Stark700

You know the expression of 'being friend zoned'? Tomo got the friend zone treatment after confessing to her crush, Junichirou Kubota. While Tomo wants him to see her as a girl, he only sees her as a friend. And to be honest, there's a rather justifiable reason for that. For you see, Tomo represents the definition of a tomboy, but she's a girl. The title of the anime is exactly what it sounds like. Tomo Aizawa is a girl, at least literally. The depressing fact from her point of view is that Jun always sees her as a guy. Based on the 4-koma, the series primarilytakes on a romantic comedy approach of storytelling, with numerous gags and humorous moments. The fan service is not something you should not considered about as the anime is treated with lighthearted care. The anime's biggest goal is letting the audience and Jun realize that Tomo is actually a girl, not a tomboy that everyone sees her to be. I'm not too familiar with the author but as I mentioned before, viewers shouldn't worry much about fan service despite their history of working on hentai. What they should worry about is whether Tomo will finally get together with Jun or be stuck in the friend zone forever. Watching the show also taught me that first impressions are imperative with Tomo's innocent confession. Quite frankly, I'm not a big fan of romantic comedies where it takes an entire season to see whether a couple becomes real or not. However, I let this anime slip through because it's the very premise of the show and every episode brings together new scenarios and narratives about the cast. There are also moment when Jun reacts to Tomo's figure such as the classic beach episode or even gets jealous when other guys pay attention to her. To put it simply, this anime will test everyone's patience, including Tomo herself. Thankfully, you don't need to just wait to see our two childhood friends gets together along the way. The anime serves more as a the 'journey is more important than the destination', as the story covers Jun, Tomo, and their friends' relationships. While Jun and Tomo are the obvious superstars, we shouldn't forget about Carol and Misuzu either. The anime makes their roles prominent enough that they influence the anime, not just being extras. For instance, Misuzu had a history with Jun including being his boyfriend for a short period. Carol serves as a modern day rival against Tomo, at least from her perspective. The anime makes it clear that Tomo wants Jun's attention so when other girls enters his life, hilarity ensures. With childhood romance themes, one thing to be aware is the characters' pasts. Jun, Tomo, and Misuzu gets their background stories and compared to the present, their characters hasn't undergone much change. The only major difference now is how Tomo wants to be more feminine. Misuzu sometimes offer advice but it's ultimately up to Tomo to put her plans into action. This anime adapts a plot in sitcom-like format that has characters go to various places (ex. beach, school plays, festivals) for their opportunties. Let's face it, for a romance to work, it needs opportunities. And for Tomo, she needs to take those opportunities to heart to get Jun to notice her as a girl, not a tomboy. If there's actually one other character to pay attention to, it would be Misuzu. She's a more complicated character than the rest of the cast, not just because of her history with Jun, but also her motivations. Emotionally distant and cold towards others, she is Tomo's best friend. Unquestionably, she is the most manipulative in the anime, although not for malevolent reasons. It appears that she just doesn't want to lose Tomo as a friend if she truly becomes Jun's girlfriend. But don't worry, the anime doesn't get too deep into Misuzu's plans. She still has her wingman moments and isn't evil, although more manipulative than any other character in the show. But at the root of the anime, Misuzu brings in the most excitement because how unpredictable she is. Romance feels like a game to her. I believe if there were more characters like Misuzu in this show, the story would get much more complicated. Either way, she's a breakout character to keep a keen eye on. For what's worth, it's refreshing that the author created a diverse range cast to entertain the fans. While Lay-Duce hasn't been a mainstream studio that made everlasting impressions from their portfolio, I can confidentally say that this is their most impressive one yet. Character designs are crafted with vibrant colors and expressions that makes sense. Their cartoony reactions are amplified often during moments of anxiety or surprise. Tomo is the biggest culprit because of her crush on Jun. We shouldn't look away from Misuzu though as she always has that devilish look of mischievousness. But perhaps most noticably is the way they dress up Tomo in various episodes. It feels as if the anime wants to experiment on how much she can look like a girl, and to me, that is nothing short than entertaining. (ex. putting on a dress or a wig) Finally, the decorative theme songs will catch your eye especially upon your first viewing. Tomo-chan Is A Girl! is the type of anime that its fanbase wanted to see an anime for a long time and it finally happened. This was not a matter of not 'if but when'. And that time is now. We have a series here that entertains fans from day one and stayed true to its premise throughout the duration of its run. Although it didnt't adapt the source material at fullest, it worked its magic to craft a colorful cast of characters and story. Yes, Tomo-chan is a A Girl! is a recommendable show. And yes, Tomo is definitely a girl. Jun just needs to accept it.

Marinate1016

Tomo-Chan caught me by surprise. I’m not normally into the muscular mommy dommy waifu vibe so came into this with low expectations, but boy was I blown out of the water with how good this show is. Takahashi Rie puts in one of her most memorable performances to date and this will go down as the best romance show of Winter 2023. Tomo-chan’s story is not the most original, on the surface at least. Childhood friends who are both oblivious to each other’s feelings, grow up, reach puberty and start noticing each other as members of the opposite sex. What makes this one stand out isthat Tomo is a cute tom boy who has essentially acted and dressed like a boy her whole life. Now she wants to be seen as a girl by her best friend. The wide range of antics she got up to over the course of the season to make that wish come true was hilarious. The character interactions in this are top notch, genuinely some of the funniest comedy I have seen in an anime as well. What makes things even better is the supporting characters. Carol and Misuzu are amazing and I would not blame anyone for having them in their top waifus list. Genuinely hilarious characters who are also amazing friends, supporting Tomo the entire way. I particularly loved seeing Misuzu who is a massive tsundere, begin to shed that icy exterior and open up as the show went on. Her gradual friendship with Carol was so sweet and almost as good as any romantic development for me. Carol, the token american blonde, provides so many comedic moments, but while she comes off as a massive airhead, she’s really a thoughtful and concerned friend. I think the best part of this show is that there’s more to all these characters than meets the eye. Whether it’s Tomo’s tomboyish appearance which masks a typical cute teenage girl, Misuzu’s dark tsundere exterior which masks a caring and doting friend, etc., the show does a surprisingly good job of showing the complexities of people. I am a big proponent of short and succinct stories that get everything across without dragging plot lines out and this show did just that. Being based off a 4-koma manga helps a lot with the directness of the story. The characters all get satisfactory ends to their stories and it really left nothing to be desired. Lay-duce did an awesome job with pacing and art in the show, really looks bright and beautiful. Animation is solid, no complaints. The voice acting was honestly my favourite artistic aspect of the show. Takahashi Rie in particular blew me away. I am admittedly not a fan of most of her roles, character wise, but lately she’s been on a role. Voicing two of my faves from this season in Tomo and Ririha from Ooyukiumi no Kaina. Traditionally, she’s done more soft spoken feminine characters, but seeing her handle boisterous Tomo really gave me even more respect for her range. Misuzu and Carol’s seiyuus are great too and add a lot to their scenes. Tomo-Chan is a really fun watch. If you’re looking for comedy, romance, slice of life type stuff, this is the one. If you have limited time and can only check out one romance show this season, this is it. You won’t regret it. Tomo-Chan gets a very easy 10/10.