tomboy

The tomboy exists in real life and is a common character archetype found in media as well. What exactly defines a tomboy? They are, of course, females. Females who act like boys in one way or another, whether they prefer action figures to dolls, or they don't like girly clothing. Tomboys can also be girls/women who perform certain activities or jobs that are considered to be geared toward men, like mechanics and plumbers, etc.

Chizu falls into the tomboy category in several ways. Fist of all, she is athletic. I'm not saying all girls who play sports are tomboys, but in Chizu's case it is just another quality of hers that can be considered tomboyish. While Sawako and Ayane participated in one sport each for the Sports Festival, Chizu participated in two (volleyball and soccer, the two sports open to girls). It is not just that she enjoys sports, but she is quite good at them as well. Where she is not really a shining star in academics, she definitely seems to be one where athletics are involved.

Similar to sports, Chizu is also an avid video game player. Girly girls don't usually play video games, unless they're the girly type (something like Nintendogs or Barbie, etc.). But Chizu appears to like games of a more competitive or adventurous nature, such as one where you have to fight a lion (...or something like that). Such games are more geared toward male players. She also enjoys playing against males (ie. Ryuu), but that could be because he's the only other person who will play with her.

I don't think it's uncommon for a girl to be afraid of bugs. In fact, I think it is common. Chizu, however, is not scared of bugs at all. When she was very young she would pick one up without hesitation and eagerly show it to Tooru. And it was always when one of Tooru's girlfriends just so happened to be there. Each girl seemed mortified of the bug that Chizu was waving around excitedly. Despite the age difference between the young Chizu and Tooru's girlfriends, it's still fair, I think, to make a comparison between them. One girl is not afraid of bugs, the other is. What seems more tomboyish, then? A girl who is comfortable around bugs, or one who is frightened of them? The former, naturally, and that of course is Chizu. Some of the bugs she was so fascinated by were stag beetles, and those are not cute bugs at all, IMO. They are rather scary looking, in fact, but Chizu had no problem chasing after them. So yeah, it wasn't just cute little fireflies or ladybugs Chizu went after; it was the real deal, hardcore kind of bug with pincers and all!

And lastly, there's the issue of clothing. Since she was young, Chizu has always run around with her legs exposed, as Tooru happens to recall. It's hard, in fact, to imagine little Chizu in a dress. Even at the current storyline, Chizu still wears mostly tomboyish stuff. But she does like to wear miniskirts now and then, so she's not completely against girly clothing. She just appears to prefer more comfortable and relaxed clothes that aren't necessarily feminine.

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tomboy

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