Tomo-chan Is a Girl! – 13 (Fin) – No Complaints

The twelfth episode was so good, thirteen was going to be all gravy…as long as it didn’t undo what twelve started. That’s the one fatal mistake it could make that would sour the entire season for me. At the same time, I didn’t want the epilogue to be too fluffy. This show was so good at really digging into its characters and making them think and act in believable and compelling ways.

The episode delivered on both of these conditions, and then some. Yes Tomo and Jun are on the same page regarding their feelings, but they don’t just ease straight into a GF/BF situation at the drop of a hat. This is a transitional period, with all its excitement for what’s to come, and a few speed bumps along the way.

Jun is so relaxed, she’s so nervous, and she and Jun are getting along so well, Tomo confides to Misuzu and Carol that she feels like she lost to Jun for harboring anxieties. They know all too well he’s harboring them too, but sometimes better at hiding them. She wants to throw him off balance to even the playing field. Misuzu suggests they see a romantic film.

Now that the confessions are out of the way, it’s great to really see Jun take to boyfriend mode with aplomb. He may be self-critical, but his direct honest manner is part of what made Tomo fall for him, and that’s on display as he praises her cute look, gives her “T” earrings for Christmas, and immediately dons the muffler she knitted for him.

Throughout the date, Tomo notices that Jun is incredibly focused. He softens when saying that he never really connected with romance movies before, and considers that falling for Tomo made them resonate more. When they’re about to part ways, Tomo has to make a move, and she does: inviting herself to Jun’s house.

What ensues is a wonderfully awkward and all-too-relatable scene of two people who like each other, but have never been in this type of situation, kinda freezing up with nervousness and self-consciousness. Tomo again asks to sit next to Jun on his bed, but eventually snaps and tells him she came there for a sole purpose: to kiss him.

Jun admits he wants to to that stuff too, but her father told him he couldn’t go out with her until he defeated him. This is an entirely unfair bargain, as even Jun is no match for Tomo’s dad, a legit master and gigantic dude. Even her dad seems to know he kinda fucked up royally, but you can tell he did it out of love and not a desire to control her life.

But miserable as he is (Tomo confronts him and then tells him she hates him—perhaps a first in their relationship as father and daughter) he can’t take back what he said. A warrior’s word being their bond aside, Jun has heard the challenge and can’t ignore it.

While Tomo was being coy about her intentions to, in so many words, “spice things up” by trying to “beat” Jun to a kiss, Jun makes a rookie BF mistake by keeping something extremely important (her dad’s challenge) from her. Everyone (including her dad) erred, but she and Jun are well-developed enough that you totally understand why they erred.

In the midst of all this relationship turmoil, Misuzu and Carol are left out of the lurch, as Tomo doesn’t contact them for all of winter break. Again, this is rookie relationship behavior, getting so involved that your time with your friends dwindles or vanishes. It’s something Tomo can learn from, and in the meantime, both the girls and Kousuke are willing to hear her problems and offer possible solutions.

Misuzu suspects that Tomo isn’t content to watch the two most important men in her life slug it out while she waits passively. No, if Jun thinks he has to do this, he needs all the encouragement he can get, so she comes to the dojo in the middle of their fight.

This gives Jun a far bigger boost than Tomo realizes, because while he no longer regards her from a high pedestal, there’s still a good amount of that adoration for her, such that he believes he can’t stand still for a moment lest she get too far away from him.

His inferiority issues don’t magically disappear now that they both know each others’ feelings. Instead, he holds himself to an even higher standard. Jun, despite not being the sharpest tack on the board, realizes her dad is leaving openings on purpose to compel him to come in close to deliver a crushing blow, at great risk to himself.

Tomo’s dad knows Tomo will rush ahead. He wants to make sure Jun is someone who won’t just watch adoringly, but run beside her, and back her up in this rhetorical hero scenario. Jun doesn’t know if he can put his life on the line for a stranger, but for Tomo? He’ll walk through the gates of hell.

Jun wins the duel with Tomo’s dad by delivering what would have been a knockout punch if his opponent had been anyone else. But when her dad still won’t go down (even though his hand touched the ground), her mom finishes him off with a brutal smackdown. Jun is the winner, and Tomo leaps into his arms with abandon.

With that symbolic hurdle out of the way, Tomo and Jun are free to go out. When Jun interrupts Tomo to tell her he loves her and asks her to go out with him, she curses him for beating her to it. Her punishment is to take things a step further, so she gives him a big old smooch on the lips, in the perfect time and place.

Their kiss mirrors the poster of the movie they saw, and while they’re still far from ready for some of the later steps the movie couple took after the kissing, this is still a huge deal for these two. The floodgates of love are open, some initial stumbling blocks have been overcome, and they’re poised to begin a race that will continue for the rest of their lives together: the race to make each other’s hearts race faster.

Tomo-chan Is a Girl! – 12 – Having It All

Misuzu performs her role as Cinderella seriously, even if Carol fails to be a remotely evil Stepmother. As she dances with “Prince” Tomo, it’s just another confirmation to her that she really is the perfect prince. This is who Tomo is, and Misuzu is still beating herself up for getting Tomo to think making herself more girly would appeal to Jun.

No, Tomo simply being her natural self is best. When Jun asks her to soak in the festival with him, she goes with the flow, and whether it’s coffee and cake or going up against each other at soccer, she realizes she still has a blast with Jun. But if they go out, can it still be that way, or will she lose that which she already treasures so dearly?

When Jun unexpectedly asks Tomo to dance (thereby breaking the hearts of at least a dozen girls who wanted to dance with her), it’s awkward. Tomo says he should be careful doing things like asking her to dance, or others will get the wrong idea. when he says they wouldn’t have the wrong idea, she runs off suddenly in a panic.

From that point on, Tomo forgets that exchange ever happened, and overcompensates by acting unnaturally energetic, even for her. Jun considers whether it’s her way of rejecting him, but wisely seeks out the advice of Kousuke, who tells him whatever is up with Tomo, the best he can do is be direct and upfront with her about his feelings.

Jun is…less wise in taking Misuzu to a quiet corner to apologize to her for being in love with Tomo. The fact that Jun might’ve been hesitating because he was worried about her feelings all this time is laughable to her, and she makes clear that she was the one who threw their brief relationship in the trash. But this is Jun, who can see the good girl clear through Misuzu’s evil girl façade.

Jun then uses the oldest trick in the book—a letter of challenge—to lure Tomo up to the roof, where she has nowhere to run or hide from him as he tells her directly that he loves her, and not just as a friend. Further, he apologizes for not being able to respond when she confessed to him way back under the cherry trees.

Tomo slugs him in anger, but immediately feels bad about it, since she, someone running away form a confession, has no right to be mad at Jun doing the same thing. Like her, he was afraid (and also felt unworthy). When Tomo rejoins Misuzu and Carol, the former immediately assesses the situation. Carol suggests that now they both know they love each other, they should just go out.

But Tomo isn’t sure what that means. What makes it different? How are she and Jun supposed to be? It’s here where Misuzu finally gathers the courage to tell Tomo that all this is her fault, and that there was never any reason to try to become more girly. Tears start to fall from her eyes, surprising both Tomo and Carol (whose hand Misuzu grabbed when Carol was about to leave them alone). Misuzu offers Tomo her blessing and a fist bump.

Tomo tracks down Jun, and assures him she won’t run away anymore, so give her another chance. The two start to walk, and Tomo has Jun confirm over and over that yes, he does love her. Then Tomo asks if he’s sure he wants to go out if it means they won’t be best buds anymore. But that thought never occurred to Jun.

Jun says he believes it’s not only possible but only natural that they’d remain best buds even when they start going out. He illustrates his point by suddenly challenging Tomo to a race up some shrine steps. He still wants to compete with her. They can be childhood friends, best buds, rivals, and boyfriend and girlfriend.

Why not? Who’s going to tell either of them they can’t? Nobody! Even supposing such people existed, they’d get their asses kicked! All Tomo needed was to embrace the concept of having it all—and realize that when it comes to who you love, sometimes it’s okay to be selfish. Now that she has, she can face Jun and tell him (again) that she loves him too. Finally, they’re on the same page—no telepathy needed!

Tomo-chan Is a Girl! – 11 – Cinderella’s Curse

This week features a couple of school rom-com standbys: the part-time job and prepping for the class play. Tomo-chan takes these tropes and makes them their own with its beautifully written and performed characters I’ve come to love. Tomo needs cash to buy a birthday gift for Jun, so Misuzu and Carol join her. Tanabe offers the three jobs at his family’s ramen restaurant.

While Misuzu manages to avoid it, Carol and Tomo end up in maid outfits for the job. When Jun stops by for a bowl (he’s a regular), Tomo ends up his waitress, and she’s fully prepared for him to make fun of her outfit. But he doesn’t, because he’s long since realized Tomo is a total cutie and it’s a gift to all mankind to see her in a maid outfit. He ends up frequenting the restaurant every day she works there, and with her pay she gets him a FitBit to match her own.

The second half has Tomo channelling Ikari Gendou as she consults Misuzu on how to get Jun to see her as a girl, for the first time in a while. Misuzu suggests physical contact, which she tries to achieve by pushing Jun down some stairs and into Tomo’s waiting arms. Jun’s athleticism is such that he’s able to dodge Tomo (who has murderous intent), but ends up accidentally touching Carol’s boob. Carol’s reaction is perfectly Carol, and an ashamed Jun demands that Tomo punch the shit out of him to atone.

That failed prank shakes Misuzu to the core; she can’t believe she shoved Jun down the stairs; even if he is a brick shithouse, he could have gotten hurt. It’s all part and parcel of an enduring guilt over how she’s treated Tomo over the years, which she believes to have actually stifled Tomo’s progress with Jun rather than helped it. While lost in thought, Misuzu herself ends up falling down the steps…and into Tanabe’s arms. As thanks for saving her, Misuzu agrees to exchange contact info.

Misuzu confides in Carol that she may not want Tomo and Jun to get together; Carol is Carol and gives Misuzu a big hug, assuring her she’s not as bad as she thinks she is. But Misuzu is so afraid to face Tomo that she stays home sick for three days. Tomo has to hear it via Carol, and when she visits Misuzu, says it feels like she’s avoiding her. She wonders if Misuzu is simply overthinking, but after everything Misuzu believes she’s done to Tomo, she’s not feeling worthy of Tomo’s unconditional forgiveness.

Misuzu pays for her absence by having the class play role of Cinderella bestowed on her, thanks to a suggestion from Carol. Naturally, Tomo will play the Prince, and when she’s trying to act she’s terrible, but when she’s just herself she’s an irresistible lady-killer. Tomo is stunning in her princely garb and slicked-back hair, causing all the girls to swoon, while Misuzu has a similar effect in her blue Cinderella gown and up-do, but the glamorous glow-up belies her morose mood.

In the absolute funniest moment of the episode that had me howling, she leans against a brown surface and sighs, and the camera pulls out to reveal she’s leaning against Jun in his tree costume. While these two continue to be incredibly petty and prickly to each other, it’s also clear they understand each other quite a bit, because they remain very much alike in their inability to face Tomo head-on.

Misuzu can push him over and leave him unable to get up like an inverted turtle, but she can’t deny he hit the nail on the head. Jun can tell what’s upsetting Misuzu because it’s the same thing that upsets him. But I imagine Tomo and Jun will start dating at some point, so I hope that doesn’t mean Misuzu can’t be friends with Tomo anymore. Maybe the impending play will be an opportunity to suss things out properly.

Tomo-chan Is a Girl! – 10 – Turning Point

It’s the class marathon, and no one is happier or more fired up than Tomo and Jun. Jun in particular loves nothing more than to compete against Tomo, and the two end up far ahead of the pack, and even threaten to overtake their teacher…who is on a moped! When they reach the turning point for the girls, Tomo runs straight through it, because she’s not racing the girls—she’s racing Jun!

Alas, her intensive training the previous day (which left her lying face up naked in the bathroom) gave her a fever, and when she collapses, the race is over. With no phone and no one around, Jun finally gets to put the body he’s spent years building up to good use, carrying Tomo on his back to the finish line. Tomo wakes up with Carol snuggling with her and Misuzu freaked out that she’d actually get sick.

Both girls insist that Tomo make use of her rare “moment of weakness” to let Jun pamper her. She even gets him to carry her on his back again when she’s awake to enjoy it! They both note how they’ve grown in this moment of closeness.

He gets to say the words she once said to him: if you’re in trouble, of course I’ll be there. And, to his shock, she uses this opportunity to give him back his handheld video game. After all, he was the stronger man than she was…if only today!

Getting his video game back is a much bigger deal for Jun than Tomo probably realizes…so much so that the second half of the episode is a flashback to when Jun first learned Tomo was a girl when he saw her in a girl’s uniform when middle school started. The two were so close, rumors immediately spread that they were going out. Jun, who believed those rumors would cause trouble for Tomo, decided to start ignoring her.

A whole damn year passed without Jun having the guts to approach Tomo and apologize, and they devolved into mere acquaintances. Meanwhile, Misuzu was having a friendship crisis, unsure if she’d be able to stay close to Tomo when she was continuing to jock it up like their earlier years.

Misuzu and Jun’s individual crises brought them together into that brief weird fling. It’s nice to see Jun grappling with the sudden reality that Misuzu is his girlfriend (accompanied by shots of her looking cute) and even Misuzu admits it feels good (at least until the grueling exercise started). It was, after all, the first time either of them had dated anyone.

Misuzu’s hope was that Jun could “slow Tomo down”, but after their dates, she determined that he might have the opposite effect. It really brings her down, and when Tomo asks about her in class, Misuzu plainly declares that they may not be able to stay friends.

Tomo takes her aside to get her to clarify, then tells her athletic prowess has nothing to do with their friendship. Tomo tells Misuzu that their time together is far more precious to her than all her guy friends. This immediately brightens Misuzu’s day.

After dumping Misuzu (who is devastated by the fact he beat her to it), Jun finally speaks to Tomo, but as he walks behind her, can’t seem to find the words. Finally, Tomo opens the conversation with her fists, angrily and tearfully demanding to know why he’s been ignoring her for so long and only now deigned to talk to her. When he tells her the reason, he asks her why they should give a rat’s ass what anyone thinks if they want to “be together like they’ve always been”.

Jun admits he wants to be with her like always, so she tells him to be with her already…a-as friends, j-just friends, yeah? Jun wants to be together with Tomo forever. The both of them may have changed, and their relationship has changed with it.  In the present, Jun wants to find a way to still be with her forever. That he was able to make up and get back with her in middle school gives me hope he’ll manage to find a way in the final three episodes.

P.S. I almost forgot to mention that after nine episodes of the girls singing the cute ED, it’s the boys turn to sing this time, and it’s awesome! It’s also good timing, what with Kou x Carol being codified last week and Jun seeing Tomo as a romantic partner more than ever this week. As to whether Misuzu will ever agree to a date with whasisname…I won’t hold my breath but that would be sweet too. BFs for everyone!

Tomo-chan Is a Girl! – 09 – Carolization

Kousuke describes himself as a sullen boy in his earlier years, preferring books to the tedium of other people. He was miffed when his mother described Carol as an angel, but then he got his first look at her, and became a believer. There she was, an real-life angel in the flesh. And that was it. He was in love.

After the warehouse incident, Kousuke wants to get stronger. He goes to the right place for that: the Aizawa Dojo. But he soon learns just how out of his league he is, whether it’s Tomo, her dad, or Jun. He also doesn’t realize how much it irks Jun when he talks about wanting Tomo to “acknowledge” him. Of course, Kousuke isn’t after Tomo that way.

Like Jun, Carol gets the wrong idea about Kousuke training at Tomo’s house (and she doesn’t even hear that he was in her bed when Jun knocked him out!). Carol is pissed, and decides to get back at Tomo by claiming Jun for a day, then telling Misuzu in passing that she shouldn’t think she’ll “get her way”. Misuzu always knew Carol concealed an edge, but even she’s taken aback to see that edge fully bared.

Carol comes right out and tells Jun the score: she was mean to Misuzu earlier, and by being with him she’s being mean to Tomo, but right now she just wants to blow off some steam. Jun assures her that Tomo won’t be quick to give up on a friend just because they were mean to her. Then Jun and Carol somehow end up in his room, and she kisses him and jumps on top of him.

She doesn’t take things any further, but when Carol asks him why he’s so scared of women, and how if that doesn’t change he might have problems with Tomo down the road. Partly because he’s terrified of Carol and partly because he wants to prove her wrong, Jun runs next door and gives Tomo a big hug. Carol follows her to apologize to both. She’s let off her steam, and now she’s headed home.

The next day Carol tells Kousuke she hung out with Jun, including in his bedroom, and is treated to a “really weird face”. She reports this to Misuzu, who wonders if Kousuke has ever seen Carol being serious. When she meets with him, she and we get the gist of Kousuke’s deal. He loves Carol, but the thought of getting closer to her terrifies him, because he believes he’s weak, and she’s still so dazzling to him it’s hard to even look at her.

Misuzu rightly deduces that Kousuke needs to see Carol’s vulnerable side, in order to shatter his longstanding ideal of her as an untouchable goddess. But to do so, Misuzu has to be cruel. She tells Carol a lie; that Kousuke doesn’t like her that way, and that when she told him about Jun, it was more like a father giving away her bride than jealousy. Misuzu fully expects Carol not to break that eternal grin, but the face Carol makes is so startling that Misuzu, Tomo, and Jun alike are stunned.

Carol heads home early, and Misuzu quickly gets with Kousuke to tell him to go see Carol immediately to resolve the situation. Once he’s viciously headbutted by Carol’s mom, he enters her room to find neither an angel nor a goddess, but a lonely girl crying her eyes out because she believes the boy she loves doesn’t love her back.

Kousuke steels himself, knowing there’s no going back, and pulls Carol out of the darkness by telling her Misuzu was lying to put her in “a vulnerable state”. Then he tells her, straight up, that he loves her. Carol immediately brightens up and even gleefully shouts banzai before advancing on Kousuke, whereupon her mom blows a whistle and declares that will be enough of that for now.

Carol’s mom later tells Kousuke that she once told Carol she looks cuter when she smiles, only to find she started to smile and never stopped. She constantly worries that someone might take that smile away, but Kousuke assures her he’ll never do that, and that Carol has more friends now who have her back through thick and thin.

That comes through the next day when Carol returns to class wearing a creepy bunny mask, filling a guilty Misuzu with apprehension. She removes the mask to reveal a big goofy smile, and instead of punish or scold Misuzu, she thanks her for pulling the not-always-pleasant but necessary strings to bring her and Kousuke together.

And that, dear readers, is how the chaotic comic relief character absolutely steals Tomo’s show, like snatching candy from a large, muscular baby. All hail Carol Olsten and Sally Amaki, long may they reign!

Tomo-chan Is a Girl! – 08 – The End of Now

This week was a non-stop smorgasbord of excellence, starting with a girl’s sleepover in which Carol perfectly imitates Misuzu when Tomo won’t. That is to say, Sally Amaki perfectly imitates Hidaka Rina, while Takahashi Rie voices Tomo with her usual exquisite blend of haminess and sweetness. Sweet ham!

When Misuzu wins “King”, she orders Tomo to ask Jun to go to the fireworks together—just the two of them. They all go next door, Tomo asks, and Jun agrees easily, but also seems a little out of it to Tomo?

That night, as Carol snuggles with Tomo, Misuzu is almost on the verge of tears as she rues the day she ever set Tomo on a path that would only take her further away from her.

And yet Misuzu also quietly declares there’s “no going back”, and probably wouldn’t even if she could. That morning, she mysteriously wakes up right next to Tomo while Carol is sleeping peacefully in the bed.

Carol also invites Misuzu to join her and Kousuke at the festival, and while Misuzu doesn’t want to be a third wheel, Carol won’t let her be alone. That said, Kousuke demonstrates how easily Carol gets lost in crowds, and how quickly he’s learned how to retrieve her. Misuzu says he must “have it rough”, but Kousuke would never say or think that.

As for Tomo, she shows up looking so damn good in her red yukata, she is briefly too dazzling for Jun’s eyes, and she causes a sensation with the festival workers who can’t believe what a beauty she’s become. She and Jun-bo are notorious for winning every game they can throw at them.

And yet, as tough as Tomo is, she still freezes up when a couple of older guys try to chat her up. She makes the mistake of saying she doesn’t have a boyfriend, which only makes them more interested. But when Jun firmly pulls her away, the guys can just tell that a real Capital-C Couple is walking away.

Tomo starts to think that Jun’s shift in behavior is because he’s finally starting to notice her, but the truth is he hasn’t stopped noticing her since she confessed her love to him. Turns out he assumed she didn’t mean that kind of love. These two…I swear to God…

Tomo decides she’s going to try to confess again before the fireworks, but then realizes that when she does, it will be “the end of now, and the start of something.” That’s pretty damn poetic for Tomo! But it also happens to be true: not being quite sure exactly what “something” means, it’s always easier to settle back into “now”.

But “now” is already long gone for Jun, as after Tomo says goodbye to him, he admits that while he hasn’t quite sorted out all his feelings, he knows for sure that he’ll never be able to punch Tomo in the face again.

The next day at school, Tomo is full of long, restless sighs, as ever since the fireworks, Tomo has seemingly treated her with kid gloves, only grazing her shoulder with his pinky in the morning (which I agree is creepy!) She tells Misuzu and Carol about it, and Carol later tells Misuzu that exactly what she planned is going down…and Misuzu doesn’t want to hear it.

She may have helped facilitate Tomo getting closer to Jun, but she’s starting to regret it, in part since it could mean less Tomo for her down the road. It’s not clear whether Misuzu has romantic feelings for Tomo, but you could definitely interpret it that way.

Needless to say, she’s in a sour mood, which is not improved when the thugs who Tomo and Jun beat up before decide to target her. Her sharp, venomous tone and dark aura momentarily stun them, but alone aren’t enough to keep them at bay.

When Carol shows up, Misuzu tells the thugs that Carol “has nothing to do” with her or Tomo. As they start to escor Misuzu away, Carol whips out a stun gun and zaps the hell out of the thug leader. But when Misuzu takes her hand for them to escape together, Carol twists out of her grip…and faceplants in a mud puddle.

Misuzu and Carol hide out in a warehouse, where Misuzu says she only said she had nothing to do with Carol to protect her, and even says the truth is she considers her like “something of” a friend. That’s enough for Carol to forgive her and try to give her an enormous Carol Olsten bear hug. But it’s also enough to give away their position the thugs.

Fortunately, Misuzu and Carol don’t have to stew in terror for long, as that terror becomes the exclusive property of the thugs once Tomo and Jun arrive. Misuzu actually called Jun and specifically told him not to tell Tomo, but of course Tomo could see the murderous intent in Jun’s face (even Jun has an amazing face game this week!) and insisted on coming along.

When Jun makes it about him and accuses her of not trusting him to handle a few punks, she immediately corrects him. This isn’t about her not thinking he can handle himself. It’s about how completely against her entire being to sit around in safety while her friends are in danger. Her friends, her fight. Jun does smack one of the guys unconscious with withering nonchalance before Tomo yells at him to stand down and let her cook.

I hasten to add that Kousuke also learned that Carol was in danger and followed Tomo and Jun. While those to are fighting, he looks for the girls, and finds Misuzu helping Carol take off her wet muddy clothes. Kousuke assumes the thugs did something indecent to his Carol and Tomo and Jun have to work hard to keep him away from said thugs before Carol clears up the misunderstanding. I see you Ko-chan!

After the fight, Misuzu tells the others to buzz off so she can have a private chat with the defeated thugs. She explains to them that Tomo is the only daughter of the head of the Aizawa Dojo (whom they know to be a famous master delinquent) and promises the thug leader that he’ll be held personally responsible if any of the punks he’s gathered come near her, Tomo, or Carol again. It’s Mizusu at her most hostile, threatening, and scary.

Jun hangs back anyway to walk Mizusu home, citing the fact that scary she may be, she’s still a girl. Mizusu points out that so is Tomo, and immediately regrets it as Jun then starts talking about Tomo in a way Mizusu would rather not hear. She doesn’t want to hear it from him or “that squishy bitch”, which might just be the best nickname ever.

Balancing genuinely funny comedy with genuinely sweet romance and genuinely powerful drama…it’s just Tomo-Chan Is a Girl! and its immensely talented seiyuu firing on all cylinders.

Tomo-chan Is a Girl! – 07 – The End of Gamer Boy

This week takes us back ten years to the meeting of Jun and Tomo. Having moved from Tokyo, Jun is content to play his handheld game until Tomo hops over the fence to introduce herself (at this point he thinks she’s a boy). Within seconds, his video game is broken.

He learns what a decent person Tomo is when she and her dad stop by to formally apologize (having told on herself) and she asks to be his friend. From that point on the two are inseparable, with Jun doing his best just to keep up with Tomo as she runs, leaps, and climbs all over the place.

Before long, Tomo introduces her even older friend Misuzu, who is hilariously exactly the same as she is in the present, making her quite the precocious kid and future shit-stirrer. When the three go on a bug-hunting trip atop a 200-step shrine stair, Tomo carries Mizuzu on her back and looks smug.

This propels Jun to run up the steps to beat them, and he later smiles one of his first smiles in front of Tomo when he finds a stag beetle. When Tomo embraces Jun, Misuzu grabs her by the shirt, and we witness the origins of her and Jun’s long-standing mutual antagonism.

Jun notes how just being with Tomo made him feel stronger, until one day he learned that was just an illusion when some bullies beat him up and took his (replaced) video game. Tomo is concerned about the mark on his cheek, and even Misuzu derides no joy in making fun of it when clearly something’s amiss.

Then, totally unbidden, Tomo shows up at Jun’s front gate with his video game in hand and a face full of bruises. Jun is furious that she went and took it back alone, but she says she’ll always help him when he’s in trouble, because they’re friends. But Jun is frustrated to the point of tears, because he knows he can’t do the same for Tomo…not until he gets stronger.

That’s how he ended up joining the Aizawa dojo and becoming the impressive physical specimen on display in the beach trip half of the episode—all to become stronger than Tomo so he could take back the video game with his own hands.

Of course, present-day Tomo still plays the game, wondering when he’ll take it, assuming he’s stronger than her by now. But if there’s anything that makes his strength waste away to nothing and cause him to freeze in his tracks, it’s large breasts. Carol has them, but more importantly, Tomo has them too.

Misuzu and Carol are all too aware of this, and accompany Tomo and Jun to the beach trip specifically to see his face when he sees Tomo in her new itty bitty green-striped bikini top, which leaves Jun absolutely zero room to keep thinking of her as a dude.

He zips her up and hangs out under the umbrella with the modestly-endowed Misuzu, who seriously wants to hit him for what his proximity implies. But Tomo is so jazzed up about the beach that she completely forgets she’s in a revealing bikini top and treats Jun like she usually does, with a lot of physical contact.

In this way, Tomo is simply unconsciously demonstrating to Jun how far he still has to go to be stronger than her. He doesn’t simply want to match her in physical strength or prowess in the dojo; he wants to be strong enough not to freeze up every time Tomo touches him.

These thoughts provide more much-appreciated insight into how Jun actually feels about Tomo. The problem isn’t that he sees her as a guy, it’s that he sees her as a girl, and is still wrestling with that. The one thing he fears more than never getting stronger than her is losing what they have.

On the train home, Tomo is initially leaning on Jun but then leans over to Misuzu, already being glommed on by Carol. Her smug look is fantastic, and she asks Jun “what happened” to make him not enjoy the beach trip. For all their adversarial exchanges and glares, Misuzu and Jun go way back to those carefree days catching bugs with their mutual best friend Tomo.

This trip confirmed for Misuzu that Jun sees Tomo only as a girl, and is struggling with how to act around her. This is progress! Misuzu’s goal is to get Tomo and Jun together, but at the end of the day, Jun will need to do his part. This is considerably tougher than his handheld video games, but the rewards of victory will be just as considerable.

Tomo-chan Is a Girl! – 06 – That Big Back

Tomo doesn’t realize it’s her birthday until Jun gets her some Kamina some new sporty shades, and then it’s off to the races, with Tomo urging both him and Misuzu, who are younger, to respect their elder or call her onee-san. But Misuzu’s reference books and Carol’s solid gold brick aren’t her real birthday gift: a complete girly makeover with wig, makeup, dress, and heels.

Misuzu sends Tomo out to the kobini like this, and she immediately draws the gaze of every guy in the store. Also, Jun is there, and while he acts to her like he doesn’t recognize her, he does, and spends the rest of their time together on the fence about whether it’s actually her or not.

It’s kind of left ambiguous if he’s convinced it’s Tomo when they see a younger guy-girl pair excelling at soccer and wonder what their future will hold, while saying he has a similar situation where a girl is his best friend. He hasn’t thought about their future, but he does say he wants to beat her (competitively, obviously!)

The next morning Jun cradles Tomo’s face and inspects her, which leads to her slugging him, which I see as him being glad his Tomo is “back”, if indeed he thought the girl in the dress was Tomo as well. Tomo’s strength and ferocity gets her sent to the boy’s dodgeball team with Jun for the school ball sports tournament.

They easily coast to the finals, where they’re pitted against a third-year behemoth, Goma, who Jun isn’t sure he can beat, but is confident Tomo can. When Goma calls Tomo a “fragile-looking little lady”, Tomo is actually delighted!

Jun ends up sacrificing himself to keep Tomo from getting hit by Goma’s shot, and in retribution, Tomo sends a screamer between Goma’s legs. It’s a pass that’s caught by Tanabe, who easily hits Goma for the team win.

But the pass was meant for Jun, and he missed it, because he thought Tomo would defeat Goma on her own. After school, Goma challenges Jun to a series of judo matches, and is impressed Jun is able to hang in there without resorting to karate.

When Goma asks why Jun trains so hard yet doesn’t enter any tournaments, Jun simply says he’s trying to catch up to “that big back” from his earlier days, referring to Tomo. For a while, he was the weakling gamer and she was his strong, dependable friend and protector.

He may be bigger and technically stronger than her now, but he still feels like he has a long way to go. We don’t yet know if what Jun feels for Tomo is love, but we can still be certain of two things: he admires her, and he wants to be like her. So whatever becomes of their romantic prospects, Tomo can rest assured Jun won’t be leaving her side anytime soon.

Tomo-chan Is a Girl! – 05 – Gamer Boy

Carol invites her first two friends Tomo and Misuzu to her house—or should I say sprawling compound—and they meet her mother, who totally explains why the way she is. For one thing, she’s a hugger. For another, she’s actually sharper and more perceptive than she looks, as she sees right through Misuzu pretending to be a “bad girl” who is only friends with Carol “for the money.”

In preparation for a math exam, Misuzu deigns to serve as Tomo and Carol’s tutor in a study group, during which Tomo makes clear she wants to follow Misuzu to college since they’re best friend.. It’s here where Tomo and Misuzu learn that Carol is actually a damn math savant! She even ranks #1 over Misuzu’s #2! Tomo gets #70, which is an all-time best.

When Jun invites Tomo over to play a new video game he got, Tomo agrees without thinking about the ramifications of spending the night at Jun’s. She wants to tell him she can’t go, but Misuzu and Carol are united to their insistence that she can’t do that. Tomo only has to go next door to Jun’s, and they get through a curry dinner without any incident.

But during and after Tomo showers, things are quiet and a little awkward. Jun re-breaks the ice by suggesting they play video games, but after Tomo loses and teases Jun for being a “former gamer boy”, they roughhouse like they always did…and end up in a compromising position.

It’s clear in several moments that this is as weird and exciting for Jun as it is for Tomo, as he has to steel himself by slapping his cheeks and seems to take great joy getting smacked by Tomo’s controller. The two are adorable in their complete inability to stay up past 10 PM. As Tomo takes Jun’s bed and Jun takes the futon on the floor, they agree that they had fun.

When Jun asks if they’ll always be able to be “like this”, Tomo is poised to reaffirm her feelings for him, only for him to nod of before she can. She then notices his face and its details for the first time when he’s asleep and motionless. When she starts holding his nose for fun, he puts her in a lock in his sleep, so they’re essentially cuddling all night.

The next morning, Jun wakes up first, sees Tomo beside him, and does a backflip out of bed and straight into his desk, waking her. They say their goodbyes, and presumably reunite at the dojo later that day. The next day at school, they’re awkward, but still together, and not at all bothered by that fact. Misuzu and Carol watch the couple with great satisfaction.

With Tomo finally sort of noticing that Jun may be feeling the same things she’s feeling, only he’s doing a better job of hiding it, our athletic couple is gradually growing a little closer together. Jun’s sticking point seems to be a general worry that they might lose the good thing they have going now, but that is a common and not unreasonable worry.

The bottom line is, becoming a couple could well be a much better thing. It will take a leap of faith and a willingness to put themselves out there and risk getting hurt in order to evolve beyond platonic childhood chumminess.

Tomo-chan Is a Girl! – 04 – Shooting You Down With a Smile

Tanabe wants to see Misuzu smile, but Jun sees her smile all the time. It’s just her sadistic smile; the pure smile Tanabe imagines doesn’t exist. But true to her acerbic self, Misuzu gets Tanabe stop fooling around and approach her seriously. She then promises to shoot him down with a smile, one of many great lines uttered with sardonic perfection by Hidaka Rina.

Misuzu also isn’t all that into a lot of physical contact with friends, but Tomo watches other female classmates glomping and embracing and wants a piece. Carol offers herself as Tomo’s hugging partner first, and the feel and smell of her has Tomo briefly wondering if she’s a guy after all; Misuzu simply assures her “that one’s made special.”

After hugging Mifune and Ogawa (and giving them similar feelings as she got hugging Carol) Tomo notices that Misuzu is mad; she knows the very subtle changes in her expression, as well as her change in aura. Carol, who has been constantly clinging to Tomo, suspects she’s to blame, and apologizes by slamming her forehead against Misuzu’s desk. Misuzu then  finally lets the former gather her into her ample bosom, and they make up.

This leads to Misuzu asking Tomo if she’s tried glomping onto Jun; lord knows he isn’t shy about initiating contact. When she tries it, he pulls her off, and I thought for a minute Tomo was going to fall (and need Jun to swoop in and catch her). But she regains her balance, because she’s a jock! I liked that little detail. Jun declaring that he can initiate contact but she can’t earns him a well-deserved right hook!

Jun once again asserts his long-standing familiarity by being in Tomo’s room when she wakes up the next morning (her mom let him in). This leads to a big loud fight that wakes her mom. Tomo then makes breakfast for Jun: rice balls filled with dried sardines for strong bones. Jun’s reaction suggests they taste…interesting, but he still eats every bite.

In the dojo, Tomo’s dad demonstrates how he can still pass out from lovesickness at the sight of his wife. But in a nice scene with Tomo and Jun, she says that her dad has and will always protect her mom no matter what.

Back at school, Carol and Misuzu tell Tomo they are having lunch without her, so she has an awkward lunch alone with Jun. In addition to wanting to supplant Tomo as Misuzu’s #1 best friend, Carol also wants to show Misuzu firsthand what she’s dealing with in regards to the guy she likes.

That guy is Misaki, and Carol’s problem is he doesn’t see her as a girl or potential mate, but as a little sister due to their long history together. Misuzu suggests Carol “take life more seriously” if she wants to succeed with Misaki. Fat chance of that!

In the final segment, Mifune and Ogawa come to Tomo with boy problems. Specifically, like, a Don Juan-type upperclassman has his eyes on Ogawa, and like, won’t take no for an answer? Tomo agrees to be with her when she turns him down. When he fails to act in a gentleman-like fashion, Tomo lays him the fuck out with a thunderous kick to the solar plexus.

The girls warn her that the guy has four equally unsavory buddies, but Tomo coolly promises that she’ll deal with all comers, and won’t hesitate to protect them, before striding away like a badass. Mifune and Ogawa can only swoon.

The five pricks never get a chance to exact any kind of revenge on Tomo, because Jun overhears them plotting to go after her, and delivers a very similar kick to the leader’s chest that Tomo scored. We don’t see him fight the other four, but when all five of them approach Tomo, it’s to prostrate themselves and apologize.

On their walk home together, Tomo wonders why they did that, and why the four she never met were already beat up, and why Jun has a bandage on his cheek. He says he “fell”, but we know he was inspired by what she said about her dad protecting her mom, and wanted to do the same for Tomo. Even if, like Tomo’s mom, she probably didn’t need help!

Tomo-chan Is a Girl! – 03 – Youthful Indiscretion

Naturally, Tomo is shocked and feels betrayed by the fact she’s only now hearing about Jun and Misuzu going out. Misuzu only kept it from her because she herself preferred if it never happened. Jun asked her out on a whim, and they dated for a grand total of three days. I’m also convinced Misuzu calls it “youthful indiscretion” since that was practically Hidaka Rina’s character Yume’s catchphrase in My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex.

We also learn that Jun avoided Tomo for the entire first year of middle school, and they didn’t reconnect as best buds until he’d dumped Misuzu. Like her, I don’t think that’s a coincidence. It’s likely that Jun asked Misuzu out because he was trying to avoid the fact that he had developed a thing for Tomo, and wasn’t ready to deal with that.

It’s become ever clearer that Tomo is not the best judge of whether Jun sees her as a girl, since the moment Jun learns that she’s in the boy’s karate club, he freaks out, and is particularly hostile towards Misaki. The two end up bonding (somewhat) on a bus ride when Jun admits that in a fight with rules like karate, he can’t beat Tomo either; she’s “too incredible”.

The next day after school, Jun asks if Tomo is free to hang, but she has plans with Misuzu and Carol to get tea. She runs into Ogawa and Mifune, who are harboring some very confusing feelings about Tomo and are so shocked by the sight of her in pants that they flee. Misuzu warns Tomo that she can’t keep blowing him off, and shouls arrange a date.

Tomo is dubious that Jun will be as pliant as Misuzu predicts, but when she does take the initiative and ask if he’ll hang, his reaction is just like that of a golden retriever who found out he’s going on walkies. Misuzu and Carol decide on the best outfit for Tomo, one that’s a bit girlier than her usual garb, but not so girly she’ll be too self-conscious.

The resulting white pullover, gaucho pants, and white sneakers ensemble really hit the mark, though Jun doesn’t let Tomo know how cute she looks, the swine. What he does do is let the two of them slide right back into their normal hangout routines: going to the batting cages and bowling. Each time, Tomo is certain she can’t hit a 160 kph fastball or roll a 16 pound ball, but in both cases, she’s still right on Jun’s level.

She then asks Jun if they can go to karaoke, and immediately acts like he said know when he actually said yes, leaving Tomo in a bit of a spot, as she hadn’t thought any further than “going to karaoke.” The place is a lot more intimate than she expected, and since the only songs she knows are children’s songs, that’s what she sings … and Jun records her.

The thing is, he’s not recording for blackmail purposes (though the minute Misuzu and Carol hear he has footage of her singing they want it). He was thrown off how…different Tomo was that day. But not thrown off in a bad way. Clearly it’s a side of Tomo he’d like to see a little more of.

Tomo-chan Is a Girl! – 02 – Enemies Becoming Friends

When Tomo boards a bus with Jirou and sits right beside him, the closeness makes her heart race too much, so she stands, bitter that he doesn’t conside her a girl enough to be equally flusterd. However, he shows he’s very much aware she’s a girl when he spots a pervert groping her and puts a stop to it.

Unfortunately for Tomo, his solution is for her to stop wearing skirts, because they “look wrong” on her. What Jirou isn’t sharing with Tomo is that the reason it looks “wrong” is because Jirou is still uncomfortable with his “best bud” being a woman—especially one with legs to the damn moon!

After slugging Jirou, Tomo reports this injustice to Misuzu the next day. She determines that the problem isn’t the skirt, but the bike shorts underneath. She tells Tomo that the key to a skirt is basically the reality that there’s nothing but underwear underneath. In other words, no half-measures allowed.

Misuzu arranges for Tomo to walk home with Jirou (who is eager to make up), but without the bike shorts. Misuzu’s original observation that the skirt is simply too short to wear on its own without errant winds rendering her unmentionables visible. It’s doubly a shame this happens during an otherwise romantic sakura-strewn sunset stroll.

They later make up again, with Jirou rightfully apologizing for presuming he can tell Tomo what to wear. That said, he doesn’t think she should wear anything she doesn’t feel comfortable in. But as we see from his version of a blush, the main reason he’d rather Tomo wear slacks is because he’s just not ready for those endless gams.

The second part of the episode introduces Carol Olston, a blonde student from Britain. Half of the boys in class are in her thrall, while the other half prefer Misuzu’s cool beauty—we know Jirou is interested in neither. She’s also voiced by Sally Amaki, who is bilingual, so I was a little disappointed she didn’t have any English lines.

Carol is introduced to Tomo via Misaki, and Carol is quick to declare that she and Misaki are engaged and have in face already been married three times. Misaki clarifies that they’re childhood friends, hence all the weddings, but it’s clear Carol considers their engagement legally binding—and views Tomo as an enemy who might steal her Misaki away.

This is only half-true and half-nonsense; the latter because Tomo doesn’t like Misaki that way and has eyes only for Jirou, and the former because Misaki does seem to have a little thing for Tomo. In any case, Carol is sharper than her cotton candy looks and ditzy affectation suggest.

When Tomo reports her encounter with Misuzu, it’s plain as day to Misuzu why Carol keeps calling her a baaaka. Then Carol gathers intel on Tomo by speaking to both Misuzu and Jirou, demonstrating her genral oddness by sitting on Misuzu’s desk and hiding in Jirou’s locker.

Carol ends up hiring Jirou to help get her into shape “to defeat an enemy”, but on the surface, and unbeknownst to him, it totally looks like the two are going steady. Tomo is genuinely freaked out by this, and Misuzu, shit-stirrer that she is, sucks up all that sweet sweet energy.

Watching Carol utterly fail to run more than ten feet or do even one push-up or sit-up is amusing, but not as hilarious as a distracted Tomo unknowingly and lazily turning Misaki—who is likely no slouch, karate-wise—into a pretzel.

Misuzu egged Tomo on to confront Jirou and Carol partly for her own amusement, but also because she wants Tomo to display more urgency in trying to win Jirou over, which means defending her claim to him.

But when she does confront the two, it only takes a moment for Carol to read Tomo’s reactions and conclude that she is absolutely no threat to her vis-a-vis Misaki, as she’s only interested in Jirou.

That afternoon, Carol invites Misuzu out for coffee and cake in what Misuzu calls an “unnecessarily long car” as thanks for her advice. Carol confides that she doesn’t have a single friend, so Misuzu suggests she reach out to Tomo, who will surely be glad to have her as one.

The next day Carol thinks about all the times her open hand of friendship was rejected by those who thought she was too pretty, or too rich, or too weird. But just as Misuzu said, Tomo welcomes Carol’s friendship, and thus appears to her like an angel. Misuzu also agrees to be Carol’s friend, because Carol is loaded, and can likely also help her in even more complex and entertaining schemes to make Tomo and Jirou squirm!

Speaking of, the episode ends with Tomo learning for the first time that Jirou and Misuzu briefly dated years ago, which not only explains their cool-yet-close attitude towards one another, but also draws another parallel between Hidaka Rina’s Misuzu and her character Yume from My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex!

Tomo-chan Is a Girl! – 01 (First Impressions) – One of the Girls

Aizawa Tomo (Takahashi Rie) is big, tall, strong, boisterous, and a girl. Her childhood friend Jun (Ishikawa Kaito) once thought she was a boy due to those traits. Now that they’re both in high school, she doesn’t want to be his “bro” anymore. But it’s not so easy to shift such a long-standing dynamic.

This is a dirt-simple premise and the show drops us right into this close-yet-distant relationship. Close because Jun is far more comfortable (and physical) with Tomo than he’d be with any girl or guy. Distant because Tomo still doesn’t feel Jun sees her as a girl or potential romantic partner.

Just having these two bounce off one another would be too simple, so there are some key supporting characters like Gundou Misuzu, another childhood friend of Tomo who is now on bad terms with Jun despite the fact the three basically grew up together.

Misuzu (Hidaka Rina) is a lot of fun as the acerbic meddler of the trio, who makes it her goal to help Tomo get noticed by Jun the way she wants. Tomo is eager for advice but not so great at executing it. But whether she succeeds or fails, Misuzu will be entertained.

There’s some early hope for Tomo when Misuzu arranges things so neither she has to walk with Jun under an umbrella. Tomo is too bashfull to get too close to Jun, and eventually runs off. But because Jun is if anything more athletic than her (they do karate at her family’s dojo), he catches up to her easily.

It’s here where he notices that yes, his “bro” Tomo isn’t just a girl, but a beautiful, busty young woman in a soaked uniform, so it’s his turn to flee. Tomo doesn’t understand what’s up with him, but if she thought about it with both of her brain cells, she’d realize he just felt the same awkward excitement she feels when he gets a little too close.

Aside from Misuzu, we have Misaki, Tomo’s senpai in the karate club (she murdered all the girls so she’s in the boy’s club). Misuzu has a little thing for Tomo, and when she expresses her exasperation and claims to be “a failure of a girl”, he can’t help but rebut the assertion.

When he says she has plenty of “feminine charm” and she crowds him, asking for specifics, Misaki-senpai wisely tells her the truth: there’s no need for her to change, or to be more classically “girly.” She’s plenty charming just being who she is. I gotta agree with him!

Misaki also happens to be a very pretty young man who attracts a couple of gyaru-ish classmates. When they spot Tomo, they invite her to an after-school meet-up. Tomo, naturally, assumes a fight is afoot and is all for it. Misuzu has to break it to her; they’re interested only in verbal sparring, not the kind with fists.

Tomo, not one to back down from a fight, meets the girls at the appointed time and place, and strikes a fighting stance just in case. The girls then tell him how they’re interested in Misaki, and she delightfully misunderstands that they approached her for love advice since she knows him. She’s all too eager—giddy, even—to take them under her wing!

That shows us it’s not just guys like Jun, but girls other than Misuzu who don’t treat her like “one of the girls”. We tend to want what we don’t have, so even though many a girl would be envious of Tomo’s relationship with both Jun and Misaki, she wants something else. Something it will take no small effort to obtain.

And there you have it. I should mention that watching and listening to Tomo is an absolute blast thanks to Takahashi Rie, who really brings it. Jun’s a jolly meathead who, while clueless about Tomo’s true feelings, is clearly not totally unaware of the fact she’s a girl. The only question is how much romantic progress they make in the 12 episodes to follow.