Komi Can’t Communicate

Communicating is hard, especially if you’re too drop-dead gorgeous to stop your classmates from fawning over you to get a word in. Komi Can’t Communicate is about high schooler Komi Shouko, whose goal is to make 100 friends. Her only problem is her crippling social anxiety, and she struggles to even say hi to anyone.

Luckily, Tadano Hitohito, her first friend, is there to help coach her in reading the room and overcoming her anxiety to make connections with her classmates. I’ve been a day one Komi fan back from when the manga first came out in 2016, so I was champing at the bit to see its anime adaptation reach a mainstream audience.

The anime adaptation is better than I could’ve imagined it being. The show depicts an even-handed balance of comedy and dread that can naturally arise from miscommunication and social anxiety. The manga’s comedy, which often leans on JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure references, is translated seamlessly through onscreen onomatopoeias and clever editing and scene transitions whenever Komi or other characters get flustered. It’s great that there is an anime tackling issues like social anxiety, and I wish Komi all the luck in her friendship endeavors.