Childhood Tomboy Friend is an ongoing webcomic series created by Filipino artist David "TinaFate1
" Delgado. The series has also been edited into a series of YouTube shorts by Bread-n-Butter.
The series is a slice of life ecchi comedy centered on Reiko, the titular tomboy, and her childhood friends, Nikki and Mocchi. The trio were thick as thieves in elementary school but at some point Reiko moved away. More than a decade later and she's back in town and happy to pick things up with her old best pals, but Reiko is far more ... womanly than either of the boys remember.
A prequel spin-off comic, The Dragon Tamer, stars Reiko's parents during their youth, which sees the small-time town girl Yuko temper the fury of the rebellious Yakuza heir Kiyoshi. In addition to be being uploaded on TinaFate's Twitter alongside the main comic, said spin-off can be found on Webtoon here.
Featured Tropes:
- Childhood Friend: Nikki, Mocchi and Reiko. Reiko was separated from the boys years ago but was fond enough of them to remember and seek them out years later. Barring a few hormonal hiccups they don't seem to have missed a beat.
- Former Teen Rebel: Teenage Kiyoshi was a violent thug who didn't go to school and terrorized the neighborhood on a regular basis. Yuko's love changed him for the better, and nowadays he's both an Honest Corporate Executive and a much calmer man (though God help you if you threaten his family or flirt with his wife).
- Gender-Bent Alternate Universe: As demonstrated in one post. In addition to the trio genders being swapped, their personalities are also inverted, with Reiko being shy instead of brash, Mocchi being loud instead of quiet, and Nikki being dumb instead of smart.
- Long Hair Is Feminine: Aside from the obvious affects of puberty, one of the major changes in Reiko's character design after the opening timeskip is her old Boyish Short Hair has grown out well down her back.
- The Nicknamer: Reiko. In Episode 2, 'Nikki' is implied to a nickname... and a somewhat embarrassing one. 'Mocchi' might be a nickname as well, as only Reiko addresses the pair directly and neither boys' name has been confirmed.
- She Is All Grown Up:
- The central trope of the story, as the boys have to adjust to their old friend being very easy on the eyes. Reiko is fully aware of their interest and can occasionally be something of a tease.
- He Is All Grown Up is in effect as well. While a little more socially awkward than his friends, Nikki is an arguable example of Nerds Are Sexy, while Mocchi is a pretty straight example of Tall, Dark, and Handsome, being One Head Taller than Reiko and apparently something of a Hunk - Reiko ends up ogling him[1] after they re-enact their childhood 'who's buffer' contest.
- Shipper on Deck: Reiko's parents fully support the idea of her entering a relationship with either of the boys, though each parent favors one boy over the other. Yuko favors Mochi, while Kiyoshi favors Nikki.
- Tomboy: Obviously. While 18-year-old Reiko[2] is arguably a Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak after puberty gave her a massive Girliness Upgrade, as a child Reiko fit this trope to a T. 4-year-old Reiko[3] would rather roughhouse or play in the dirt than hang out with other girls, and adult Reiko still is boisterous and into classically "nerdy" things like anime and niche mobile games.
- Tranquil Fury: When Yuko and Kiyoshi come home one night to discover that their kids have trashed the living room while fighting over the remote, a visibly seething Yuko calmly tells them that they'll all be sleeping on the sidewalk if they don't clean up this mess right now. Cue the kids (and Kiyoshi) fearfully cleaning up under her watchful eye.
