The setup is a classic romantic irony that predates modern rom-com tropes by decades. She finds him annoying, disorganized, and beneath her social status. She routinely insults him and dismisses his affections. Yet, Sumire is desperately, hopelessly in love with Perman No. 1 (the hero). She has his posters on her wall, blushes when he saves her, and dreams of marrying him.
Mitsuo, meanwhile, is infatuated with Sumire. He endures her abuse because he is smitten with her beauty and talent. The tragicomic irony is that Mitsuo is Perman. The person Sumire loves is merely a costume Mitsuo wears. This creates a psychological paradox: Sumire loves Mitsuo’s masked persona, but hates the real boy underneath. One of the most unique mechanics in Perman that fuels its romantic drama is the copy robot . Each Perman receives a small, sleeping robot that, when placed on someone’s head, creates a perfect, autonomous duplicate of that person. Mitsuo often uses his copy robot to have a "Mitsuo" attend school while he fights crime as Perman. Perman Cartoon Sex
Sumire’s romantic development is the slowest and most rewarding in the series. Over the course of 500+ manga chapters and several anime runs, her hatred for Mitsuo softens into grudging respect, and eventually, into something dangerously close to love. She realizes (subconsciously) that Mitsuo and Perman have the same mannerisms, the same sense of justice, and the same laugh. The setup is a classic romantic irony that
However, this leads to an unsettling romantic subplot. In several episodes, Sumire shows mild kindness to the copy robot of Mitsuo—specifically because the copy robot is bland, obedient, and doesn't annoy her. This raises a grim question: Is Sumire capable of loving a hollow imitation of Mitsuo, but not the real, flawed boy? Yet, Sumire is desperately, hopelessly in love with
But then, the alien Birdman arrives. He explains that if Mitsuo leaves for Planet Perman, all memories of him as Perman must be erased from Earth. Sumire will forget he ever existed. She will remember only Mitsuo Suwa, the annoying classmate who disappeared one day.