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  Komi Can't Communicate

Komi Can't Communicate (Japanese: 古見さんは、コミュ症です。, Hepburn: Komi-san wa, Komyushō Desu, lit.'Miss Komi Has Difficulties in Communicating') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tomohito Oda [ja]. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday since May 2016, with its chapters collected in 32 tankōbon volumes as of January 2024. It is licensed in North America by Viz Media. The series is centered around Shoko Komi, a high school girl who suffers from extreme social anxiety, and struggles to communicate with others. With the help of her classmate Hitohito Tadano, they embark on a mission to make 100 friends and improve Komi's communication skills.

An eight-episode live-action television drama adaptation was broadcast from September to November 2021, and an anime television series adaptation produced by OLM aired from October to December of the same year; a second season aired from April to June 2022. The anime series is licensed by Netflix for worldwide streaming.

By July 2023, the manga had over 12.7 million copies in circulation. In 2022, the manga won the 67th Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen category.

Premise

On her first day attending the elite Itan Private High School, Shoko Komi immediately receives an overwhelming surge in popularity due to the unprecedented stoic beauty and refined elegance her classmates perceive her to possess. However, only Hitohito Tadano, an exceedingly average schoolboy who sits next to her, discovers that behind her bishōjo appearance, Komi has a severe communication disorder. Tadano learns that Komi's goal is to make 100 friends, and resolves to help her reach her goal.

A list of characters introduced...

Media

Manga

Komi Can't Communicate is written and illustrated by Tomohito Oda. Prior to its serialization, a one-shot chapter was published in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday on September 16, 2015; the series then began serialization in the same magazine on May 18, 2016. Shogakukan has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was published on September 16, 2016. As of January 18, 2024, 32 volumes have been published.
In November 2018, during their panel at Anime NYC, Viz Media announced that they acquired the license for the manga. The first volume was released in North America on June 11, 2019. On May 9, 2023, Viz Media launched their Viz Manga digital manga service, with the series' chapters receiving simultaneous English publication in North America as they are released in Japan.
The manga is licensed in Southeast Asia by Shogakukan Asia; in Taiwan by Chingwin Publishing Group; in South Korea by SomyMedia; in Thailand by Luckpim; in Indonesia by Elex Media Komputindo; in Vietnam by Kim Đồng Publishing House; in France by Pika Édition; in Germany by Tokyopop; in Italy by J-Pop; in Argentina and Spain by Editorial Ivrea; and in Brazil and Mexico by Panini Comics.

Anime

On May 11, 2021, an anime television series adaptation by OLM was announced. The series was directed by Kazuki Kawagoe, with Ayumu Watanabe serving as chief director, scripts by Deko Akao, character designs by Atsuko Nakajima and music by Yukari Hashimoto. The series aired on TV Tokyo from October 7 to December 23, 2021. Netflix streamed the series worldwide on a weekly basis from October 21, 2021, to January 6, 2022. Cider Girl performed the opening theme "Cinderella",[31] while Kitri performed the ending theme "Sympathy" (シンパシー, Shinpashī) in episode 1, and the ending theme "Hikare Inochi" (ヒカレイノチ, "Shine, Life") from episodes 2–12.<7p> On December 23, 2021, Netflix announced the series would receive a second season. It aired from April 7 to June 23, 2022, in Japan, while Netflix streamed it worldwide from April 27 to July 13 of the same year. Miku Itō performed the opening theme "Ao 100-iro" (青100色, "100 Blue Colors"), while FantasticYouth performed the ending theme "Koshaberi Biyori" (小喋日和, "Fine Day for Small Talk").
On December 12, 2022, the official Komi Can't Communicate Twitter account announced that the anime production team did retakes of the animation for episodes in both seasons that had already been posted on Netflix.

Drama

An eight-episode live-action television drama adaptation was broadcast on NHK General TV from September 6 to November 1, 2021. Aiko performed the series' theme song "Atashitachi" (あたしたち, "We").

Reception

Komi Can't Communicate won the 67th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2022. Polygon named the manga as one of the best comics of 2019.

By September 2018, the manga had over 2 million copies in circulation; 5.2 million copies in circulation by February 2021; over 6 million copies in circulation by December 2021; over 7.4 million copies in circulation by June 2022; and over 12.7 million copies in circulation by July 2023.
The series ranked eighth in the third Next Manga Awards in 2017 in the print category. The series ranked first in a 2020 poll conducted by AnimeJapan of "Most Wanted Anime Adaptation". The series won the Crunchyroll Anime Award for best comedy at the 6th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2022. Shoko Komi was also nominated for the "Best Girl" category while the series was nominated for the "Best Romance" award.

Critical Response

Manga

In a review of the first volume from Anime News Network, Rebecca Silverman called the series "a nice little story with humor and a distinct lack of cruelty that doesn't break any new barriers but is definitely fun to read." Faye Hopper considered that it is hard to tell if the humor of the series lies in Komi's "seemingly outlandish, absurd behavior" or if it is a "legitimate depiction of anxiety that we laugh at because we relate." Hopper also called the character of Najimi a "transphobic punchline"(which i personally dont think is true as a trans person myself), criticizing the jokes about their gender fluidity, calling them "extremely tasteless", and that they "undermines the book's message by making light of an already marginalized community." Nevertheless, Hopper stated that the series "succeeds in spite of a potentially noxious premise," pointing out that the other characters are "just as dysfunctional as the eponymous Komi, creating a solid base of compassion and doing a good job [of] not casting her as a weird social outlier." In a review of the first volume, Gabe Peralta of The Fandom Post commented that a lot of the series' humor comes from "everyone else around [Komi] misunderstanding her moments of silence." Peralta noted that, although the series is "wholesomely silly", the series has "a bit of fanservice worked in as well", expressing however, that it is "chaste enough that it honestly works within the confines of the manga… as awkwardly creepy as some characters can get." He ultimately called the series "basic in premise, but slightly more nuanced in execution."
Reviewing the first volume, Leroy Douresseaux of Comic Book Bin described the series as a shōnen and shōjo mix that "offer[s] readers young male and female characters forced together for a common goal, with some romantic elements", noting, however, that it is not its central focus, also calling Oda as "quite adept at creating small situations out of this narrative's central conceit." In her review of the first volume, Sheena McNeil of Sequential Tart praised the story, characters, and humour, calling it "a hidden gem, definitely worth checking out." McNeil, however, criticized some of Komi and Tadano's interactions with other classmates. Morgana Santilli of The Beat made a positive review of the series, praising its premise, comedy, characters, and the relationship between Komi and Tadano, calling it "cute and fun, something that injects a little positivity into a world that frequently seems to shun collaborative efforts to help others."

Anime

IGN included the series on their "Best New Anime to Watch (Fall Season 2021)" list. Isaiah Colbert of Kotaku included the series on the "11 Best Anime of 2021" list, praising it for its comedy and for addressing the issue of social anxiety.(i personally don't like the anime as much as the manga but i suppose i'm a bit bias considering Manbagi and Naruse didn't get enough screen time imo)

External Links

1. Komi Can't Communiucate official website (in japanese)
2. Komi Can't Communiucate official anime website (in japanese)
3. Komi Can't Communiucate official anime website at TV Tokyo (in japanese)
4. Komi Can't Communiucate on Netflix
5. Komi Can't Communiucate manga at Anime New's Network's encyclopedia