This episode was certainly more upbeat than the first, enough to almost make you think the show was going for uplifting and hopeful. Mostly that came through the introduction of Naruse Yuu, Tomoko's nerdy friend from middle school.
In the first place it was nice to hear that Tomoko had a friend in middle school, and her call set Tomoko off on a weeklong quest to have a fulfilling high school life to talk about. This brings a rude surprise for Tomoko, as Yuu has ditched her glasses for contacts, grown a few cup sizes and generally turned into a "normal". But the uplifting part comes with the realization that Yuu still likes anime and games and misses talking with Tomoko, and seems just as lonely in her high school life as Tomoko does. There's even a promise to meet up again, and a confession from Tomoko that it's all been an act - her high school life is miserable too, and all they can both do is "Ganbare!" together.
Once again this week, I laughed and laughed often and hard despite all the above qualifiers - because Watamote can be damn funny. I laughed when Tomoko got off on listening to her "Yandere Boys Verbal Abuse" CD, and talked about how most of the current anime schedule was "shows for moe pigs". I definitely laughed when she supplied her own soundtrack to the conversation between the baseball team manager and one of the players - "How about I show you my special balls?" And I certainly laughed at the notion of Sugita Tomokazu showing up as Hatsushiba, the heavyset member of the manga research club who spends time with Tomoko after school making up an assignment for art class.
Watching this series is undeniably a powerful experience. It's been one of the strangest experiences I've had with any anime. Here's the thing with Watamote, as I see it. This is really two different series, depending on the audience. Everyone is going to get that this is a dark, dark comedy - they're going to feel the awkwardness and the conflicted emotions when wanting to laugh at what happens to Tomoko.
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