Tomo Chan is a Girl Gogoanime / Tomo Chan is a girl 9anime
Tomo Aizawa (Tamo-chan) is a tomboyish girl who confesses her feelings for Jun Kubota more casually than intended; Jun seems disapprove of Tomo using an overly masculine tone when speaking of him and even warns against using such language himself.
At its best, this show is well-written and delivers on gender expectations and degendering issues with honesty and compassion; however, cheap gags about Tomo’s chest keep it from reaching greatness.
Characters
Tomo Aizawa is a tall, fair-skinned girl who never hesitates to express herself. With unkempt neck-length red hair and small fangs that match her boisterous personality, she boasts lean build with ample bust size that Tomo finds appealing – traits shared with Akemi Aizawa whom she often attempts to emulate for height and muscularity.
Misuzu and Carol Olston lavish their friends, Tomo, with numerous gifts on her birthday. After donning various outfits for her photo op, Misuzu and Carol Olston send Tomo out shopping for ice cream while still fully made-up – much to Tomo’s embarrassment, when Junichirou appears at the same store but fails to notice her presence there.
Jun and Tomo have been close since they were children, yet she longs for more from him than just friendship. He seems content only viewing her as one of his teammates despite feeling infatuated with her. This tight and self-contained show does not waste time with drawn-out emotional journeys that don’t hit all the high notes associated with clueless male lead trope.
Plot
Tomo attempts to deepen her relationship with Junichiro, but his misogynist attitudes impede this goal. He only sees her as male and refuses to recognize that she’s female even after she tells him of her affection for him. With help from Misuzu and Carol dressing her up for dates – like going batting cageing and bowling alleying as usual – everything turns out as planned but ultimately results in failure.
As their time together continues, Jun becomes aware of his neglect of Tomo’s feelings. Seeking advice from Misuzu on how to deepen their relationship, Misuzu suggests more physical contact – they try casually pushing each other into each other’s arms but that alone doesn’t cut it – Tomo gives Jun the courage to beat her in karate and asks him formally to become her girlfriend; which Jun accepts and the two kiss before parting ways for good.
Anime style
Tomo-chan Is A Girl features outstanding voice acting but suffers from some strange degendering that mocks Tomo’s female attributes and makes fun of their association with womanhood. Though not enough to ruin the show entirely, it remains an annoyance that’s hard to overlook.
Fumita Yanagida’s original manga is an entertaining rom-com that follows Tomo Aizawa as she navigates her romantic misadventures in high school. While Jun Kubota, one of her childhood friends, treats her like one of the guys, she desperately wishes he recognized her as female instead.
Though the manga series remains ongoing, its anime adaptation has already completed all eight volumes and creators have indicated there will be no new chapters and it is unlikely it will return for a second season. Fans can still view it on Crunchyroll where it enjoys high ratings; Blu-ray and DVD copies are also available for purchase.
Music
Tomo Chan Is a Girl’s music is charming and energetic, while its voice acting is fantastic – Tomo has an airy downrange voice which perfectly fits her character, while other characters exhibit amusing characteristics as well. Overall this anime ranks highly among romcom offerings from 2023.
Tomo Aizawa is eager to be playful “like a girl”, hugging her classmates without being told not to do it by Misuzu Gundou and Carol Aizawa who accuse her of neglecting them over the holidays. However, these accusations come back at her with full force during school day when Misuzu Gundou accuses her of neglecting them as well.
Junichiro Kubota becomes jealous when Tomo expresses joy upon seeing him and becomes protective of her. After an acquaintance gropes Tomo on the bus, Jun restrains them and later advises Tomo to wear pants instead of skirts; Jun eventually begins dating Tomo; her attempts at changing her appearance do not succeed; however, their newfound friendship causes Jun to reconsider his feelings towards her.
