Komi-san wa, Communication Shougai desu (2021)

Your Lighthearted Manga-Adapted Setup…

As a premise ‘ Komi-San Can’t Communicate’ ( alternatively known as Komi-San Wa, Komuyoshu Desu’ or ‘ 古見さんは、コミュ症です。’ ) is a fairly heartwarming setup. Based upon the manga of the same name, having spawned an anime also and adapted to the small screen by screenwriter Mizuhashi Fumie, ‘ Komi-San Can’t Communicate’ tells the tale of a high school student who aims to be “ average” , Tadono Hitohito ( played in the drama by Masuda Takahisa), who ends up unusually befriending popular girl Komi Shouko ( Ikeda Elaiza). Despite appearances, Komi struggles with verbal communication and therefore due to having select mutism, has to write down everything she wants to say on a notepad. She enlists the help of Tadono to help her make her goal of having 100 friends ( due to having none) a reality.

However with a sweet and heartwarming premise and more than 23 volumes of manga to execute into a space of eight episodes, it was evident that Mizuhashi would be very restricted towards which storyline elements to follow and cut out. On the other hand even with its short duration length, ‘ Komi-San Can’t Communicate’ often felt as though it missed out on more nuanced opportunities to explore characters, relationships and also plot without having to lean heavily upon certain tropes and comedy in between.

As far as the acting is concerned ‘ Komi-San Can’t Communicate’ is admittedly a mixed-bag. Of course this isn’t to downgrade the actors themselves as individuals, but their performances and line deliverances could admittedly come across as slightly over-the-top and exaggerated rather than feeling comically-timed or dynamic. ( Naturally this is also down to the problem of the script’s dialogue also.)

The characters are specifically there to serve a purpose throughout the show and this does come off with differing results. As the main lead Tadono Hitohito is arguably a slight anomaly; whilst the drama ( similar to previous counterparts) uses his surname for comical motives ( I.e. Hitohito being taken from the Japanese expression;” tada no hito (ただの人)”, meaning “just some guy”) , he is undeniably an intriguing character ( against his own motives). Tadono embodied a trait which is often overlooked in male leads and that is empathy. The male lead can
read people like a book giving him a sweeter note and pick up on Komi- San’s feelings easily.. However instead of presenting the “ inner Tadono” for comical scenes to voice his inner-thoughts and feelings, Tadono lacked a lot more character drive than his previous counterparts. Whilst it was played off for a comical reason it felt odd that the drama didn’t touch upon the reasons behind his choice to become “ normal” as well as his family. Even touching upon these motives and characters briefly would’ve given Hitohito a sense of being more than just a plot device to keep the storyline moving alongside his “ potential chemistry” with Komi.

The romantic factor between both characters is admittedly more “ hinted at” throughout the show than prominent.

Then of course there’s Komi Shouko. Shouko is a really sweet female lead and stands out against the typical two tropes of being “ aloof and cold” as well as “ loud and vivacious” by her introverted nature and social embarrassment. Her ability to make unlikely friendships with Hitohito alongside kindhearted and lonely gyaru Manbagi Rumiko( Yoshikawa Ai) did seem to prove that her intentions were good. However similar to Tadono, Komi often struggled with having more subtle character background. For example there’s the issue with Shouko being perceived as “popular”. Whilst it may have come across as Shouko being “ unapproachable” and “ pretty”, this also raises questions as to how Shouko did not isolate herself socially, or became a victim of bullying by standing out. Naturally whilst it is based upon a manga and more exaggerated tropes are executed into reality, it felt odd we weren’t given opportunities to explore more about how she’s perceived as being popular, Shouko’s reasons for not talking as well as any possible links to her childhood or family interactions to provide clues.

The comedy in the show is admittedly over-the-top. Whilst this isn’t entirely bad per say and the drama does odd a surprisingly lighthearted and sweet moment between Hitohito and Katai Makoto ( Mizobata Junpei- who is cut out of the show after his initial use) ‘s friendship, as well as the attempted “ cool” persona put on by his replacement Naruse Shisuto ( Shirota Yu), it’s easy to understand how this may not appeal to everyone, as more subtle and intertwined comedy is often less common to find throughout the drama.

The ending admittedly has its flaws and strengths also; whilst it did add a sweeter note and help to clarify something important for Komi, it left off with more questions than answers. Of course cliffhangers aren’t necessarily bad per say in dramas, but the abruptness of this ending without wrapping up our other side characters felt a little odd and lacking within character direction.

So is ‘ Komi-Sam Can’t Communicate’ actually worth watching or should you just skip it? The acting front admittedly isn’t the strongest and whilst respectfully members of the cast have had better performances, it doesn’t necessarily take away from the fact that the drama is sweet and lighthearted. The basic trope executed of “ high school friendship tale” isn’t necessarily original, however, characters do surprisingly grow on you throughout the show. Admittedly a lot of these characters alongside the comedy and due to air time often felt a little bland with those expecting a dynamic love story between Komi and Tadono possibly being disappointed. On the other hand for those just wanting a drama in order to cheer-up or looking for something to quickly binge-watch, then ‘ Komi-San Can’t Communicate’ is worth watching.

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Facing Hardships in Communication and forming Healthy Friendships

This is my newest favorite drama, I recommend it if you want to watch something wholesome mixed with slice of life. I love the characters interaction and how they explored the different types of "communication disease" or miscommunications that even us can experience. I'd like to talk about each of the characters and the lessons I learned from them.

Komi is the most popular girl in school but she is very shy around people and she rarely talks. Because of this, she was misunderstood as someone who is cold and unapproachable. But she improved little by little with the help of her friends. I also talk less haha, so I can relate to her and having the same experience makes me appreciate my friends for boosting my confidence and helping me grow as a person.
Tadano also has social anxiety and chose to be "average" in order to avoid trouble. He's the MVP of this drama, he showed a good example of a type of friend that doesn't need much words to understand your feelings and concerns. I love his interaction with Katai (expect some bromance lol).
Manbagi is a cheerful girl who also wants to have friends. I always thought that having a bright personality would mean having more friends but it's not always the case. I love her character the most, and her story shows that we could still befriend someone who is the exact opposite of our personality.
Najimi has a lot of friends, he is my role model haha. But his story showed that in choosing friends, we should not judge solely from our first impression of them. Katai is also one of my favorite, he's tough outside but softy inside UwU I learned from his story to never judge a person's character based on his appearance. Ase and Isagi's enduring friendship was also heartwarming. It showed that should we cherish our friends and be proud of them. Naruse on the other hand, learned that having someone to call "friend" is very gives greater joy than being alone!

Being with our friends is uplifting and fun, and this drama successfully expressed the heartwarming feeling of being at home with friends while staying close to reality. I also saw some episodes of the anime and both are funny but the characters are different, for example Yamai (a yandere girl) is not in this drama. I also liked the ending song, Atashitachi by Aiko, she is my new favorite Jsinger and I just realized she has sang a lot of Jdrama OST. Acting-wise, I think the actors are great! I watched this because of Ikeda Elaiza who is my favorite. Tbh I was kinda disappointed after knowing that her character doesn't speak that much but she delivered Komi so well with her nuance and body language. It's one of my favorite works from her! Masuda Takahisa is also awesome, it's my first time seeing him and I think he looks so young and adorable ^^ I love all of the actors, Mizobata Junpei, Yoshikawa Ai, and the rest, I love seeing them together. Wishing for season 2! xD

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