Tomoko Kuroki undergoes one of the most genuine character arcs in modern manga. In the early chapters and the 2013 WataMote anime, she is almost entirely isolated, spending most of her time in painful solo attempts to become popular that inevitably backfire. By the time the story reaches her third year of high school, she has a real circle of friends, earns genuine affection from classmates, and shows measurable emotional growth. The series shifts from a cringe comedy focused on her failures to a warmer, ensemble-driven story. Many long-term readers consider the later manga chapters among the most rewarding precisely because they show how much Tomoko has grown without abandoning what makes her authentically herself.

The WataMote manga has developed increasingly strong yuri undertones as it has progressed. Tomoko Kuroki consistently shows curiosity and interest in female characters, and several characters, most notably Ucchi (Uchi), develop clear romantic feelings toward her. Yuri Tamura is another character whose feelings for her best friend carry romantic weight. The manga does not explicitly label Tomoko's sexuality but the direction of the story, combined with author intent signalled through various chapters, has led a large portion of the fandom to read Tomoko as bisexual. This shift in tone is a major reason why WataMote has maintained such a devoted fanbase more than a decade after it began.

Tomoko Kuroki resonated widely because she gave voice to feelings many people privately recognise but rarely see represented in anime heroes. Her intense social anxiety, elaborate inner monologue, love of video games and otome stories, and chronic inability to act on her own plans reflected the experience of a generation of introverted, online-heavy young people. The WataMote manga found its international audience through fan translations on English imageboards, and the 2013 anime expanded that audience considerably. Many fans describe encountering Tomoko as a genuinely validating moment. Over time, she also became a point of connection for people with social anxiety who appreciated seeing that experience treated seriously rather than simply mocked. Later, series like Bocchi the Rock! and Komi Can't Communicate have been credited in part to the cultural space WataMote opened up for socially anxious protagonists.

As of 2025 and into 2026, the WataMote manga by Nico Tanigawa is still ongoing and continues to release new chapters, with over 28 tankobon volumes published. A second season of the anime has not been announced, though fan demand remains consistent and is frequently discussed in the community. Given how significantly the manga's tone and cast have expanded since the 2013 anime aired, a potential second season would cover very different, arguably more character-rich material than the first. Fans following the ongoing manga consider it a strong and emotionally rewarding read regardless of whether an anime continuation ever arrives.

Tomoko Kuroki's quotes became popular online because they capture the specific flavour of overthinking, self-awareness, and resigned humour that defined the early WataMote tone. Lines expressing her frustration with the gap between how she imagined high school would be and how it actually turned out struck a chord with audiences who recognised that same inner conflict. Her tendency to narrate her own failures in elaborate internal monologue, combined with a dark but never mean-spirited sense of humour, made her quotes highly shareable. They remain circulated across anime communities, social platforms, and fan art spaces years after the anime's original run because they feel timeless in a way that genuinely relatable cringe humour tends to be.