One of the reasons we love watching anime is that it’s filled with characters and situations we can relate to, from a shy boy trying to work up the courage to confess his feelings to his crush to a female character dealing with the awkwardness of fitting into a new group of friends. Sometimes you might feel that anime describes your life almost too closely.
One anime that hit close to home for many fans was Watamote, aka Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dō Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!, or No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! This manga and one-season anime tell the story of Tomoko, a female otaku who has zero social skills and crippling social anxiety, and for some reason, fans connected with Tomoko on an almost scary level. As the father of an otaku daughter who was going through a rough patch at the time, the show was a challenge for me to watch, too. Happily, things get better for Tomoko, and for my daughter. See the bottom of the post for more!
What Anime Describes Your Life?
I thought it’d be fun to ask J-List’s Twitter followers “what anime most describes your life?” and see what responses we got. Enjoy!
“The outside me and inside me are two completely different people, just like Umaru-chan.”
“Probably That Time I Was Reincarnated As A Slime but before the guy dies.”
“Welcome to the NHK, minus the drugs and the cute girl trying to reform him.”
“Hitoriboochi but without friends.”
“Helpful Fox Senko-san but without the supernatural fox goddess.”
“I feel it’s An Angel Few Down to Me, not for the cute girls, but because I only leave my house for university.”
“Monster Musume. Just kidding, it’s Watamote.”
“Probably Higurashi, because I and the people around me are either insane or dead. Or both.”
“Clearly it’s Gabriel.”
“Konata from Lucky Star is me in a nutshell.”
“Re:Zero, because I feel like I die every day.”
Every time we play video games until 5 am we’re channeling Moriko-chan from this great show.
For some the anime that describes our lives might be O Maidens in Your Savage Season, an adorable show about girls who become obsessed with sex.
Or it might be New Game, as Hifumi-senpai just tries to get through the day interacting with other people at work.
Sometimes we can all feel very connected to Ayaya from Kin’moza.
When we’ve played so many dating-sims, real-life dating can seem like a kuso-ge, or a crappy game, by comparison.
Personally, I’m thankful to Ryo from City Hunter for teaching me a lot about who I am inside.
A Happy End for Tomoko?
In the later manga chapters, it becomes closer to Lucky Star after Tomoko makes more friends pic.twitter.com/bnszCHvUY8
— SomeDumbassOnTwit (@DumbassOnTwit) January 15, 2020
If your life isn’t what you want it to be right now, don’t fret! You might only be in the third episode of the anime of your life, with a happy end ahead for you yet. While the Watamote anime mainly explores the dark moods and extreme social anxiety Tomoko goes through while trying to make friends in high school, the manga continues the story for several years, showing how she does acquire a circle of friends to hang with, and even becomes a senpai to an underclass girl who needs her help. So keep working towards brighter days in the future!
So, what anime describes your life? What characters do you feel the most connected to? Tell us on Twitter!
J-List loves to find awesome artwork by Japan’s top artists for you, and now there’s a new super-sexy tapestry that you can preorder, featuring original art by artist Yuki Buster Z. Find it on our Hentai Products page.
