Tomo-Chan is a Girl! Ep 8 Review
Whether Jun likes it or not, he can no longer deny the facts: Tomo is a girl. She’s a badass girl who’s also super cute when she tries to be, and one he very much finds attractive. Many people do; why else would Gigguk include a call to join the Church of Tomboys in his review for the Winter 2023 anime season? So why isn’t he doing anything about it?
We still have until April for the season to end, so there’s more time to see these two lovebirds try and figure out their relationship. More fun for the rest of us, though!
The Summer Festival, another classic trope of Slice-of-Life anime
It’s summertime, and in slice-of-life anime, that almost always means two things happen. Firstly, we get a beach episode. Secondly, we get the festival episode, where the cast dresses up in kimonos, visits stalls, and watches fireworks. And, thanks to Misuzu, Tomo will spend the local festival alone with Jun. Let the romance begin!
There’s just one problem…ever since the beach trip, Jun’s been way too flustered to act like his normal self around Tomo. It gets worse in this episode when Tomo goes to the festival in an amazing kimono, and almost every guy’s floored by how beautiful she looks. The stall attendants are so blown away when they start sharing a photo of her, and the reactions are priceless. Everyone looks at Tomo like she’s this beautiful goddess walking amongst mere mortals.
As funny and heartwarming as everyone’s reactions are, though, they highlight Jun’s biggest issue. He knows Tomo’s a girl and finds her attractive. Yet whenever he acknowledges this, he starts treating it way more delicately. Tomo likes that to an extent. However, she still wants him to be her best friend and her boyfriend.
Girl or not, though, Tomo can still kick most people’s butts. And it takes a certain incident to get Jun to snap out of his funk.
Don’t Mess with Jun, Tomo, or Misuzu.
Once the new term starts, Tomo’s bummed out by how more cautious Jun’s treating her and complains about it to Carol and Misuzu. And as the season’s progressed, it’s clear that Misuzu’s secretly jealous of them and doesn’t want to lose her best friend. However, that gets sidelined due to a certain incident.
If you’ll recall, this pack of bullies made the mistake of going after Tomo earlier in the season, and she cleaned their leader’s clock. Then Jun did the same to all of them at once. When they spot Misuzu and Carol, though, they see this as the perfect chance for revenge, leaving the two girls to run and hide…and call Jun for help. Tomo soon learns, and before long, the cavalry arrives to save Carol and Misuzu. Oh, and Kousuke, the captain of the karate club, comes because Carol’s his friend/and or fiance.
The following curb stomp serves as a reminder to Jun that he sorely needed. Tomo might be a girl, and while it’s fine for him to protect her when she needs it, she can still kick most people’s asses. Given everything we’ve seen of the two, neither can reconcile these aspects.
Okay, Real talk, Tomo and Jun
I normally don’t do this in a review, but I feel like it’s necessary. Jun doesn’t realize how lucky he is to have Tomo.
Tomo is one of the best waifu’s I’ve seen in an anime in a long, long time. Not only is she cute, but she’s also a badass. That is seriously awesome to have someone like that as your best friend. And despite the fact that both are attracted to and perfect for each other, Jun’s as scared as Tomo is about taking that next step. They don’t want to give up their status as best friends, even if it means they become lovers. But is that what will happen?
Real talk: there’s no rule against your best friend being your lover as well. If anything, that’s the best of both worlds. The fact that they’re best friends means they don’t have to put on an act in front of each other and be themselves. That’s the best thing that could happen in a romantic relationship! So for both of their sakes, they better figure that out soon.
Alright, rants over. Once again, Tomo-Chan knocked it out of the park. I love this anime, and it’s one of the best of 2023.
Also, never anger Misuzu. She will destroy your social life.
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