Nico Tanigawa
Description
Nico Tanigawa is the shared pseudonym for a duo of manga creators responsible for the series WATAMOTE, also known as No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys' Fault I’m Not Popular!. The pair consists of the writer, who uses the pen name Ikko, and the artist, who uses the name Niko. They began working together after meeting as part-time employees at a publishing company. The writer, Ikko, was born on February 20 in Ibaraki Prefecture, while the artist, Niko, was born on November 12 in Chiba Prefecture. Their collaborative pseudonym is derived from the name of poet Shuntarō Tanigawa and a character from the manga Sexy Voice and Robo. The duo is known for being highly private, often concealing their identities with cat masks at public events and rarely releasing personal details or photographs.
Their professional debut was with the manga Choku! which was serialized on Square Enix's Gangan Online service from 2008 to 2010. Before achieving professional serialization, they created dōjinshi, or self-published works, though these early efforts sold poorly. Following Choku!, the duo produced several other manga series, including Number Girl, which ran from 2010 to 2014, Write Shimai, Kuzu to Megane to Bungaku Shoujo Nise, and Kaien Shugakuin no Shiroi Haru.
Nico Tanigawa is best known for WATAMOTE, which began serialization on Square Enix's Gangan Online service on August 4, 2011 and is still ongoing as of 2025. The series follows Tomoko Kuroki, a socially awkward high school girl who harbors delusions of becoming popular but struggles profoundly with anxiety and social interaction. The series is published in North America by Yen Press. A spin-off four-panel manga titled Watashi no Tomodachi ga Motenai no wa Dō Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui., often shortened to TomoMote, was serialized in Gangan Joker from January 2013 to July 2015. The popularity of WATAMOTE grew significantly overseas after fan translations were shared on English-language imageboards.
The manga was adapted into a twelve-episode anime television series by the studio Silver Link, which aired in Japan from July to September 2013. An original video animation episode was later released with the seventh manga volume on October 22, 2014. The anime was directed by Shin Ōnuma, with scripts by Takao Yoshioka and character designs by Hideki Furukawa. It was simulcast by Crunchyroll and released on home video in North America by Sentai Filmworks.
The creative work of Nico Tanigawa is characterized by a focus on social isolation, anxiety, and the often painful gap between personal fantasy and reality. Their art style, particularly in WATAMOTE, is noted for its expressive depictions of the protagonist's emotional distress and awkwardness. The duo maintains a distinct creative process, with the writer, Ikko, primarily responsible for storyboards and plots, while the artist, Niko, handles the final drawings, often using traditional methods rather than exclusively digital tools. They have stated that the title WATAMOTE was chosen from dozens of options proposed with their editor, favoring a longer, more striking title to convey the series' concept.
Nico Tanigawa holds a significant place in the manga and anime industry for creating a series that garnered both critical acclaim and controversy for its raw and unflinching portrayal of social anxiety disorder. While some critics found the series to be mean-spirited, others praised it for its insightful and honest depiction of a social misfit, distinguishing Tomoko Kuroki as an anti-moe character whose struggles are not romanticized. The series has achieved substantial commercial success, with over 1.5 million copies in print by July 2013 and 27 tankōbon volumes released as of July 2025, demonstrating its lasting appeal and influence within the slice-of-life and comedy genres.
Their professional debut was with the manga Choku! which was serialized on Square Enix's Gangan Online service from 2008 to 2010. Before achieving professional serialization, they created dōjinshi, or self-published works, though these early efforts sold poorly. Following Choku!, the duo produced several other manga series, including Number Girl, which ran from 2010 to 2014, Write Shimai, Kuzu to Megane to Bungaku Shoujo Nise, and Kaien Shugakuin no Shiroi Haru.
Nico Tanigawa is best known for WATAMOTE, which began serialization on Square Enix's Gangan Online service on August 4, 2011 and is still ongoing as of 2025. The series follows Tomoko Kuroki, a socially awkward high school girl who harbors delusions of becoming popular but struggles profoundly with anxiety and social interaction. The series is published in North America by Yen Press. A spin-off four-panel manga titled Watashi no Tomodachi ga Motenai no wa Dō Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui., often shortened to TomoMote, was serialized in Gangan Joker from January 2013 to July 2015. The popularity of WATAMOTE grew significantly overseas after fan translations were shared on English-language imageboards.
The manga was adapted into a twelve-episode anime television series by the studio Silver Link, which aired in Japan from July to September 2013. An original video animation episode was later released with the seventh manga volume on October 22, 2014. The anime was directed by Shin Ōnuma, with scripts by Takao Yoshioka and character designs by Hideki Furukawa. It was simulcast by Crunchyroll and released on home video in North America by Sentai Filmworks.
The creative work of Nico Tanigawa is characterized by a focus on social isolation, anxiety, and the often painful gap between personal fantasy and reality. Their art style, particularly in WATAMOTE, is noted for its expressive depictions of the protagonist's emotional distress and awkwardness. The duo maintains a distinct creative process, with the writer, Ikko, primarily responsible for storyboards and plots, while the artist, Niko, handles the final drawings, often using traditional methods rather than exclusively digital tools. They have stated that the title WATAMOTE was chosen from dozens of options proposed with their editor, favoring a longer, more striking title to convey the series' concept.
Nico Tanigawa holds a significant place in the manga and anime industry for creating a series that garnered both critical acclaim and controversy for its raw and unflinching portrayal of social anxiety disorder. While some critics found the series to be mean-spirited, others praised it for its insightful and honest depiction of a social misfit, distinguishing Tomoko Kuroki as an anti-moe character whose struggles are not romanticized. The series has achieved substantial commercial success, with over 1.5 million copies in print by July 2013 and 27 tankōbon volumes released as of July 2025, demonstrating its lasting appeal and influence within the slice-of-life and comedy genres.