Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu. 2nd Season

Ah Komi-san, Komi-san.

What is there not to love about this show honestly? There is a level of charm to it, that's unmatched by most shows. To which there are many reasons for that. You don't need to watch many episodes, to truly get what Komi-san is about, or what it's going to be about. But even then, it'll throw things in there, that are just surprising, and catch your attention. Think of the good ol K-ON days. It was fun, it was silly, it made us smile, it made us laugh, and once again, Komi-san is doing it once again.

Story and characters:9
These truly go together, ... as the characters are the life of the show. Like, you truly would love for Komi to communicate more, but then you look at her classmates, and it's no wonder why she can't haha. But the one up the new season will have when it comes to the first. Is that we get to see her have even more fun with friends from the get go.The journey to this stage was great, and it can only get better. Even with new character hitting the scene, that fit right into the anime, as if they were there already. It's nothing but sweet, as the first season, a must watch for sure.

Sound and art: 9
I'm gonna say a high score once more. Because Komi truly does look amazing in so many areas, and they haven't lost touch when it comes to the second season. Much like the first, it'll look dazzling in areas, colourful and bright, and very well detailed in other sections. The reactions and tone of music that goes along wit it too, is a real nice touch, and they've nailed it all once again.

Komi-san second season picks up where it left off before, and it's only going to be even more good as it goes along. If you saw the first season, you just know, you're going to love te second. So watch it now!

When reviewing part one, I said this show suffered from unfunny comedy and too much repetition, but even having read the manga myself beforehand, I don’t think I ever truly realized how much worse my own complaints could get. Part two of Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu is excruciatingly shallow, and it proceeds to accomplish little aside from proving my point that there was no substance to be had beyond the very first episode. In my first review, I explained how the manga this anime is based on was originally a one-shot, and how it was clear that the one-shot's success is what prompted the long-running ... manga's serialization and never-ending chapter count. My argument was essentially that the story and characters were perfectly fine vehicles for achieving what the author originally set out to achieve, but what the author originally set out to achieve was accomplished throughout the course of the one-shot (the first six chapters of the serialized manga and the first episode of the anime), so by cynically saying, “Well, the story was satisfying and complete, but look at those sales figures! People really like this shit! I know this concept and these characters were only designed to exist for a single, well-paced, tightly-written one-shot, but if we wanted to, we could make a long-running never-ending manga out of this to capitalize on its popularity, so let’s do that!” the author/publishers were condemning the series to a fate worse than death. Rather than allowing the one-shot to be a brief success that was remembered fondly, they opted instead to turn it into a manga (that was then turned into an anime) that will be endlessly dragged out until the sales figures drop low enough to justify axing it, and the result, I think, speaks for itself.

However, I also said in my review for part one that despite dropping it, I didn’t actually leave the manga with a bad impression of it, so then why has my score for the anime already dropped from a six to a four? I mean, the anime still hasn’t reached the point in the manga where I stopped reading, so why is it already worse? Well, I’m actually not sure, but if I had to guess, it would probably be because I don’t know how to read manga. When Made in Abyss first came out in 2017, I was absolutely dazzled, and when it ended, I felt empty. Crumbling under the weight of unbearable longing and impatience, I said fuck it and started reading the manga, and that was such a huge mistake. It was good—don’t get me wrong—but it was not the same for many reasons. Firstly and most obviously is the fact that the majority of what made that show so deeply special to me were aspects of it which could only exist in an anime format. Aspects including but not limited to the music, the colors, the voice acting, and most importantly, the directing. People who prefer manga over anime will often say the reason they like manga better is because “they decide how fast it goes.” They like that they can just pick it up whenever they want, read it at whatever pace they want, and put it down whenever they want, and while I definitely see the appeal of this, I personally could not disagree more. I agree that most seasonal soup is not particularly well-directed or well-paced, but most anime fans don’t even appreciate good direction or good pacing wherever it does actually exist, and whenever you come across anime that do have these qualities, the resulting experience is in my opinion far more engaging than any self-dictated session of manga reading could ever be.

When you watch something written and directed my true masters and artists, you feel like you’re watching something truly masterful and artistic. You feel no needed to turn up the playback speed, check the time, or modify the viewing experience in any way, because what you’re watching is already perfect the way its being executed and the way its being paced. Maybe this level of immersion is possible with manga as well, but if it is possible, I personally have never experienced it. I don’t read much manga, so I’m not very well-practiced in the art of doing so. When I read Made in Abyss, I found it impossible to figure a good balance between reading the text and looking at the artwork. Indeed, I’m sure there were many pages where I didn’t even look at the images at all and just read through it like a book with nothing but dialogue. I was so invested in the story and characters thanks to the anime which I had originally fallen in love with that this obsessive interest in seeing what happened next made it so I couldn’t appreciate the manga properly. There was no director or screenwriter forcing me to focus on certain shots for certain amounts of time, thereby forcing me to appreciate everything as intended. There was no musician cluing me into the emotional tone of the scene, and instead just the quiet hum of my air conditioning turning on and off in the background. There was no art director making things pop, thus guiding my attention where it needed to go visually, and instead just vaguely paneled, monochrome images for me to glance over as I pleased. Again, this is one of the things manga readers say they like about manga—this control they have over the experience—but I don’t want this control, because when I have the control, I risk warping the experience.

Case in point: Made in Abyss, the unequivocal creative masterpiece, was warped into something I found to be frigid and emotionless thanks to my tendency to read too quickly, while Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu, a one-shot that was unceremoniously stretched almost four hundred chapters beyond its intended limit, was warped into a fun little experience where I could carelessly skim through each chapter without really paying attention to or focusing on anything, but always be rewarded nevertheless with the shallow, repetitive, yet wholesome moment provided by the end of every chapter. THAT’S why the anime became less enjoyable to me so much faster than the manga did, and why I’m already giving the anime a four while the manga which I read over a hundred chapters of managed to keep a six the whole time—because I don’t know how to read manga, but I definitely know how to watch anime. If I’m reading the manga, then I can just see Katai, or Nakanaka, or fucking Yamai, and immediately start flipping pages. If I’m watching the anime, however, and I see one of these annoying fucking characters start doing their annoying fucking unfunny gimmicks for the millionth fucking time, then I’m trapped. Then I’m bored; then I’m turning up the playback speed; then I’m checking the time; then I start thinking, “You know what? This show just isn’t for me.” Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu isn’t awful. No matter how creatively bankrupt it is, it can still be touching and cute, and considering some of the downright torturous characters it has, it also has a lot of characters who are undeniably lovable—the main duo being the biggest sweethearts of all—but sometimes I just find myself wishing there was more than one dimension to any of them.

They say repetition is the mother of learning, but learning is very rarely entertaining, and this show stopped teaching after episode one.

The MAL synopsis provided by Netflix currently reads the following:
“Second season of Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu.
Komi and pals are back! Who else will Komi make friends with? How will her relationship with Tadano evolve?”

The answer to the first question is nobody important, and the answer to the second question is simple. “It won’t.”

Thank you for reading.

Let's begin with the conclusion.

In the end tastes reveal better if this series works individually or is a collective mess. I became disappointed the more I got involved with this series because I cherished those moments that made me smile / laugh and there was nothing new this season for me. And I wish there were more things in it's favor. I hope it is for everyone else, or at least for most people, because for me this doesn't work. While the overall score might account for art and sound, the final assessment will be 1/10, because neither the art, nor the sound, amplify, go ... hand in hand with, or strengthen characters, plots, the atmosphere and they don't compensate for my disappointment in the Komi-san experience. I wish I loved it more, identify with it, laugh, smile and be more affectionate watching it. I really do and perhaps I invested too much attention in a rush and I deprived myself of the things that made others satisfied so far. And I'm certain some love this series. If this is you, I wish you to cherish it even further.

It's an anime of chuckles and casual walking in the shoes of someone who's struggling. You either empathize and struggle yourself, or you watch as an outsider and become anxious seeing someone struggle.

With that out of the way, here's what I think are some strengths and weaknesses in what we've seen until episode 8.

Story wise, there is a main romantic plot, where the focus is on the Komi, the audience appeal, and Shonen-san that's the cliche audience representative, in a basic, but sweet interaction here and there. There isn't a tremendous jump from the first season to the actual situation between them because this series doesn't rely on the narrative as an essential feature. The subplots are obviously those of the people that Komi befriends. There's a consensus on how Komi's friends view her, with variations based on their particularities (like how the lesbian, the bully or the otaku interact with her - and how they react on the inside). So far the season doesn't add much so far in terms of how people perceive Komi (except her family and Shonen-san). Instead, we're delighted with bits of quirky, but with pleasant outcomes, of social interactions.
Aside from the romantic elements, we have comedy bits as well as narrative social explanations of the series communication disorder. What we do see more this season is more cringe worthy characters that are so quirky that you almost ask whether you're not actually watching My Hero Academia, but without super powers. (Not that I would ever watch that show, but you got to admit the physiognomies are similar.) Do these new characters add relevance to the plot? Barely. Does Komi achieve her goal? Yes, she's on the right track. Is she closer to Shonen-san? If quantity beats quality, then yes, she has more instances of interacting with him. Is there anything worth making a separate season about in this regard? Yes, more quantities of Komi, comedy, school life in a good animation work for some. But it doesn't work for everyone.

Story: 1/10

There isn't anything wrong with the artwork, it's fine and it works. Maybe the opening to me as good visually as the one from the previous season, but the ending is enjoyable to watch multiple times. There are no excesses in colors, and the variations are diverse enough in order to make one engaged.

Art: 6/10

The sounds are predictable at times, the songs are pleasant, nothing is too remarkable but there's nothing wrong with it. I wouldn't say I can recall bits, except for the typical piano playing when they're at school, and the cheesy music when the romantic moments trigger. I have nothing against it, but there's nothing remarkable overall. The sounds Komi and her family make are a bit annoying after you watch everything so far.

Sound: 4/10

Characters are pretty well defined from the time they make an appearance. Sure there is beef between certain characters, or between them and Komi, but there's nothing that affects the plot in a fundamental way. Komi is reaching her goal little by little, she is more familiar to Shonen-san than in the first episode of previous season, but there's nothing outstanding about the current situation. If you put certain characters together, you know what outcomes are possible, and the repetition of their behaviors almost becomes annoying at times. Yes, people have disorders, some have quirks, but do we have to call everything a disorder? What about the fact that the premise of the show hasn't been even questioned throughout it? I'm still waiting any reactions towards the fact that Komi's family, except the mom, is behaving like her, without the narrator pointing to them as 'disordered' as well. Neither are they responsible. And no one makes them responsible. Is it a biotic disorder then? No, it's social, we're supposed to guess. Then what makes this social issue a disorder? Because Komi-san has it! And she's awesome! And her dad, father of awesome Komi-san has it! See how this spirals back in circle? Maybe the narrator will explain sometime in the plot in another season. But that doesn't matter since the issue is presented from the get go without the rationale. There's no criterion of relevance as to 'understand' Komi in neither season. We just have to, cause she's cute, and the show is funny. Therefore, Komi's a tool for the promotion of an assumed disorder. As much as I enjoy her moments of kindness to others, her struggle and her passion for Shonen-san, I can't really care for her. Actually she becomes more and more annoying, the same way it's annoying for someone to tell you 'your room is dirty' everyday without ever bothering to help you or advise you in how to clean your mess. And the rest of the characters are even less likeable at best. Shonen-san is composed at times, but his role is almost non-existent except for the romance plot. And if I were to say that this or that character is important, it's important diminishes the more characters with quirks are introduced every episode or so. So for me, the development of characters seems to be lackluster.

Character development 1/10

Why would someone love this series? It's pleasant in some ways. It inspires empathy towards people with disabilities, which is a wonderful moral thing to have. Friendship, despite differences and individual quirks, is amazing and this series has that. This particular season? More cute Komi feet and humor. And more appeal to those that actually have similar quirks to the characters that Komi befriends. The music is pleasant, the visuals are decent, it's a decent school comedy.

Why would someone be appalled by this series? It's monotonic, repetitive, it leads almost to nowhere. We're informed of a disorder we didn't know was considered as such, which actually trivializes what disorders are. Almost all characters have quirks, and the cringe increases with every new character, and this is bad because you know what to expect in every scene they appear, and there's nothing new to them once they're introduced. There's nothing too moral. It's an exposition of: cute girl(s), social quirks, emotive teenagers, lack of meaning, lack of interrogation, lack of responsibility, no hard consequences of character actions and so on. And hahaha that moment in the last 5 episodes was actually funny. Right. The genre is comedy. To me, this is one of many instances in which diversity makes things tasteless, let alone funny. There are occasions of humor which are at best worthy of smiles (I laughed a couple of times and I indeed continue to watch this.) And regardless of how the protagonist is misrepresented, having increasing friends that are so weird would make me want to shut myself inside mom's basement forever. Who would actually want non-dependable fake snowflake friends that actually want you for their dirty desires and for your looks? What I'm trying to say is that, if it's supposed to be 'haha', then there is a fine line between bad taste and actual humor given the multitude of quirks we're introduced, and I believe the author didn't actually chose which way he sides with and promotes better, so the series remains suspended between 'hot' and 'cold'.

The other question I ask myself with each new episode is: is it warranted that the author makes me feel so uncomfortable throughout each episode in order to offer me a bit of 'relief' at the end where Komi actually makes something more relevant? Seems like every new episode is a new artificial dread, like a sort of drug, that I must be thankful for in order to receive under a minute of relief at the end of the episode (maybe Komi musters some words, yells, makes a romantic gesture, at the pace of a snail or turtle). Am I supposed to dump my pants when she exhibits regular human gestures? I feel like the author is playing with us thinking we're significantly more stupid since we consume this content. Unfortunately, the simp brigade only validates this interpretation to everyone else's shame.

Enjoyment: As much as I am committed to follow this until the end, I will tend towards 1/10 unfortunately.

P.S. for the Komi simps: I watch every episode of this series, relax.

Overall: 2.3/10

I find it really funny that, despite the numerous amount of low-balling score and negative reviews made in the review column, at the time I wrote this, both Komi 1st and 2nd season still retain average score above 8. Perhaps people visiting this site still know what they want to watch and certainly able to form their own opinion on the show despite the raging biases. And that was such a reassuring thought on its own.

-------------MIGHT CONTAINS A LITTLE SPOILER, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK-------------

--STORY & CHARACTERS--
Komi 2nd season is the continuation of the rest of Komi-san 1st Year Journey in Itan high school, it ... certainly and most importantly still carried the hype and success from what the 1st season tried to convey. Komi trying to overcome her disorder and anxiety, opening up to the world, and completing her goal of having 100 friends. Sounds cliche? Sure it was, but it was done right and proper.

Let's start with Komi herself.
Is she still an anxious train wreck? Yes
Does she still stutter and writes on notebook? Yes
Does she still overthink every mundane shit that somehow her fault? Yes
Most importantly, does she grows? HELL YES

Komi is slowly but surely letting go of the helping hand that were Tadano and Najimi. She became more proactive, more thoughtful, and certainly getting more used to the environment surrounded with oddballs and weirdos that filled her school roster. Sure she is still dragged around by Najimi's shenanigans, Yamai's bullshittery, or Nakanaka's rowdiness. But she tried to make the best of the situation and opening herself up even more, and it does pay off in the later part of the season.

Does that mean Tadano and Najimi's role is now vanished? Nope! They now have far more important role rather than a simple friend, they now became her support system where Komi can safely fall back to, whenever she has doubt or fear on the incoming events she always have Tadano to vent and tell her problems to. While Najimi in the sideline creating Komi a friendly environment for her friend-making mission with their shenanigans. This trio might have the healthiest relationship so far compared to other SoL anime I've watched, and I genuinely love every second of it.

How about Tadano himself as an MC? He is far from every generic SoL romcom protag I've ever seen, and his introduction in season 1 definitely didn't do him justice. We were told he was average dude with nothing good going on, and I have never seen such a blatant lie being told to my face. The show never had those tendencies in other SoL-romcom with "Male MC fix every Female MC problems", and Tadano legitemately shows how is it done. He never took part directly in solving every Komi's problem, but instead actively approaching her and providing her space to consult and talk about it. All that with his insecurities of being a chuuni in Middle school and constant repercussion from their classmates? Someone give this man a medal. His consistent upstanding personality really pays off later on, as he steadily increasing his number of friends (and fans, lol) that slowly matching Komi as they grow together is honestly a sweet moment to see.

I have no problem with all side characters so far, and I genuinely found them all amusing (except Yamai ofc, but that's a given). For a comedy show that relies on having 100 different casts, the author made the right decision to name them all after a pun and their exaggeration of their name's characters certainly made things easier to remember them. Every side characters, despite being played with 'a week a monster' trope still provide decent environment on the storytelling, each of these characters have their own dynamic with other casts and Komi herself, making it more believable and certainly gave that 'rowdy high school' vibes which I will sorely miss.

-What about the romance? Anything good from the romance?-
Before you watch this, I must tell you that even in the manga, romance has always been 2nd priority before its SoL counterparts. So I would suggest to keep your expectation low. HOWEVER, I can proudly tell you that even the romance subplot is properly fleshed out with the current progression Komi & Tadano currently faced so far. One thing I love from this show is how both of the casts taking things properly, slowly and surely without overstepping each other bounds and limits. This entertainment imagery is certainly a fresh breathe of air, especially in the amidst of ecchi-riddled romcom for the past two seasons. Just a pure sweet wholesome relationship.

--ART-- (8/10)
Art is BEAUTIFUL, including both OP & ED. Compared to other SoL romcom, Komi definitely stands out the most. The production value is high despite Team Kojima split attention with Summertime Rendering this season, tho it must be paid with considerable price (Looking at you Ep 22). But other than that episode, it's safe to say your eyes will certainly love the sweets!

--MUSIC-- (8/10)
One thing I noted about this show is its exceptional amount of battle music. It's a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one as it really brings out the feeling of how chaotic Komi's school are. But in important moments, it will tone down a notch into melodramatic one, making it as soft as possible to keep you company in viewing Komi's journey, some of it legit coming straight out of automata (I kid you not, try Ep 15).

The OP song sucks ass tho, if they hired the equivalent of Lennon to sang Cinderella on the first season, this season they hired Brittany from the Chipettes instead. What a loss. The ED in the other hand fares better fate, I found Koshaberi Biyori improvement over Hikare Inochi. Still, I loved how the production team hired less known band to perform.

--CONCLUSION-- (10/10)
Not enough credit was given to this show, but among all comfort animes out there Komi definitely towers over them. It was a perfect show after such a rough day, either it was work, school, or life problems. It definitely hits that sweet spot between the ridiculousness of Saiki K supporting cast and shenanigans as well as the sweetness of Kimi no Todoke. If you're planning to watch this after Season 1, please do so! And if you haven't watched Komi at all, what the hell are you doing here?

She can't communicate but she still is a great character.

"Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life."

Plot: The plot is a linear and coherent link to the good but not great first season. It again follows Komi san and her will to communicate with others around regardless of any trauma she ever gets involved into. Season 2 after 3 episodes is already better than Season 1 so that's a great start I should say.

Art: The art as always ... is distinguishingly great in Komi-san, therefore there is nothing to complain about over here.

Sound: The music is seemingly 'lively' and 'fun-play' and it ironically suits the themes of the show very very well.

Character: All characters are good but not as great as Komi herself. Despite her lack of communications and not speaking that much I can honestly say her 'confidence' with interacting with other people who can actually speak is nothing short of great character development and gives me tears towards my eyes when she wants to speak overall.

Enjoyment: I am already enjoying Season 2 for what it is and honestly it is much better than that standard Season 1 which was offered to us many months ago or so.

Overall: A great improvement to the show and to the character of Komi-San herself. (Absolute Waifu Material)

Komi san season 2 was a disappointment for me I enjoyed the first season quite a bit, but after 12 episodes it started to get somewhat stale. I hoped they would improve upon things for season 2 maybe switch things up maybe focus a bit more on the characters at hand, but alas it was the the same old formula. The main premise of the show is what i think works against it, but i will say it is not a lost cause of a show and I think that it has it's redeeming quality and has a decent joke or character every so often.

The ... characters are my biggest gripe with this show, I know that they main premise of it is that Komi wants 100 friends, but each person is more shallow then the last and some are downright annoying even characters from last season which i hoped would be one off characters cause some of them I downright hate, but they played a bigger role this season example Yamai. If this show was just Komi Tadano Najimi and maybe a few others or even make the friends slightly less tropey and make them not drool over Komi with every movement which I find extremely annoying. Although both these points take away from the main premise i still think that it would make the show better.

Komi san season 2

At first i was utterly surprised by the speed of the second seasons release compared to usual second seasons release speeds. Well what is there about to complain, so here is my small mini break donw within the first three episodes we have gotten.

Overall at the time being i would say it is a 7-7.5 at most

Story: 6
The story is just a daily lives of highschool students who are quite abnormal, enjoyable, fun but may not hit some of us with the humour sometimes.

Art: 8
The animation is nice smooth and the gestures and the way they animated the small movements, each ... small part from each of the manga panel is a very nice way for us to know that the studio is also working very hard which we love to see.

Soundtrack/sound: 7
Loved the soundtrack for each scene, may feel like a typical soundtrack for slice of life highschool romance anime but what is there to hate about the nice opening (which still can't top the first season's opening) and also a nice soundtrack whilst the scenes are happening.

Characters: 6
I wouldn't say I could say much at the moment for it being only 3 episodes but I know for a fact that more interesting characters are going to be introduced soon just like how we got introduced to a new character like Katai from episode 2. As far as I can say for now Najimi and Tadano are still my favorites.

Enjoyment: 7.5
Love watching this show wouldn't say I would diehard watch it just like a waited for each second for the episodes of Spy X Family to come out, still very enjoyable though.

Hope this review helped sorry if there were typos or anything
(was made in a short period of time)

I owe you all an apology.

My first review of Komi Can’t Communicate did not do it the justice it deserves. I did not address what was distinctly wrong with Komi.

What’s wrong with Komi-san? Shallow characterization aside, her problem is that she is afflicted by severe social anxiety, and no one takes that seriously. Every episode begins the same; the narrator will cut in to tell us “what a communication disorder is.” Their definition is “Communication disorders cause difficulties in communicating with others.” If that reads like gibberish, it is. They’ve not researched mental disorders for a show that preaches about anxiety and in turn created ... an offensive portrayal of anxiety. Komi’s perspective is reduced to close-ups of her one vacuous expression. Not every anime will have accurate portrayals of mental disorders, but you’d expect effort or believability, at the very least, when it’s the center of the show. The writers pay lip service to mental disorders and then dodge the issue by turning Komi into a gibberish-speaking chibi caricature. The show’s humor more frequently comes at Komi’s expense; everyone misunderstands her. Even cats and children are afraid of her because of her anxious demeanor. Her inability to communicate causes her misfortune, such as dropping a pencil and being unable to ask for help, played for laughs. Similarly, she cannot voice her discomfort a particular creep attempts to force her into sexual situations—I can't emphasize enough how awful this is.

Despite including a fair bit of drama this season, Komi-san never articulates how its titular character’s disorder affects her mental health and vice versa. Her peers treat her as flawless, and the show intends you to view her as an angel; that’s why no one comments on the expectations for her to be perfect, like a hollow porcelain doll. The emotional turmoil caused by social anxiety in high school is a compelling idea they could’ve covered. Handled properly, it’s ripe with opportunities for cringe comedy; watch “Welcome to the NHK” for a better example. But, they’d instead glorify communication disorders and make stalking jokes. It’s hard not to see Komi’s communication disorder as a gimmick and superficial quirk. It is a blatant means of making her seem like an original, thoughtfully written character through silent gazes drawn with expert attention to detail. Komi’s mother notes her daughter is afflicted with something, yet she never attempts to help her. She could’ve gotten a speech therapist, yet she ignores the problem and says, “girls her age are so weird.” No, it really is your fault. I know what it’s like for people around you not to take mental disorders seriously; it’s maddening, not cute and wholesome.

There are flickers of life in the Komi and Tadano’s relationship, but only despite the various other ensemble pieces. As I mentioned in my review of the first season, there was a creepy aspect to their relationship that is thankfully gone now. The vignettes of saccharine interactions between the couple are pleasant, like Komi dropping her pencil in class and Tadano sparing her the embarrassment of a teacher asking for help by purposefully dropping his. Halfway into the season, a self-contained narrative allowed time for Komi and Tadano to be alone when he falls ill. She takes care of him; though it’s a generic story beat that almost every romance anime utilizes, it’s pleasant. The goal to make 100 friends is practically an afterthought, replaced with a slow-paced cliched romance. In typical anime rom-com fashion, right before the friendship blossoms into romance, a contrived plot device prevents any development. The little progress made through this cour is minimal; however, romance was never the primary purpose. It was always about the side characters just as much as Komi.

Fan-favorite characters return this season, such as stalkers one through five, boob woman, competitive girl, chuunibyo caricature, and perverted males! A new recurring gag about four perverted guys who sit in a circle at school and imagine dating their female classmates. These sequences pop up at random, serving no comedic purpose. They only exist for the viewer to vicariously live through them, adding to the bullshit quota you must endure to reach the comedy. You can skip those scenes and lose nothing.

The rest of the side-cast continues to fight for Komi’s attention: Breathing heavily, exasperated panting, and slobbering at the sight of her. And, of course, Yamai—who exists as a reminder of why I would never recommend Komi-san to any normal person. Even though she’s in every episode, she only gets worse and actually has negative character development. Yamai drools at her desk dreaming of Komi’s panties, leaning into every homophobic stereotype about lesbian women. Suddenly, she briefly realizes Komi is more than an object of her sexual desire. The show’s attempts to make us empathize with Yamai are almost as disturbing as when she snaps pictures of Komi’s panties. Immediately after her epiphany, she says the creepiest line written in the anime. “I’ll finally be inside Komi.” Surely it’s among the worst lines her voice actress spoke (and she says it more than once). It’s a marvel why they chose one of her scenes for the best sakuga cut. Speaking as someone who suffered through two seasons of Yamai, I suggest you skip these parts too.

Komi-san continues to spawn more oddball characters to keep the gimmick of ’a quiet girl in a school full of weirdos’ from growing stale. A narcissistic boy, a push-over, a short-tempered girl, and a tough-as-nails-looking shy guy, to name a few. None of them add a point of empathy or humor that the show hasn’t done before, but a couple were at least better than the horde of weirdos collected from the first season. I didn’t mind Katai, the friendly guy often mistaken for a delinquent, because his recurring joke wasn’t centered around obsessing over Komi; he was simply good pals with Tadano. While her presence is brief, the girl with a short fuse is quite relatable for how easily frustrated she gets by daily misfortunes. Both of these students still idolize Komi, albeit less creepy.

Every issue I had with the first season’s visuals persists in this one, especially the annoying manga text boxes placed right on screen. Artistically, this is a drastic downgrade from the first season. A handful of sakuga cuts pop up once in a while, but it was clear that OLM had to outsource certain parts in the subpar art quality and lack of animation. A few noticeable animation glitches stood out here and there, but if you want a collection of meme-worthy poorly drawn faces, watch the tenth episode. The Valentine’s day episode would’ve been a highlight of the season had it not been for the massive quality drop-off.

As for the soundtrack, it’s recycled. Despite the calming melodies, the repetition lessens its relaxing effect. Although the opening and ending are solid, they don’t compare to the first season’s exquisite themes. From a visual standpoint, it is noticeably worse than the better Spring comedy sequel, Kaguya-sama, which has far more varied and dynamic shots, fluid character animation, and detailed background art.

One addition I appreciated was the post-credits scene at the end of most episodes. It’s a bonus joke that’s easy-going rather than mean-spirited. Still, it boggles my mind how many consider Komi-san the gold standard for comedy anime. Does Komi-san’s second season improve on the first? Well, not really. It’s better in some areas, such as the subtle romantic development, and a downgrade in others, like the worsening side characters and declining production values. If you liked the first season, you’d probably enjoy this one. Everyone else, it’s not worth a second chance.

**Contains a few spoilers**

If I’ll give a word that will describe this season, it would be “better”.

Despite really hating the first season of this show and being considered to be one of the shows that belong in the garbage, I found this show improving or made sense. Now that I’ve realized it, this is one of the shows that you should never take seriously. Watching a show that isn’t overhyping by many people can be something else. I thought this season will be something else but all hopes seemed lost. KOMI-SAN IS REALLY A GAG SHOW. Forget the idea of having 2 characters, fall in ... love, and expect something beautiful. Not your usual romantic comedy that will give something more than the sum of its parts. Even the proper portrayal of social anxiety in the first place. All of that is a massive joke.

So let’s talk about the second season…

The entrance of the second curtain was the usual mission of completing Komi’s list of 100 friends. One of the new concepts about this season was two characters joined the show. Then a new transferee student, Katai joined the class. He’s having a misconception because he looks like a delinquent. He’s a kind-hearted man and I think he suffers from the same shit Komi’s having. But they started to be friends with her and called himself a disciple of Komi’s. Komi is Katai’s “master” and he likes to talk with Tadano, asking some advice from her and it’s full of ridonkeylous tropes in the end. It seems like a BL, which pretty much looks like it.

The second one is a guy named, Naruse Shisuto. A narcissistic dude who believes that all people are his fans and that they are too afraid to talk to him due to his breathtaking handsomeness when in reality people avoid him due to his overly flashy behavior. In short, he’s too confident with himself. And there’s this companion of his that makes him the narrator of his side.

To be honest, when I watched the trailer, I thought the introduction of these two new characters would be made an impact and be interesting to the story. My perspective and expectation for Katai in the segment were met because I liked him to be goofier than the main characters. Like Nendo from Saiki K. He looks like a delinquent but he’s one of the characters in the comedy routine of the show. But for Naruse Shisuto, I thought he would be a deuteragonist in the series. Like we don’t know if he’s a rival to Tadano and steals Komi’s attention. But in the end, he’s just one of those random characters in the show. By seeing that, I realized that there’s no way this show will take seriously.

That’s the summary of the whole show to be exactly. It’s an episodic gag comedy with some progression from the characters. Like the relationship between Tadano and Komi became to bud into something more. Komi’s past in the field trip was shown and her development of finding new friends, without relying on Tadano. She made girlfriends at that time but still need some progress. The other characters are still the same and forgettable at the same time. Well, if I compare the previous characters into this season, they became worst than I thought. Especially Yamai and his poisoned obsessed henchmen. She became perverted bitch that even she crossed the line when she stole Komi's leggings, wore it and run into the hallway. Pretty disgusting, right? If I'm in Komi's shoes, I would stay away from her forever. Nevertheless, she still her friend like what the fuck.

If I pick a proper character that might be memorable to me, it would be either Tadano or Najimi.

“The comedy is still great, right?”

The comedy Is still stiff. There were parts from the second season that were just trying hard to make everybody laugh their asses out. Some new segments like the boys meeting and finding friends were instantly amusing yet hilarious. The love game from episode 2 was surprising as well. The part where Najimi became an interrupting tool to interrupt the closure of the characters was new. He acts like it was nothing at all, as long as he gets into the fun. Most romantic comedy shows, when the two characters become close and suddenly, the phone rings or anything else. But the rest of the comedy was either cringe or just missed. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the ridonkeylous comedy.

The sound is just the same. To be honest, I liked the OP and ED more than from the previous season. The OP gave some romance vibes that led to nothing, but I liked the way they use it when Komi and the others make friends with other people. Like in Katai and Naruse’s case. Yep! It was amusing when they play the OP when Katai speaks to Tadano and Komi like it was meme-fied. I remember in Angel Beats when they used the ED when they amusingly flew the building. The ED is more decent than I thought. I can say that the ED might be the ED of the season.

Overall, I still enjoyed the series. I couldn’t grasp the idea that this is just a gag show because it’s better when this show turns into a serious matter. Most of the parts from the show were easily missed and some parts were hard hit. The 2nd season is pretty decent, but at the same time, it could be better.

I can't really wait to watch a show about depression and treating it as a joke.

Story: 5/10
Animation: 6/10
Characters: 5/10
Sound: 7/10
Entertainment factor (Comedy: 3/5, Romance: 2/5): 5/10
Enjoyment: 6/10
Score: 5/10

I really think this anime is one of the worst i seed in my whole life and at this point i don't understand why so much people love it, maybe i'm too old.

This anime is about Komi, a girl who can't really communicate in a school full of strange people and there is no more plot, only joke, no charatere developpement, no fun, no enjoyment.

Komi don't talk, communicate with word write on some paper, when it appen something, Komi vibrate like a phone or a coffe machine but nothing more, she is everytime affraid by everything.

Komi is watchable only in 1.5x speed.

Really why this is ... a popular anime ?

Aharen-san who have a similar theme is much funnier, have better joke and charaters developpement, so don't loose your time with komi.

If you were to ask if Komi could represent a realistic human being, then the answer is yes, and you have to look no further than yours truly. Five days ago, a strain of COVID viruses had decided to ambush me, and the barrage of coughs that followed had been too much for my poor throat. Since then, I’ve been left without a voice, unable to talk directly with any of my friends (not that I directly met any, as I was in quarantine). I resorted to expressing my ideas through writing (texting), and with the help of my friends, I was able to discover ... joy and happiness even in my deepest times of despair.

Well, I still don’t have a friend who is a psychopath that tries to sexually assault me every other day of the week. But I’m working on it.

The second season of Komi Can’t Communicate largely suffers from the same mistakes as the first, and there is no greater offender than Komi herself. She is, to put it bluntly, a completely whitewashed version of the disorder that she supposedly represents. Throughout the entire series, Komi’s “communication disorder” not once inconveniences her in any serious way. Let me illustrate an example straight from the story. If you couldn’t talk to anyone and you needed to find a group for an upcoming trip, what would you do? Would you hope to merge with leftover people to form a group? Or would you skip it and try doing something interesting in the meantime? Well it doesn’t matter, because the 20+ people who do nothing but beg and plead for your attention have shockingly and unexpectedly decided to beg and plead for your attention. Oh, and the teacher says that the groups would be a lottery this time around, even though she literally said “tomorrow, we will pick groups” the day before without mentioning it. What about if someone came up to you for conversation, but you were too scared to respond? Maybe you’d hope that they would understand your struggles, or maybe at least shrug it off and leave with no bad impressions. But no, they hail you as a “Communication Master” and regard your communication issues as the holiest teachings in the East. These events are neither humorous nor ironic; it’s ignorant bullshit at best and straight up insulting at worst.

And I don’t mean to speak straight from speculation myself. I’ve volunteered in helping children with autism and similar issues socialize with others, and I can say Komi Can’t Communicate is so ignorant it’s truly pitiable. Communication issues affect not only speaking, but writing and gesturing as well. To put it broadly, they affect the ability to express general ideas into a set of words or actions. It seems like the manga author saw someone who was selectively mute (someone who chooses not to talk publicly, but can write) and thought “Hey, that’s cool, do they have a communication disorder or what?” And even if the anime was about the selectively mute, it would still be inaccurate; people who are selectively mute tend to talk to people they know well, such as family or close friends. To say I feel peeved about this portrayal would be an understatement. When people with communication disorders are depicted as perfectly beautiful, perfectly capable of communicating non-verbally, and unaffected by any prejudices or stereotypes about them, it doesn’t help anyone with a real communication disorder, who are usually normal in appearance and unable to accurately express their thoughts in any way. There are many societal norms that prejudice against people less than able to talk, and Komi Can’t Communicate does nothing to dispel them.

The other characters are also poorly done. Tadano’s interactions with Komi remain unchanging. It seemed like Tadano started to become a bit more outspoken when he became friends with Katai, but their relationship sadly became milked for homosexuality jokes. Yamai promotes an atrocious double standard. Najimi’s character remains ultra-flat and generic, and Onemine’s only noteworthy role is Tadano and Komi’s fallback. Everyone else just does not meaningfully contribute to the story and character development.

One last thing I want to discuss is how the show uses absurdity. I’m a big fan of absurdity in all forms of media; it can convey a message in a way conventional storytelling cannot. Take the famous potato chip scene in Death Note. It, along with being absolutely hilarious, showed that Light has the capability to fully counter L’s attacks; in all prior ones, L had managed to make progress. Or take Iino’s misunderstandings in Kaguya-Sama S2: all of them helped freshly establish her character’s relationships with the rest of the student council. Looking at the absurdities in Komi-san, it is safe to say that they all serve no purpose - the cat scene did not tell us anything new about Komi’s character, the snowball and card game scenes repeats the “Komi beats everyone else” joke, and the masculine pose scene barely develops Tadano. These scenes are all but pointless, only rinsing the same ideas over and over again.

After watching the first season, I had hoped that the show would start focusing on quality instead of quantity, but with 100 potential friends to develop, the show’s direction was all but set in stone. Komi Can’t Communicate misses every single mark: it fails to accurately depict communication disorder, develop any of its characters, and introduce any new ideas. This is compounded by the repetitive soundtrack, the intrusive text boxes, and the ever-abundant still frames. Thus, Komi Can’t Communicate can be best described as a thorough waste of time. All I pray for is that it doesn’t get worse.

It's a given when a source material this popular like mangaka Tomohito Oda won awards so prominent enough to warrant the inevitable anime adaptation, Komi-san's adaptation would skyrocket the anime scene once again for the immensely popular girl in school whom has a communication disorder, and someone wants to befriend 100 friends that starts from the average boy that slowly and surely, they grow together more closely and intimately. Also, as a footnote, this show certainly was one of the first anime to be now infamously dubbed the "Netflix Jail" (because you could ONLY watch this on Netflix, and then again the subbing is quite ... bad), and the reason why piracy still exists today.

Come Season 2 not long after Season 1 aired last Fall to huge fanfare, and Komi is back with the same clique of found friends plus some new ones that continue to reach the 100 friends goal. The new additions this season (and onwards if they decide to do more) are just as fantastic as they come, mainly the more notable ones:
- The huge and bulge-sized boy that is Katai Makoto whom has a heart of kindness and is just like Komi herself with the communication problems, to the point where he saw her as his master that constantly freaks both the class and Tadano out.
- The "handsome narcissist" and his narrator that is Naruse Shisuto and Kometani Chushaku, being so delusional in his own world that Kometani has to interpret to the audience being a talking parrot, and I certainly wouldn't mind someone like Kometani to do his one and only job well and yet still be a comedic pointer.

And of course, how could I miss out on Tadano and Komi's growing relationship, that as the year's festivities like Christmas (which coincidentally is Komi's birthday), New Year's and Valentine's all gloss by, save for Najimi and Co. that are always hindering them both (with the usual suspect offender being the yandere Yamai), they're getting along with more private and even some closed-door moments that...let's just say, didn't quite materialize yet of their love for one another. That is a story left better said when THE ONE prominent character comes by in future seasons.

OLM's production values...have sadly taken a hit this time. Being in the same season where the Disney+ exclusive that is Summertime Render also started airing, having 2 concurrent shows at the same time will undoubtedly share resources within the same team (and that's Team Kojima for you), and this is stretching the limits to input more work into the latter show than Komi-san, leaving for some rudimentary stylistic choices that just couldn't quite match the quality that Season 1 was known for. Not a big hit, but it's definitely noticeable.

The music...also has sadly taken a hit, a huge one in fact. Miku Itou's OP is nice, and the visual canvas also looks nice, but it's no Cider Girl "Cinderella" type of quality, and honestly it's fine by me since the music industry is also moving on to newer songs, so this works out nicely. What doesn't is FantasticYouth's ED, which is just a collage of Class 1-1's activities that seem almost washed out by its watercolour visuals, and then again the song is just average-to-decent (just like Arifureta's Season 2 ED).

Picking up where Season 1 ended, I'd say that Komi-san has had a relatively healthy production phase so far, and I wouldn't mind just a few seasons down the road to get to where manga readers like myself truly have a revival of a Reconnaissance with the eventual shake-up from a lone gyaru which elevates Tomohito Oda's manga to insane degrees. Until then, have yourself a pleasant Komi-san for your aftertastes.

Up until now this anime is nothing but quirky characters that socialize with each other in a so over dramatic way that is not bearable in my opinion. There is character development but it’s overshadowed by all the comedy. Another thing that I ABSOLUTELY HATE is all the fan service we get. Not just that but the lesbian girl with brown hair is simping soooo hard for Komi it’s just cringeworthy. Is it right to drool and manipulate Komi’s life just because she is a girl?! As reference: imagine the lesbian girl is actually a guy. If that’s the case the anime would be instantly ... canceled on social media. But no no no, the girl is A GIRL who has boobies too! So it’s totally okay for her to do all that. No. It’s just disgusting. I mean, someone HAD to say it and I just did and now think about it. And yes, you might say that it’s a romcom anime and it’s typical for anime to overdo reactions of character etc. but KCC is just too much. I think there is a border and this anime crosses it. Not that crossing this border is a bad thing. But one can do it smarter than KCC.
And now regarding Komi: she just writes on her notebook instead of practicing actually SPEAKING to others. If we look back at season one, the first plot goal was to practice just that. But they completely forgot this.
Also, Komi’s reactions were cute at the beginning but are just annoying and overused now.
This anime is just hyped because of the relationship of Komi and the MC Tadano. (And maybe because of Najime).
But not even their relationship develops. All there is are misunderstanding coming from Komi because she does not communicate enough with Tadano (lol the titel of this anime is right). She always thinks that Tadano is somehow not liking her and suspects him being in relationships with other boys from the class. This is so unnecessary…
The good thing about KCC is I’d say Najime and that one girl with the moles on her face. And that the anime tells the story in different perspectives. That’s nice.
Overall KCC is a big miss and disappointment for me and I will no longer continue watching this anime.

(P.S.: there might be grammar or spelling mistakes bc I’m literally bilingual and English is my third language)

I always have mixed feelings with romcom anime. Their use of comedy and writing can be either good like Kaguya-sama or poor like Rent-a-Girlfriend. Those kinds of anime, in my opinion, are in 2 sides: good or bad... then there's Komi-san which surprisingly isn't bad but... at the same time, far from a good one. The last time I watched the first season, I got bored simply because the comedy got stale and the writing felt rather basic. What about the second season? Will my thoughts be different? Well... only one way to find out.

Before I get to the writing quality, I just wanted to ... talk about the artstyle for a while. The artstyle, while I do really like the visuals surrounding the show (JoJo references lol), didn't click well with me. Character designs look rather shallow just for Komi's looks to stand out and even her looks don't look that great. Why do I come to say this? The eyes. The biggest issue I see is how the eyes look. They're either derpy or look... kind of dead when they look like dots for a living. This ISN'T to say that they LOOK bad, it's just that I'm not fond with the art; with the standout being the visuals surrounding the show from what I've said earlier.

Now let's talk about the writing.

The story of the second season is mostly a gag just like the previous. It starts off with Komi meeting her friends again during winter. The comedy can work when it hits. Sadly, it doesn't. The jokes were repeated just like the first season and has never changed anything. The storyline barely have any progression and would instead focus too much on one main lead. I'll admit, it was funny at first and can have the potential to better but after I keep watching, it reverts back to its problematic state.

Despite the characters having nice personalities, they felt short when breaking to a deeper level. The characters, like the story, barely have any growth for the majority of the show and would rather act like plot devices. They're just weird. Now the thing is: What is the best way for Komi's character to... you know? Grow? The answer: spoon-feeding. The story sees Komi as an angel; the characters see her as their goddamn goddess and would probably make a religion out of her. The dynamics between Komi and Tadano just didn't hit. Apart from Tadano falling in love with Komi for a living, there isn't much to explore between their relationships. The cast tried too hard to be either compelling or funny but instead, barely have any consistencies in exchange for one awkward magic trick to the story's writing.

That's all I have to say. The second season suffers the same fundamental problems as the first. If you like gag shows like this, go for it. If you want to simp for Komi like the cast, go for it. It's just that I didn't care for it at all. Now granted that my thoughts towards the show may not be very precise since I've only seen the first two seasons once. Anyways, I want to leave an apology letter to the fans who read this otherwise trashy review.

See ya~

I went out of my way to talk with my brother, who was also watching Komi and a weeaboo, as he particularly enjoyed it, I, on the other hand, didn't like it that much. This is the retelling of how we discussed how we felt about Komi as a whole.

My brother approached me when I was just finished looking at my phone and went.

Bro: Let's talk about Komi, ya know, review the whole thing.

Me: Oh yeah, that awful dreadful shit I had to sit through every single season.

Bro: What, why?

... He questioned me why is it that I did not take a liking to Komi.

Me: The show is so boring. Both the 1st and 2nd seasons are literally the same shit. It became so dreadful that I muted their voices just so I did not have to listen to their voice every time they are on screen.

Bro: First of all, why would you not like it in the first place? It has to be the characters, isn't it?

Me: That's exactly the main reason why I hate watching Komi, the main couple is so boring to watch, not a single bone in my body went bonkers when they go into normal physical contact or just call each other names like they have no idea how romance works. Komi is as interesting as being forced to go to the most boring class ever made for 3 hours straight. Though I think Tadano is an ok character, it doesn't excuse the fact that the cast is some of the poorest and one-dimensional characters I've ever watched, which made me have to mute the whole video because I hate them.

Bro: Oh yeah, the cast, you mean the girl called Yamai Ren? Damn that girl straight up despicable bro. I don't know how the author had the idea to make her even more hateable as every chapter went on.

Me: Exactly! I hate every single side character that exists in this boring ass show. Even if you throw away the godawful ones, there still are the blandest and laziest characters written, one being a narcissist as his whole personality, a guy whose face can't match up with his feelings, a guy who just exists to make comments about other people going through events and the girls are just bad too.

Bro: Dude, chill about the characters. How about the comedy, bro? Even a show with bad characters can still have good comedy.

Me: Hmm, the comedy. I'd say it's extremely unfunny. Throughout the whole season and the previous one too, I had never laughed once at every joke this show had in mind. It's way too repetitive, keeps using Komi's big eyes face as a way to make something slightly amusing but it got old really fast. The narrator trying to add up the spice just made it even blander. The dialogues are just way too generic to listen to. Nothing of interest.

Bro: Fair point. The comedy is extremely dull to sit through most of the time, but it can be somewhat amusing. To switch it up, how about the art, though? It does have some good art.

Me: That's like the only good thing this stupid show has after plenty of lame characters and the same slice-of-life shit that every show has done. High school girls wear kimonos during cultural festivals like every anime ever and a field trip which is somewhat ok to watch.

Bro: How do you think about the characters interacting with each other?

Me: You mean the main couple? Nah, they were just too boring to watch. Also, the unknown childhood friend, yup that girl-

Bro: You mean a 'person'.

Me: Shut up, anyway she's a really annoying character too, everyone who exists in this train of shitfest worships Komi as their holy deity, like who cares.

Bro: A lot of bad things you're saying about it, though I don't disagree with it. So, overall, what do you think about the show?

Me: I'd say it's a 4. The saving grace is only the art, the other aspects are handled like a daddy leaving to get himself some milk. I'm done talking about Komi man.

Bro: Yeah, let's just stop for now. That's it for our talk about Komi then.

Me: Yeah, see ya.

i dont do reviews but i get asked alot that why i dont like Komi Cant Communicate those people goes like "its just a slice of life dont expect any great plot or something" so i had to write one.

ok so let me start with good points which is Art and Sound which are the only decent property about this anime specially i love the S2 ending Visuals and S1 opening song.

lets talk about characters, which are all of them shallow. Almost every character is just a Komi Simp and why? god knows. characters got no personality of their own ,everyone just goes "Komi this" ... and "Komi that" like for fcks sake get a life.
the only decent character i think this anime have is Tadano apart from him even Komi is very irritating.
this show takes serious topics like "communication disorder" and messes with it, whatever shit this anime intended to show as "communication disorder" is not it.

Komi's goal is to make 100 friends which sounds really wholesome goal at first but when you look it into Komi's case the so called friends she made so far can not even considered as friends and its obvious, thats not friendship its Lust the only actual friends she made would be Tadano ,Najimi and the 2 trip girls everyone else is just looks at Komi in a lustful way and specially Yamai , no fictional character made me punch the screen more than she did.

as for the comedy , Komi san making Chibi noises , Yamai being pervert and random text bubbles are not funny. this aint comedy and if you think it is funny then you need to watch more comedy anime and if you think this show is wholesome then you need to watch more slice of life.

overall, this show is trash and irritating , with characters that will make you puke.

*contains minor episode 11 spoilers*

i just want to bring up something i don't see discussed much

the plot aside, what happened to the animation? just beware that after episode 9 (by far my favourite, we get a lot of scenes of komi just having fun with new friends) the animation declines so much. some panels appear so distorted that it's genuinely disturbing. it's most noticeable in those chibi looking close ups and SIDE PROFILES. overall everything just seems janky and hastily put together. i'm hoping they fix it before the blu-ray is released atleast.

they made a concerted effort to include as many characters for ... komi to "befriend" in episode 11. specifically these two characters who are facing some issues but after an encounter with komi, she magically resolves their problems. i found it overly predictable and repetitive as it happened back to back.

overall season 2 definitely deteriorated from season 1 which was quite well received. the characters can be interesting at times but if you're watching the series for komi and tadano's relationship keep in mind that their romance is quite the slow burn, so don't get your hopes up too high.

As someone who's followed Komi's journey from the beginning, I was blown away by the show's consistent excellence. This season is a beautiful exploration of social anxiety, friendship, and personal growth.

The animation is stunning, with vibrant colors and expressive character designs that bring the cast to life. But what truly sets Komi apart is its thoughtful storytelling. The show tackles complex themes like communication disorders, empathy, and self-acceptance with remarkable sensitivity.

Komi's character development is particularly noteworthy. Her gradual progress from a silent, isolated student to a confident, expressive individual is genuinely inspiring. And the supporting cast? Absolutely lovable! From Tadano's unwavering support to Najimi's infectious ... energy, each character adds depth and warmth to the story.

What resonated with me most, though, was the show's portrayal of small, everyday moments. A gentle touch, a kind word, or a simple gesture can change someone's life. Komi Can't Communicate reminds us that connection and understanding are within reach, even in the most challenging times.

If you haven't already, do yourself a favor and watch this incredible series. Be prepared to laugh, cry, and reflect on the beauty of human connection. Season 2 is a triumph, and I eagerly await the next chapter in Komi's journey. 10/10, would recommend to anyone seeking a heartfelt, uplifting anime experience!

Last season, I worried that this series would burn itself out soon with repetition, as any time I look up the long manga series for this, there's usually frustration found with where it is going. I haven't read the manga. As a result, I can't personally comment on it, though I can tell this early on with season 2, that the story is annoyingly dragging itself as a romance, and falling apart. The progression in this 2nd season, plot wise, is like a spider trying to crawl out of a bathtub. The anime staff, for all they are, is the little kid that is trying ... to help it get out, but lets it slip back down each time.

The comedy, when it works, is all that can somewhat salvage this. The early episodes were very funny, and made this at least entertaining and funny at times. Towards the end, I stopped laughing almost completely. The songs got old since they keep recycling them in a way that it was noticeable to me. The anime ran out of steam with it's humor by the end. Early on, I felt the 100 friends journey for Komi was going to be a character development disaster, and it turned that way. Trying to rush at the end by manifesting people who were never there, and giving them flat personalities only hurt this. The author seriously trying to go with this goal for Komi was a mistake. Look at all the wasted potential for Tadano and Komi. Important events, like those holiday events, when they'd get nervous and look into each others eyes, and Valentine's Day, were all wasted as they are still nowhere romantically. The repetitive formula that they are going to get somewhere but don't, got stale and old since last season. Neither are willing to take that step forward, and it's drags to the extent it's irritating. If you are looking for romance, this is not the series to look for that in.

The staff looked as if they had a lot of fun making this. They tried what felt like everything to try and boost the source material. From wasting the budget on eraser flicking battles and exaggerated details to mundane things the character do, to it's episodic and multiple skits like approach, it felt mostly hit or miss. There might be a skit that wasn't as good, which makes it feel like it wasted half the episode. Sometimes, none of the skits felt entertaining enough, and they tried to make up at the end with a Komi and Tadano moment that of course goes nowhere. Even Najimi, who I felt was among the more entertaining characters, started to get annoying partly in constantly getting in between Tadano and Komi.

The only characters that I came to enjoy by the end were Katai and Yamai. Katai, because his friendship with Tadano that gets often accidentally played out as a gay relationship is absurdly funny in how they executed it. Yamai, because her sickly obsession with Komi is amusing to watch just how far she'll go to get noticed and have her way.

Komi is still frozen in character development, and the constant bug eyed shrieking got old long ago. She's become the bojji of her genre. If this series wanted to use her as someone with a communication disorder, it would help to get her to overcome that as soon as possible to inspire the viewers who can only somewhat relate, as she is often portrayed as the perfect woman; impossible to reality. Still, they won't, as this has to reach 100 friends total, and it's only a quarter of the way there as of now. Tadano is still nothing more than a nice guy who doesn't realize how good he has it, and what he can have if he'd have the manhood to reach out for it.

This didn't motivate me enough to want to read the manga. If there is no season 3, I'm done with for the most part. Season 3 feels like it will just continue to drag, and force the staff to come up with as many more production techniques to try and act like a defibrillator for the dragging plot.

Much like the first season, the biggest question I reflected on was “Did I find that funny?”. Yes, it’s still pretty hilarious, but these students really need to put on some kind of watch list, like seriously, this is quite the messed up school. The romance between Komi and Tadano continues, at a snail’s pace, but even so, it’s still quite enjoyable to watch.

My grading criteria: Story: /25 Art: /10 Music: /10 Characters: /20 Enjoyment /15 Thematic Execution /20

STORY: 16.5/25

Mostly still very episodic, with your typical school rom-com tropes. The romance is still very slow, but cute when romantic moments occur. Not a whole lot ... to say about the story, as it’s mostly comedic moments and a character based show.

ART: 8.4/10

A definite step down from last season, as some elements are inconsistent, such as character expressions, and the overall flow of the animation. Didn’t look as cinematic as last season, but the animation is still overall very solid.

MUSIC: 8.3/10

Mostly the same type of comedic music and sound effects, but the opening from Season 1 was much better. I will say I appreciate the higher effort on the ending this season.

CHARACTERS: 11/20

The characters just make me go “???” at times because they are just SO WEIRD that it takes away from the immersion. If we removed Yamai from the show, I bet it’d be much better, and not so weird, creepy, and out of place. I’m not gonna lie though, some Yamai moments are pretty funny, but most of them are just outright off-putting. The other characters like Nakanaka, Najimi, Onemine are about the same as last season, and they don’t have any extra developments this season.

I did not enjoy watching Tadano’s character this season compared to the last, because he just seemed way more uncomfortable towards Komi. I get that the romance is in the air, but it just wasn’t as enjoyable to watch if Tadano and Komi are both just blushing all the time, and not talking as much as they did before.

Now, the new characters, and I’m only going to talk about Katai and Naruse Shisuto (a play on narcissist obviously). Katai is a very solid addition to the cast, and he’s probably one of my favourites in the cast. On the outside he looks like a delinquent, and talks like one, but on the inside he has a heart of gold, and just wants to make friends. Loved the interactions between Katai and the rest of the cast. For Shisuto, his comedic gag revolves around him thinking he has the attention of everyone around him, when he actually doesn’t. He even has a narrator that commentates on his every action. Seriously, just stop pulling your shirt down though.

Overall, the characters are still the biggest problem of this show, because they just aren’t very interesting to watch, and for the ones that are interesting, it’s usually in a negative way, or if they’re fun to watch, they’re merely side characters with not enough screen time.

ENJOYMENT: 13.2/15

Still very funny, and I admit, the comedy is still decent.

THEMATIC EXECUTION: 16.6/20

The comedy is obviously a subjective thing to judge, and I will say the comedy is still pretty good, though a bit cringe at times. The romance is slow, but there are big pay-offs occasionally with the cute moments.

OVERALL: 74/100

A decent sequel to the first season, but arguably a little worse. It’s mostly the same type of comedy, and the romance is still moving slowly. I expected a bit more from Season 2 for sure.