My Thoughts on "Komi Can't Communicate"
Note:
This was originally written on Friday March 24, 2023, and was posted on DeviantART the next day on Saturday March 25, 2023. I'm finally getting to it. I've had it on my To-do list for several weeks now, and I've been putting it off. But now, I'm finally doing it, I'm reposting Komi Can't Communicate. I haven't rewatched this show since I last watched it last year, although I did watch several clips from it the weeks after I watched it and after I posted this review on DeviantART. As far as I know, the show does not have third season, and still only has two seasons. So, I'm just going to assume that the show is over, and it's not going to continue past Season 2. They've capped it off at two seasons, and that's that.
Usually, you can tell if anime series is going to have another season because they usually tell you at the end of the season in the season finale that the show has been renewed for another season. That's what this show did, and that's what Yashahime did. But, even saying "renewing for another season" is kind of misleading because anime TV shows don't really operate the same way cartoon TV shows here in the US 🇺🇸 operate.
You see, unlike with cartoons, when an anime gets picked up for a series, it only gets a specific number of seasons and they stick to it. It's not like here in America 🇺🇸, where if a show is successful and really popular, then the network will renew it for another season. If an anime show is issued for two seasons, it will only get two seasons. I also think it has to do with the fact that a lot of these anime shows are based on manga, and they're only really made to promote the manga.
And honestly, just like with Yashahime, I don't really think Komi Can't Communicate needs a third season. I think the show is good enough with two seasons, and where it leaves off. Since the manga has gone for so long, and has no actual end in sight, maybe if they do continue the anime maybe they could have the anime end with a more conclusive ending like having Komi and the other students graduate from high school. Sure, that would mean deviating from the manga, but with a manga that just goes on forever and never actually ends, when you adapt it into an anime, you kind of have to do that. Otherwise, you end up like One Piece 🏴☠️.
But, if they chose not to do another season of the TV show, then maybe they could make some movies. That would be a way to continue the anime without actually continuing the anime, and it would give you the opportunity to adapt certain story arcs from the manga without dedicating several episodes of a season to it. From what I understand, from what I've heard from reviews talking about the manga, a lot of the manga focused on side characters, most of whom only appear once, and it's just seeing how they react to Komi, and how Komi impacts their lives. Sometimes they don't even encounter Komi at all, and we're seeing these random side characters who we will never see again live out their daily lives or get into weird shenanigans. And even though, I do like the anime overall, I will say the episodes are kind of poorly structured. Like, most of the episodes don't really a single cohesive plot or story that you follow throughout.
A lot of them are just a collection of relatively disconnected vignettes of the characters interacting with each other, or doing various things. I imagine that this is due to the structure of the manga, and how it was written and drawn. A lot of the scenarios in the manga amount to various vignettes of the characters hanging out, or getting into misadventures that don't really connect to each other or really form a cohesive plot. But, what might work for like a few pages or a few chapters of a manga, won't necessarily work a full 30 minute episode of a TV series on Netflix. So, making a movie could be a way to keeping things focused on one thing on one story without getting distracted by these other shorter and more disconnected vignettes.
Or, if not a movie, then maybe a video game. I would be interested to see kind of video game you could make out of Komi Can't Communicate. I'm not thinking of a visual novel, I'm thinking of like a 3D action platformer, or a 3D action beat 'em up. People would be expecting a Komi video game to be a visual novel because it's a high school romantic comedy ❤️ and romantic comedy anime ❤️ that do get video games usually only get visual novels. But, not Komi, I would like to hope that they'd go against the grain, and do something unexpected. And what would be more unexpected than a 3D platformer or a 3D beat 'em up? Of course, I would have Komi be the playable character so that we can see things more from her perspective. A lot of the anime (and probably a lot of the manga too) is from Tadano's perspective.
He's the main protagonist, he's the audience surrogate, and we're seeing this all through his eyes, rather than that of Komi, despite her being the title character. We rarely, if ever really get inside her head, and really see what she's thinking, or what she's feeling. I mean, we do see what she's feeling through the show, but again, it's still from Tadano's perspective. We're seeing his reactions to what Komi is doing, and to what she's feeling, and a lot of times, he's just trying to figure out what she's feeling. Because you know, she has selective mutism, and doesn't always tell him what she's feeling and why. So, he has to interpret what she's thinking or what she's feeling a lot of the times based on her facial expressions or her body language or the actions she takes.
So, having her be the playable character and main protagonist of a video game, especially a 3D platformer or a 3D action beat 'em up, would be a good way to get inside of Komi's head, and really see things from her perspective. Even if she still doesn't talk most of the time. Maybe the plot is that Tadano is kidnapped by some villain or something, and Komi has to be the one to rescue him. That could for an interesting game albeit a pretty weird one, especially if you incorporate more fantasy or sci-fi elements into otherwise grounded franchise.
I would also be open to an American remake of Komi Can't Communicate 🇺🇸. I talk about this is the review itself and in the note, but I would really like to see an American version of Komi Can't Communicate 🇺🇸, and I especially would like to be the one who makes it, even if that's not very likely to ever happen. Now, most anime fans would shutter 🫨 at the thought of an American version of an anime 🇺🇸 that they like, especially if it were live action.
But, what I'm envisioning is something more along the lines of like The Magnificent Seven or The Departed, where it is technically a remake of an Asian movie or Asian TV show in this case, but it is mostly it's own thing. Like, it not only takes place in a different setting and is in a different language, but has completely different characters with different names who were simply loosely inspired by those in the source material. That was what I was thinking you could do for an American version of Komi Can't Communicate 🇺🇸. Just don't actually have it be Komi or any of the other characters from the anime/manga, have them be completely new characters who are sort of like them, who fill the same roles, but are still their own separate characters.
That way you could have people watch it as if it were it's own thing rather than being simply a remake of an anime, and having those expectations placed upon it of it having to be faithful to the anime and manga. actually have the characters meet their Japanese counterparts 🇯🇵, like I was thinking you could have Komi meet the American version of herself 🇺🇸 in an episode where instead of traveling to New York like in the manga, they travel to Tokyo since they're Americans 🇺🇸, and that's when the American version of Komi meets the Japanese version 🇺🇸🇯🇵.
To further differentiate the American version 🇺🇸 from the Japanese version 🇯🇵, I was thinking that maybe it take place in college rather than high school. Like, have the American version of Komi 🇺🇸 be a college girl ♀︎ rather than a high school girl ♀︎ like the Japanese version 🇯🇵. That way you explore different avenues, explore more adult topics that you really wouldn't be able to in a high school show without crossing a line. And you can kind of what it would be like to navigate college with selective mutism.
You could even lean more into the disability aspect, which neither the anime nor the manga really do as far as I know since selective mutism is a type of disability. You could even have other characters with other disabilities in the show too. I know the anime and the manga sort of do that since the high school they all go to seems to be one for special needs kids, but they really don't lean into that much, and don't really tackle that subject with any real tactfulness.
If I were to choose where to set the American version 🇺🇸 in, I would set in either Florida or my home state, New Mexico. I say Florida because I'm thinking of the episode in the anime where they go to Kyoto for a school trip, and Komi and her two female companions ♀︎ (the ones hand-selected by the teacher) take a short trip to Osaka to visit Universal Studios Japan 🇯🇵, or at least, an off-brand copyright-free version of it. Since Kyoto and Osaka close by each other, I was thinking that if we do that same episode in the American version 🇺🇸, it would have to be a place where there's two cities close by each other, and one of them has an amusement park in it. And the only one that I could really think of is Orlando, Florida since Orlando has all the big theme parks in America 🇺🇸, including Disney World, Universal Studios, and Sea World.
Maybe, it could be a thing where they travel to Florida for the trip, and the characters go to Orlando visit one of the theme parks there, but the majority of the show doesn't take place in Florida, and instead takes place in New Mexico or something like that. I also thinking that the show would center more around the female lead ♀︎ rather than the male lead ♂︎ like the Japanese version of Komi Can't Communicate 🇯🇵 did, to get that female perspective ♀︎ that we never really got that much of in Komi Can't Communicate, at least in the anime, I don't know about the manga.
I have a feeling that this post might get age restricted because I use the word "porn" and the term "Rule 34" quite a few times in this review. My Armageddon ☄️ review got age restricted because I used the word "porn" in the note at the top of the repost. But, maybe it was because I mentioned an actual porn website and a porn movie because I also used the word "porn" in another post, and so far that one hasn't gotten age restricted. So, who knows? But, this does get age restricted, I won't fight it because the times I do use that word and mention "Rule 34" and NSFW are integral to the review, and can't easily be edited out like with the Armageddon ☄️ review.
Plus, this review is kind of meant for more mature readers anyway. Komi Can't Communicate isn't exactly an adult show, but it a lot of adult themes. It isn't as fan service-y as a lot of anime of this type usually are, but there are a lot of sexual references and undertones to it. Mostly because of Yamai, who literally lusts after Komi through this entire show, and fantasizes about having sex with her pretty much every time she gets. For once the pervy character in the anime isn't a guy ♂︎, but a gal ♀︎. There's a character in the show named Agari who literally asks to be Komi's pet dog 🐶 when Komi asks her to be her friend, like this show straight up has a character that's into puppy play 🐶. Plus, if I'm remembering correctly, Tadano's sister even asks him at one point if watches porn. So, definitely not a kid's show, but also not entirely an adult show. Like, this isn't a hentai or anything. Speaking of which, if I ever decide to repost my review of Meru the Succubus on this blog, and it gets age restricted, I won't fight it either since that is actual porn, it is an actual hentai.
Also, one last thing, I think I should address the question of the character, Najimi's gender identity. Throughout the review, you'll notice I refer to this character as transgender 🏳️⚧️, but that's not entirely accurate. Thinking back at the show, and thinking about the character again, I think it's more accurate to say that Najimi is non-binary rather than transgender 🏳️⚧️. Now, to a layperson, you might not understand the difference or you might think that there is no difference, but there is a difference and they are not the same thing.
A transgender 🏳️⚧️ is a person who identifies as the opposite gender, usually male ♂︎ or female ♀︎, and they take steps to look and act like the gender they identify as, even going as far to adopt a different name. The Wachowskis are a good example of transgender individuals 🏳️⚧️. The Wachowskis in case you didn't know are the directors of The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Speed Racer (2008), Cloud Atlas, and Jupiter Ascending. The Matrix Resurrections was directed by one of the sisters, but not by the two of them as a duo. I'll explain a little bit more in a moment. They used to identify as men ♂︎ and went by the names, Larry and Andy Wachowski, and were thus referred to as the Wachowski Brothers.
But, they both came out of the closet as trans 🏳️⚧️, and began transitioning, including adopting new names, Lilly and Lana Wachowski. Larry was the first to come out as trans 🏳️⚧️, and was the first one to transition, with her becoming Lana Wachowski. But, Andy soon followed, and became Lilly Wachowski. Once they both came out as trans 🏳️⚧️, they stopped being referred to as the Wachowski Brothers whenever they worked together as a sibling duo, and instead were hence forth referred to as simply, the Wachowskis. I believe Speed Racer (2008) was the last movie they directed in which they were credited as the Wachowski Brothers. Oh, and about The Matrix Resurrections, that one was directed by just Lana, as Lilly had no interest in directing it with her, and instead just let her sister direct it on her own.
Speaking of The Matrix, ever since the Wachowskis came out as trans 🏳️⚧️, many people have interpreted the Matrix films as metaphors or allegories for transgenderism 🏳️⚧️, like the Wachowskis used those movies to express themselves, and express the repressed feeling they had inside of them prior to coming out. Even the red pill/blue pill dichotomy has been interpreted as part of this metaphor/allegory. Which is ironic since the whole red pill/blue pill dichotomy has been co-opted by the far-right and the manosphere, which are similar groups that do intersect, but are not the same, but do share a hatred for transgender people 🏳️⚧️ and all LGBTQ+ people 🏳️🌈 for that matter. But, the Wachowskis, or at least Lana Wachowski, has somewhat confirmed this theory by essentially saying that The Matrix for her and her sister was sort of like a cry for help, when the two of them were struggling with their gender identities. So, when came to make The Matrix Resurrections, Lana really made the transgender metaphor 🏳️⚧️ a lot more obvious.
Whereas a non-binary person is a person who identifies as neither gender, or can interchange or go in and out of both gender identities and expressions. Like, for example, many crossdressers identify as non-binary or as genderfluid because they can identify as men ♂︎ one day, or identify as woman ♀︎ as another day, and crossdress to look more like a woman ♀︎ whenever they feel like. Another example would be the YouTuber, offbeat kiki, they identify as non-binary. There's another YouTuber who I've watched in the past who also identified as non-binary, but I can't think of them. This is probably a pretty crude explanation of transgender 🏳️⚧️ and non-binary, but it's the best way that I can describe it based on what I know.
Evidence to prove that Najimi is non-binary rather than transgender 🏳️⚧️ is that the characters (except Tadano) all refer to them by they/them pronouns. They/them is usually the preferred pronouns of non-binary individuals. If you have a character in a work of literature or film be referred to by they/them pronouns, it's a pretty good indicator that they are non-binary. Another clue that Najimi is actually non-binary is that when they're introduced, Tadano talks about they used to identify and act as a boy ♂︎, but more recently, they started to identify and act more as a girl ♀︎, and that Najimi will go in and out of both genders whenever it's convenient for them, or when it's advantageous for them.
That might not accurate to how most non-binary people see themselves or how they think about their identity, but it is how the character of Najimi was written. They are a very chaotic and somewhat weaselly character, who often only thinks about themselves, and doesn't read the room, or can be quite obnoxious. They fit into the surprisingly common anime trope of the "trap," which is a character who identifies as a male ♂︎, but presents themselves as a female ♀︎, usually to trick cis males ♂︎, or at least that's my understanding of it. Why else would they be called "traps?" Traps are a lot more like crossdressers, and as I stated before, crossdressers usually identify as either genderfluid or non-binary. So, I think it's pretty safe to say that Najimi is non-binary. Case closed.
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Well, I just got finished watching Komi Can't Communicate, an anime series on Netflix. I first became aware of this show through what else? Porn 🔞. I kept seeing the Komi Shoko character pop in Rule 34 art 🔞 on all the various Rule 34 sites 🔞, and it made me curious about who this character was, and what this show was that she came from; Komi is a very popular character for NSFW artists and animators 🔞 to draw and animate, let me to tell you 😅.
Plus, I didn't have anything else to watch since I had already watched the second part of Yashahime Season 1 (I wrote about that one already if you're interested in reading it), and I already watched The Pacific (which is really good BTW), and didn't have any new movies to watch; I already watched Devotion, that Korean War movie 🇰🇵🇰🇷 with Jonathan Majors, which I also wrote about, if you're interested.
I guess my plan after this is to watch First They Killed my Father that Netflix movie about the Cambodian Genocide 🇰🇭 directed by Angelina Jolie. Speaking of which, the fact that this show was on Netflix made it very easy to access it. I don't have an account on Crunchyroll, and I don't know if my aunt has one, so if this show was on Crunchyroll, I don't know if I would've been able to see it. I wish there was a physical release on Blu-Ray 💿, I would buy that in an instant.
Anyway, I really liked this show, I thought it was really good. It was very cute and wholesome, and while I usually don't go for those type of cutesy or "wholesome" anime or high school anime for that matter, this one was enjoyable for me. The thing that makes it work is the characters, the character interaction is the main selling point of this show, and of the manga it's based on; because this show is based on a manga, as a lot of anime shows and movies are.
It's fun to see Komi try to interact with the other kids in her class, and then see them fawn over her, and completely misunderstand her actions or intentions. Komi is this girl ♀︎ who has severe anxiety disorder, and she has trouble talking to people, so she can't really tell people what she's really feeling or thinking at any given moment. And because they all think she's pretty and perfect, and they worship her, they completely misunderstand. It's not until Tadano comes into the picture, that this communication gap that starts being bridged between Komi and the other students. Granted, Komi mostly just communicates with others by writing stuff down on a notebook 📒 because she's too anxious and nervous to express herself through speech. But, she does talk a few times in this show, and every time she does, it's always treated as a big moment or as a special moment.
But, Komi isn't the only one who has a disability or mental issue or whatever, as the school she and Tadano attend is a university prep school that is for special needs kids I guess you could say. So, everyone in this school has a mental problem or has an eccentricity that makes it difficult for them to function properly in society or in a normal school setting. So, Komi and Tadano encounter a lot of weird and crazy characters at this show; some are more likable than others.
Tadano is the only odd one out because he doesn't really have a disability or mental issue, like he's completely normal guy ♂︎, and I guess that's the part of the joke of this school is the normal guy in this school full of weirdos (for lack of a better word). They even keep saying that he's average throughout the show, that's how ordinary, bland, and unassuming he's supposed to be. But, I have feeling that he does have a "gift," and he just doesn't realize, in fact, no one really realizes it.
I think his gift is that he's able to understand people, like kind of read their thoughts. Not literally of course, but he's able to discern what a person is thinking and what they're trying to say, but can't quite put the words together. That's how he's able to connect to Komi so easily, despite her difficulties speaking, and why he's able to understand Katai who also has deep social anxiety and a communication disorder similar to Komi. It's just as he says in the first episode, he can read the room, and that's kind of he spends most of show doing.
I also really like the interactions that Komi has her family. We don't see a lot of her family, like we don't see her interact with each other, where it's just them and no one else that much, but when we do see them interact, it's very entertaining. Komi has a really nice family, the kind of family that a lot of other people would probably envy, and they'll very accepting of her, and they're all able to communicate with Komi despite her rarely ever speaking. In fact, a lot of the members of Komi's family are silent types, where they don't speak, or they rarely speak.
The only one out of the family that does speak is Komi's mom, Shuko, she's quite the chatterbox. They kind of do this expectation subversion with her, where the first time we see her, we're supposed to assume that she's a shy, quiet type like her daughter, Komi, but then it turns out she's a very chatty and bubbly woman ♀︎. I really like Shuko, she's a really awesome mom character, and love her and Komi interacting with each other.
And of course, Komi and Tadano's budding romance 🥰 is very cute to see, and is definitely a highlight of this show, to see that relationship develop over the course of 24 episodes. They don't actually get together by the end, and become boyfriend and girlfriend ⚤, but we see that by the end, their relationship is much more intimate and romantic 🥰 than the first time they ever met. They like each other, they like each other a lot, and it is quite adorable I must say 😊.
I do like most of the characters in this show I would say. There really aren't any that I flat out hate or dislike. The only one that I'm not super crazy about is Ren Yamai, the crazed tsundere type or yandere girl ♀︎ that's all obsessed with Komi, and is the closest thing this show has to an antagonist. She gets irritating some times 😠, and she does some horrible things that make it difficult to like her, like kidnapping Tadano and holding him hostage at her house, inside of her closet inside of her room.
She sort of mellows out after they sort of explain Komi's communication disorder, but she still acts very lecherous towards Komi, and puts Komi in very uncomfortable situations by her attempts to "flirt" with her. Although, there is this rather nice moment in the 23rd episode where Komi gets a tear in her pantyhose, and Yamai helps her out by giving her a new pair to wear. That was one of few truly positive things that Yamai actually does in this whole show. Of course, she ruins it by wearing Komi's discarded pantyhose on her head, and running out of the bathroom with them on her head, forcing Komi to chase after her in the hallways while having bare legs 🦵 😱.
Some things have been said about the LGBT representation 🏳️🌈 in this show, mainly on websites that hardly one reads or knows about, but still. The character, Najimi is trans 🏳️⚧️, and identifies as a girl ♀︎, or as non-binary, since they constantly use they/them pronouns when referring to this character. They don't make a big deal out of the fact that Najimi's transgender 🏳️⚧️ or rather, non-binary, and all the characters accepting of who they are. In fact, Najimi is the one character who has the most friends out of everyone, and it is thanks to them, that Komi and Tadano are able to make friends with the other students in the school. So, that's a plus if you care about that sort of thing.
This is probably the most positive representation of a trans character 🏳️⚧️ that I've seen in a Japanese anime 🇯🇵, not that there are that many. Most anime shows don't have trans characters 🏳️⚧️. Japan 🇯🇵 is still a very conservative and traditionalist country, where LGBT 🏳️🌈 is still somewhat taboo, and LGBT representation 🏳️🌈 is still somewhat rare, although it is becoming more common, if shows like this one are any indication.
Of course, Najimi's actual purpose in the show is to facilitate Komi's friend-making efforts since Komi's main goal throughout the show is to make 100 friends; a daunting task for even the most sociable person. Since Najimi is childhood friends with everyone at the school, they are able to help Komi in her goal. They're other purpose in this show is to be the one that always interrupts Komi and Tadano when they're getting a little too close, a little too lovey-dovey, a little too hot and bothered, so they are disliked character for that reason.
People hate it in anime and manga when a character interrupts the tender and intimate romantic moments between the two romantic leads 🥰, and Najimi just happens to be that character and thus gets all the ire 😤. That's one cliché that this show adheres to. But, I also think that Najimi does actually help out Komi and Tadano, and they purposefully bail them out when they're in tough situations like with Yamai. Najimi does a decent job of protecting Komi and Tadano from Yamai, and holding her back from doing anything too pervy or crazy.
Speaking of which, Yamai's obviously a LGBT character 🏳️🌈 too because she's a lesbian ⚢. But, she's portrayed considerably less positively than Najimi is with their transgender 🏳️⚧️ or non-binary status. Yamai is portrayed as this creepy, perverted, psychotic stalker, who's obsessed with Komi, and kidnaps Tadano and threatens to kill him, unless he stays away from Komi. But, even after the kidnapping incident, and after Yamai "apologizes," she still acts creepy and pervy.
So, this show isn't exactly getting points for portraying a lesbian character ⚢ in a negative light from LGBT groups 🏳️🌈. But hey, not all lesbians ⚢ are good people, just like how not all straight people ⚤ are good people. We can't just blindly portray every LGBT character 🏳️🌈 as perfect people or as completely despicable people. You need to have that balance, and I think show balances that well by making Yamai a de facto antagonist.
That article that I mentioned that talked about the LGBT representation 🏳️🌈 in this show also lumped in the character, Nakanaka in with the characters who are LGBT 🏳️🌈. I don't know why. Nakanaka is a girl ♀︎, she identifies as a girl ♀︎, and everyone in the show refers to her with she/her pronouns ♀︎; meaning she's not non-binary. What about her makes her LGBT 🏳️🌈? Because she's a bit of tomboy, has a bowl haircut, and doesn't dress particularly feminine ♀︎?
If that's the only criteria you're using to conclude that she's LGBT 🏳️🌈, then that's a pretty low bar. Any female ♀︎ who's even a little tomboyish can all of a sudden be lumped with LGBT 🏳️🌈, which is a stereotype that a lot of tomboys can't escape. People think that just because a girl or a woman ♀︎'s a tomboy, and doesn't dress typically feminine ♀︎, that automatically means that she's a lesbian ⚢ or bisexual or pansexual or trans 🏳️⚧️ or whatever. It's kind of disrespectful to both tomboys, and people are apart of those identity groups.
The only thing that you could construe as her being LGBT 🏳️🌈 is that she may or may not have a crush on Komi, similar to Yamai, which is why those two bud heads a lot throughout this show. But, you can interpret her feelings as her just seeing Komi as a good friend, not as a romantic partner or even sexual partner, like she doesn't have that sort of crush on her; it's not like Yamai, who clearly lusts over Komi, and thinks about her in a sexual way. She just really likes having Komi as a friend, and wants to spend more time with her. That's what I think anyway, you can disagree if you want. Besides, it doesn't even really matter anyway since we all know that Komi's heart ❤️ really belongs to Tadano 😏.
This show really doesn't have that much of a plot, like there really isn't much of an overarching narrative, or any sort of through-line, other than that Komi is trying to make 100 friends. But the show does diverge from that quite a few times, and she's really not that much closer to achieving that goal. It's just a slice-of-life, high school show where you just see these characters hang out with each other, in school and out of school.
They go to arcades, they go to restaurants and cafes, they go to a festival, they throw parties 🥳, they go to batting cages ⚾️, they visit a shrine ⛩️ on New Years Day to get fortunes, and they even visit Kyoto for a class trip in the 21st and 22nd episode; although, Komi and her group end taking a detour to Osaka during the "free day" of their school trip. This show is mainly set in Tokyo, as are most anime shows and movies (or manga and light novels for that matter), so having a couple episodes where they travel to Kyoto (and Osaka) is a bit of a special event.
The individual episodes themselves don't even really have a singular storyline, like they're more like a collection of vignettes of the characters doing various things in high school or outside of high school, hanging out or trying to interact with each other and get pass communication barriers. The episodes all play out like a day in the life of these teenage characters, these high schoolers. It's a very chill, mellow, and low-stakes show, like there's no world-ending catastrophe in this show, there's no war, there's no fantasy or sci-fi elements (unless you count the random talking cat 🐈⬛ that comes out of no where), and no one's lives are at stake besides Tadano's when Yamai kidnaps him and holds him hostage inside her closet 🚪. That what makes it such an easy and pleasant watch.
That all being said though, I would still recommend watching this show from beginning to end, because even though this show doesn't have an overarching story and is very episodic, it's still far more rewarding watching this show from episode 1 to episode 24. It's rewarding to see how these characters grow over the course of 24 episodes, and over the course of an entire school year, which is the timeframe that this show takes place during, one whole school year, from the fall to the spring to the summer to the winter and finally to the spring again.
This show also has a strange and unique structure. They play the intro like almost a minute or two minutes in, like the cold open is almost a minute long or two minutes long, and then they show the intro. They play the credits when there's almost minute left or 2 minutes left, or even 5 minutes left, and they show an after-credits scene. They have like 3 different intros and credits that they kept alternating between, like each episode has one of those 3 intros and credit animations that they made.
They also have a narrator, who basically just explains what the characters are actually thinking, what they were trying to do, what they were trying to say, and even explaining certain plot points or games or customs and traditions, which is helpful for someone like me isn't completely familiar with these Japanese cultural traditions 🇯🇵, these Japanese games 🇯🇵, these Japanese customs 🇯🇵, etc..
Like, I had never heard of that card game, Koi-Koi, or heard of second-year syndrome (which is a real thing in Japanese high school 🇯🇵), or heard of White Day, like we don't have White Day in the United States 🇺🇸, but I guess it's a thing in Japan 🇯🇵, and it's a companion holiday to Valentine's Day ❤️ where people who received gifts on Valentine's Day ❤️ have to give a gift back to the person who gave them a gift the first time.
And I guess, Japanese people 🇯🇵 eat roasted sweet potatoes 🍠 by themselves, like this one episode where Komi's dad asks her to go get some roasted sweet potatoes 🍠 , and she goes after this one truck of this one guy who's selling roasted sweet potatoes 🍠, and she buys some from him. And they're all wrapped in foil, and are like a sweet dessert snack you can eat. I've heard of people selling and eating tamales 🫔 on the street, I've heard of people selling burritos 🌯, fry bread, piñons, roasted corn 🌽, and even popcorn balls, but maybe that's just because I live in New Mexico, and I live in an Indian Reservation. I knew about high school cultural festivals because I saw that in Inuyasha, but I learned a little bit more about it and saw a little bit more of it here.
I've barely talked about Komi herself, despite the show literally having her name in the title, but Komi is so cute 🥺. She's such a good girl ♀︎, like she just wants to be friends with everyone, or as many people as she possibly can. It's only because of her lack of communication skills that she seems cold or distant, or seems unapproachable at first. Like, everyone worships her, and yet, they know so little about her. And when they do get to know her, they learn that she's just a normal teenage girl ♀︎ just like them, who has the same issues that every teenage girl ♀︎ experiences, or most teenage girls experience.
It's just that she can't express herself all that good, and is only really able to write down what she's thinking in her notebook 📒. You fall in love with her almost immediately when you first see her in this show, and you get a handle on her personality. And you only start loving her even more once you get see more of her, and see her grow and change over the course of this show. You just root for her at all times, and you want her to succeed at what she does or what she wants to do (which isn't that hard because she's good at a lot of things as it turns out), and want her to have fun and have a good life.
She really is the heart of this show ❤️, and this show would have worked at all if she didn't work, and you as the viewer didn't like her. Though, I bet the fact that she only has a few lines here and there made it pretty easy for the dub actress they hired to voice her in the English dub. The English dub is very good BTW, it's a very competent dub. I usually like watching dubs instead of subs, I know that's a contentious issue for a lot of anime fans, but I think it's a much more enjoyable experience for me if it's dubbed, rather than watching the Japanese audio version 🇯🇵🔊, and having to read English subtitles.
Overall, this is a good show, give it a watch, it's a nice time killer. If you only know about the Komi character through porn 🔞 like I did, then maybe you can finally watch this show to see what it's all about. It was really popular when it came out in 2021, judging by all the fan art, including NSFW fan art 🔞, I mean it received a a second season the next year, in 2022, and anime shows don't get second seasons unless they're really popular and successful. I didn't even I was watching the second season when I was watching it because Netflix doesn't make that distinction between which episodes are in Season 1, and which ones are in Season 2.
But, it does make sense now why in the 12th episode, they did this whole re-introduction thing where they re-introduced all the characters again, and the narrator did that monologue about people with social phobia and all that kind of stuff. That was the first episode of Season 2, and I didn't even realize it until a few days later. In retrospect, it definitely did feel like a season premiere. And by extension, Episode 11 felt very much like a season finale, because there was this sense of finality to it, like the characters were saying goodbye, and they would be back sometime in the future, which was a year apart since the second season was released a year after the first season.
I don't know if there will be a third season or not because they haven't announced anything yet, and the ending of Episode 24 made no indication that there would be more; like Episode 11 indicated that there would a second season, nothing like that at the end of Episode 24. But, given how popular this show is, I think it would be a missed opportunity to not do a third season. They still haven't shown the famous confession scene from the manga where Tadano finally confesses his love for Komi 🥰, in a clear and matter of fact way that most anime romantic comedy protagonists don't. There's also that love triangle ❤️🔺 with Rumiko Manbagi which I'm considerably less interested in seeing be brought to the screen in anime form. But, it is important for the development of Komi's character, and for the development of her relationship with Tadano, so it has to be in there.
There's also a live action movie being made, or it's already being made and it was released. I've never seen it, and I don't even know if it was released in the US 🇺🇸, but that's something. No American remake 🇺🇸 though, which depending on how you are, is either a good thing, or a bad thing, or a meh thing. I do sort of think that it would be interesting to see how Komi Can't Communicate would play out in an American context 🇺🇸. What would an Americanized Komi 🇺🇸 look like? Because as I said, this show is very much shaped by its Japanese-ness 🇯🇵, like it is a Japanese show 🇯🇵 through and through.
What would it be like if you took this show and put it in America 🇺🇸, and had American culture 🇺🇸 instead of Japanese culture 🇯🇵? Imagine this show had its own Magnificent Seven to its Seven Samurai, or The Departed to its Infernal Affairs, or Point of No Return to its La Femme Nikita, although that last one is a bit contentious since a lot of people think that Point of No Return is completely inferior to La Femme Nikita, and see it as a unnecessary and even insulting remake. But, you get what I'm trying to say. I know that this isn't something that every fan of this show (or the manga) wants to see, but I kind of want to see that.
No video game either, to my knowledge, which is kind of a shame, I am curious to see what a Komi game would be like. Some might think that a Komi game would just like one of those novel games where there isn't a whole lot of gameplay, and the characters are just talking to each other and you the player have to respond to them with the given prompts or whatever. But, I was thinking of something more dynamic, something more like a platformer or an action beat-em up game. That may seem like strange choice for a video game based on a manga and show like Komi, but I'm sure they could make a 3D platforming Komi game work, they'd just have to get to creative with it.
BTW, I'm sure that the majority of NSFW artists 🔞 do age up the characters in their art to 18 or 19 years of age because they're legally required to, and they'd get in trouble in most countries if they didn't. So, if that's a concern for you when it comes to porn 🔞 for this show, rest assured that most of time, the characters are aged up to the age of consent. I always try to make sure the characters are aged up before I take a look at it. And I like to support artists who openly state that the characters they depict in sexual situations are 18 years old or older.
She had that big sister quality to her, to where she not only is an actual big sister, but she kinds of wants to be like the big sister to everyone else. She kind of adopted in a figurative sense this other student named Kaede Otori, who's more ditsy and slow, and always wanders off and ends up in the strangest places. She's her friend, but she's more like a big sister to her because always has to look out for her, and watch at all times to make sure she doesn't hurt herself or hurt anyone else with her clumsiness. And she does the same with Komi where she becomes her friend, but she acts more like a big sister to each other, watching out for her, and helping her out when she needs it. Even though of course, as some have noted, Komi herself is a big sister too.)
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Note:
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An interesting that I learned after watching the show is that it really isn't all that popular in Japan 🇯🇵. I watched a video by this one Japanese YouTuber 🇯🇵, and I saw a few comments, and apparently, this show and the manga it's based on are not all that popular in the country, in fact, they're kind of disliked by the majority of the manga reading and anime viewing crowd in Japan 🇯🇵. They mostly just see it as a clichéd romantic comedy or high school show with nothing that really makes it stand out, and they found the Shoko Komi character difficult to connect with or like. This is in complete contrast to how the show and the manga are generally viewed in the West, which is that it's a fantastic and unique romantic comedy and high school series, and Shoko Komi is not only really adorable and lovable character 🥰, but she is most of what makes the show and the manga so unique.
So, Komi Can't Communicate definitely seems like one of those anime/manga that is more popular in the West, particularly in North America 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇲🇽, than it is in Japan 🇯🇵 itself. This is kind of ironic to me because as I said in the main journal, the show wears its Japanese-ness 🇯🇵 on its sleeve, includes a lot of Japanese cultural references 🇯🇵 than most westerners unfamiliar with Japanese culture 🇯🇵 wouldn't really understand or relate to. Plus, it's a romantic comedy and it takes place in high school, and romantic comedies and high school settings in anime and manga are both really popular in Japan 🇯🇵.
Most anime and manga that don't connect with Japanese 🇯🇵 and connect more with Americans 🇺🇸 are typically ones that are more "American-influenced 🇺🇸" or are ones about war or military stuff. That's why shows and manga series like Black Lagoon, Jormungand, Cowboy Bebop, Gunsmith Cats, Magical Girl Spec Ops Asuka, and Gate are usually more popular here in America 🇺🇸 than they are in Japan 🇯🇵 where they were originally made. That's also the reason why World War II is usually avoided in anime and manga since World War II stuff is really unpopular in Japan 🇯🇵, and doesn't sell very well. And obviously, anything involving guns will be popular in the US 🇺🇸 and not in Japan 🇯🇵 since America 🇺🇸 has a more solidified and well defined gun culture, and Japan 🇯🇵 doesn't. We Americans 🇺🇸 love our guns 🥰, maybe a little too much.
But, I guess Japanese readers and audiences 🇯🇵 felt that Komi Can't Communicate didn't do enough to stand out in the crowd of the myriad of other romantic comedy anime and manga series, let alone romantic comedy anime and manga series set in high school. And they didn't latch onto Komi as a character the same a lot of Americans 🇺🇸, Canadians 🇨🇦, and Mexicans 🇲🇽 did. It happens sometimes.
But, the fact that Komi Can't Communicate is more popular in North America 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇲🇽 than it is in Japan 🇯🇵 makes me kind of think that an American remake 🇺🇸 could actually work if done right. I mean, even if it turned out poorly, it wouldn't really hurt the Japanese 🇯🇵 that much since they didn't even like Komi to begin with. But, as we all know, anime and manga fans can be harsh, and unless it's done perfectly, then they will reject any American adaptation of a manga or anime 🇺🇸 that's made. I mean, just look at how the American live action Cowboy Bebop 🇺🇸 on Netflix turned out, everyone hated that one 🤬.
But, the kind of American adaptation 🇺🇸 that I'm thinking is one where you can go into it not knowing it's based off of a manga or anime from Japan 🇯🇵. While it would obviously borrow the main premise, some plot points, and base the character closely off of the ones from the manga and anime, it would mostly be treated as its own thing. Like, think of Edge of Tomorrow. That movie is based off a manga called All You Need is Kill, and yet most people don't even know that it's based off of a manga. It's so Americanized 🇺🇸 that it kind of becomes its own thing separate from the source material. Though it is kind of funny that I say that because the movie takes place in the UK 🇬🇧 and in France 🇫🇷. But, despite its European setting and largely European cast, it is an American made movie 🇺🇸 with an American director 🇺🇸, and a few American actors 🇺🇸, namely Tom Cruise and Bill Paxton.
That's kind of the approach I could see being done with an American version of Komi 🇺🇸. Set it in America 🇺🇸, and Americanize it 🇺🇸 the point where most people (unless they're already fans of the manga and anime) wouldn't even realize it's based on a manga and anime. There's no other way that you could do an American version of Komi 🇺🇸. You can't set it in Japan 🇯🇵 and do it exactly how it is in the manga and anime because that's already been done with the live action series (which was aired on Japanese TV 🇯🇵 at the same time as the anime). We've seen what this story is like and what these characters are like in a Japanese context 🇯🇵. To really make it worth while and not a complete waste of time, money, and resources, you'd have to do it all in an American context 🇺🇸.
Also, I was thinking you can do it in animation, in 2D animation to be exact, and not live action. I'm not proposing a live action American version of Komi 🇺🇸, I'm proposed an animated American version of Komi 🇺🇸. I feel that would make fans more on board with it since it's still animated, and it's not being put in live action. But, obviously it would be done with more American sensibilities 🇺🇸 rather than Japanese 🇯🇵, even if it'll all be colored and animated in South Korea 🇰🇷; most American animated TV shows 🇺🇸 are actually animated in South Korea 🇰🇷 since it's cheaper to animate them there than it is in America 🇺🇸 itself 🤷♂️.
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Link to update:
https://jedithescribe.blogspot.com/2024/04/the-one-shot-version-of-komi.html
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