Komi Can’t Communicate (Season Two) – Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu.

Hitohito Tadano continues his quest to help Shouko Komi overcome her severe social anxiety and gain one hundred friends. There will be awkward silences, the scribbling of notes on paper, and maybe even some new friends!

Komi Can’t Communicate (Season Two) – Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu.

What did you watch?

I loved the first season of Komi Can’t Communicate and instantly dived into the second season. That’s always a good sign, however, I have been burned with several season twos that failed to live up to the wonder of the first season. The Promised Neverland stands as the guiding light of how not to deliver a second season. There have been others such as How Not to Summon a Demon Lord or Goblin Slayer. I enjoyed both, but they were pale imitations of the first outings. Of course, there have been others who managed to maintain the energy from the first season. Which bucket will Komi Can’t Communicate fall into? Let’s find out!

What happened?

The class was in high spirits after the exhilaration of the cultural festival and Komi seemed to be settling in with her new group of friends thanks to Tadano’s efforts. However, Komi was still a way off her goal of making one hundred friends. Luckily, a new potential friend was just about to show up. Makoto Katai had been sick on the first week of school and then, thanks to his fears, he ended up missing the first half of the year. To combat his nerves, he trained relentlessly. The effort showed and unfortunately for Katai, it made him look like some sort of muscle-bound delinquent. His awkward smile didn’t help, which is sad because he just wanted to make some friends. Luckily, Tadano noticed Katai’s struggle and offered to show him around.

Other than new friends, there was lots to look forward to. Christmas was just around the corner and Najima had a plan to keep everyone involved. Then, there would be New Year and another plan. Then, Valentine’s Day and White Day. And, as if that wasn’t enough, the class trip to Kyoto was coming up. However, Komi was extra nervous about the trip, not that the other things didn’t present their own issues too. She explained to Tadano how she skipped her last trip because she was afraid that no one wanted to be with her since she had never spoken to anyone in her class. He reassured her that things would be better this time. So, when it came time to break up into groups for the trip, Komi was stunned to see that everyone wanted to be in a group with her. Things had certainly changed, and she knew exactly who to thank for the changes in her life!

What did you think?

I think this might be one of those rare instances where I enjoyed the second season more than the first, and I loved the first season. This season gave us more of all the wonderful things that made the first season so enjoyable and it dialled back on the intrusive narration. It was still there, but it was just about the right amount. We got to see all the insanely enjoyable characters that we met in the first season and then add a load more. Some were more memorable than others, but there weren’t any that I thought were a waste of time. The giant cast is absolutely a selling point for me.

I loved the way that Tadano and Komi’s friendship continues to grow and who knows, one day it might turn into something more. As I watched this season and wondered how long it would take Komi to make one hundred friends, it dawned on me that the perfect conclusion to this crazy adventure would be if Komi’s one-hundredth friend was her child. A child that she has with Tadano at some point in the future. I’ve no idea if that’s likely or not, but it struck me as an incredible way to end things. I’m not sure if there will be a third season, but I’ll be jumping into the manga again to see how this story plays out. I’m completely invested in this entire class.

What was your favourite moment?

Watching these two seasons of Komi Can’t Communicate reminded me why I enjoy writing episode reviews. In fact, the same could be said for several of the shows that I’ve watched recently and only written up a season review. I need to rethink things because I could easily have come up with a favourite moment per episode. Anyhow, for the purpose of this review, I’m going to give a shout-out to episode nine (or twenty-one if you’re numbering the episodes from both seasons consecutively) – the second day of the class trip to Kyoto.

There had been a draw to decide who would be Komi’s partners for the trip and that introduced us to Mikuni Katou and Ayami Sasaki. For the second day, they were given free time to see whatever they wanted and Katou had come up with a plan that would maximise their time. They visited a theme park where they rode rides and ate incredible food. They went to a movie studio and got caught up in one of the interactive performances where Komi was supposed to be a princess. Sasaki missed the beginning and thought that Komi was being attacked by ninjas. She grabbed a mask from a stall and used her skills with her yoyos to scare them away, all while protecting her identity… sort of! Anyhow, the girls had an amazing day. Sasaki developed the confidence to show off her yoyo skills and they all gained some new friends. Plus, they talked about their crushes and it was revealed that Komi didn’t know what that felt like, although the others were sure that she liked Tadano.

What was your least favourite moment?

Ultimately, the fact that the season ended is my single biggest gripe. I could have watched another forty or fifty episodes of this series without needing to take a break to watch anything else. There’s just something so endearing about the characters and the struggles they go through. I love how Najima is the instigator of chaos, but always in a good way. They push Komi to do things that she would never have considered and the Tadano is too gentle to really stretch her. I love the way they can turn a school game with erasers into a tournament with an announcer and everything. Anything can be exciting.

No, I wouldn’t change anything about this season except the length. I do hope there is a third season, but I’m also looking forward to diving into thirty more volumes of the manga (who knows how many there will be by the time I get to where it is now?).

Who was your favourite character?

Basically, things were the same as with season one. I loved everyone and had a great time seeing them all come together. The Christmas party at Komi house was a great example of this, especially when they started playing the King Game and Komi’s mother managed to get in and ended up making Tadano kiss Mono Shinobino. Of course, Kaede Otori was there with her vacant expression and constant bewilderment at everything. I love Kaede, she makes me smile every time she’s on the screen.

There were some great moments with the families of Komi and Tadano too. Komi’s grandmother is brilliant and I loved it when Tadano visited Komi’s house to give her a present for White Day only to find himself in her room with her father staring at him. He talks as much as Komi does. We saw more of Tadano’s sister who became a decent wingman and Komi’s brother who was as cool as ever. I just loved being around everyone. Of course, seeing Tadano and Komi’s relationship grow was a delight too!

Who was your least favourite character?

In the first season, I singled out Ren Yamai as my least favourite character although I did go on to say that she grew on me. Well, she continued to grow on me in this season as they took her lusting over Komi to a new level. Now, I’m not saying she was my least favourite character. In fact, I don’t think anyone was, but I really wanted to talk about Yamai so here we are.

There was a scene where Yamai noticed that Komi’s tights had a snag. She was delighted at the prospect of Komi’s skin peeking through. What if they spread and she ended up with her tights full of delightful holes, exposing more flesh? Then, she was concerned that others would see so she whispered into Komi’s ear to tell her and offered Komi her spare pair. She went with her to the bathroom to change and then once Komi had removed the ruined tights and was about to put on the new ones, she noticed Yamai with her tights over her head, huffing away like a lunatic. Then, they ran through the school. Tadano saw a lot more of Komi’s bare legs than he was prepared for. This scene made me laugh way more than it probably should have.

Would you like some more?

I would love some more. I think that much is glaringly obvious. If they make it, I’m watching it. And, if they don’t then at least I have the manga, which I will finish reading regardless of more anime or not. This is one of those stories where it’s just so fun and heartwarming that you come away feeling refreshed. I’ve definitely come to appreciate shows like this a lot more lately, which surprised me. Anyhow, it’s great and I need more!

What have you learned?

After watching the first season, I talked about how broadening your horizons will make you a better writer and I absolutely believe that. So, for the second season, I’m going to champion another point that I regularly make – characters are king! In truth, not a lot happened in this season. Sure, there were lots of little things and a slow and steady progression in the relationship between the two main characters but there wasn’t anything groundbreaking in terms of plot. You can even argue that the world wasn’t that exciting either. It was set in a school where they did regular school things. So, it sounds like this shouldn’t have been that interesting. This is exactly the point I make over and over again about characters. If you create well-rounded characters with traits that embellish reality then you are going to win almost every time. If the audience can see a little bit of themselves in the characters then they are going to empathise with them and once that happens, they will watch them doing just about anything because they want to see how they would react in those situations.

For example, Yamai might be crazy and over-the-top with her lusting after Komi, but the idea behind it is understandable. Everyone has a little Yamai in them so it’s fun to see how that might work if Yamai was set free. It’s the same with Komi. Who hasn’t gotten nervous in a situation and wanted to fade into the background? These characters shine a light on our insecurities and flaws and then they make us feel a little better because, hopefully, we’ve not got it as bad. And, if they can exist with them dialled up to eleven, then we can cope with what we have. Good characters make connections with the audience. That is what all authors should strive towards.

Series Information

English Title	Komi Can’t Communicate
Japanese Title	Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu.
Genres	Comedy, Romance, School
Demographic	Shounen

Manga

Author	Tomohito Oda
Artist	Tomohito Oda
Volumes	Ongoing	Chapters
1	Totally Normal	1-19

Anime

Season One

Season	Season One
Released	Fall 2021
Animation Studios	OLM
Episodes	12

Season Two

Season	Season Two
Released	Spring 2022
Animation Studios	OLM
Episodes	12

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