Mirza Aaqib Beg
In ‘Tomo-chan Is a Girl’ or ‘Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko!‘ episode 6 titled ‘Birthday Present & Burn Up! The Ball Sports Tournament,’ Misuzu and Carol give the titular protagonist a birthday surprise. Some days later, the girls’ dodgeball team gets so scared of Tomo that they force her to join the boys’ team instead. When the dodgeball tournament is finally held, Tomo runs throws one team after another until she and her teammates come against Gorou.
Tomo Get’s a Birthday Surprise
On Tomo’s birthday, Junichirou goes to pick her up for school and then gives her a pair of sunglasses that she has wanted lately. Tomo loves the gift and shows it off to Misuzu later that day. Carol gifts the titular protagonist a gold brick while Misuzu buys her a reference book. The two friends then invite Tomo to hang out with them the following Saturday at Misuzu’s house. Later that weekend, Misuzu and Carol give Tomo a feminine makeover and then force her to go outside to purchase ice cream for them.
When Tomo visits the nearby supermarket, she is surprised to see Junichirou, who also notices her. But despite the obvious facial similarities, he refuses to accept that the pretty girl is Tomo. Meanwhile, the titular protagonist is panicking and tries to run away after purchasing the ice cream. Unfortunately for her, she falls face-first on the ground. As if this was not bad enough, Junichirou comes to help her and the two walk home together. On their way, they come across kids playing football and Tomo gets excited.
Therefore, the two of them end up sitting at a distance just to observe the kids. They notice a boy and a girl, who are obviously friends celebrating a goal together. Junichirou, who has still not recognized that the girl with her is Tomo, asks her what she thinks would become of the duo when they grow up. He then confesses that he has similar dynamics with a girl at school but has not made up his mind about their future. Although Tomo wants to say so much, she has to keep quiet. When he notices that the ice cream is melting, she runs back to Misuzu’s house.
Who Wins the Boys’ Dodgeball School Tournament?
On the day of the Boys’ Dodgeball school tournament, Tomo’s team is excited to go out and play. When they finally play their first game, the team crushes their opponents without even breaking a sweat. The second match in the first round is also an instant victory. Tomo’s team then plays against Misaki’s team in round two.
Misaki is concerned about his player’s well-being and tells them to keep their well-being as the first priority. Unfortunately, the advice does not help much as they get absolutely crushed in the match. Although Tomo’s team reaches the final, they now have to play against Gorou, whose intimidating stature scares everyone. Tomo and Junichirou also feel that they will have a hard time against someone like him.
When the game is finally played, Gorou slowly eliminates everyone until he decides to target Tomo. But just before a high-speed throw is about to hit her, Junichirou jumps in front and gets eliminated instead. Tomo then puts all her strength to throw the ball at Gorou, who is ready for any situation. But he does not realize that it’s a trick throw. The ball goes between his legs and ends up in Tatsumi’s hand, who then eliminates Gorou.
What Motivated Junichirou to Learn Karate?
After the dodgeball competition is over, Gorou approaches Junichirou and claims that he knows that the latter is not happy with the way the final game ended. He then takes Junichirou to the indoor sports facility at the school and challenges him to a game of wrestling. But Gorou is surprised when he gets easily slammed on the ground by Junichirou despite using Judo against his opponents’ Karate. Junichirou argues that Gorou lets his guard down way too often which put him at a clear disadvantage.
The two of them continue to fight for a while and eventually, Junichirou realizes that he can’t really defeat Gorou. However, Gorou praises him for pushing him to his limits despite never using Karate. He feels that because of the aforementioned reason, Junichirou should actually be seen as the clear winner. Gorou then enquires why Junichirou avoids participating in any form of sports competition where he could put his fighting skills to use. He feels that Junichirou is wasting his talent.
As he thinks about his motivation to start learning to fight, Junichirou feels that he just wanted to catch up to Tomo, whose big back intimidated him since they were kids. But he does recognize that time has changed now although has no idea how to truly deal with the situation. When he later walks back home with Tomo, Junichirou realizes that he is still the gamer he once used to be and has only become strong-willed thanks to the presence of Tomo in his life.
Read More: Tomo-chan Is a Girl Episode 5 Recap and Ending, Explained
