Tomo-chan Is a Girl!

Episode 11

Half of the episode is a straightforward comedy with the girls getting a part-time job, and hilarity ensues. However, there were moments throughout this skit that emphasized how Jun has changed. He used to be a lot more oblivious to everything. Whenever he was close to Tomo, it was usually under the guise of just dudes hanging out. He's now making more explicit attempts to spend time with Tomo because he's interested in her romantically. He comments more about how he feels happier seeing her, and is a lot more self-conscious about being alone with her. The show has come a long way in establishing how similar encounters can feel different with fewer words and timing.

This brings us to the second half of the episode which focuses more on Misuzu's sense of guilt. The show has strongly hinted at these feelings for a couple of episodes now, even when they weren't the focus. I thought those feelings of guilt stemmed from the fact that Misuzu was being intentionally deceptive with Tomo. I figured Misuzu merely used the idea of making Tomo more girly as an excuse to have Tomo engage in fewer physical activities that Misuzu couldn't keep up with. Now the show already established that doesn't seem to be the case anymore since that specific issue was addressed when the two of them were in middle school, so it appears that the source of her guilt is more firmly rooted in the fact that Misuzu thinks that she was getting in the way. Misuzu thought that if she had left things as they were, then Jun and Tomo would've been in a relationship a lot faster and more organically. I can see why she would think that, but since she isn't in the heads of any of the characters, she couldn't have known for sure. One could argue that her involvement might've done more good than harm.

Interestingly, listening to Misuzu talk about herself in this episode makes me wonder if a lot of her peacocking as this twisted villain character is just a projection or a defense mechanism. She acts like an evil, irredeemable person because she thinks that, deep down, that's what she is. Who could ever be friends with someone like that? As someone who has grown up with severe cases of imposter syndrome, I could relate very well to what she's going through. I was also surprised at how the show implemented Tatsumi, Jun's friend who also has shown repeatedly to have a crush on Misuzu. He was always the sort of jokester side character. But for a brief moment, we catch a glimpse inside his head; he genuinely seems to like Misuzu for who she is, to the point where he feels weirded out and caught off guard if she starts acting nice and reserved.

I don't know if the show was planning anything for these two characters. It would be nice if Tatsumi played a role in Misuzu coming to terms with herself because this could potentially be the first time that someone has shown an interest in her in such a way. Besides, the show already established the three couples. It would feel weird if these two got left out in the end. It still seems like this and Tomo dating Jun are the two remaining obstacles that needs to be addressed before the show ends. Let's see how all of that gets handled.

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Tomo-chan Is a Girl! is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.