Komi Can't Communicate

Komi may not be able to communicate, although she clearly charmed the whole school and warmed my heart. I really enjoyed this anime series, and I found it truly entertaining. Even the first episode is excellent because the quality is literally cinematic. You cannot help but notice the gorgeous animation, the amazing soundtrack, and a narrative with real depth. If the first episode were a standalone short film, it would get a well-deserved five stars from me. This is because some of the scenes and their execution (such as Komi's initial journey to school or writing with Hitohito Tadano on the blackboard) are well above the usual standards of anime series because of the musical accompaniment, the chosen palette of colors and filters, and the camera work. I also liked the overall message it was sending out, and I did not even mind that the female narrator repeated it every episode, because sometimes (in the last episode, for example), they managed to place it in a way that underlined the whole experience. Of course, I grew incredibly fond of the main female protagonist; her expressions and the hidden meanings behind them kept me entertained throughout the entire anime series (it is all based on them). I liked the manga style of explaining what was really going on with Komi. I liked a lot of the other characters as well. Tadano is a nice guy, who is the only one who pays attention and shows genuine interest. I found that Najimi Osana is also a strange but likable character who impressed me with their energy and tons of goofy ideas. I understand that they are the main driver for moving the plot along, especially for creating sketches. I would also like to have found out more about the whole of Komi's family because there is some decent comedic potential there for me as well, and I am curious to see how they actually work. The Obon Festival episode was cool, although not enough. I want to know more about them. Oh, and I was intrigued by Nene Onemine and Kaede Otori in the last couple of episodes. Nene was the only character who was acting completely normally in this show, which is a nice change, and I like Kaede for her silliness. However, then there are the rest of the characters, of which there are many. The most I can say about most of them is that they are more or less really good cookie-cutter characters that are just there as a vehicle for some recurring sketches, although with comedy anime series, this does not really surprise me that much. I was worried because some of the sketches and comic storylines were too repetitive. Actually, a large part of the individual episodes is also always about the same thing. However, I do not really mind; I still enjoyed it anyway. Everything in this show is amusingly over-the-top, even though it is clear that realistically Komi just could not live a life like that at all and that there is no way the whole world could (mis)perceive her that blatantly. It is all very charming, so there is really no need to think about it. The main three protagonists have pulled it off so far too, and the jokes have always been funny, the more poignant moments have always worked, and I am so very much looking forward to the follow-up arriving in April 2022. 8.3/10. (07/03/2022) (less) (more)