Anime Digest
Komi San Wa, Comyushou Desu, also known as Komi Can’t Communicate among the international fans, is a story of a 15-year-old girl, Shouko Komi. She has extreme social anxiety causing a speaking disorder. Then there’s Hirohito Tadano, an average guy whose only plan this year is to stay out of trouble and out of people’s eyes. But all his plans are thrown out of the window when he’s sat next to the most beautiful girl in the school, Komi. He soon learns that Komi’s social anxiety doesn’t allow her to speak in front of others, and her goal is to make 100 friends. He promises Komi that he will do anything to help her achieve her dream.
The Feel-Good Part
The first episode does give this show a good start. The production quality is top-notch. Komi’s character, at least at the beginning, provides the show a relatable and unique angle. Especially as many suffer from social anxiety in their teen years, it gives teenagers a comfort character. Tadano is a big green flag as a friend who is quick to provide a helping hand to Komi without judging her and accepting her for who she is.
The Disappointing Part
First things first, the fact that nobody does anything to help Komi get over her anxiety is a huge disappointment. Why make a show about a problem if you’re not even trying to solve it? Most of the characters throughout the show want to be around Komi because she’s beautiful; they don’t even try to learn anything else about her. Also, her speaking disorder becomes a running joke throughout the show and gets old after just two episodes. Then there are some misogynistic jokes, stalking, creepy behavior, and homophobic gags, that fail to generate any kind of comedy or amusement in the viewer.
In-Depth Analysis
Komi San Wa, Comyushou Desu is precisely what the anime is all about. Komi has extreme social anxiety, which prevents her from talking at all. Tadano, who sits next to her in the class, learns about this and makes it his mission to help her make 100 friends. The first few episodes of the show are absolute masterpieces from the production’s point of view. They help you empathize with the characters. Komi might be relatable for many people with social anxiety though it’s a bit exaggerated for her. Tadano is a lovely guy who looks past Komi’s beauty and tries to help her. Together the unlikely duo starts on a journey to make friends and help Komi through her anxiety. Although nothing gets a solution by the end of the show, Komi still can’t communicate easily with her friends, the romantic angle between Komi and Tadano never plays out, and the friends are not exactly friends if consider everything. The main issue with the anime is its premise. If our lead has to interact with 100 friends, we need 100 different characters, all unique from each other. It’s pretty tricky to do that in 12 episodes without generalizing most characters which end up in a big generic mess. Even the unique characters couldn’t carry the story because of lazy writing. Najimi, for example, is gender fluid giving the show a unique angle to work with, but it ends up with two homophobic gags, which are certainly not funny. Overall, the show is watchable if you don’t want to use too much of your mind and don’t care much about stalking, and creepy behavior, and homophobic jokes.
Star Power
Tadano has to be the star of the show. Even though he stalks Komi and is pretty dense in various scenes, he’s still a great friend to Komi and is the only one genuinely interested in helping her.
Overall Opinion
Overall, the show might be engaging to people wanting to dive into the anime world. It does have a fresh storyline with nothing too complex going on. It’s a mindless comedy in simple words. If you don’t mind the disappointing factors of the show, given the fact that these are pretty common and undertone in most shows, then it might be an enjoyable watch. But if you’re looking for character development and unproblematic cinema, this anime is not for you.
