Come let big Papa give you a hug,
Kanon.
... I'm talking about
Blaat of course. We can shake hands.
But seriously, I suppose that is one of the reasons you cannot sympathize with her at all: she has the people/resources around her who do care and can help, unlike others, but she takes it for granted? I totally understand that.
Some points I want to make:
It's so obvious that the reason Tomoko has trouble making friends and being sociable has
nothing to do with her appearance or the clothes she wears. Just look at her brother, who has the same sour, inhospitable face. So what's the difference between them? His behavior and attitude. He didn't have to change the way he looked. Likewise, Tomoko does not need to look like Yuu (which is impossible anyway).
Izumi Kitta was really working her voice acting skills during Tomoko's delusional scene this episode. It's no surprise that she also played Cordelia in Futari wa Milky Holmes (the slapstick comedic versions), another neurotic character who had moments of delusions.
It would be an injustice if she didn't get more notable roles after this performance.
I'm generally against parents hitting their kids, but Tomoko perfectly demonstrates the times when it's justified to get "touched." I'd like to see more scenes from the father though. I suppose it's easier to view him in a more positive light than the mother, because his only interaction was one "good" deed. But it's not like he has to deal with Tomoko's nonsense 24/7 during the summer, so.... yeah.