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[Putnam]

-snip-

see the problem is that, like... the title actually explains it, that's an awful way to think.

[itisnotlogical]

That somebody who is similar to me will probably be somebody I can get along with? What? How does "It's you guys' fault I'm not popular" convey that?

[Dozebôm Lolumzalìs]

The similar is not to be the other day, but in the other actualities it may actually turn out to be otherwise.

[this shitpost was brought to you by bleary eyes and headaches]

[Putnam]

That somebody who is similar to me will probably be somebody I can get along with? What? How does "It's you guys' fault I'm not popular" convey that?

No, I mean Tomoko's entire mindset is an awful way to think.

[Flying Dice]

Harry Potter? Hogwarts is generally considered an elite school despite the (often violent) altercations that occur between houses. And the school encourages conflict between them at every turn by physically separating them and setting up various competitions. Even many adults take the house system gravely seriously. Though adults who take high school too seriously is the norm in high school based fiction, I suppose.

I'm given to understand that Hogwarts (like most such schools in fiction) is a deliberate criticism of the boarding school system. It's actually quite difficult (at least in my experience) to find a British novelist who writes about them without running them down in one way or another. Sort of like the Jesuit schools back in the day.

[Leafsnail]

e: I am tired and wrongposting.

[Orange Wizard]

No, I mean Tomoko's entire mindset is an awful way to think.

Yeah, 'cause she's got crippling social anxiety. It's a character flaw, but it's endearing because you can see her struggling through it as the series goes on. She doesn't make much progress, which is way more believable than other shows where the character will change their hairstyle and immediately make a dozen friends and develop social skills.

Her head looks oddly like a cueball.

Also this

[Putnam]

I had crippling social anxiety too. I got over it over the course of like 6 months, it's not completely unrealistic. IIRC looking at Tomoko and going "that was me. goddamn. that was me. i don't want that. that's bad." was one of the things that tipped me out and really the only reason I'd say 6 months instead of just 3 (marching band played a bigger role, and that was 3 months).

[itisnotlogical]

To be fair, Tomoko's brother is kind of an asshole.

[Neonivek]

No, I mean Tomoko's entire mindset is an awful way to think.

Yeah, 'cause she's got crippling social anxiety. It's a character flaw, but it's endearing because you can see her struggling through it as the series goes on. She doesn't make much progress, which is way more believable than other shows where the character will change their hairstyle and immediately make a dozen friends and develop social skills.

I like the way one anime does it. Where they give her a new hairstyle... but she is exactly the same tact-less person. But she looks so cute that they take her rudeness as a wonderful quirk.

It is also coincidentally a good anime.

[JoshuaFH]

That somebody who is similar to me will probably be somebody I can get along with? What? How does "It's you guys' fault I'm not popular" convey that?

No, I mean Tomoko's entire mindset is an awful way to think.

Her entire mindset is very *real* though, which is why she's so insanely relatable. Her daily misadventures are cringeworthy, but they're also 1:1 accurate reenactments of things people have actually done, and that includes me. If it were any more honest, it'd be too brutal to watch.

My only misgiving about the show is that it shows the result of Tomoko's behavior (being a largely self-imposed social outcast), but it doesn't dive into the cause. Her homelife is very peaceful and stable, she isn't bullied or abused, her only unhealthy habit seems to be a chronic lack of sleep, it's just all good ol' fashioned anxiety and perhaps a little autism thrown in there. I suppose Japan does have a bad reputation for sweeping mental ills under the rug and hoping it's sufferers sort it out themselves, but it does demand a leap of believability on the viewer.

[itisnotlogical]

That somebody who is similar to me will probably be somebody I can get along with? What? How does "It's you guys' fault I'm not popular" convey that?

No, I mean Tomoko's entire mindset is an awful way to think.

Her entire mindset is very *real* though, which is why she's so insanely relatable. Her daily misadventures are cringeworthy, but they're also 1:1 accurate reenactments of things people have actually done, and that includes me. If it were any more honest, it'd be too brutal to watch.

My only misgiving about the show is that it shows the result of Tomoko's behavior (being a largely self-imposed social outcast), but it doesn't dive into the cause. Her homelife is very peaceful and stable, she isn't bullied or abused, her only unhealthy habit seems to be a chronic lack of sleep, it's just all good ol' fashioned anxiety and perhaps a little autism thrown in there. I suppose Japan does have a bad reputation for sweeping mental ills under the rug and hoping it's sufferers sort it out themselves, but it does demand a leap of believability on the viewer.

Tomoko's brother pretty plainly dislikes her. And even if she has a good home life, social awkwardness can turn into loneliness, and pretty soon that can turn into perceived ostracism, and you get some pretty strange ideas about what's "normal" when you're not interacting with somebody in some form, and especially if you're replacing that social interaction with anime, manga, dating sims, video games and Yandere Boys CDs. All of which I've been guilty of in the past, except Yandere Boys although I would have probably listened to them if they were real.

[JoshuaFH]

That somebody who is similar to me will probably be somebody I can get along with? What? How does "It's you guys' fault I'm not popular" convey that?

No, I mean Tomoko's entire mindset is an awful way to think.

Her entire mindset is very *real* though, which is why she's so insanely relatable. Her daily misadventures are cringeworthy, but they're also 1:1 accurate reenactments of things people have actually done, and that includes me. If it were any more honest, it'd be too brutal to watch.

My only misgiving about the show is that it shows the result of Tomoko's behavior (being a largely self-imposed social outcast), but it doesn't dive into the cause. Her homelife is very peaceful and stable, she isn't bullied or abused, her only unhealthy habit seems to be a chronic lack of sleep, it's just all good ol' fashioned anxiety and perhaps a little autism thrown in there. I suppose Japan does have a bad reputation for sweeping mental ills under the rug and hoping it's sufferers sort it out themselves, but it does demand a leap of believability on the viewer.

Tomoko's brother pretty plainly dislikes her. And even if she has a good home life, social awkwardness can turn into loneliness, and pretty soon that can turn into perceived ostracism, and you get some pretty strange ideas about what's "normal" when you're not interacting with somebody in some form, and especially if you're replacing that social interaction with anime, manga, dating sims, video games and Yandere Boys CDs. All of which I've been guilty of in the past, except Yandere Boys although I would have probably listened to them if they were real.

Tomoko's brother isn't unusual though, that's very normal sibling behavior. All the affectionate "ONIICHAN!" close familial relationships you see in every anime are the more unrealistic kind, I'd say.

but yeah, I'd say it's pretty impossible for Tomoko's personality to spiral out of control as it has without something, somewhere in her life, egging it on and influencing it externally. It's hard to believe someone would do this to themselves without an impetus, and a very strong one at that. No minor social awkwardness is going to grow into what is obviously severely neurotic and pathological.

[Orange Wizard]

I think the brother's a pretty reasonable character. He's not affectionate, though you'd be hard-pressed to find siblings that age who are. It certainly doesn't help that Tomoko is almost always doing something to antagonise him, but he tolerates it.
We never see them in anything beyond everyday interactions, so we can't say he hates her or is an unforgivable arsehole. Their relationship is mostly just belligerent sibling silliness.

My only misgiving about the show is that it shows the result of Tomoko's behavior (being a largely self-imposed social outcast), but it doesn't dive into the cause.

I actually appreciated that they left the cause out of it. IMO it would have undermined the execution and potentially made her harder to relate to - as it stands Tomoko is a horrendous amalgamation of social problems, but suddenly learning it's because... I dunno, she was bullied or whatever, drives in a bit of a wedge with people who have anxiety but weren't bullied.
Not saying every aspect of her character is relatable, but I think going into the reasons for her anxiety would be heading in a different direction to what was intended.

[Putnam]

I never had a cause for my similar social anxiety, I was just a prat. My home life was really good.