Ah, the eternal beach episode.  As anime chestnuts go, they don’t get much more played out than that one.  But Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko! seems like the sort of series that could get something fresh out of it – because taking what’s familiar and making it feel interesting and different is basically what this series does.  It’s not surprising then that this is one of the more entertaining and plot-relevant beach eps I’ve seen in an age.  And it continues the hot streak the series has been on pretty much since the second episode.

The last two episodes have focused mainly on Jun’s side of the ledger, and I think Tomo-chan is even better for it.  He’s half the equation after all, the Yin to Tomo’s Yang.  And in many ways I think his feelings about the current state of affairs are more complicated than hers.  Tomo attacks this thing in pretty straightforward fashion, because she’s a straightforward person.  She knows she’s in love with Jun and wants him to reciprocate.  He’s much more conflicted – after all, he’s been aware of the growing elephant in the room (no pun intended) since middle school.  And unlike Tomo, Jun is not really happy about having surpassed her in physical strength.

Taking the the time to explore the origin story of our dream couple was a good idea.  It really fleshes out Jun’s character by showing us in detail how he got here, 10 years after meeting Tomo when he moved in next door.  Young Jun (Koichi Makoto) definitely merits the “gamer kid” label at this point – though Tomo immediately breaks the game.  At that age girls are often stronger and bolder than boys, and that certainly applies here.  But Tomo is a force of nature, and Jun quickly gets pulled into her orbit (and that of her crazy family).  At first it’s bewildering and scary, but slowly he begins to come out of his shell, embracing a side of childhood he’d never explored.

Seeing how deliriously happy these two are as rugrats just reinforces how much of a jolt puberty was for both of them (but especially Jun, who was obviously tuned in to what was happening way before Tomo was).  One takeaway from this chapter is that while Tomo is simply who she is, in a way Junichirou is living a lie.  He’s changed, but the roughhousing brawler is a costume he slips into – it’s become quite natural on him now but a part of him is still the timid little boy being pulled along in Tomo’s wake.  After Tomo rescued his handheld from a couple of bullies, Jun cried and pledged himself to become stronger than she was.  But now that he is, he misses the way things were before.

Then we have that beach chapter.  Misuzu is less than enraptured by the beach, not surprisingly – but Carol plants the seed in her mind that Jun’s reaction to seeing Tomo in a swimsuit will be worth it.  This is a tough scenario for Jun – Misuzu is his ex, and both Carol and Tomo are seriously built (which he’s apparently into, as most guys his age are).  For Tomo this is an opportunity to push Junichirou out of the friendzone, for Misuzu a custom-built trolling scenario, and for Carol-, well, just a chance to be Carol in a swimsuit.

What’s both funny and sad here is that Tomo totally gets the wrong end of the stick where Jun’s “boyfriend” reactions with her and Carol are concerned.  Jun declares “you wouldn’t want people to think I was your boyfriend” after saving her from a creeper, and “I don’t care whether they think it or not” after liberating Carol like the Allies marching into Paris.  Tomo gets the import of this completely backwards  – Jun reacts that way because where she’s concerned there are high stakes, and with Carol it’s just no big deal.  He’s really thinking too much where this whole relationship is concerned, but it’s impossible for me to hold that against him because almost any guy would in his place.