Tomo-chan is a Girl is an ongoing rom-com anime about a high school tomboy in love with her childhood best friend, Jun, who does not see her as a girl. Throughout season one, Tomo tries to find ways to become more girly, with the help of her girlfriends.
Tomo and Jun met when Jun moved next door to her when they were kids. They were always together, especially doing outdoor physical activities and playing video games. Jun even joined Tomo’s family dojo, and they learned karate. They were as close as ever – until they got to high school.
Jun stepped away from Tomo upon realizing people may assume they were dating. This hurt both of them as Jun refused to make friends with anyone else and Tomo did not understand why he was avoiding her.
Then after a year of not talking, they end up becoming friends again. When Tomo realized she was in love with Jun, her best friends, Misuzu and Carol, encouraged her to dress and act more feminine.
After Tomo accepted she was in love with Jun, she would get awkward around him and overthink simple situations. In one episode, Tomo and Jun share an umbrella on their walk home from school; naurally, Tomo freaked out at how close they were.
In another episode, Tomo and Jun were having a sleepover, and Jun ended up snuggling up to Tomo in his sleep. If you thought her reaction to the umbrella sharing was bad, this took things to a whole other level.
As soon as I watched episode one, I fell in love with Tomo’s energy, specifically her capacity to sympathize. She stands up for her friends in their time of need and as she is a great fighter. She is a lovable character, and it makes you want to root for her.
Tomo’s character development throughout the series is excellent as well. The creators did a wonderful job of having her struggle with her appearance, but in the end, learning to accept herself as she is. I see a lot of myself in Tomo since I grew up being tomboyish and relating more to my guy friends than my girlfriends, so I understood her struggle of others not seeing her as a girl for the way she dressed and acted. The show puts a positive spin on this topic for girls who are struggling with their body image and physical appearance by allowing Tomo to eventually appreciate herself.
Although this anime is mostly about Tomo and Jun’s relationship transforming, the show is great for tomboys. They may see themselves in Tomo just like I did.
Jun’s character is also great. Even though he is clueless as to how Tomo acts around him, he is caring and a great friend to her – that is, when he becomes friends with Tomo again after their one year hiatus. Jun is dense when it comes to romance, but when he does start to come around, he is a total dream boy.
On the other hand, Tomo and Misuzu’s friendship is complicated, and I haven’t made up my mind as to how it makes me feel. Misuzu has Tomo’s back, but then at times, I feel like she pushes her own agenda and wishes onto Tomo. More specifically, Misuzu disapproves of Tomo’s tomboyish ways and wishes she would act like a more traditional female. This causes some friction between their relationship, but throughout the series, they work through their differences. Without spoiling too much, Misuzu also has a huge secret she is keeping from Tomo, and as her best friend, it was wrong on her end not to tell her.
Carol is introduced a few episodes into the series and, at first, I hated her character. She was a clueless, bubbly teenager; however, as the series progresses, we get to see her character development too. Likewise, she is clever and creative when coming up with ways to get Tomo and Jun together.
Tomo-chan is a Girl is available to watch on Crunchyroll, and the last episode of season one will air March 29, 2023.
