I know there's a lot of disagreement to what otaku pandering exactly is, and feel free to disagree, but I think otaku pandering is when a show constantly references otaku culture and behavior and mentions anime tropes or other by anime by name, and that's the entire joke. I don't think otaku pandering has to paint its characters in a strong light, it just has to reference their lifestyle and the content they consume, and more often than not, dumbass otaku eat this shit up. Hook line and sinker. I'm sorry, but I don't find a girl actively trying to get molested on a train funny because it's a trope in some anime, nor do I find her going on message boards funny because that's what otaku and nerds do.
At the end of the day, my biggest gripe is that the show was a comedy, and it hardly made me laugh. The biggest laugh I got out of the show is when the MC's brother tells her to kill herself. Different strokes for different folks when it comes to comedy, but I found Watamote's humor dumb and lazy. It shamelessly appeals to the lowest common denominator, which to me is where otaku pandering comes in.
Any of you who made it to the end of this, congrats. Even I'm cringing at what I just wrote.
