>>464The animu is its own separate story from the manga, and it doesn't really need a second season when you look at it that way.
In the beginning, we're introduced to Tomoko's problem. She has no friends.
Throughout the rest of the series, we see why she has no friends. Tomoko is really kind of a terrible person to have for a friend, and she only gets worse as the series goes on. She's completely self-centered and rarely thinks of anyone but herself, only going out of her way to interact with another person when she believes it will give her a tangible reward. She's a hypocrite; constantly entering her brother's room without permission or consideration yet becoming angry when her brother does the same to her. She's lazy; completely averse to effort or service of any kind.
Toward the end of the series Tomoko becomes aware of her flaws. There's no way she can ignore them at the point where she finds the summer souveniers box with the shells and her brother's childhood journal. The journal, written at a time when Tomoko and Tomoki had a good relationship, describes a Tomoko that no longer exists: one who is eager to lend a helping hand and genuinely cares about others, this being in stark contrast to the Tomoko of that point who had just harassed her brother to get out of doing house work. Tomoko is saddened at the journal, showing that she takes notice of the implications, yet she makes no attempt to change.
After this, Tomoko starts being contrasted against Yuu and Imae. Yuu, in a flashback to the middle school haunted house, is shown to have had genuine concern for Tomoko's feelings. She arrives at the festival solely for Tomoko, who for some reason chooses to spend the afternoon attempting to grope her friend rather than enjoying her presence. Imae goes out of her way to make Tomoko feel welcome three times, and is vocally described by background characters as being very caring and considerate and therefore naturally popular.
All this knowledge does not escape Tomoko, who attempts to reach out to Imae in the hopes of learning something. She is, however, unable to accept the reality of the potential for embarrassing situations and flees in that climactic final scene. Her supposed friend Yuu catches her in the act and attempts to confront her, but Tomoko flees from her too, unable to accept help. Yuu, her attention on the useless cause of Tomoko lost finally and forever, is eventually distracted by trivial things and abandons her former friend.
After reflection on all of this, Tomoko concludes that friends don't matter in the slightest and presumably goes on to live the rest of her life without ever attempting to gain a social life ever again.
Any further additions to the story would require Tomoko to renounce her newfound worldview and would inevitably detract from the message that the people in charge of the anime were trying to send out: if you're an aspie who can't make friends, don't worry about it because it doesn't fucking matter.
This is very different from the manga, wherein Tomoko has had no such traumatic experience, has come to no such conclusion, and may possibly be in the process of learning how to friendship for real.
I just tried to interpret a fucking cartoon as if it were fine literature. Fucking kill me I'm an autist.