Tomo Takino

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Tomo as seen in a color insert from Azumanga Daioh.

Name translations
Chinese	Lóngyě Zhì （瀧野智）
Korean	Yang So-ran （양소란/梁騒乱）
Korean-to-English translation	Disturbance of Crosspiece

Tomo Takino (滝野智, Takino Tomo^?) a.k.a. "Tomo" is a fictional character from the anime and manga series Azumanga Daioh.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

1 Biography
2 Trivia
3 Voice actors
4 Character songs

[edit] Biography

Tomo is extremely energetic and competitive, and yet a slacker at the same time. She tends to irritate everyone around her, especially Yomi, her classmate since elementary school. She is the de facto leader of the "Knuckleheads" ("Bonkuras" in Japanese, "Numbnuts" in the English manga), along with Osaka and Kagura, but is capable of doing well in school if she tries. Tomo was able to pass the exam to be admitted to their prestigious high school, though the fact that she did it just to annoy Yomi is very telling of her character. In fact, Tomo seems to spend most of her energy on annoying others. She is mischievous in a somewhat malicious but ultimately playful way, constantly making fun of the rest of the girls (particularly Chiyo, for being a kid). She is also the one who gave Ayumu Kasuga the nickname "Osaka". It is later revealed in the manga that this is her way of naming, she owned a cat named Whiskers and now owns a dog named Spot (in the original/Japanese version, she owned a hamster named Hamu and now owns a dog named Kuro, literally "black"). Essentially, Tomo expresses her affection to friends through teasing and ribbing. When she isn't wearing her uniform she wears somewhat sporty clothing, proving she may be a bit of a tomboy.

Tomo is also a delusional egomaniac who constantly imagines herself to be competing with the other girls. Among other things, she challenges Sakaki to a race (which Sakaki easily wins), and actually expects to be picked valedictorian at her graduation despite always getting bad grades. She is a fan of the anime series Lupin III and constantly makes references to herself as the sexy Fujiko Mine, despite the fact the two are worlds apart in appearance and personality. In the manga, when Chiyo announces that she is turning 12 years old on her next birthday, Tomo states that she herself is already 17 as if it were an accomplishment. It is suggested that her character is very similar to that of her teacher, Yukari Tanizaki. Tomo is the Assistant Class Representative, despite her usually awful test scores (in which she has a perverse pride). She only got this job because no one else volunteered. Chiyo-Chan was, however, elected anyway. She is also the only member of the group who actually enjoys riding with Yukari. Tomo and Yukari have a love-hate relationship, where Tomo is often the bane of Yukari's existence, despite their sometimes similar personalities. One of Tomo's stated dreams is to "mess with the teacher". Despite the similarities between the two, Tomo is much more upbeat and optamistic compared to Yukari, who often complains in general. Early in the anime some of Yukari's actions causes Tomo to reconsider doing something reckless, this might be in an effort to not be like Yukari, potentially re-enforcing her disdain for the teacher.

She seems to be more interested in "dirty tales" and sexuality in general than the rest of the cast, and has occasionally asked the adults for "information" at the group's summer retreats (once getting truly spectacular results). Dirty jokes are Tomo's forte as well, including a particularly nasty one when the Yukari and Nyamo appeared in their old school uniforms for a race in the Sports Festival's third year (since Tomo was dressed up a police officer, she essentially tried to arrest them on prostitution charges). Nonetheless, like the other girls Tomo remains boyfriend-less throughout the series.

Near the end of the series, when the girls are entering her senior year, Tomo announces that she plans to become a policewoman, even one day entering Interpol. Although it seems incredible, since Tomo is able to accomplish things when she puts her mind to it, it doesn't seem altogether impossible. After all, she was accepted into college before Yomi.

Despite the irritation she brings, Tomo's loud character ties in together memorably at graduation when Chiyo is honored as top of her class inspiring Tomo to jump out of her seat clapping and shouting, "Bravo!" continuously, uniting the entire graduating class to join in a standing ovation for Chiyo, bringing her to tears.

[edit] Trivia

Padudu illustrating examples

Padudu from Magical Play resembles Tomo in that they share traits from the same character design of Kiyohiko Azuma, the manga's author.
Tomo's cellphone's ringtone is one of her character songs, "Poi Poi Peace".
Tomo appears to be a major fan of the manga and anime series Lupin III, to the point of choosing a hairstyle to emulate Fujiko Mine (of whom she believes she can do an amazingly good impression). She later expresses an apparently serious desire for a career as an INTERPOL agent - much like Lupin's nemesis, the Inspector Zenigata.
Tomo is also a fan of "Ayu" (Ayumi Hamasaki)
According to the manga, Tomo is also a fan of Ryoko Hirosue.
Tomo frequently refers to Manzai comedians, and expects Osaka to join in (manzai being a form of stand-up comedy particularly popular in the Osaka region).