123** In chapter 130 Tomoko mentions that, during her middle school trip to Disneyland, another girl suggested they could go on a certain ride, but she ended up not going, claiming it to be a kid's ride. That incident was actually shown in a flashback in chapter 79.
124* CannotSpitItOut: One of Tomoko's most infamous traits. She can't carry out a normal conversation with ''anybody'' without stammering, whispering and tripping over her words. However, she begins to [[CharacterDevelopment overcome this trait]] during her second year of high school, especially after the school trip.
125* CantActPervertedTowardALoveInterest: While Tomoko acts plenty perverted towards anyone she finds physically attractive, like Yuu, she can't bring herself to say or do anything lewd around Asuka, who she's developed a crush on and put on a pedestal. [[spoiler:Even when Asuka ''outright offers'' to let Tomoko grope her breasts, Tomoko can't do it.]]
126* CaretakerReversal: Tomoko tries to invoke this trope in chapter 25. [[spoiler:She succeeds, but ends up regretting it; see SickEpisode below.]]
127* CatapultNightmare: Poor Tomoko has these ''over and over'' while trying to have an erotic dream.
128-->'''Tomoko''': Where's the Gorilla!?
129* CatScare: In chapter 18/episode 9 of the anime, Tomoko is eating cup noodles by herself when she hears a rustling bush and fears it's a pervert. It's just a cat, of course.
130* CaughtTheHeartOnHisSleeve: A non-romantic example in chapter 123, where Yuri does this to Tomoki (who comes to Tomoko's class to take the lunchbox Tomoko brought for him, while Tomoko is in the bathroom) to make him wait for Tomoko. [[spoiler:Kotomi gets to see this and [[GreenEyedMonster assumes the worst]].]]
131* CaughtWithYourPantsDown:
132** In Tomoko's case it was [[spoiler:being caught by her mother while redubbing a sex scene from an otome game with herself as the protagonist]], but it seemed to be equally embarrassing.
133** At the beginning of chapter 15 Tomoko is implied to narrowly avoid this as Kii entered her room while Tomoko was playing a game. We don't get to see what the game was, as it gets censored, but Tomoko is visibly unpleasantly surprised and embarrassed, blocks the game from Kii's view and tells her to knock before entering her room. Fortunately, Kii, while confused, apparently did not figure out what exactly was happening.
134** In Chapter 73, Ucchi catches Tomoko in the bathroom with literally no pants on. While Tomoko was trimming her pubic hair, Ucchi was of the opinion that she was doing something a ''lot'' more inappropriate in there. She brings up the incident in Chapter 80 after Tomoko [[BlatantLies claims she just recently lost her virginity]], causing the latter to immediately clam up with embarrassment.
135* ChekhovsArmory: The writers seem to love this trope. Only enough characters to count on one hand haven't become recurring characters, and even then they still reappear as background characters
136** The emoji girl sitting with Tomoko on the bus in one chapter later becomes a recurring character
137** Yoshida gets mentioned in chapter 69, and becomes a recurring character in the field trip arc
138** In chapter 69 Yuri and Mako are shown having an argument. Both become recurring characters after the field trip arc.
139** The girl who drops by Tomoko's house to see Tomoki in one of the early chapters becomes a recurring character almost 70 chapters later.
140** The girl with an interest in make-up briefly shows up in chapters 71 (sitting next to Tomoko on the train) and 90 before getting seated next to Tomoko in their class and beginning to interact with Tomoko semi-regularly.
141* ChekhovsGun: The field trip Tomoko hears about in her first year becomes a plot point many chapters later.
142* {{The Chikan}}: Was the focus of chapter 24 aptly titled, "Because I'm not popular, I'm going to get molested". In the chapter, Tomoko hears one of her classmates complain about how she was molested on her way to school and laments that no one wants to molest her.[[spoiler: Eventually, she does get molested only to find out that her "molester" was in fact a large staff]].
143* ChillyReception: Shizuku Hirasawa (the test taker whom Tomoko tried to cheer up in chapter 110) gets this from Masaki, Yuri and Hina when she meets them in chapter 132. [[spoiler:Which was still better than her first meeting with [[StalkerWithACrush Ucchi]].]]
144* ChocolateOfRomance: Chapter 47 reveals that back in middle school Kotomi wanted to give Tomoko's brother Tomoki a Valentine's Day chocolate. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, she picked Tomoko as the one to tell this to Tomoki, and it all went downhill from there.]]
145** She tries it again in Chapter 113, and this time actually gets the chocolate to him. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, some hilarious mishaps cause the chocolate to partially melt and fuse together into a decidedly phallic shape.]]
146** Averted in the case of Tomoko during the Valentine's Day arc. She gives and receives chocolate to and from her various acquaintances for platonic reasons. [[spoiler:Not-so-averted in the case of Ucchi, [[StalkerWithACrush who went out of her way]] to leave Tomoko a surprise batch of chocolate in her locker.]]
147* ChristmasSpecial: Every year, the manga used to devote a chapter to some misadventure of Tomoko's that occured around Christmastime. These were notable in that they could take place [[AnachronicOrder some time before or after the manga's current point in time]]. The authors seem to have abandoned this tradition, as there were no Christmas specials in 2017, 2018, and 2019, but 2020 saw it return.
148* ClosetGeek: After entering high school, Tomoko's middle school friend Yuu became one of these to fit in. [[spoiler:Also, Tomoko's classmate Hina Nemoto likes SliceOfLife anime and wants to be a voice actress, which she hides from her friends. In chapter 97 she tells Tomoko they can talk about anime from time to time, but only in secret.]]
149* CloudcuckoolandersMinder: In chapter 106, Yuri prevented Tomoko from saying something to Yoshida that would get her punched. Overall, she has a better grasp on what kind of person Tomoko is than the rest of the school. [[spoiler: Funnily enough, as shown in chapter 124, Yuri is something of a Cloudcuckoolander herself, as her social skills actually aren't all that much better than Tomoko's when she's not erring on the side of being overly-reserved. She seems to rely on her friend Mako to act as her minder in these cases]].
150* CoincidentalBroadcast: An example that borders on a parody of the trope in chapter 28: while Tomoko is upset that it is so hard for her to talk to people and wonders what to do, an interview with a hostess working in a RedLightDistrict is broadcast on TV. The hostess mentions that she used to be shy and had trouble talking to people, but her job made her more sociable. This gives Tomoko the idea to become a hostess herself.
151* CondescendingCompassion: [[spoiler: In chapter 48 of the manga Tomoko expresses this to Komiyama after finding her having lunch in the bathroom.]]
152** Kii-chan's attempts to help Tomoko, albeit unintentionally. While her intentions are well meaning, it's a little too obvious that she also looks down on Tomoko as something of a charity case, which usually leaves Tomoko feeling more resentful and put-off than anything else.
153* ContrivedCoincidence:
154** Taken to comically absurd levels in Chapter 93. Yuu just so happens to cut her hair the same way Ucchi does, Tomoko just so happens to use her as a model for some panties that match a pair [[ItMakesSenseInContext she inadvertently stole from Ucchi]] during the class trip, and Ucchi just so happens to pass by to witness the proceedings. Needless to say, it only reinforces the emoji-faced girl’s paranoia that Tomoko has an obsession with her.
155** In chapter 122, against all odds, Tomoko ends up sharing her third and final year of high school with just about every named character. Even she's quite stunned at the unlikely turn of events. [[spoiler:The only person who doesn't get into her class is [[StalkerWithACrush Ucchi]]...who doesn't take the revelation well. At all.]]
156** During an English class in chapter 173, the teacher uses the sentence "Dye my hair silver" as part of the lesson. This wouldn't be anything special in most cases, except that this happens a few days after Tomoko dyed her hair silver, both the drapes ''and'' the carpet, and presumably a few hours after Fuuka walked in on her in the bathroom and found out about the latter. Thus, the innocuous lesson becomes a catalyst for Fuuka to drive herself crazy coming up with more out-there theories about Tomoko's weirdness.
157* ConvenienceStoreGiftShopping: In chapter 93 Tomoko buys Kotomi a towel set as a birthday present. [[spoiler:Kotomi ends up liking this present much more than Tomoko intended, because Tomoko's mother mistakenly placed the towels in the laundry basket with Tomoki's clothes for a while and they ended up smelling just like Tomoki's bed.]]
158* ConvenientlySeated: When the second semester starts and Tomoko loses her back row seat by the window, she lampshades it by commenting about how lucky she was getting "the seat main characters always get in anime and light-novels" in the first period, lamenting that she now has to dwell in an awkward spot, surrounded by people.
159* CoolBigSis: Tomoko wants to be seen as one by her cousin Kii-chan, apparently the only person who looks up to her. To achieve this, she lies a lot about, among other things, the extent of her love life. [[spoiler:Kii-chan ends up finding out the truth and pities Tomoko.]]
160** [[spoiler:Chapter 32 reveals that Tomoki actually saw Tomoko as one when they were younger.]]
161* CramSchool: While Tomoko was previously determined to avoid going to any of these, she voluntarily attends a week-long study camp during her third year summer break. She does this partially to improve her chances of getting into her college of choice, and partially so she can have some high school experiences that she previously skipped out on. Most of her friends end up going with her.
162* CrappyHolidays: Tomoko has a hilariously lousy Christmas during her first year of high school, as detailed in the first four special chapters. She tries going to a class party, but skips it due to her anxiety getting the better of her, falls asleep while leaving a pervy game and massager running for her father to find, spends three hours doing naughty things to a plushy before realizing Yuu spent that time having fun with her friends, and misconstrues a few things with her brother that leave her thinking he's lusting for her.
163* CreepyCockroach: In chapter 34, a giant cockroach appears in the middle of class and causes a panic among the students, who scream and climb onto their desks to get away from it. Seeing an opportunity to earn everyone's admiration, Tomoko stands her ground and stomps it. It doesn't go quite the way she hopes though; rather than being thankful for removing the horrid bug, they become creeped out by her and move their desks further away.
164* CreepyShadowedUndereyes: A very prominent feature on Tomoko and an occasional source of insecurity for her. It definitely makes her look creepy and reflects her tendency to stay up late staring at a screen, but it also appears to be a Kuroki family trait, as her brother and parents all display similar eye circles to lesser degrees.
165* CringeComedy: [[Series/TheOfficeUK Tomoko's like David Brent's Japanese niece.]] Even after the GenreShift to lighter SliceOfLife fare, a majority of the comedy is still Tomoko and/or one of her friends making things incredibly awkward for everyone else or overthinking things in an EntertaininglyWrong fashion.
166* {{Crossover}}: ''[=GanGan=] Online'' promoted this series and ''Manga/DailyLivesOfHighSchoolBoys'', two of their biggest hits, by making flyers and posters with Tomoko and Yoshitake riding a train on the way to their schools.
167** Tomoko and Yuri briefly [[https://twitter.com/twi_yon/status/906404310048800769 showed up]] in the authors' other manga, ''Manga/KuzuToMeganeToBungakuShoujoNise''.
168*** Interestingly enough, Orikawa from the same series is shown from behind in chapter 145 in a scene that looks to be continuing from where the Lit Girl scene left off thus implying or confirming that both series [[CanonWelding take place in the same universe]].
169* DeconReconSwitch: Tomoko's first year of high school serves as a scathing deconstruction of the OtakuSurrogate. Tomoko goes in with the smug superior attitude that many characters in that archetype display, along with a vast knowledge of games, anime, and pop culture, but her lack of social skills and unpleasant personality prevent her from ever connecting with anyone. Near the end of her second year, the trope is reconstructed when Tomoko's eccentric behaviors make her someone a lot of people want to know once they finally do notice her.
170* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of the [[OtakuSurrogate cool otaku]] character. [[Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya Haruhi]], [[Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows Keima]], and [[Manga/LuckyStar Konata]] have friends, talent, and looks to balance out their otaku tendencies. Lacking these three attributes, Tomoko's life is for the most part lonely, depressing, and frustrating.
171** All the children think [[TheMagnificent The Queen]] has [[RightMakesMight the power to take exactly the card she needs from her deck...]] but the truth is that Tomoko is a CardSharp.
172** Being a CuteClumsyGirl gets deconstructed in an omake. Sure, it may be cute, but it's also going to get you fired.
173** The series also deconstructs the idea of social anxiety as a "cute" trait. In real life, social anxiety is a MASSIVE detriment to anyone who has it, as humans are inherently social creatures. We need to communicate, and the inability to do so causes nothing more than pain and self-hatred, and ''[=WataMote=]'' displays this in all its terrible, depressing glory.
174* DespiteThePlan: [[spoiler:In chapter 48 Tomoko plans to make her rival Kotomi jealous and miserable by getting along with Tomoki, whom Kotomi has a crush on, in front of her. The plan deteriorates quickly as Tomoko accidentally crashes into Tomoki and gets a nosebleed; however, Kotomi gets to see Tomoki taking Tomoko to the infirmary and this does make her jealous in the end.]]
175* {{Determinator}}: For all of Tomoko's faults, one thing that can be said in her favor is that it takes a lot to bring her down. Tomoko will make ASimplePlan, try to carry it out, and fail miserably. This is especially prevalent in the beginning of the story, where she makes plans to become cool and popular by doing such things as playing dating sims non-stop, trying to paint herself as an EmotionlessGirl, and applying anime/otaku tropes to real life in general. These plans never work out for Tomoko; she'll either humiliate herself in trying, or just have the plan fall totally flat on its face. In spite of that, she'll always dust herself off, say that the past is in the past, and try again. [[spoiler:It is thus quite ironic that [[SweetAndSourGrapes only after does Tomoko actually give up trying to be popular that her social life genuinely starts to improve]].]]
176* DidIJustSayThatOutLoud: Whenever she's around Yuu, Tomoko has a bad habit of voicing her lustful thoughts for her friend out loud.
177* DirtyKid: Tomoko encounters a pair of young middle schoolers on a rooftop who came for the express purpose of watching people have sex in a nearby love hotel. Tomoko herself wasn't much better when she was their age.
178* DisproportionateRetribution: [[spoiler:In chapter 47 Kotomi privately admits to Tomoko that she didn't like her back in middle school, immediately adding that she thinks they might get along in high school. This, combined with remembering an old misunderstanding they had, enrages Tomoko so much that in response she embarrasses Kotomi in public.]]
179* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: Inverted example. In chapter 25, after Tomoko purposely drops some hot porridge onto her brother's face, he responds with a swift kick to her back. Although it seemed painful, he claims he didn't kick her that hard, which may be true considering she was still holding the porridge in her hands instead of dropping it due to the force of his kick.
180* DoWrongRight: In a special chapter, Tomoko gets slapped in the face by Hina of all people in a way that ends up hitting her eye as well. Rather than be put off by the assault or the pain, Tomoko just shrugs it off and points out that Hina needs to aim her slaps better if she wants to live the lifestyle of a SliceOfLife anime protagonist.
181[[/folder]]
182
183[[folder:Manga tropes (E-L)]]
184* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
185** In the first chapter, Tomoki calls Tomoko "Hella Ugly"; [[CharacterizationMarchesOn later chapters establish him]] as being much more mature with a HiddenHeartOfGold.
186** Tomoko typically wears the skirt of her school uniform long, but at the beginning of the manga, it was much shorter, stopping just above her knees. This could be chalked up to ArtEvolution, but chapter 148 makes a point of showing just how uncomfortable Tomoko is wearing her skirt short at school.
187** Tomoko in the early series made decent mention of consuming women's media alongside typical men's otaku media. By third year, it's rare for her to mention anything women related that she enjoys at all.
188** Back in Yuu's first appearence she's described by Tomoko as having "rather average looks and rather average grades" which seems to go against later appearences where she's shown to be a complete BrainlessBeauty (or at least having very poor grades) and Tomoko having lusted for her since their very first encounter. She's also impressed by Yuu smelling so good implying is the first time she notes that while in the spin-off Tomoko smelling Yuu is basically a RunningGag.
189** Tomoko also had a tendency to StressVomit which rarely happens after the very few first chapters.
190** Minor example but in Chapter 4, Yuu is briefly drawn with Emoji-like expressions, something that later on would become tightly related to [[TheGenericGuy Uchi]] and [[TheStoic Futaki]] and therefore never used in other characters.
191* EasilyForgiven: Discussed. Tomoko once mentions hating a trend in shoujo manga where the main character would get [[StockShoujoBullyingTactics mercilessly bullied]] by another girl or group, but then suddenly be affectionate and forgiving to the bully after finding common ground and helping them through their issues. However, she hypocritically says she likes the nekettsu shounen manga flavored version of this trope, even if the opponent has done worse than mere bullying and tried to ''kill'' the main character.
192* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Tomoko
193* EatingLunchAlone: Having absolutely no friends at school means this is a problem Tomoko deals with on a daily basis. Chapter 19 has her struggling to find a place to eat when her desk is taken during lunchtime, and chapter 4 shows that even grabbing a bite at a fast food joint by herself is a nerve-wracking experience.
194** No longer true after Chapter 99 onward, as first Mako, then Yuri begin to semi-regularly join her for lunchtime. By Tomoko's third year, she's actually suffering the opposite, as there's now way too many people who would gladly eat lunch with her.
195* EmotionlessGirl: Tomoko tries to invoke this in the tenth chapter, but she fails. Hilariously.
196* EroticDream: [[spoiler:She tries to self-induce one after reading an article on what causes them. It doesn't work ... until the next day ... when she falls asleep in class.]]
197** TalkingInYourSleep: [[spoiler:Guess when.]]
198* EsotericHappyEnding: In-universe with "''JustForFun/AYouthLikeThis''" the movie Tomoko makes for the culture festival. It ends with [[spoiler:Yuri's character [[TeenPregnancy getting pregnant while still in high school]], Hina's dying, and Asuka's repeating the year for lack of attendance]]. All of these are revealed [[AngstWhatAngst while the characters are smiling and talking about what they should eat]].
199* EveryoneHasStandards:
200** In chapter 19 Tomoko briefly considers eating her lunch in the bathroom during the lunch break, but ultimately decides against it, stating that she hasn't become that much of a loser yet. She even feels sorry for ''[[SitcomArchnemesis Kotomi]]'' when she catches her eating lunch in the bathroom.
201** A WhatIf chapter shows that for all her jerkassery during her first year, even Tomoko would have found Minami and Sachi insufferable with all their hostile gossip-mongering.
202** Tomoko is put off by Shizuku's frequent obliviousness or indifference to her boyfriend's misery, referring to her as scum for it and wondering if that's the reason she doesn't have any real friends.
203* ExactWords: In chapter 18/episode 9 of the anime, Tomoko wishes on a meteor shower for a boy to be with her. Shortly afterwards, she discovers that the cat that showed up is a male. Never said anything about a ''human'' male, after all...
204* EyelessFace: Appears frequently [[FacelessMasses on random people]]. This becomes less evident in the later parts of the manga as [[ArtEvolution the art becomes more detailed]], though it still surfaces from time to time. Most notably, all of Minami's friends are drawn this way, even though all of them are given names and some degrees of characterization. [[spoiler:When Sachi shows her eyes for the first time, it's treated like a WhamShot, and they're depicted in an unsettling way to further emphasize her nasty personality.]]
205* TheFaceless: Tomoko's father. He has his face cut off by a panel or hidden behind a text-balloon when he appears - even in chapter 121, where he has a prominent role. [[spoiler:Though one of his eyes ([[StrongFamilyResemblance very similar to Tomoko's]]) can be seen in a mirror reflection in this chapter]].
206* FailedAttemptAtDrama: In chapter 135, Tomoko tells Hina she wanted to come to school more stylishly just once in her life and decided to go through with it before they got split up from their seating arrangements changing again. Hina notes that this is the first time [[SincerityMode Tomoko has ever said something genuinely nice to her]], but is unable to be touched by the gesture of friendship because [[CosmeticCatastrophe Tomoko's makeup job is hilariously hideous]] and she's struggling to maintain a straight face.
207* FamilyThemeNaming: Chapter 18 reveals that Tomoko's brother's name is Tomoki.
208* {{Fanservice}}: As the manga continues further on, more and more fanservice scenes are shown, most prominently shower scenes.
209* FawltyTowersPlot: Tomoko tries to invoke this to show Kii-chan how cool she is. [[spoiler: But Kii-chan already sees through the ruse.]]
210** Later, in chapter 83, Kotomi kicks off another FawltyTowersPlot when she meets Tomoki's classmate Akari Iguchi, [[spoiler:doesn't deny it when Iguchi assumes that Kotomi is Tomoki's sister, and tries to discourage her from romantically pursuing Tomoki by telling her that Tomoki prefers older girls]]. The entire chapter 91 revolves around Kotomi's attempts to sustain that lie when she runs into Tomoko and Iguchi, and later when they are joined by Tomoki himself.
211* FemaleGaze: Whenever the subject of dicks comes up among any member of the manga's mostly female cast, expect at least one of them to start fixating on a guy's crotch and for the panel to follow suit. Though due to her bisexual tendencies, Tomoko is just as likely to ogle girls as well.
212* FingerTenting: In a flashback to her middle school times in chapter 31 Tomoko is shown using this pose while daydreaming about becoming an arms dealer.
213* {{Foil}}:
214** Yoshida is pretty quick to judge, a trait she shares with Tomoko.
215** Nemoto, in later chapters, comes off as being just like Tomoko, only with better social skills.
216** Yuri has a lot in common with Tomoko. Both are loners, both have a single but far more social friend, and both get frustrated whenever said friend sets them aside to mingle with other people. However, both differ in how they have trouble socializing; Tomoko is completely lacking in social graces and common sense, while Yuri just doesn't have the energy to bother.
217** Minami could very well be described as a more extroverted version of Tomoko. She has a smug superior attitude like Tomoko did during her first year, but unlike the protagonist, Minami openly voices her disdainful thoughts out loud. This gave her a much better high school life for her first two years, as she was able to make friends with a highly sociable and fashionable crowd, but by their third year, things flipped for both of them. Tomoko was able to improve her social skills enough to gain a large group of friends, while Minami gets separated from her clique and finds she can't connect with anyone else using her old and now stunted abilities.
218* FoodAsCharacterization: Tomoko definitely thinks so when she observes what food other people select at a breakfast buffet. Of note, she observes how [[TheStoic Yuri]] eats a very small, plain meal that consists only of rice porridge and fruit, [[HeadTurningBeauty Asuka]] eats a healthy breakfast like one would expect a professional model to have, and [[DumbJock Fuuka]] stacks [[BigEater a massive pile of food]] on her tray, which forever cements her as a gorilla in Tomoko's mind.
219* FoodPorn: Usually whenever the characters stop to eat a meal, at least one panel will be devoted to showing off what food they'll be eating in great detail. Even the school cafeteria appears to be in the business of making dishes that look appetizing.
220* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: This seems to be how Tomoko's and Tomoki's mother sees them, with Tomoko as the foolish sibling and Tomoki as the responsible one. She does occasionally berate Tomoko, stating that as the older sibling she should be the one to set an example for Tomoki to follow rather than the other way around.
221* ForeShadowing:
222** In chapter 51, Tomoko laments in her mind about Hina Nemoto's hair looking like an anime character's. [[spoiler:As it turns out, Hina is an otaku, and dreams of being a voice actress. Later on she says she hates violent anime like "''[[Manga/AttackOnTitan Attack on]] [[Anime/KabaneriOfTheIronFortress Kabaneri]]''" which may, or may not be true.]]
223** Hina [[spoiler:being a ClosetGeek]] might have been foreshadowed as early as chapter 20, where she got her classmates some costumes for the cultural festival; one of the classmates noted that the costumes look like they're from an anime.
224* FourthWallPsych: At the end of special chapter 6, created in collaboration with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiba_Lotte_Marines Chiba Lotte Marines]], Tomoko and Kotomi start to talk about the team doing a collab with some "anime or manga or something" about a loner protagonist. [[spoiler:It turns out they are talking about ''[[Literature/MyYouthRomanticComedyIsWrongAsIExpected Oregairu]]''.]]
225* FuroScene: The [[CramSchool study camp]] arc has a lot of scenes with the girls hanging out together at the facility's spa, which includes a public bath and sauna. Unlike most examples, the scenes are very tame and light on {{Fanservice}} ...unless Tomoko is involved. ''Then'' they include more visible nudity and raunchy humor.
226* GaussianGirl: Tomoko of all people shows up under a bright and blurry filter in chapter 192 when she goes to meet Shizuku, keeping up the RunningGag with the younger girl always viewing her sempai under an idyllic lens.
227* GenericCuteness: Used as a plot point in Chapter 9. During a portrait drawing assignment, Tomoko's partner, Hatsushiba, draws her looking very conventionally cute. She assumes this means he finds her attractive and is very excited about it, but the truth is, he just gave her the same generic face he puts on ''all'' his background characters because it's the fastest face he can make.
228* GeniusBookClub: Upon turning 16, Tomoko tries to act mature by reading Creator/{{Haruki Murakami}}'s ''Literature/NorwegianWood'', but it mostly goes over her head except for the sex scenes.
229** Tomoko tries to invoke this trope in chapter 48 in one of her attempts to one-up Kotomi by making a show of the fact that she read books written by ([[{{Expy}} expies]] of) Murakami and Ango Sakaguchi, and by claiming that they are much better than "kiddy books" recommended by the school library. This backfires on her as Kotomi (the library assistant) turns out to be a much bigger bookworm, and gleefully notes that Tomoko acts all high and mighty despite the fact that she actually read only a few books of the aforementioned authors ([[HypocriticalHumor and borrowed "kiddy books" herself just the other day]]).
230* GenreShift: As Tomoko has gradually developed a circle of eccentric friends and acquaintances, the series has begun to take on aspects of a more conventional {{Joshikousei}} SliceOfLife comedy.
231* GirlOnGirlIsHot: Exploited by Sachi in chapter 214. When Koharu attempts to take a nap right next to Tomoki, Sachi spoons her to get his attention, noting how boys like it when girls act all friendly with one another.
232* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals: Yoshida is seen playing a crane game for a plush kitty, much to Tomoko's surprise.
233* GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger: In keeping with her lack of social skills, Tomoko will occasionally point at people she's speaking to for emphasis, or to indicate someone or something she's talking about, both of which are frowned on in Japan. Tomoki at one point outright tells her not to point, indicating the ''faux pas'' she's committing.
234* GoneHorriblyRight: Sometimes, Tomoko's plans do succeed. Just not in the way that she likes.
235** In chapter 50, Tomoko decides to stay in school until dusk so that she can attract someone's attention by looking pretty and mysterious in the waning light, as is typical for a lot of anime protagonists. It works...she catches the attention of her homeroom teacher, who thinks Tomoko was interested in the after-school tennis matches
236** Tomoko tries to have her group for the class trip decided for her. When she tells Ogino she'd like to fill in an empty space for a group, the teacher obliges her...by making Tomoko the leader for other leftover students.
237* {{Gonk}}: Tomoko looks pretty odd next to nearly everybody else in the manga, and she gets especially grotesque whenever her nerves start to fray (which is often). The manga even begins with her trying to improve her appearance, and failing so badly that her mere appearance ''frightens'' her brother.
238* GotVolunteered: When their class is only beginning to discuss the casting for their stage play, Sayaka immediately nominates both Tomoki and Akari as the leads as part of her ongoing mission to [[ShipperOnDeck get the two together]] without waiting for them or anyone else to give any input. It marks the moment when Tomoki ''really'' starts to hate her.
239* GratuitousEnglish: "It's a true world" in one of Tomoko's {{Inner Monologue}}s in chapter 28 where she fantasizes about being a hostess in a RedLightDistrict. Later she drops a few English words while calling for someone to free her from BeachBury in chapter 65.
240* HandshakeSubstitute: After finishing the entrance exam to her high school and realizing that Yuu would not be going with her, Tomoko decided to ingratiate herself with some of her future fellow students by giving them fist bumps. Much to her chagrin, it's come back to haunt her in the present with the two girls she bumped fists with (Hina and Itou) bringing it up years later.
241* HeadphonesEqualIsolation: Tomoko puts on her headphones in order to ignore Yuu after the latter reveals that she [[spoiler:has a boyfriend.]]
242** They seem to be BlandNameProduct Beats by Dr. Dre as well.
243** She wears headphones again at the end of chapter 39 [[spoiler:so she wouldn't have to listen to her classmates calling things "Kuroki-level" bad.]]
244** Yuri also very frequently has earbuds in, between classes and during other times when people around her are socializing. The exception being when she's specifically talking to Tomoko or Mako. Likely her way of avoiding dealing with other people.
245* HeroicBSOD: PlayedForLaughs during the athletic meet. Tomoko's brain short-circuits and she falls into a comical state of catatonia after fate conspires to have her partner up with an attractive guy in every event she participates in.
246* {{Hikikomori}} and {{NEET}}: Invoked in chapter 63, where Tomoko comes up with the idea to become one, living with and off Tomoki.
247* HomoeroticSubtext:
248** One wonders if Tomoko is heterosexual at all, given the way she seems to constantly fantasize about Yuu and other girls. At this point, calling her only AmbiguouslyBi wouldn't be all that truthful.
249** Pretty much every scene with Ucchi is laced with this, particularly as she grows progressively less paranoid of Tomoko and more attracted to her.
250** Every scene between Tomoko and Asuka after the Disneyland trip. The former is outright smitten for the latter, and the way Asuka acts in turn implies the feeling might very well be mutual.
251* HopeSpot: Near the end of chapter 27/episode 10 of the anime, Tomoko gathers the courage to [[StartMyOwn form her own club]] much like in other anime shows and manga. In the anime there is even a very serene song playing as Tomoko looks at her newly formed club with two other people, and they just spend the afternoon doing random things in the classroom. [[spoiler:Then her mom starts shouting her name, and it turns out said serene scene was just an ImagineSpot she was in. To make matters worse, her club application in real life was rejected for being too vague in its goal.]]
252** [[spoiler:In chapter 47, after ignoring Tomoko's attempts to befriend her for a while, Kotomi finds out that her old crush, Tomoki, ended up in the same high school as her. She then starts to treat Tomoko nicer, hoping that she might introduce her to her brother properly, and even suggests that in the end they might get along... but then Tomoko remembers a misunderstanding they had in the middle school, decides that she doesn't want to be friends with Kotomi after all, and humiliates her in front of Tomoki.]]
253* HotterAndSexier: Starting with summer break of the third year, the manga saw an upsurge in {{Fanservice}}, with more scenes featuring nudity that was a lot more blatant than what had been presented in the past.
254* HourglassPlot: Chapter 89 begins with Tomoko's phone ending up in the hands Kotomi, which leaves her in a panic as she fears what her SitcomArchnemesis will do with the material she has saved up on it. After getting it back through some [[HilarityEnsues hilarious bargaining hijinks]] that end with [[ItMakesSenseInContext Tomoki finding Kotomi lying in his bed]], the chapter closes off with Kotomi in a panic and ''her'' phone in the hands of Tomoko.
255* HypocriticalHumor: Done a lot since Tomoko mentally disparages people for allegedly being or doing what she herself aspires to be, or already does.
256** Tomoko mocks the fat guy from chapter 9 in her thoughts because she assumes that he has no friends (supposedly completely unlike her, because she has her brother to talk to) and spends weekends sitting at home and playing video games.
257** In chapter 44 finding out that the guy sitting next to her in a café watches an anime on his notebook makes her think of him as a loser. She then immediately starts watching the anime herself.
258** Tomoko is also a CovertPervert in general, and repeatedly tries to make Tomoki lust after her, [[spoiler:but when she convinces herself that Kotomi is sexually interested in Tomoki, this enrages her and makes her disgusted with Kotomi. The fact that she accuses Kotomi with great indignation of "being after dicks" and wanting to see Tomoki's penis is also funny considering Tomoko's own actions from chapter 43.]]
259** In the prequel series, Tomoko spots Kotomi at a bookstore, and tries to pretend she didn't see her so she doesn't have to deal with her. Kotomi then turns around and spots Tomoko, then pretends not to have seen her, which pisses Tomoko off.
260* IAlwaysWantedToSayThat: A variation in chapter 144. When Hina tells Tomoko that she made Yuri mad, and that she might be able to catch up to Yuri if she runs after her, Tomoko accuses Hina of waiting for the chance to use a cliched line like that. Hina's reaction strongly suggests Tomoko is right.
261* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: The format is: ''Mourning'' (''[[EpicFail Fail]]'' in the official translation) ''[Number]: Since I'm Not Popular, I'll [Subject]''.
262* IHaveThisFriend: Yuu tries this in Chapter 36, but Tomoko sees straight through it and gets Yuu to confess other things her "friend" has done.
263* IKnowMortalKombat:
264** Invoked and immediately subverted in chapter 56, where Tomoko tries to pull off a pass straight from ''Manga/KurokosBasketball'' while playing basketball during her P.E. class. All it gets her is a sprained wrist.
265** Tomoko tries to invoke this trope in chapter 62 when she tries to ride a bike, thinking she might have learned how to do that from watching biking anime. Needless to say, she fails.
266** Invoked in chapter 149, when Tomoko tries to help Shizuku prepare for a table tennis match by giving her a table tennis manga to read. [[spoiler:The manga she ends up giving her is ''Manga/ThePingPongClub'', and isn't of much help.]]
267* ImagineSpot: Tomoko's prone to this.
268* ImprobablyFemaleCast: Discussed in one bonus comic. Tomoko remarks that {{Yonkoma}} SchoolgirlSeries typically are devoid of men, with the sole exceptions of parents (and even then it's rare) or young children. Wada is the only boy that shows up in that bonus comic precisely because he's young-looking and thus "not a threat" to the all-girl atmosphere.
269* IndirectKiss: In chapter 51 Tomoko (wrongly) thinks that her classmate Hina Nemoto tried to invoke this trope when she lent Tomoko her chapstick. Later she gets jealous when Hina lends her chapstick to another girl.
270** Invoked in chapter 140, when both Asuka and Ucchi offer Tomoko something to drink. Tomoko thinks that drinking from the same bottle that Asuka drank from would be like indirectly kissing Asuka, but it wouldn't be like that with Ucchi, and thus she chooses Ucchi's bottle. Ucchi's expression afterwards suggests that she might see this in a different way.
271* InelegantBlubbering: Tomoko does this sometimes. It's much more pronounced in the anime. God, the SOUNDS she makes!
272* InnerMonologue: As Tomoko has very few people she can talk to, this is used most of the time.
273* InsultToRocks: Tomoko does this ''to herself'' without realizing it.
274-->Calling me ugly would be an insult to real ugly girls!
275* {{Irony}}: When there's talk that her parents are considering sending her to cram school after her grades plummet, Tomoko starts studying for her test more intensely than ever before to avoid this. However, the inherent contradiction to study so she can avoid going to a school that will make her study is not lost on her.
276* IntimacyViaHorror: Tomoko tries to exploit this during the culture festival when she takes Yuu to the haunted house, hoping it'll scare her friend so much, she'll cling to Tomoko. It doesn't work; the effects are too cheap to scare Yuu at all, which thoroughly pisses Tomoko off.
277* IWishedYouWereDead: Tomoki said this to Tomoko in a moment of anger. She exploits it to blackmail him into talking to her.
278* JizzedInMyPants: Implied to have happened to Kotomi in Chapter 123. Hearing her crush, Tomoki, tell her that he'll give her some chocolate in return for the gift she gave him on Valentine's Days gets a very strong...reaction out of her.
279-->'''Kotomi''': O-oh, uh...ah... \
280'''Itou''': What's wrong? \
281'''Kotomi''': My period just started. Do you have any tampons, Itou-san? \
282'''Itou''': [''thinking''] I thought by now nothing Koto did could gross me out anymore. ''But I was wrong!''
283* KafkaKomedy: Starts out as this, focusing on Tomoko's various failed ways to become popular. It [[GenreShift starts shifting]] to a more conventional wacky SliceOfLife comedy after she gains a circle of friends in her third year.
284* KarmicButtMonkey: Tomoko's often unscrupulous ways of trying to look cool will bite her in the ass and turn out horribly for her.
285* KidsShouldntWatchHorrorFilms: After watching a horror movie in chapter 70 Tomoko is too scared to go back home by herself, and follows a group of students she doesn't know to feel safe. [[spoiler:She ends up freaking out when the students ditch her.]]
286* LapPillow: Asuka loves letting Tomoko rest her head on her lap whenever she notices the latter getting sleepy, with the first instance happening when she notices the shorter girl nodding off on the train. She claims she just likes treating Tomoko like the younger sibling she never had, [[AmbiguouslyGay though it's ambiguous if that's her reason for doing it]], and it's clear that Tomoko gets a certain thrill out of it. During the study camp arc, Tomoko returns the favor by letting Asuka rest her head on her lap to help her recover from a nosebleed, and the moment marks the point where their friendship deepens enough to start referring to each other by nicknames.
287* LaserGuidedKarma: The universe more often than not tends to swiftly punish Tomoko whenever she acts like a {{Jerkass}}. Tomoko herself invokes this trope at the end of chapter 55, thinking that her latest embarrassment must be divine punishment for her making fun of UsefulNotes/{{Tanabata}}.
288* LastNameBasis: In keeping up with Japanese decorum, characters typically refer to each other by their surnames unless they're really close. Since the manga largely takes place from the perspective of a loner who has a hard time forming personal connections of any kind, it can take ''years'' before someone's personal name is ever revealed.
289* LaterInstallmentWeirdness: From the school trip arc onward, the series becomes a very different animal: a larger cast, a greater focus on character relationships, Tomoko's neuroticism being downplayed, and a generally different tone with a lesser focus on CringeComedy.
290* LeaningOnTheFourthWall:
291** In one of her {{Inner Monologue}}s in chapter 65 Tomoko notes that so far she failed to talk to any guys during her summer break, only hanging out with girls (Yuu, Kotomi and Kii) instead, like a protagonist of some {{Moe}} SliceOfLife anime or of a [[{{Yonkoma}} 4-Koma]] manga.
292** In chapter 39, Hina Nemoto states that she's glad Tomoko remembered her, noting that her presence is usually forgotten, which seems to allude to her status in the story as a LivingProp until that very chapter more than to anything else.
293** While trying to make up excuses for why she was [[CallBack looking up dick pics]] in the first semester of her second year, Tomoko imagines telling the guy she's talking to that she scrolled through Website/{{Twitter}} when "a bunch of foreign white guys sent [her] a flood of dick pics". For those unaware, the Website/FourChan board /v/ sent Tanigawa dick pics during the early years of the manga to show their support for her (The Artist).
294** In chapter 144, Nemoto tells Tomoko that her life has become like a four season SliceOfLife anime of which she is the protagonist.
295* LethalChef: One of Tomoko's classmates, named Mike, is revealed to be this in chapter 42. [[ButtMonkey Naturally]], she offers Tomoko some food she prepared; Tomoko compares its taste [[ItTastesLikeFeet to that of pig food]], then [[InsultToRocks thinks it insulting to pigs and revises her opinion to industrial waste]] and actually pukes after eating it. Tomoko calls it good at first to avoid offending the girl, then out of spite once she finds out the girl was planning on making more for a boy. Mike later does the same for [[AlphaBitch Minami]], offering her some food she prepared, and once again sending the girl to the bathroom to barf it all up.
296* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: For a while, Akari was unaware that Tomoko and Tomoki were siblings, and mistook their snarky attitudes towards each other as a clear sign that they were a couple. Later on, Sachi makes the same mistake for the same reason.
297* LongRunnerTechMarchesOn: A mild example, as the characters grow up and move up school years at a realistic pace, but trends are always a couple years ahead (helped by the fact that no specific years are given). Tomoko once mentions watching ''Manga/MahouShoujoSite'' and ''Anime/Persona5TheAnimation'', both shows that aired in 2018, yet a flashback in a later chapter shows that last year she watched ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' in 2011 (the same year the manga started). Later chapters show V-tubers, which only exploded in popularity in 2020.
298* LonelyTogether: Tomoko tries to invoke this in chapter 12, intending to convince other loners from her school to watch fireworks together. Needless to say, she fails. Later, in chapter 67, she considers joining a group of otakus in her class who play what appears to be a game from the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series during breaks. She ultimately decides against this, as she found an otome game more engaging than the game her classmates were playing.
299** Tomoko discusses this trope in chapter 69 when, while forming groups for the school trip, her teacher makes her join a group of three other girls who did not join any other group; she believes that even thought they are loners and leftovers, they will not be alone now that they are in a group together. [[spoiler:Then it's immediately subverted when Tomoko tries to talk to those girls, as it turns out that one of them actually plans to hang out with some other group, the second one didn't show up at all, and the third one doesn't care what they are going to do during the trip. Tomoko concludes that a bunch of loners put together in a group will stay loners, and that [[LonersAreFreaks all loners]] [[SelfDeprecation are scumbags]]. Ultimately this trope is DoubleSubverted, as Tomoko does start to hang out with two of those girls as a result of the school trip.]]
300* LoserFriendPuzzlesOutsiders:
301** Tomoko tends to have this effect on some members of her friends' already existing social groups. Of note is Akane and Fuuka, who are friends of Hina and Asuka respectively. Both find Tomoko very weird and creepy, and are also concerned about what effect she might be having on their mutual friends. Rather than spark hostility though, it just causes both to develop more of a morbid curiosity toward her, with Fuuka in particular developing a SitcomArchnemesis rivalry with Tomoko.
302** When Koharu starts hanging out with Shiki and by extension, the geeky boys she plays games with, Sachi does little to mask her contempt for them and very nearly ends her friendship with Koharu as a result. While they do patch things up, Sachi still makes a point to say she wants nothing to do with Shiki.
303* LuminescentBlush: Tomoko, all over the place.
304[[/folder]]
305
306[[folder:Manga tropes (M-S)]]
307* MiseryBuildsCharacter: It's shown to be a very encompassing theme throughout the manga.
308** Tomoko spent a year-and-a-half feeling crushing loneliness and constant humiliation, but that time spent in misery helped her understand her failings and mature into a more well-rounded and functional individual. By the time she reaches her third year in high school, she views less than pleasant experiences like being suspended as avenues for experiencing a proper high school life and takes them in stride. The trope is further highlighted in the WhatIf omakes, which show Tomoko generally having an easier time in high school due to integrating with one of the cliques, but ultimately ending up in a situation she's not satisfied with and which is overall worse for her than in canon.
309** Koharu Minami had an easy time during her first two years in high school and she spent that time being a gossip-mongering BetaBitch. However, getting separated from her clique during her third year forced her to start reevaluating her life when she found she couldn't connect with anyone outside the few people she already knew.
310* MistakenIdentity: In chapter 83 Tomoki's classmate mistakes Kotomi for Tomoki's sister [[spoiler:and later mistakes Tomoko for Tomoki's suitor.]]
311* ModelScam: Tomoko sees a seedy character approaching women with this offer when she goes to [[RedLightDistrict Shinjuku]], which freaks her out. Luckily, he doesn't actually seem to notice her at all, but it nevertheless serves as the first sign that she's getting in over her head going to this place by herself.
312* MoodWhiplash: The stories can switch from making you laugh at Tomoko's failures to crushing your spirits at how depressing it all is. And sometimes, the two ''overlap.''
313* UsefulNotes/MotorcycleSafety: Hilariously averted when Tomoko daydreams about how cool she'd look riding a motorcycle while wearing a SpyCatSuit -- only to wreck and end up in a hospital because she was too busy looking cool.
314* MySisterIsOffLimits:
315** Gender-flipped. Tomoko ''really'' doesn't like the idea of girls dating her brother, which just adds another reason to why she's so hostile to Kotomi (and later Akari). Whether it's because she's uncomfortable with the idea of others perving over him, doesn't want to see another sign that he's more socially-capable than she is, [[BrotherSisterIncest wants him all for herself]], or some combination thereof is up to interpretation.
316** Asuka expresses similar views, at one point outright saying she would puke if Fuuka ever dated her older brother.
317* NerdsAreVirgins: Tomoko tries her damnedest to avert this trope, to no avail much to her frustration. PlayedWith however, because while the nerdy Tomoko is indeed a virgin who couldn't get a boyfriend to save her life, it's strongly implied that many of the more sociable and popular girls in her class have just as much sexual and dating experience as she does.
318* {{Netorare}}: [[spoiler: In chapter 48 this is used by both Tomoko and Komiyama against each other.]]
319* NewFriendEnvy: This is a recurring issue.
320** One of the reasons why Tomoko was so hostile to Kotomi was because she didn't want to share any attention from Yuu.
321** This is a frequent issue with Yuri, who acts colder than usual whenever it appears someone is getting closer to Tomoko, with Hina and Asuka being the most common causes. It's not just new friends either; Yuri's behavior turned passive-aggressive the first time she met Tomoko oldest friend, Yuu.
322* NewGamePlus: Tomoko talks with Tomoki about the subject in Chapter 111, and imagined what life would be like if she played off being held back in school like a NG+. Then her fantasy exaggerates.
323* NiceGuy: They come around every once in a while, not that Tomoko notices. In fact, most of the schoolmates that Tomoko has a (very limited) contact with seem to fit; while they generally don't go out of their way to strike up a conversation with her, they do treat her with respect and kindness (at least to her face; later it's revealed some of her classmates have been using "Kuroki-level" to mean EpicFail behind her back).
324* NightmareFace: [[spoiler: At the final pages of chapter 41.]]
325** Later [[spoiler: in chapter 46. Compare [[http://www.mangahere.com/manga/its_not_my_fault_that_im_not_popular/c046/3.html this]] with [[http://www.mangahere.com/manga/its_not_my_fault_that_im_not_popular/c046/8.html this.]]]]
326* NoAntagonist: Tomoko is her own worst enemy in most situations. And when she gets a better handle on things, everyone ''else'' shows that they're their own worst enemies too. Later chapters give her multiple SitcomArchNemesis but even then they are pretty harmless.
327* NobodyPoops: Averted. A few times, Tomoko has been subject to PottyFailure, or getting dangerously close to it. Other times, characters are shown going to the restroom for "business" reasons.
328* TheNoseKnows: Tomoko has a pretty keen sense of smell (except when it comes to dealing with her own), which comes in handy when she goes looking for a hairpin her cousin drops that happens to smell like a specific brand of perfume she used previously. Unfortunately for her, Kii was treating her like a dog the entire chapter, and Tomoko only ends up making herself look even ''more'' like a dog when she drops to all fours and sniffs at the ground to search for it.
329* NotAllowedToGrowUp: Averted. Time passes by over the course of the manga, and Tomoko ages up and moves to higher grades in school. She also grows up in the sense that she becomes a more mature person, albeit very gradually.
330* NothingIsTheSameAnymore: Chapter 82, which is ironically titled "I'll Go Back to My Everyday Life." It's the first day of school after the field trip, and Tomoko is convinced that she's going to go back to her lonely, listless existence. However, she keeps bumping into and interacting with the people she got to know over the course of the trip, culminating in Yuri inviting Tomoko to eat lunch with her. It marks the point in the manga where Tomoko stops being so isolated and starts learning how to regularly socialize with people.
331* NotWhatItLooksLike:
332** Chapter 80. When Tomoko accidentally knocks over Ucchi's luggage and spills her clothes all over the floor, she frantically tries putting them all back in before her roommate comes out of the shower and assumes she was up to something perverse. She only has enough time to get everything in save for a pair of panties, which she decides to hide under her covers and sneak back in at a later time. Unfortunately for her, Ucchi finds the panties and assumes Tomoko was up to something perverse. From that point on, she assumes ''everything'' Tomoko does is for perverse reasons.
333** Ucchi's friend, Miyazaki, rides the train together with Tomoko, and due to how crowded it is, the latter ends up leaning real close into the former in a way that makes it look like Tomoko is groping her from behind. Ucchi sees this and assumes the worst. Then in a later chapter, Ucchi overhears Miyazaki musing about Tomoko out loud, and jumps to the conclusion that she is also crushing on the girl, to her horror.
334* ObliviousGuiltSlinging: Megumi Imae does this to Tomoko during UsefulNotes/{{Tanabata}} when she reveals that the wish she tied on the tree was for everyone else's wishes to come true. Her selflessness makes Tomoko feel bad for making a joke of the whole event, and compels her to start taking down her wishes, all of which were dirty jokes.
335* OhAndXDies: Early on in ''JustForFun/AYouthLikeThis'', the film pauses to inform the viewer that Nemoto (the character Hina was playing as) would die for real. The end unceremoniously reveals she died offscreen from getting hit by a dead ball in the baseball game. None of her friends seem bothered by it.
336* OfficiallyShortenedTitle: Shortens to ''Watamote'', from the Japanese title '''''Wata'''shi ga '''Mote'''nai no wa Dou Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!'' (literally "Whatever way I see it, it's your fault I'm not popular!").
337** The official English title ''No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular!'' does not have a short form. ''Watamote'' is also used in English.
338* OnlySixFaces: In-universe, the fat geek who draws Kuroki's face always draws the [[GenericCuteness same cutesy face]].
339* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Tomoko usually at least tries to restrain her {{Jerkass}} tendencies whenever she's interacting with [[OnlyFriend Yuu]]. However, in chapter 93, in response to Yuu wondering what it would be like for Tomoko if Tomoki and [[SitcomArchnemesis Kotomi]] dated and eventually got married, Tomoko [[TranquilFury furiously but calmly]] threatens to ''kill Yuu'' if she ever brings the topic up again.
340* OpenMindedParent: Tomoko's dad finds her asleep in front of an eroge game, a massage wand/vibrator [[note]]MakesSenseInContext[[/note]] lying on the floor next to her. His reaction is to carry her to bed.
341* {{Otaku}}: The main character, Tomoko Kuroki, as well as her middle-school friend, Yuu.
342* PerformanceAnxiety: Tomoko unsurprisingly suffers this. During her third year culture festival, Tomoko was supposed to do a pre-show skit with Hina for the movie they made. However, she lost her nerve before even stepping onto the stage, abruptly canceled it while still early in the routine, and skipped straight to the screening, leaving the entire audience confused.
343* PervertedDrooling: Tomoko drools copiously whenever she has an erotic thought. Which is practically all the time.
344* PetTheDog: Every now and then, Tomoko will show that she does indeed have a conscience buried under there, such as when she encourages Yuu to do her best in high school after correctly suspecting [[StepfordSmiler her smile wasn't genuine at all]], [[ComfortingComforter draping a blanket]] on her exhausted brother when she sees him nearly pass out on a couch, or saying goodbye to Megumi during the latter's graduation ceremony. After the Kyoto field trip, she's been doing this a lot more often.
345* PetPeeveTrope: In chapter 132, Tomoko mentions that she hates the shōjo trope where a rival girl [[StockShoujoBullyingTactics bullies the main heroine]], only to be EasilyForgiven and become best friends with her; Yuri agrees with her opinion. [[spoiler:Listening to their conversation convinces Minami that it would be a bad idea to try to get along with them in order to hang out with Mako.]]
346* PornStash: Tomoko is convinced her brother has a collection of dirty magazines hidden somewhere in his room, but her efforts to dig up any such dirt on him haven't been successful so far, with the implication being that he really doesn't have anything of the sort. However, Tomoko has a ''lot'' of filthy things saved up on her phone, which is enough to send her into conniptions when she accidentally leaves it at school.
347* PottyFailure:
348** Tomoko suffers a mild case of this in Chapter 13. After staying up late reading horror stories, she becomes too frightened to go to the bathroom alone and tries holding it in. Eventually, she resorts to waking her brother up so he can accompany her there, but admits she already peed herself a little and has to take a shower and change her clothes.
349** Kii-chan's prank to scare Tomoko proves so effective it implicitly causes the older girl to [[BringMyBrownPants wet herself on the spot]].
350* ProgressivelyPrettier: Tomoko to a degree. For much of the manga, she looked messy, disheveled, awkward, and childish at best. At worst, she'd go into {{Gonk}} territory with some of the grotesque facial expressions she would frequently put on whenever she lost her nerve (which was all the time). While she's still pretty disheveled and awkward, she's gotten better at maintaining her composure, and her features have become leaner to the point where she looks more like a proper teenager. In chapter 140, [[SheCleansUpNicely she even manages to clean up nicely]] to a degree. It could just be ArtEvolution in action, but it certainly serves to reflect Tomoko's growing maturity.
351* PsychoticSmirk: PlayedForLaughs in chapter 34, where Tomoko has this expression right before crushing a cockroach.
352* QuestForSex: A rare female example. Much of Tomoko's motivation for becoming popular (and getting a boyfriend) is in part so that she can lose her virginity. The desire to get a boyfriend fades over time, and by the time she gets her own circle of friends, she doesn't seem all to interested in getting laid anymore. She remains a massive pervert, however.
353* RaceForYourLove: A platonic variant in chapter 144, when Tomoko runs after Yuri to make up with her after making her mad earlier in that chapter. Hina invokes the trope, advicing Tomoko to run after Yuri.
354* RealityIsUnrealistic: Tomoko believes that due to the sheer amount of dating games she's played, she would naturally be just as popular at school in real life. Then she finds out that she was quite wrong...[[spoiler:and then it swings back in the other direction during the second half, showing her newfound circle of friends to be surprisingly harem-like in personality even if they are a bit deranged like her.]]
355* RealMenTakeItBlack:
356** More like "Real Adults Take It Black" in Tomoko's mind. When she turns 16, she decides to act more "grown-up" by going to a cafe and drinking a black coffee. While she tries to keep up a suave appearance, she can't help but inwardly wretch at how bitter it tastes.
357** Discussed in a later chapter during her third year. After Tomoko mentions how she's started regularly drinking her coffee black to see if it will make her less drowsy while she studies, Yuri accuses her of humble-bragging.
358* RecurringExtra: The manga keeps a sizable and consistent cast of unique-looking characters to serve as background extras. Many of these extras [[AscendedExtra evolve into major characters down the line]], with Hina being the biggest example.
359* RedLightDistrict: Tomoko visits one in chapter 28, hoping to get a job as a hostess there. [[spoiler:She gets scared by what she sees there and, after getting a phone call from her mother, decides to give up and come back home.]]
360* RefugeInAudacity: When Shizuku says she'd like to do a maid cafe for the cultural festival, Tomoko advises her to try and make her pitch appealing to both boys and girls, with the former liking sexy things while the latter like trendy things. So the kohai writes her suggestion as such: "''(Carnal K-pop style idols, guaranteed to blow up on Instagram, real deal absolutely now allowed) Ultra Spicy Maid Cafe (pervy style) Check us out on'' ''[[BlandNameProduct TikTak]]''." Her class ends up voting for it purely because of how hilariously over-the-top it is.
361* ReiAyanamiExpy: In chapter 10, Tomoko thinks that it would be a good idea to become one.
362* RelativeError: A surprising number of characters, including Akari and Sachi, don't latch on to the fact that Tomoko and Tomoki are siblings, and mistake the two's snarky attitudes toward one another as signs of flirting or closeness. Which of course causes friction to develop because they see Tomoko as a rival for Tomoki's affections. Of note, Ucchi's the only one to immediately see the StrongFamilyResemblance and deduce that they're brother and sister.
363* RescueRomance: A low-key version: volume 6 omake implies that Kotomi started to develop feelings for Tomoki when he intercepted a baseball that would hit her without his intervention.
364* ResolvedNoodleIncident: After 3 years of teasing what the hell was Tomoko and her friends recording for the School Festival, Chapter 216 finally shows [[JustForFun/AYouthLikeThis the entire movie]].
365* ReverseCerebusSyndrome: The series was never violent or tragic (in a traditional sense) but it starts off as a cringe comedy where the main character was an outcast, UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist who could [[ButtMonkey never catch a break]]. This lasted until the amusement park field trip arc, following which Tomoko is finally thrown a bone and surrounded by friends who understand her, with her pervertedness and dark humor getting less awkward and depressing, instead turning more charming and deliberately endearing.
366* ReversePsychology: Tomoko tries (not very subtly) to use this on Yuri and Masaki in chapter 76 to trick them into climbing to the top of the mountain during their class trip. Yuri immediately realizes what Tomoko is doing, but Masaki takes the bait.
367* SatchelSwitcheroo: Kotomi's Valentine chapter centered around her making a set of chocolate for Tomoki. When she bumps into Tomoko, they get their chocolates swapped out, and Kotomi almost gives Tomoki a penis-shaped chocolate instead of the sports themed chocolates she planned on making. Funnily enough, the box gets swapped with the right one before he can even open it, and he ends up getting Kotomi's chocolates [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption positioned in the shape of a penis]].
368* SatelliteCharacter: There are a number of characters who exist in the manga largely just to show the kinds of social circles the more important characters run with.
369** Hina Nemoto has the group of people she's been with since the very beginning of the manga, which includes Okada and Kiyota.
370** Itou serves as Kotomi's friend in high school, and as far as we can see, her OnlyFriend besides Yuu.
371** When Yoshida's not with Tomoko and Yuri, she's usually seen hanging out with Anna and Rena, a pair of girls who share her ''[[JapaneseDelinquents yankii]]'' fashion.
372** Ucchi has a large group of friends who have distinct appearances, but otherwise no given names or strong characterizations. Mostly, they're there to react to Ucchi's growing number of strange antics.
373** Asuka's recently shown that she's part of a clique of pretty and popular girls, who include Fuuka and Miho. Prior to this, she's also been shown to spend her lunch with Kaho, a friend from another class.
374* SchoolFestival: True to the series' high school setting, this forms the basis of a small StoryArc in chapters 19-21. Tomoko's class opts to run a cafe where everyone wears anime-themed maid costumes, but other attractions include a haunted house, a musical concert, and an art gallery from the manga club. The Cultural Festival also marks Tomoko's lowest point, as it becomes abundantly clear to her just how lonely she is, and how [[DesperatelyCravesAffection desperate for affection she's getting]]. [[spoiler:She gets it at the very end when the StudentCouncilPresident gives her a hug in a mascot costume.]]
375* SecretlyGayActivity: This sums up most of Ucchi's dealings and interactions with Tomoko. She does a lot of things to express her crush on the latter with justifications made to hide it from both Tomoko and herself. These include giving Tomoko some "spare" Hokkaido cookies and Valentine's Day chocolates, approaching her wearing nothing but a bathrobe to help her study, ordering [[SweetheartSipping a single large drink with two straws for them to sip from]] because it's cheaper than just getting separate drinks, and going to a love hotel purely to study together.
376* SecurityCling:
377** In chapter 21 during the school festival, Tomoko convinces Yuu to go to the haunted house together, hoping to invoke this trope. It doesn't work because Yuu wasn't scared at all.
378** Downplayed in chapter 126, when Tomoko gets scared while riding a rollercoaster in Disneyland, but only grabs [[StalkerWithACrush Ucchi's]] hand. [[spoiler:Ucchi ends up demanding that they ride a rollercoaster again.]]
379* SeinfeldianConversation: Being her very odd self, Tomoko often comes up with incredibly weird things to talk about in detail with her friends or brother. Examples include looking at a repeat of a school year as a NewGamePlus, speculating how she and Nemo could work as a Yuri idol team, or noting how many men are into serious bodybuilding despite the look not being popular with girls and wondering what the female equivalent to that could be. The last one is even overheard by [[AlphaBitch Sachi]], who brings the exact same conversation up with her own friends.
380* SelfDeprecation: The Volume 18 extras parody the general LighterAndSofter feel of the later manga, where the story turns into a 4Koma--all teenage male characters disappear from the world, Tomoko's sexual urges are played up, characters develop BishieSparkles and {{Moe}}, and [[{{Flanderization}} Ucchi becomes incapable of saying anything but "Kuroki" and "gross."]]
381* SexySantaDress:
382** In the Volume 8 Christmas Special, Tomoki gets one of these in a gift exchange with his friends. Having no use (or want) of it, he passes it on to Tomoko...who, unbeknownst to him, discovered a sibling incest porn DVD in his [=PS3=] that one of his buddies snuck in. HilarityEnsues.
383** In the 2020 Christmas special, Asuka shows off a photo of she and her friends in sexy Christmas-themed costumes. She's wearing a midriff-baring outfit while her friend Kaho has a more modest but still cute minidress. Yuu thinks the photo is cute; Tomoko thinks it's perverse.
384** Those same Santa dresses return in the next Christmas special, when three girls—Yuri, Masaki, and Kotomi—are forced to wear them for the Christmas party. Kotomi has trouble keeping her top on, to the point where it even slips off and exposes her bare breasts, and Yuri's has such a short skirt that Tomoko is able to get an eyeful of what's under it.
385* ShaggyDogStory: Most chapters in the early portions of the manga end with Tomoko failing in her latest scheme and no better off than she was at the start of it. Even many chapters in the later portions can end with nothing really getting accomplished despite the characters' best efforts, though they tend to be a lot less pessimistic.
386* SheCleansUpNicely: Implied with Yuu, who's supposed to have been quite average-looking during middle school.
387** And then completely averted with Tomoko. When she tries it in the first chapter, her brother declares her "hella ugly." The only thing that ever makes her remotely attractive is being horny. An inversion of sorts is also presented at the same moment. Tomoko increased her attractiveness very impressively solely by wearing glasses, as the anime shows...[[EpicFail before she decided to search for other hints and put everything together, causing her plan to go in the opposite direction]].
388** The second Christmas chapter subverts this. Tomoko puts in the effort to make herself look nicer for the class Christmas party and she looks much better than normal, but nobody notices because she's too nervous to talk to anybody.
389** Played straight in chapter 140, where Tomoko styles her hair and dresses nicely for her visit to Aoyama University, and manages to look rather pleasant for the occasion.
390* ShipperOnDeck: Akari's friend Sayaka ships Akari with Tomoki and repeatedly encourages Akari to make a move on him.
391* ShortTeensTallAdults: Adults tower over the predominantly teenage cast without fail, even teenagers in the 17-18 age bracket. And poor Tomoko is dwarfed by most of her own peers.
392* ShoutOut: [[ShoutOut/ItsNotMyFaultImNotPopular Has its own page.]]
393* ShowerOfAwkward: Chapter 168 has Tomoki walk in on Yoshida showering at the Koroki household. Yoshida never having known he was related to Tomoko, neither has any idea what the other is doing there.
394* ShowWithinAShow: Chapter 216 is devoted to showing off the entirety of the movie, "A Youth Like This," which Tomoko and her friends spent the last several volumes producing. It's a silly comedy about how a quirky group of students (who are all based off of Tomoko's friends, or rather, her warped view of them) keep their school club from getting shut down. [[StylisticSuck It's as shoddy and amateurish as you can expect]].
395* SickEpisode: Chapter 25 is mostly about Tomoko's brother getting a cold and Tomoko pretending to nurse him while hoping that she will catch the illness from him and won't have to go to school for a few days. [[spoiler: This, [[ButtMonkey predictably]], backfires on her: she does get an infection from her brother, but it takes a few days to develop and she only starts exhibiting symptoms at the very beginning of her weekend.]]
396* SittingOnTheRoof: Averted. Tomoko tries going to the school's rooftop to eat lunch in solitude, only to find the door is locked. She bitterly notes how roofs are usually left wide open in anime and light novels.
397* SliceOfLife: Only the life in question is that of a ButtMonkey. Typical plots include being self-conscious of eating lunch alone, avoiding classmates outside school so they don't realize she's a loser with no friends, and wanting to go to a festival but having no one to go with.
398* SmokingIsCool: Tomoko tries to invoke this trope in chapter 82 to impress her classmates. All she manages to do is set the cigarette on fire and burn her finger though. [[spoiler:She later tries to brag about it to her classmates anyway, not realizing that her homeroom teacher is listening as well.]]
399* SomethingElseAlsoRises: A rare female example happens when Ucchi orders a single drink with Tomoko [[SweetheartSipping that they both sip from separate straws]]. When they lean in simultaneously and their eyes meet, Ucchi gets visibly excited and does a SpitTake through her straw, which causes liquid to spray from the cup and all over Tomoko's face.
400* SpotlightStealingSquad: The Kyoto field trip squad to Tomoko, after they become regulars in the cast lineup. Many chapters focus on their interactions with either each other, with their own subgroups, or with Tomoko, with Tomoko herself largely becoming [[DemotedToExtra one girl in an ensemble cast]], with nominal importance at least.
401** Sachi to an even greater extent. She spent almost the entire series as a faceless extra hanging around Minami who got some minor bits of characterization. Then Minami got her own arc in which Sachi played a major role. Her popularity among the fans exploded and she very quickly started getting plots and chapters focused largely on her to the point where the later stretches of the movie/cultural festival arc seem to be focused more on her and her crush on Tomoki than Tomoko or any of her friends, some of who (like Asuka) are lucky to even get one or two lines in a chapter. She's even pulled a role reversal on Minami, who's now effectively a supporting character for her.
402* {{Squick}}: [[invoked]] In an {{Omake}} in volume 1, Tomoko's brother sees an old video of himself and Tomoko playing together as children... where [[FatherIWantToMarryMyBrother he says he wants to marry her]], and they possibly [[BrotherSisterIncest kiss each other]]. He's so shocked by it that it actually drives him into a [[FingerTenting Gendo Pose]].
403* SquirrelsInMyPants: Once during an outdoor PE class Tomoko gets ''ants in her pants''. She proceeds to exclaim it out loud ... and ''it rhymes''.
404* StartXToStopX: When Tomoko notices Akari and Sayaka are in Tomoki's room and trying to play Twister with him, Tomoko decides the only way to stop any sexual shenanigans from kicking into high gear is to invite the girl with the biggest crush on her brother that she knows (Kotomi), and hoping her presence will cancel the others' activities out.
405* StringyHairedGhostGirl:
406** Kii rigs an old scarecrow to look like a classic ''onryō'' to scare her cousin. It works amazingly well; it scares Tomoko so much [[BringMyBrownPants that she completely empties her bladder]].
407** During a video conference study session with Yuri, Tomoko deliberately makes herself look like one of these as a prank. She messes her hair up, hangs it in front of her face, and moves in close to her camera so that the screen on Yuri's phone is completely dominated by Tomoko's baggy eye glaring at her. It actually gets a jump out of the normally stoic girl.
408* StylisticSuck:
409** Tomoko's movie, ''JustForFun/AYouthLikeThis'' is the kind of thing you would expect a bunch of high school students with no filmmaking experience to whip up in a couple of weeks. The plot is nonsensical, [[InformedAttribute characters are frequently described to have skills and attributes they never display at all]], some scenes are thrown in just to pad out the run time, cameramen frequently get caught in the shot, multiple takes are obviously re-used, and the ending was obviously thrown together, with the characters acting like it's no big deal that one of their friends got pregnant (from another girl with "both sets of equipment") or that another outright ''died''.
410** The play that Tomoki stars in isn't any better. It starts off looking like a straight retelling of ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}'' before veering sharply (and clumsily) into DarkerAndEdgier territory when it's revealed that the family are a clan of assassins plotting to kill the prince. The ending is very obviously tacked on, the play takes itself very seriously despite coming across as a FracturedFairyTale, and Tomoki's acting is noted to be monotonous and sinister even though his character is supposed to be TheWisePrince. That's all before it reaches its disastrous end when [[spoiler:Sayaka accidentally falls on top of him and is kissed moments before he was supposed to kiss Akari's character]]. To illustrate how bad the play is, ''[[EveryoneHasStandards Tomoko]]'' [[EveryoneHasStandards is visibly uncomfortable watching it.]]
411* SupportingProtagonist: Chapter 144 has a LeaningOntheFourthWall moment where Nemo tells Tomoko that her life is now like a four season SliceOfLife anime of which she is the Protagonist.
412* SurprisinglyMovingSong: Fuuka's singing tends to have this effect on people, with even [[SitcomArchnemesis Tomoko]] getting teary-eyed when she hears her perform on karaoke before [[StupidSexyFlanders angrily comparing it to having an orgasm while getting raped]].
413* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
414** Tomoko gets an idea that working at a pastry shop / bakery would help her socialize and mentions this to her mother. GilliganCut to disappointed Tomoko behind an assembly line in a pastry factory.
415** One of Tomoko's ideas is to be a {{Kuudere}}, or an EmotionlessGirl. However, when she tries it, no one talks to her. Tomoko remarks that this kind of character only works because someone else is willing to interact with them.
416** A few "What If?" chapters show what would happen if Tomoko got something she wanted. One chapter shows the outcome of starting her own club at school, and another shows what would happen if Tomoko somehow managed to get into the group with the popular kids. In every case, popularity doesn't magically fix Tomoko's problems like she thought it would. [[spoiler:In the case of the former, Tomoko is still shy and sitting in the corner despite being the club president, because she's still scared of social interaction. In the latter case, Tomoko is hit on by boys and has people trying to leech off of her popularity every day, [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor which leads to Tomoko hating her newfound status]].]]
417* SweetheartSipping: Ucchi tries to arrange this with Tomoko when she takes her to a cafe and orders a single large drink with two straws for them to sip from. [[BlatantLies She insists that she does this all the time with her friends because it's cheaper and it's perfectly normal for girls]]...and [[ObliviousToLove Tomoko believes her]]! Unfortunately, when both of them take a drink simultaneously, with Tomoko looking directly into Ucchi's eyes, the latter loses her nerve and does a SpitTake through her straw, spraying Tomoko.
418* SympatheticPOV: Chapters 187-191 have events play out from resident [[GossipyHens Gossipy Hen]] AlphaBitch Koharu Minami's point of view, and shows how her rotten personality has left her feeling lonely, incapable of befriending anyone outside her previous clique, and unable to even connect with them anymore.
419[[/folder]]
420
421[[folder:Manga tropes (T-Z)]]
422* TemptingFate: In chapter 23, Tomoko forgets to bring a textbook to class. Since she was too late to fake being sick and going to the nurse's office, she attempts to go "stealth mode". Unfortunately, it doesn't work, since the teacher immediately spots her and asks her why she didn't have her book, nor asked the guy sitting next to her to share his.
423* ThereAreNoTherapists: Tomoko could probably benefit from some anxiety management therapy, but of course that doesn't happen. As with most anime, this is justified, as the culture of Japan [[ValuesDissonance generally views the concept of therapy as weak and shameful]].
424* ThisIsGonnaSuck:
425** Whenever Kii makes an appearance, Tomoko braces herself with an attitude of resignation, as she knows her life is about to get a lot more complicated (and embarrassing).
426** Asuka has a bad experience at a ramen restaurant that serves excessively large bowls and causes her to throw up once she overeats. When she later goes to a school festival and is given an equally large bowl of ramen on the house (with extra garlic as well), she puts on a downcast expression that just says "OhNoNotAgain."
427* ThisLoserIsYou: Tomoko was meant to be a look at the average {{Hikikomori}} and {{otaku}} behaviors, in a medium that such a person would typically watch. More positively, she also demonstrates through her CharacterDevelopment how said typical audience can improve themselves.
428* ThoseTwoGuys: Kiyota (the guy with glasses) and Okada (the blonde girl) in Tomoko's class.
429* ThrowTheDogABone: Sometimes, but may also lead to [[YankTheDogsChain more suffering]].
430** In chapter 21/episode 11, Tomoko manages to be happy while hanging out with Yuu during the school festival [[spoiler:and later gets hugged by someone.]]
431** In chapter 37 she finally manages to have a casual conversation with one of her schoolmates that does not end with her embarrassing herself.
432** In chapter 44, she creates a sort of unspoken friendship with another anime fan and succeeds in accomplishing her goal of (marginally) improving her grades.
433** While it's not immediately apparent, the school trip arc ends up being one of these in the long term, as it opened up the door that would allow Tomoko to start regularly interacting with Yuri, Yoshida, and Mako.
434* ToiletHumor:
435** Tomoko tries this in chapter 5, only succeeding in making her "audience" think she really needs to go.
436** In Chapter 30, she really needs to go. Only problem is, she's in the middle of a school marathon.
437** When cooking Valentine's Day Chocolate in chapter 112, Tomoko makes her candy look like turds. HilarityEnsues when she starts distributing it among her various acquaintances.
438* TomatoInTheMirror: After a couple of months trying to convince herself that she is popular, Tomoko literally sees herself in the mirror and admits the horrible truth:
439--> ''Now that I look in the mirror after a few years I see that I turned into some creepy entity!''
440* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Tomoko had this dynamic going with her best friend, Yuu. Tomoko was the tomboy with her interest in video games and militant subjects and her generally more exuberant (and rude) personality, while Yuu was more sweet and feminine. This became even pronounced once they entered high school; Tomoko was still as tomboyish as ever, while Yuu started dressing more stylishly.
441* ToneShift: The series started out as a rather episodic CringeComedy, but gradually turned into a more continuous ComingOfAgeStory. Also, early chapters (the chapters that the anime was adapted from, and thus probably influencing people's impression of the whole series the most) showed Tomoko friendless (with the exception of [[OnlyFriend Yuu]]), isolated in her school and repeatedly failing at socializing, and switched between playing Tomoko's situation for laughs and showing that Tomoko's situation is actually depressing for her. In later chapters Tomoko gets a small circle of acquaintances and even undergoes some positive CharacterDevelopment, and the humor mostly comes from the characters' interactions.
442* TooMuchInformation: Tomoko gives Tomoki his forgotten lunch, as well as a rice ball she made for him. When he asks her if she washed her hands before making it, she assures him she did...because she went to the bathroom first and washed her hands for that.
443* {{Tsundere}}: In chapter 41 Tomoko acts like one towards Tomoki when she visits him in his class during a break only to find that he is not particularly happy to see her. Tomoki is not amused by this.
444* UnderdogsNeverLose: Played straight in Tomoko's movie, "''JustForFun/AYouthLikeThis''". The Literature Club is forced to play a game of baseball against the Student Council to keep their club from being shut down. Even though the Student Council are much better players who are willing to cheat to win, the Literature Club manages to prevail by cheating even ''harder''.
445* UnnamedParent: Tomoko's parents have generally gone unnamed.
446* UnusualEuphemism: While they're in the sauna, Ucchi refers to Tomoko's genitals as "Kuroki's kuroki" when she slides herself in front of Tomoko in a way that cover's the latter's crotch with her head.
447* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: During the last day of the school field trip, Kotomi shows up wearing a flashy getup with an [[TooManyBelts abundance of belts]] and [[{{Zipperiffic}} zippers]] that wouldn't look out of place on a ''Final Fantasy'' character. Absolutely nobody comments on it.
448* UnwantedAssistance:
449** How Tomoko feels about her teacher, Ogino, questioning her about her lack of friends and trying to help her make friends, as well as about Kii's attempts to take care of her.
450** Later, in chapter 95, Akari has this reaction to her friend Sayaka defending her by arguing with Tomoko (in public) whether Akari's interest in Tomoki's dick makes her "pure-hearted" or not.
451** In chapter 117, Ucchi is not happy when Yuri helps her leave the train (unintentionally ruining Ucchi's plan to meet Tomoko) after Ucchi lied to Yuri that her legs had gone numb.
452* ValleyGirl: In chapter 117, Hina does an impersonation of Japanese TV personality Nicole Fujita. The official Yen Press translation conveys it by having her speak like a stereotypical California teenage girl.
453-->'''Hina''': Online, they, like, say I look, like, totally ugly without makeup.
454* VomitIndiscretionShot: Tomoko in the beginning of chapter 7, when in her enthusiasm, she decided it would be a good idea to run all the way to school...after she just ate a huge breakfast.
455* WackyHomeroom: Tomoko's class in her third year definitely has a lot of eccentric personalities. Besides Tomoko herself with all her issues, it includes Yuri who's arguably more socially inept than her, Masaki who's a naïve and short-tempered delinquent, Mako who gets increasingly more fussy wherever Masaki is concerned, Hina who's an oddly cheery ClosetOtaku that dreams of becoming a voice actress, Asuka who has some [[CovertPervert well-hidden perverse tendencies]], Shiki who's an emoji-faced GamerChick that [[TheAce excels at everything she does]], Mike who's a terrible LethalChef that's unaware of how sickening her food is, her boyfriend who puts up with said awful food, Koharu who's a gossipy BetaBitch with luck that's taken a heavy downturn, Kotomi who gets [[LoveMakesYouCrazy crazy wherever her crush is concerned]], Hikari who [[CloudcuckoolandersMinder tries and fails to keep Kotomi on a leash]], Wada whose young and feminine looks make him [[AttractiveBentGender a very convincing crossdresser]], and Hatsushiba, a quiet artist that would rather focus on his art than anything else. Even Ogino, the homeroom teacher, is a pretty wacky character with how energetic and meddlesome she gets. Lampshaded by Tomoki, who's convinced that everyone in Class 3-5 is completely insane.
456* WallPinOfLove: In the Volume 7 omake, Tomoko decides to see if this trope is all it's cracked up to be by asking her brother to do it to her. After much shouting and insulting, he finally obliges her...by slamming her against the wall with his trademark FacePalmOfDoom.
457* WhamEpisode: Chapter 189 ends up being one for Koharu Minami's story arc. [[spoiler:The whole whole group dynamic that she has with her friends completely collapses when all the gossip-mongering they've done behind each other's backs comes to the surface. They all break apart and Koharu finally admits to herself that they weren't good people and [[HeelRealization neither was she]].]]
458* WhatIf: The special included for Volume 18 features three of these. A common thread to all three are how, compared to how things turned out canonically for Tomoko, these relationships are in one way or another not ideal to Tomoko's personal growth. The special included in Volume 20 also continues each of these for a second look.
459** The first story features what would have happened had Tomoko just joined Masaki's trio of delinquents. It ends up with Tomoko on the lowest rung in the pecking order, and ends up being Masaki's gopher. The second part has Tomoko completely fitting in with the delinquents, and even brags that she's coming close to failing by the end of their first year, but she laughs it off. [[EveryoneHasStandards Masaki, Anna, and Reina don't find that funny at all.]] Even they do the bare minimum to keep from repeating the year, leaving Tomoko to shriek that she's actually the only true delinquent among them. She still manages to pass.
460** The second story shows what happens if Tomoko became friends with Yuri, Mako, Sachi, and Koharu. Tomoko finds the experience exhausting due to Sachi and Koharu's bad habits, and eventually breaks ties from them with Yuri and Mako. The second part has Tomoko and Sachi, in their 2nd year, getting along with each other on the surface again, but in reality, they're only hanging around each other until they can find better cliques. They eventually do find other groups to fit in with, which for Tomoko, doesn't include Yuri and Mako, despite saying they'd continue to talk with/text each other. When she sees Sachi hanging out with Koharu still, however, she wonders why those two STILL haven't broken things off...
461** The final story is what would happen if Tomoko became part of Asuka's clique (supplanting Kaho in the group). She's in the limelight a lot, and gets a lot of interaction with guys, but in the end feels empty, and can only feel happy while privately playing videogames at home. The second part shows off Tomoko, now a 3rd year, in a classroom away from Asuka, Miho, and Fuuka, quietly reveling in the fact that she can now finally be a loner, despite being pestered by other students. However, she comes across a loner girl by herself, and decides that if she can't be a loner herself, she'll just become FRIENDS with one instead. Asuka and the others find Tomoko and accidentally scare the loner off, leaving Tomoko optimistic in thinking that perhaps that loner girl might find some friends for herself as well.
462* WhatTheHellHero: To their mother's dismay, Tomoko prevents her brother from enrolling at his dream high school because she forgot to mail his application.
463* WhatWouldXDo: In chapter 149 Tomoko notices that Shizuku is devastated [[spoiler:after losing a table tennis match]] and wonders what Megumi Imae would do in such situation. [[spoiler:She decides to comfort Shizuku and give her a hug. [[CovertPevert Then she gets sidetracked when she notices that Shizuku smells really nice.]]]]
464* WorthIt: Even though it's always by [[AccidentalPervert accident]] and usually gets her decked, Tomoko admits to enjoying the feeling of Masaki's boobs, even bragging about touching her nipples to her brother.
465* WritingAroundTrademarks: One story arc is based around Tomoko's class visiting what's all but stated to be Disneyland. The park is filled with rides, attractions, merchandise, and characters very reminiscent to what you'll find under the Disney banner with a enough tweaks to make them more lawyer-friendly. The traditional mouse ear hats are smaller and look more like bear ears, Hina dons a hat that strongly resembles Sully from ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', the girls go on rides that are Ride/SpaceMountain and Splash Mountain in all but name, and attend a show akin to "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stitch_Encounter Stitch Encounter]]" that stars a koala-like creature who's a blatant CaptainErsatz of [[WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch Stitch]].
466* WrongGenreSavvy: Tomoko is [[NoSocialSkills so socially awkward]] that pretty much all of her knowledge of social interactions comes from anime and otome games. As a result she ends up applying anime tropes to RealLife, with little success. The audience knows Tomoko’s thoughts, and so her actions seem logical enough, but for anyone who interacts with her, Tomoko’s actions seem surprising, irrational or just plain crazy.
467** In the very first chapter Tomoko concludes that her experience gained while playing otome games makes her perfectly prepared for high school. Her realization that it does not sets up the plot of the entire comic.
468** In a later chapter watching an anime gives her the idea to become popular by being an EmotionlessGirl. Since this doesn't involve any change in behavior, nobody notices.
469** In chapter 8 she decides to eat her lunch two periods before the lunch break, thinking this might make her look as cute as anime heroines who are always eating. Instead, all she attracts are some surprised and unflattering comments from her classmates.
470** Several anime series feature a high school club that doesn't serve any real purpose other than as a hangout for the main cast ([[Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya the SOS Brigade]], [[Literature/{{Haganai}} the Neighbor's Club]].) However, when Tomoko attempts to found one of these in episode 10, her application is promptly returned by the student council with the note "Rejected: Club Purpose Unclear."
471** It gets lampshaded in chapter 19: Tomoko notes that in the first semester she got the seat in the back row next to the window just like main characters in anime and light novels, and yet nothing anime-esque ever happened to her. Later in that chapter she can't [[SittingOnTheRoof eat her lunch on the school roof]] because the door to it is locked, and comments with irritation that it would be open for sure in an anime or a light novel.
472** Chapter 30: While knocking on the door of an apartment to ask to use the bathroom, Tomoko wonders if the owner might pay to watch her take a dump. Um, Mokocchi, ''what genre do you think you're in?''
473** In chapter 32 Tomoko's mother's praise for Tomoki for cleaning his room and making his own lunch pisses Tomoko off (because he made her look bad in comparison), but also makes her worry that her brother might be the one who is "some kind of light novel protagonist" instead of her.
474** The entirety of chapter 50 revolves around Tomoko being WrongGenreSavvy, as she tries to give a proper start to her "story" by sitting alone in an empty classroom at dusk, trying to look mysterious and beautiful, and waiting for some OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent to find her. This naturally does not work, which makes her briefly contemplate whether she even has the qualities needed to become a protagonist of a story. [[spoiler:In the end she does get "found" by her P.E. teacher Ogino, who misunderstood the situation and thought that all this time Tomoko was watching her schoolmates playing tennis and wanted to play herself but lacked the courage to say so.]]
475** Hina Nemoto seems to have the impression that she's the main character of a lighthearted SliceOfLife anime, or is at least trying to engineer her school life to be that way. Too bad for her she's in a Slice of Life manga that relies on a lot of raunchy, cringe, and deconstructive comedy instead.
476* YankTheDogsChain: Sometimes it seems [[ThrowTheDogABone things are looking up for Tomoko]] but it doesn't last.
477** An early example has Tomoko reconnecting with her best friend Yuu and having fun all day but being crushed at the end after learning she has a boyfriend.
478** In chapter 39, Tomoko's second year of high school starts with new classroom seating arrangements. Her new seatmate Hina Nemoto not only remembered who she is but also thought her introduction at the beginning of the first year was funny. Tomoko is overjoyed thinking that maybe she managed to find a friend at last. [[spoiler:But then the time comes for her to introduce herself and it turns out that Hina told everyone how great Tomoko's first year introduction was and now everyone is looking forward to another great introduction. This causes Tomoko to panic and publicly embarrass herself. As a result her very name becomes a synonym for [[EpicFail something embarrassingly bad]] in her class. And she doesn't get as close to her classmate as she imagined.]]
479** Later Tomoko does talk to her new seatmate occasionally, a slight improvement from talking to none of her classmates. But in chapter 43, [[spoiler:Hina strikes up a conversation with Tomoko while the latter is searching the Internet for some NSFW pictures... during class. This surprises Tomoko so much that she drops her phone and it ends up in their teacher's hands with the images still onscreen.]]
480** Whenever other people (besides her family and Yuu) are being sociable toward Tomoko, she is too socially inept to respond much in turn. Whenever other people go out of their way to be kind to her, she's oblivious to the act.
481** The subplot of Tomoko reuniting with another middle school classmate led to this [[spoiler:since she's made a potential friend into an enemy. Though they never got along in middle school, both wanted to be friends with the other now, before Tomoko ruined it]].
482* YouNeverAsked: Despite having known Tomoko for nearly a year and having a number of run-ins with Tomoki, Masaki never finds out the two are siblings until she ends up in their house and is [[ShowerOfAwkward seen naked in the shower]] by the latter. When she asks them why they never told her, she gets this answer from Tomoko.
483* ZeroApprovalGambit: Invoked in chapter 152. When Tomoko finds out that Ucchi had a falling out with her friends, she tries to help by antagonizing Ucchi in front of her friends, hoping it would make them forget about their fight and unite against her. [[spoiler:It doesn't work, even though Ucchi falls for it and runs away crying, because her friends see right through it.]]
484[[/folder]]
485
486[[folder:Anime tropes]]
487* AbortedArc: The OVA pulls a original story, involving Tomoko having a ForgottenFirstMeeting with Aomatsu, a friend of Tomoki that's now studying in the same school [[GodcreatedCanonForeigner despite the story being based on a draft by ]] Creator/NicoTanigawa and the whole OVA being created to promote the manga, the storyline was never followed up in the manga and Aomatsu never appeared.
488* AccidentalDownerEnding: Given the anime never got a second season, the story ends right before Tomoko's social life starts improving.
489* AdaptationalAttractiveness:
490** Tomoko is a little cuter in the anime due to its less sketchy art. Also some of her more grotesque faces are toned down somewhat.
491** While Yuu is plenty attractive in the manga, the anime gives her a much more mature and buxom figure, as well as more fanservice-laden shots.
492* AdaptationDistillation: The anime adapts and combines some chapters out of order.
493* AnimationBump: Tomoko's massive FreakOut in the last episode has notably more fluid and higher quality animation than the rest of the series.
494* ArcWords: "Mojyo" (喪女), which is a label used to describe a girl who is not appealing to men. While both the manga and anime begin with the scene where Tomoko looks the term up online, the latter calls back to it a lot more often in flashbacks and it plays heavily into the opening with her standing chained under spraypainted graffiti of the word, symbolizing her struggle to escape it. [[spoiler:The series ends with her looking it up again and ultimately declaring that it doesn't matter, bringing her story to an end.]]
495* ArtShift:
496** During Tomoko's fantasies. One {{shounen}} TV show-style parody is presented in [[StylisticSuck a lower aspect ratio with less animation.]] The opening song is also done in punk rock tone and style compared to the actual show and the ending song.
497** In episode 12, Tomoko talks to her brother one last time about their talks they've been having. For a few moments, the art shifts into the same animation style used at the end of previous episodes when they discuss the next one.
498** Whenever Tomoko gets especially panicky, the art shifts to a still drawn in a cubist style. And the more aggravated she get, the more cubist she becomes.
499* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Happens to Yuu in episode 12. She chases after Tomoko when the latter runs away from school due to another failed attempt to socialize. When Tomoko turns a corner, Yuu suddenly spots a cat. She stops to pick it up, forgetting all about Tomoko.
500* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The last episode broadcast on TV, after showing Tomoko failing to start a conversation with Megumi, seeing a {{panty shot}}, and running away in embarrassment, ends with Tomoko alone in her room, looking up the meaning of the term "mojyo" on the Internet [[BookEnds just like she did at the beginning of the first episode]], and then suddenly exploding with laughter. In her last words in the episode she says that "it doesn't matter". It is left ambiguous whether she is responding to the Internet page she just closed - which would make the ending closer to a BittersweetEnding as Tomoko comes to terms with her own unpopularity and decides that, unpopular or not, she doesn't care either way - or whether she is [[MediumAwareness agreeing with the narrator]] that her story doesn't even matter, which would make it more of a DownerEnding. Either way, the ending also has a glimmer of hope in the form of Megumi saying she'll need to keep an eye on Tomoko.]]
501* BlackBlood: When Tomoko accidentally cuts herself.
502* BlandNameProduct:
503** [=WcDonald's=], Cola-Cola, and [=SterTully=] (Starbucks)
504** Gaagle
505** Book On (Book Off)
506** [[VideoGame/SoulSeries Spirit Blade IV]]
507** [[VisualNovel/EfaFairyTaleOfTheTwo EFB]]
508** In episode 6, Tomoko reads ''[[Literature/TheGrapesOfWrath The Oranges of Wrath]]''.
509** In episode 7, Tomoko asks a question on Yahuq! Answers, visits [[Website/YouTube MyTube]], orders a webcam from Konozama, and tries to hold a livestream on [[Website/NicoNicoDouga Hera Hera Douga]]. Tomoki drinks a bottle of Pukari Sweat.
510** Twitter, however, [[ProductPlacement is spelled straight]].
511* BookEnds: Episode 1 starts with Tomoko looking up the definition for unpopular girl online. Episode 12 ends with Tomoko once again looking up the definition for unpopular girl [[spoiler: but this time having a different reaction to it.]]
512* CatSmile: Tomoko's expression while trying to choose a cake in episode 9.
513* CelebrityParadox: Gangan Online, the site that publishes the ''[=WataMote=]'' manga, exists in this universe, as Tomoko pokes around in it during episode 4. And her own show also exists, as it's being heavily advertised on the site, complete with images of Tomoko herself!
514* ColorFailure:
515** In order to show Yuu's extreme differences with Tomoko, Tomoko turns grey up until they start talking about crappy anime like "[[VisualNovel/EfaFairyTaleOfTheTwo EFB]]" [[spoiler:...then Yuu declares that she had a fight with her ''boyfriend'' and Tomoko goes green and brown]].
516** Tomoko turns grey again to represent her attempt at emotionlessness, with the grey background characters going full color while she does so.
517** When Tomoki sees the old video where [[FatherIWantToMarryMyBrother he wants to marry Tomoko]], ''everything'' turns grey.
518** It's Tomoko's turn for everything to go grey when she gets a worrying phone call from Yuu.
519** Tomoko goes grey upon arriving at the cafe where Yuu's working, signifying how out of place she's feeling.
520** In episode 10, it's her change in seating that triggers the color failure.
521** Happens twice during episode 11 - once at the beginning, while the rest of the class is preparing for the cultural festival, and again while Tomoko's waiting for Yuu to turn up.
522** In episode 12, after realizing killing a cockroach only seems to have pushed her classmates away, Tomoko turns ''transparent'' for a brief while, before going grey as she determines to carry on. There's also a brief color failure during PE.
523* CreditsJukebox: The commonly used ED song for the anime is the StylisticSuck one sung by Tomoko's VA, but episodes 2, 5, and 11 have endings sung by Velvet.kodhy and episode 6 has Music/HatsuneMiku (of Music/{{Vocaloid}} fame) on vocals.
524* CreditsRunningSequence: Tomoko does one in the ending. [[CringeComedy And manages to trip up more than once.]]
525* DCupDistress: In the opening of the OVA, when Kii-chan wonders if she'll grow up to have breasts as big as Yuu's, Yuu tries to warn her that big breasts aren't all they're cracked up to be, citing how uncomfortable they make her, particularly in gym class, and put a lot of strain on her shoulders. [[ACupAngst Tomoko]] can only [[TranquilFury quietly fume]] in jealousy over this.
526* DubText:
527** In episode 11, a male student remarks on one of the popular girls' work with "Wow, you're pretty good at this!" in the original and "[[FreudianSlip I knew you had me in you—]]I mean, nice job." in the dub.
528** Episode 12: a description of Tomoko's [[UncleanlinessIsNextToUngodliness body odor]] is bumped up from "like old people" to "like a decaying corpse".
529* EvolvingCredits: The standard ending credits sequence is sometimes modified or replaced to reflect the episode's events, with new songs to go with it.
530** Done at the start of episode 10. With the new school term, Tomoko's seat is reassigned from the back corner towards the front center of the classroom. After distressing about it for a while, she does an ArtShift, [[MetalScream screams]], and then transitions into the opening credits.
531* ExpressiveAccessory: In episode 11, Yuu's ribbon jumps in excitement when she hears Tomoko.
532* ExpyCoexistence: An unstated example is the ProductPlacement of ''Manga/{{Arachnid}}'' volume 8 from the same publisher being read by Tomoki in episode 1. Volume 7 featured Momoko "Geji" Ashida, an expy of Tomoko, on the cover.
533* FreezeFrameBonus: In the beginning of episode 4, while Tomoko is surfing the internet, her screen shows the ''Gangan Online'' website, which is plastered with pictures of her and ads for the TV show.
534* GainaxEnding: Inverted and parodied in the {{OVA}} episode, which begins with a MindScrew sequence quite obviously inspired by ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''.
535* GeckoEnding: The last scene [[spoiler:where Tomoko concludes that her whole ridiculous story doesn't really matter]] is exclusive to the anime, and used as a means to provide some sense of closure to the story.
536* GraspTheSun: Done near the end of the opening.
537* GodcreatedCanonForeigner: Aomatsu, the protagonist of the OVA. A loner with anime-like fantasies that met briefly Tomoko during middle school and now is friends with Tomoki and studying in the same school, without either of the two knowing of the other.
538* HypocriticalHumor: A meta gag. In-universe, Tomoko ridicules many current anime shows as pandering to moe fans, while she herself is arguably moe.
539* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Episode titles of the anime series begin with "Since I'm Not Popular....."
540* ImagineSpot: Expands upon the ones in the manga, and adds some more as well, like a sequence where Tomoko imagines going on Website/NicoNicoDouga.
541* InformedFlaw: In episode 6, Tomoki notes that Tomoko looks filthy and oily when she looks cleaner than usual, having lost her ExhaustedEyeBags. This was not the case in the manga, where in the equivalent scene, Tomoko really did look greasy.
542* LemonyNarrator: At the start of the first episode [[spoiler:and the end of the last]], narration proclaims that this is a trivial, insignificant story of a high school girl.
543* LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand: Happens when Tomoko encounters a disappointing situation, i.e. often.
544* LyricalDissonance: The ending theme's an incredibly cutesy and bubbly song that, fitting Tomoko, is all about her introverted tendencies and unpopular status with a singer that's horribly off-key.
545* MetalScream: The opening theme starts with one.
546* MinimalistCast: Many plots only feature Tomoko. The only other named characters are Yuu, Kii, Tomoki, and Imae, and Kii is only around for one episode while Imae appears only a few times.
547* MundaneMadeAwesome:
548** A scene of Tomoko browsing the internet for cuteness-enhancing tips receives an epic soundtrack, exaggerated mouse gestures and rapidly-changing camera angles, ''[[{{Manga/DeathNote}} Death Note]]''-style.
549** Another one has Tomoko ''epically'' play a rhythm game.
550* MythologyGag: Episode 9 of the anime has Tomoko being made to help her mother with cleaning their house, and protesting over being made to do it even though it's a hot summer day and not a New Year's Eve. While the events of the episode take place during the summer break, the events of the chapter it was adapted from (chapter 32 of the manga) did take place shortly before a New Year's Eve.
551* OlderThanTheyLook: Kii-chan is about 13, but the way she's drawn she looks like she's about 10, driving home Tomoko's embarrassment at being looked down on by someone much younger than herself.
552* OneDegreeOfSeparation: In the OVA episode. [[spoiler: Aoyama, the boy Tomoko tried to impress, is apparently friends with Tomoko's brother.]]
553* OverlyLongGag: The scene where Tomoko's mother walks in on Tomoko while the latter is listening to her home-brewed audio erotica recording lasts for nearly a minute, with both characters looking at each other in uncomfortable silence as the recording plays.
554* RandomEventsPlot: This is often the case in the anime, since each episode is composed of a bunch of unrelated manga chapters strung together. Some episodes feature a unifying theme to tie everything together, such as Tomoko trying to have some genuine high school experiences to tell Yuu about when they meet at the end of the week, but other times, it really is just a series of random events happening in her life.
555* TheRashomon: The subject of the OVA episode. [[spoiler:A boy named Aomatsu has two encounters with a strange girl on the rooftop. Afterwards, the same events are shown from Tomoko's perspective.]]
556* RayOfHopeEnding: [[spoiler:While Tomoko fails to make any friends and chickens out the moment she was about to make a serious effort to speak to Megumi, she nevertheless still managed to catch the class president's attention and sympathy. Her words saying that she'll be keeping an eye out for Tomoko imply there's a chance things can improve.]]
557* ShaggyDogStory: Since the anime only roughly covers the first four volumes of the manga, before it got hit with the ToneShift, it pretty much ends where it began: with Tomoko still as friendless and socially-stunted as ever.
558* SittingOnTheRoof: Deconstructed in the OVA. Tomoko and Aomatsu are only able to get onto the school roof because the former was able to snatch the key off the floor after a teacher dropped it. When she hangs out on it later, a teacher notices the door is open and closes it, locking Tomoko on the roof and sending her into a panic. She's eventually found, but she gets in trouble and is never able to get onto the roof again.
559* SopranoAndGravel: The opening theme song is sung by both a female and male vocalist, with the latter's tone often sinking to an angry growl. Tomoko sings along with the "gravel" parts.
560* SoundtrackDissonance: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAIAXFQ0T74 grunge]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dcdkdbb7R94 cutesy]] feel of the opening and closing themes, as opposed to the CringeComedy feel of the anime. Also LyricalDissonance for the latter song.
561* StylisticSuck:
562** The main closing theme is sung by Tomoko's voice actress in-character [[HollywoodToneDeaf amateurishly]]. It gives an adorable effect though. Until she starts having an emotional breakdown it's actually quite good with just a few slips.
563** Tomoko's self-recorded voice acting [[BadBadActing comes across as flat]] when combined with a professional's.
564* ThrowTheDogABone:
565** In episode 3, after suffering through a series of bad events, including a wind gust breaking her umbrella, Tomoko is forced to wait out a rainstorm underneath a shelter with two guys. Both she and them attempt to make small talk, but she constantly ruins it, then runs off to a nearby bathroom. When she returns, she finds out the two boys are gone, and falls asleep on the bench. [[spoiler:Turns out the two boys left to buy umbrellas, and one of them bought one for her since he saw her broken one earlier. When she wakes up, she finds the umbrella, and then wishes that a boy would do something nice for her.]] While the original manga chapter was this as well, it wasn't to the same extent, as most of the bad events were taken from other chapters.
566** Episode 11 also ends on this note, with Tomoko getting a hug from the StudentCouncilPresident while dressed in the mascot costume. While this scene was also in the manga and was a thrown-bone moment for Tomoko there too, it's an even bigger one here as it happens after Tomoko faces constant crushing misery for two episodes in a row, with episode 10 in particular dialing back on the comedy and [[PlayedForDrama playing her loneliness for drama]]. It applies on a meta level as well; the credit sequence features Tomoko walking home with her balloon in hand, suffering no humiliations along the way, and to the tune of a more upbeat and hopeful song.
567* TitleThemeTune: The opening track.
568* WaitingSkeleton: When Tomoko gets locked on the school roof during the OVA, she panics, fearing she'll be stranded there all night...or possibly for several weeks. Cue ImagineSpot depicting her decaying corpse
569* YoungerThanTheyLook: Yuu-chan is a good deal more developed than a gangly 15 year girl would be, frequently commented on by Tomoko to highlight her frustrating lack of literal and metaphorical development.
570* YouWannaGetSued: Episode 12. During junior high, Tomoko said that she wanted to be an arms dealer like Torn*** and needed bodyguards from Del** Force, Navy [=SE**s=] or the SA*. The former is censored by a [[SoundEffectBleep meow]]; the latter three organizations, by [[SoundEffectBleep gunfire]].
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572
573[[folder:Spinoff Manga tropes]]
574* BathroomStallOfOverheardInsults: How Tomoko and Komiyama overhear two of their schoolmates badmouthing them in chapter 3.
575* TheCameo: Special chapters released after the spinoff's initial run tend to feature characters from the expanded cast of the main manga, like Yuri, Minami, Mako, Ucchi, Asuka, Masaki, Akane, Hina, and Nagi. Sometimes they're the subject of the comic's current conversation or gag, and other times they're just background fodder.
576* ClosetGeek: The third chapter reveals that Tomoko was one in middle school, insisting that she stopped watching anime back in elementary school. Yuu on the other hand was more open about liking anime back then.
577* EyesAlwaysShut: Tomoko decides to try this look out to make her look more relaxed and mysterious. It turns out it's pretty painful to keep your eyes squinted all the time, and it's difficult to see.
578* HairAntennae: Tomoko and Komiyama try this in chapter 3 but people just think they have bedhead.
579* HeroicBSOD:
580** PlayedForLaughs in chapter 12 when Tomoko falls into a nearly-comatose funk after getting in trouble with her parents. What kind of trouble exactly? [[spoiler:Getting caught buying a Yandere CD with their credit card.]]
581** Done again in chapter 13, where Tomoko has one when she finds out that a caterpillar fell on her head, [[spoiler: and it gets worse when Yuu accidentally crushes it while it's still on Tomoko's head.]]
582* HypocriticalHumor: In chapter 5 Tomoko mocks Komiyama for not having any guy friends. [[spoiler:This backfires on her when Komiyama finds out that the only guy she saw Tomoko talking with was her brother Tomoki.]]
583** When Komiyama reveals she likes a certain anime, Tomoko dismisses anime as kid stuff. When Yuu says she likes it too right afterward, Tomoko flip-flops immediately.
584** When Tomoko suggested Komiyama would spend her Christmas tracking everything her favorite male voice actors do, Komiyama is disgusted, then immediately starts tracking everything her favorite ''baseball players'' do.
585** In chapter 17 Tomoko runs into Kotomi at a bookstore and tries to leave while pretending she didn't see her. This plan fails when Kotomi notices Tomoko... and starts pretending she didn't, which angers Tomoko.
586* KidsAreCruel: Implied. When Yuu asks Tomoko if the latter has any nicknames, the only things Tomoko can think of are various insults, indicating that she was likely bullied in her younger years.
587* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: The December 2020 chapter opens up with Tomoko, Komiyama, and Yuu wearing masks because of a flu outbreak. Tomoko muses that it'd be interesting to have the characters wear masks all the time to reflect what's going on. Komiyama responds by going on a long tangent saying that manga is an escapist medium first and foremost and that there's no need to closely match up with reality, as well as saying that obscuring the characters' mouths would make it harder to tell what they're thinking. The chapter was released months into the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic.
588* LonelyTogether: The first chapter reveals that this is how Tomoko's and Yuu's friendship started. After Yuu moved to a new class none of them knew anyone they could eat lunch with during the break; Tomoko noticed that Yuu was alone and managed to muster the courage to invite Yuu to lunch. Yuu later befriends Komiyama in the same way.
589* NiceMeanAndInBetween: Yuu, Tomoko, and Kotomi respectively. Yuu is cheerful, friendly, always sees the best in people, and doesn't appear to be aware of the other girls' animosity toward one another. Tomoko is a perverted, cynical, and somewhat manipulative jerk who despises Kotomi and usually throws the first stone at her. Finally, Kotomi tends to act more civil and nice, but still has a lot of jaded thoughts, particularly whenever she sees Tomoko for who she really is, and is always quick to return fire whenever Tomoko hurls an insult her way. This dynamic more or less continues when the three grow up and go to high school.
590* {{Otaku}}: In addition to Tomoko and Yuu themselves, Yuu's other friend from the middle school, Komiyama, is revealed to be one as well.
591* PeripheryDemographic: In-universe. In chapter 20 Tomoko reveals that she started to watch some Moe SliceOfLife shows with characters that Tomoko describes as "girls who are basically a giant bundle of guys' fantasies and sexual desires clumped together". This is because she likes to imagine that these girls are AnimatedActors who in reality are regular girls with horrible personalities.
592* PervertedDrooling: Tomoko does this in the first chapter, when she rides a bike with Yuu and fantasizes about groping her.
593* PragmaticVillainy: When a man drops a wallet containing 100,000 yen in a convenience store, Tomoko turns it over to the clerk. Not because it was the right thing to do, but because she knew she wouldn't get away with stealing it due to all the security cameras. Kotomi catches onto her motives right away.
594* RoadsideWave: Happens to Tomoko, Yuu and Kotomi at the same time at the end of chapter 14.
595* SailorFuku: The girls wear this style of uniform in their middle school, though their skirts are of a notably more realistic and modest length than what is depicted in most manga and anime.
596* SandInMyEyes: [[ExploitedTrope Exploited]] in chapter 24. Tomoko uses her pollen allergies to make it look like she's crying so she can bask in the atmosphere of the graduation ceremony without looking out of place.
597* SheCleansUpNicely: In chapter 4, when she doesn't wear her glasses and [[LettingHerHairDown lets her hair down]], Yuu's almost immediately swarmed with people.
598* SickeninglySweet: In-universe. In chapter 28, Tomoko and Kotomi are turned off by Yuu's gushing about how much fun she has hanging out with the two of them and wishing it would continue forever; the two are shocked that Yuu can say what they consider to be cliched anime lines with no embarrassment whatsoever.
599* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Discussed in chapter 20. In discussion with Kotomi, Tomoko claims that everyone in the world has some sort of dark side to them and that there are no unambiguously good people in the world. Kotomi disagrees and claims that such a good person is in fact right with them - thinking about Yuu, but Tomoko thinks Kotomi is complimenting her.
600* {{Umbrella of Togetherness}}: In chapter 14, on a rainy day, Tomoko offers to share her umbrella with Yuu when she finds out that Yuu forgot her own. [[spoiler: Then [[SitcomArchnemesis Kotomi]] mentions that she forgot her umbrella too, only for Tomoko to rebuff her and state that there's only room for two under her umbrella.]]
601[[/folder]]
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