So I’ve had some more Thoughts about Tomo-Chan is a Girl!
I have already briefly talked about Tomo-Chan is a Girl! in a post that focuses more on its humor and its paneling, so today I'd like to cover more about Tomo-Chan is a Girl! itself. Now let's get a disclaimer out of the way really quickly. I am not Japanese nor know anything about martial arts, so certain aspects are likely lost to me, but I am very aware of the misogyny problems Japan has. Particularly with groping. So a lot of that kind of ends up shoping up in this Manga.
The biggest issue I really have with Tomo-Chan is a Girl! is that it builds Tomo up as a very confident, cheerful, and outgoing person who tends to lean to the masculine in her hobbies. One could argue her appearance too, but there is an emphasis on her having big boobs, so that kind of feels like a moot point to me. The thing is, Tomo is only really recognized as a "girl" when Jun sees her getting groped and/or hit on. And that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Tomo shouldn't have to face these things to start, but the fact that she has to be "saved" to be recognized as feminine isn't great. Tomo herself is still an interesting character, and I think her being awkward and not fully knowing how to respond in these situations is fine, but they shouldn't have been a catalyst to recognize her as a girl. And it isn't helped that Jun had to get her parent's bless to even date her. Yes, it was a good moment for Jun and Tomo to bond over something they enjoy and defeat her father together, but again, in the framing of this being a recognition of Tomo being a girl, it just kind of takes away her personal autonomy.
The other problem I really have is Jun. Tomo is a big personality and rather fun to read about alongside Carol and Misuzu, who match her big personality in different complimentary ways. Jun, on the other hand? He likes sports and physical activity and is kind of like Tomo but not nearly as cheerful, so he ends up hitting a bit of a flat for me. Especially as a romantic male lead, the fact he isn't even half as interesting as Carol, a secondary cast member and occasional villain, is wild. Like, Tatsumi has more personality than Jun does. So because of that, a lot of the romance of the story falls flat.
Now a counterpoint could be made that this story is a comedy first. And given it's four pannel set up a real romance story is gonna be hard to tell when you have a punchline to make. Here is where I bring back Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun because while I haven't finished that series, it shares a setup, and I way more believe in the chemistry between Chiyo and Nozaki. Yes, Nozaki keeps misreading Chiyo's advance, but he does care for her and seems to want to make her happy. That is also one where the romance is like, but both Chiyo and Nozaki's personalities mesh well and are distinctive enough that the humor feels more natural. It also works because Chiyo isn't in any rush and is just happy being by Nozaki's side. She doesn't have the pressure to prove herself feminine, and Nozaki's obviousness is in general romance.
I don't think I'd straight-up call Tomo-Chan is a Girl! misogynist, but its ideals about gender do put a limit on what it does and what it could have done. To me, Tomo's masculine favoring rings a bit hollow, when to be happy with the guy she likes, she has to still conform to and is limited by certain gender expectations.
