[fave fictional people #2] We are all alone together: Tomoko Kuroki from Watamote

This is dedicated to those who have haunted empty places to spend time in, a corner where no one passes by. To those who have silent rooms in the mind to retreat in when the outside world is much too noisy and imagination is the only escape. To those who can spend weeks and months and years with no one but themselves. To those who have been desperate for friends who could understand, a group to belong in, and found only disappointment and learning that in the end you were better off with no one and you shouldn't have opened up. 'Open up' only means you also open yourself to unwelcome judgment, and it only ended with hurt.

Cheers to our loyal companion, the one who will truly never desert us... toast your wine glasses to loneliness! Whether you hate it or love it, whether it makes you cry or makes you content, whether you accept it or reject it... "We come into the world alone and we die alone. Why, in life, should we be any less alone?" said the cynic Diogenes. We learn a kind of zen here, we know how to live with it, and keep the wolves out, and keep our sanctuaries of screens, keyboards, and bookshelves clean. (Random Reader complains: "Here she goes again with the same old topic!").

"Books were safer than people anyway." ~Neil Gaiman

Ah, that was just an attempt to write a pretty-sounding paragraph and not that related to the subject. I'm okay, and time alone is as important as time with others... But we've all been there once, alone in a pit hole of that shitty experience unique to you and only you. Good people may have tried to help, but ultimately we face it by ourselves. Anyway, we all find ways to dig a way out and survive.

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I'll talk about an anime. First, this character is odd in a way that most internet posts I've read say that they can relate to her so much. It's almost like their lives animated. She's hysterical, lonely, desperate, paranoid, deranged, perverted, bitter and envious at the same time about people she thinks are better than her. She just wants to be popular but she just can't! Here's our girl, Tomoko Kuroki from the CRINGE comedy (yes, that needed all-caps because it is a major depressing cringefest) WataMote -- shortcut for a long title, No Matter How You Look at It, It's All Your Fault I'm Not Popular!

The new face of that expired meme, Forever Alone, but still relevant for our times

"When she enters her first year of high school expecting her life to suddenly turn around, 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. Horrible, horrible Hilarity Ensues."

Replace that high school with "college" and you get the worst version of myself way back (Only the first sentence, not the trying to be popular part). The show is funny, it's sad, I cry from both laughter and sadness for both the hilarity and the biting truth of it. Tomoko's life seems to be one embarrassing moment after another as she tries (and always fails) to be popular.

"I'm not all that quiet either! I'm actually a cheerful and funny girl!" Yeah right. 

What I found funny is after a long time of not looking at a mirror, she puked at the sight of herself. I can't count how many times I've laughed during all the episodes. She pukes a lot, actually. The show focuses on her often hysterical inner monologue, her delusional thinking, and overactive imagination.

An accurate summary of their loving relationship

Aside from her misadventures, what keeps me watching is her family life. Considering she has like less than three people she can call friends, the anime shows many mundane scenes with her at home. Also, her younger brother is often the victim of her silly antics, and it's a realistic depiction of typical siblings -- mutual irritation, bickering, and keeping your sister/brother out of your room. 

“At some point, this show will hit way too close to home for you. You will either be incredibly depressed or appreciative that someone out there understands you, but you will inevitably experience one or the other. Watch, laugh, cringe, perhaps feel a little better about yourself.” -madp bully pulpit, Reviewer

I hope it will have a happy ending.