Tomo-chan is a Girl! offers interesting character dynamics and avoids many of the pitfalls of using the “dense” character tropes. In this story, the characters’ inability to see the feelings of the other is intentional on the part of the characters, coming from their own awareness of their conflicting feelings.
Tomo is a tomboy with a blunt, honest personality. She loves her childhood friend, Junichiro. Tomo and Jun practice at Tomo’s family dojo and live as neighbors. Tomo feels frustrated that Jun doesn’t see her as a girl. Of course, the viewer knows from Jun’s perspective that he’s quite aware of feminine qualities, but he doesn’t want to upset the great friendship they have, so he acts like he isn’t aware.
Tomo’s best friend, Misuzu, reminds me of Wednesday from the Adams Family with her persona. Where Tomo is transparent and up front about everything, Misuzu manipulates and veils. Misuzu loves Tomo and often feels jealous toward Jun because of his relationship with Tomo. Yet, she also wants to see Tomo happy, so she helps Tomo act more feminine to attract Jun’s attention. She worries about losing Tomo to him, but suppresses her fears to support Tomo. However, Misuzu inadvertently makes Tomo feel insecure about her tomboy nature. Misuzu provides a good personality foil for Tomo.
The cast rounds out with Carol, the wealthy, British school idol who hides her true feelings and capabilities behind a free-spirit, airhead persona. The persona is partially true and partially put-on. She sits in the middle of the character spectrum. Where Tomo hides nothing and Misuzu hides everything, Carol reveals much while leaving doubts about what she reveals. She too supports Tomo and Jun’s budding romance.
Of the characters, I find myself drawn toward Misuzu’s complexity. Retelling the story from her perspective, so we could see more of her inner conflicts would be interesting. In middle school, she and Jun went out for a few days. While she claims she had no feelings for Jun–other than disdain–her dialogue suggests she also had some feelings for him. At the least, when Jun broke up with her, it hurt despite how she intended to break up with him anyway. After all, he was the first guy she dated. This lingering hurt colors her interactions with Tomo and Jun, spicing the jealousy she feels toward Jun. We don’t find out how much her emotions and inner conflicts trouble her until later in the series.
Tomo-chan is a Girl! keeps everything light. This is a rom-com, after all. However, it avoids many of the contrivances you see in the genre. In fact, it pokes fun at tropes like falling down stairs and onto your love. The main reoccurring gag involves Tomo hitting Jun whenever things get a little too intimate. As for Jun, he isn’t truly dense. He chooses to act unaware about Tomo’s feelings because he doesn’t want to put their great friendship in danger. He constantly thinks about his own affection for her and how to align it with their friendship. This leads to him avoiding Tomo at times.
Tomo does most of the avoiding and deals with most of the rom-com confusion. She is also a bit dense about how much of a “ladykiller” her tomboyness is for the female supporting cast. But for the most part, taking a female perspective on the usual male-oriented rom-com tropes made the story feel refreshing. The jokes repeat, especially Tomo’s physicality toward Jun, but with enough variety to avoid becoming too tired. Misuzu acts as the straight-man for Tomo, Jun, and Carol’s antics. There’s not a lot of depth to the story, but it is an amusing one. Not every anime needs to have depth. There’s good character interaction here, with enough veiled and conflicted intentions to hold interest. The animation is solid, mostly avoiding still-shots, and other budget savers.
Tomo-chan is a Girl! shapes up to be an enjoyable, heartfelt story with likable characters that balance each other. Misuzu, at least for me, steals the show with her relative complexity compared to the other characters, but her prickliness may be off-putting for you. If you are a fan of rom-coms, but a bit tired of the same-old tropes, you may find Tomo-chan refreshing.
Just for fun, I asked ChatGPT to write about the story. Here’s what it wrote:
Tomo-chan is a Girl! is a popular manga series created by Fumita Yanagida. The story revolves around a girl named Tomo, who is often mistaken for a boy due to her tomboyish appearance and behavior. The series follows Tomo’s life as she navigates her relationships with her friends and her feelings for her best friend, Jun.
The characters in Tomo-chan is a Girl! are well-developed and have distinct personalities. Here are some of the main characters and their analysis:
1. Tomo: Tomo is the main character of the series. She is a tomboy who enjoys playing sports and is often mistaken for a boy. Tomo is loyal, honest, and straightforward. She is also somewhat clueless when it comes to romance and often fails to recognize her own feelings. Tomo’s character is relatable to many readers who struggle to express their emotions.
2. Jun: Jun is Tomo’s best friend, and the person she has a crush on. He is a kind and gentle person who often supports Tomo. Jun is also clueless when it comes to romance, which leads to some misunderstandings between him and Tomo. Jun’s character is well-developed, and readers can see his growth throughout the series.
3. Misuzu: Misuzu is Tomo’s classmate and a member of the school’s cheerleading squad. She is outgoing and confident, and she often teases Tomo about her tomboyish appearance. Misuzu is a likable character, and readers enjoy her interactions with Tomo.
4. Carol: Carol is Tomo’s childhood friend who moved away when they were young. She returns to their hometown in later chapters of the series. Carol is a confident and outgoing person, who is interested in fashion and beauty. She provides a contrast to Tomo’s tomboyish personality, and her arrival leads to some interesting developments in the plot.
5. Kushida: Kushida is a classmate of Tomo and Jun. She has a crush on Jun and often competes with Tomo for his attention. Kushida’s character is somewhat one-dimensional, and she is often portrayed as the stereotypical jealous rival. However, she does provide some tension in the plot and helps to move the story forward.
Overall, the characters in Tomo-chan is a Girl! are well-developed and relatable. Tomo’s character is particularly interesting, as she struggles to express her emotions and often fails to recognize her own feelings. Jun is also a likable character, and readers enjoy his interactions with Tomo. The other characters provide a contrast to Tomo’s personality and help to move the plot forward.
The relationships between the characters are also well-developed. Tomo’s relationship with Jun is the main focus of the series, and readers enjoy watching their friendship develop into something more. Misuzu provides a contrast to Tomo’s personality and helps to push Tomo out of her comfort zone. Carol’s arrival in later chapters of the series leads to some interesting developments in the plot.
In conclusion, Tomo-chan is a Girl! is a well-written and engaging manga series. The characters are relatable, and the relationships between them are well-developed. The series provides a unique take on the romance genre, and readers enjoy watching Tomo navigate her feelings for Jun. Overall, Tomo-chan is a Girl! is a must-read for fans of the romance genre.
There’s a good chance that human-written anime reviews may become a thing of the past as Large Language Models improve. What do you think? How does my review compare to ChatGPT’s?
I rather like these sorts of emergent and human approaches to depicting gender identity, which I’ll parallel here to the characters of Ryō-chan and Ikuyo-chan in Bocci the Rock. American film producers could take a cue.
The Chat-GPT written version is clear and organized, but flat and formulaic. I’ve read physics publications with more “voice”. We noticed something similar with several college research papers we ran, just to see what they would look like. Aside from a couple of pretty glaring technical errors, they were well-organized and clear, but lacked voice and used very formulaic transitions… “Here are some of the main characters…”, “Overall…”, “In conclusion…”
Compare that to, “…the pitfalls of using the “dense” character tropes,” “…reminds me of Wednesday from the Adams Family…”, “…at least for me, steals the show…” I suppose the algorithms will eventually be able to simulate a conscious interaction with the material. But for now, it’s still a “Chinese Room” – translating information to text, but without the ability to say anything new.
American films often lack nuance and encourage stereotypes.
It might be possible to guide ChatGPT to be more naturalistic with some style suggestions or writing-style suggestions. I didn’t try with this experiment. The more I play with the tech, the more I can see it acting as an assistant. Of course, some people will attempt to use it for more than an assistant.